If you want to jump straight to a specific section, here’s a list of pages, each filled to the brim with excellent music:
- 2026 – 2024 Eurovision artists
- Previous Eurovision artists
- 2026 and 2025 national final artists (this page)
- Previous national final artists & Honourable mentions
2026 national final artists
🇪🇪 OLLIE – “Drown”
Oliver Mazurtšak, known to eurofans as OLLIE, has attempted to represent Estonia at Eurovision 3 times so far. In 2023, with the song “Venom”, OLLIE placed second in the Eesti Laul national final. OLLIE returned to Eesti Laul in 2024 with the track “My Friend”, eventually placing second once again in the final. Not one to give up, OLLIE returned to the Estonian selection process in 2026, with his song “Slave”. This time he didn’t place second. He ended up in third place in the superfinal, behind Vanilla Ninja and NOËP. OLLIE has a (very loose) connection to the Eurovision Song Contest predating his national final appearance, however. In the 1998 Contest in Birmingham, and the 2002 Song Contest on home soil in Tallinn, Jüri Mazurtšak, OLLIE’s father, performed as a member of the band on stage with the Estonian performing artist. The latest release from the rock / metal singer is new track and accompanying music video “Drown”. The song is a return to the heavy, nu metal sound OLLIE is known for. The intro of the song lulls you into a false sense of softness, before the heavy guitar line kicks in. OLLIE describes the song as “losing the fight against your own mind. For some of us it’s a daily battle”. The release comes ahead of the artist’s debut album “IF DEMONS ARE REAL, SO ARE ANGELS” due later in the year. Everyone who is a part of this site knows, I need OLLIE to win Eesti Laul asap and I make no apologies for that.
🇸🇪 BLADË – “Schizophrenic Confessions”
BLADË competed in Melodifestivalen as ISA, back in 2015 and 2016, with the songs “Don’t Stop” and “I Will Wait”. In 2026, after a rebrand as BLADË, the singer returned to Melodifestivalen with the song “Who You Are”. The latest single from the Swede, “Schizophrenic Confessions”, is released alongside re-releases of her Mello track, as well as “MATRIARCHY”, from back in March of this year. BLADË describes “Schizophrenic Confessions” as holding a special place in the singer’s heart, as well as her own “kind of love song”. It is certainly the most personal and moving of the 3 tracks. The Swedish singer-songwriter is a definite talent.
🇩🇰 Sander Sanchez – “U&I”
Sander Sanchez is a Danish-Native-American singer songwriter, appearing most recently in Denmark’s DMGP national final with the queer electro pop anthem “Two Spirits”. The singer has gained prominence for his mix of modern pop and dance, with 80’s inspired synth electronica. Latest single “U&I” sees Sanchez strip back some of the heavier club dance beats, for a more indie electronic dance sound, whilst maintaining the queer joy he has come to be known for. This is a great follow-up to June’s “the SUN” from Sander Sanchez, and will be making it onto my summer chill house playlists.
🇬🇷 Evangelia & 🇧🇬 Dara Ekimova – “PARÈA (Tishev Remix)”
If you had asked me what was winning the Greek national final Sing For Greece at the start of this year, I would have sworn Evangelia would have taken it with “PARÈA”. She had become a fan favourite in national final circles after placing second in Greece’s Ethnikós Telikós 2025, with “Vále” Ultimately, in 2026, Akylas took the national final win, and Evangelia placed fourth in the Contest. Yet she has still somehow become a Eurovision star without ever appearing on the ESC stage in my eyes. She has so far released remixed versions of her national final song with Miriana Conte (Malta; Eurovision 2025), KIKI (Finland; UMK 2026) and Dara Ekimova (Bulgaria; Natsionalnata selektsiya 2026). The version of the song featuring Bulgaria’s Dara Ekimova today gets a new remix from The Voice of Bulgaria host Ivan Tishev. What to do if you don’t win a national final? Collaborate with everyone you can!
🇦🇱🇸🇲 Inis Neziri & 🇦🇱Algert Sala – “E Imja”
Inis Neziri is an Albanian artist with the rare accolade of competing in more than one country’s national final. The 25 year old Albanian performer appeared at both Festivali i Këngës (FiK) 64 in Albania with “Ta Kam Fal”, which placed second, and the San Marino Song Contest in San Marino with “In My Head” this national final season. She has taken part in multiple editions of the FiK Contest, debuting in FiK 56 in December 2017. For her latest single, Inis teams up with FiK 63 alumni Algert Sala. Albert had placed 11th in the Festival in December 2024 with his song “Bosh”. The single from the duo “E Imja” is a powerful Albanian pop / hip-hop track. It blends authentic Balkan sounds with modern dance and hip-hop elements. Inis shines vocally on the track, and it has slight similarities with “Ta Kam Fal”. If you like your diva-pop music with a Balkan flair, this is for you.
🇪🇪 Robert Linna (+Kristel Aaslaid) – “Kuum”
To eurofans who don’t follow Eesti Laul all too closely, Robert Linna is probably most know as the son of Eurovision 1996 entrant Ivo Linna, who finished 5th at the Contest in Oslo. Back in 2021, Robert and his father Ivo appeared together in the band Supernova at the Estonian National final, with the track “Ma Olen Siin”, ultimately finishing in 11th place. Robert then served as one of the judges, tasked with selecting Eesti Laul entrants in the 2023 national final. In 2026, Linna made an appearance in Eesti Laul himself with the song “Metsik Roos”, unfortunately missing out on a spot in the superfinal round. The singer-songwriter is back with a new guitar pop song “Kuum”, featuring Kristel Aaslaid. Kristel has herself appeared in Eesti Laul, back in 2016 with Cartoon and the song “Immortality”. Together, Linna and Aalaid sound beautiful on this country inspired track.
🇷🇴🇸🇲 Edward Maya – “All Night”
Edward Maya will most likely be known as the DJ and producer of huge eurodance anthem “Stereo Love”, back in the early 2010s. But this year, the musician entered both Selcția Naționalǎ in Romania with the song “Everybody Needs Somebody”, and San Marino Song Contest with the song “Balla”. The artists may also be known to fans as one of the creators of Romania’s 2006 Eurovision entry “Tornerò”, performed by Mihai Trăistariu. For his most recent single, the producer, songwriter and DJ has teamed up with Romanian pop star BiBi, as well as Radu Play&Win on “All Night”. It’s a classic Maya EDM dance track.
🇦🇱 Evi Reçi – “Nata Sonte”
Evi Reçi has appeared at multiple editions of the Albanian Festivali i Këngës, most recently in FiK64 with the song “Kodi i jutës”, ultimately placing just outside of the top 20. For the latest music from the singer, Evi has teamed up with virtual AI generated musician Bora Faira on “Nata Sonte”. I’m not sure how the recording session would have looked for this track, but it makes for a pretty sound and an interesting expereince.
2025 national final artists
🇸🇪 Klara Hammarström – “GRAVITY”
🇪🇸 Lachispa – “YOYOYO”
Lachispa placed 5th in 2025’s edition of Benidorm Fest with the smash hit “Hartita de Llorar”. The song found huge success in the country after the national final, amassing millions of streams and certifying the actress and singer as a star in the Spanish speaking world. Latest single from Lachispa “YOYOYO” builds on that success with a sound so Spanish it hurts. The track is Lachispa’s first release of 2026 so far, and the performer’s first on the Disparate Records label.
🇸🇪 Kaliffa – “Sommarflamma”
Kaliifa made it to the Finalkval from Deltävling 2 of Melodifestivalen 2025, with his track “Salute”. The singer just missed out on a spot in the Final, with Meira Omar and Dolly Style taking the last two spots instead. Kaliffa follows up on his football anthem “Aye aye (för Sverige)” with new summer reggae inspired track “Sommarflamma” (Summer Flame). The song is similar in style to his Mello track, but less of a party/dance song and more of a laid back, reggae vibe.