On 4th March 2017, Estonia selected Koit Toome & Laura as their representatives for this year’s Eurovision. Today, they revealed the revamped version of their entry, ‘Verona’. Take a listen below!
‘Verona’ quickly became an early favourite in Estonia to win Eesti Laul 2017; they were high in the Estonian Spotify charts, and it was no surprise when they eventually won the national final. Since their win, Koit and Laura have been working hard on revamping the song, and they have finally revealed the version that they will perform at Eurovision.
The new version of ‘Verona’ has a stronger beat, and the ending has some more “oomph” behind it. The 80’s feelings of the song has been developed even more, so now the song oozes 80’s vibes from every pore. The music video features Koit and Laura singing directly to the camera, behind smokey lyrics. Take a listen to the revamp of ‘Verona’ below!
‘Verona’ in the betting odds…
When ‘Verona’ was originally announced as the Estonian representatives, they debuted at 9th in the betting odds. A very positive reaction from the bookmakers for Koit and Laura! However, as more songs have been released for this year’s contest, ‘Verona’ has slowly slipped down in the odds to 14th place. The release of this revamp is yet to have an effect on the odds.
Who are Koit Toome & Laura?
Koit Toome rose to fame in 1994 as part of the pop duo Code One, consisting of Koit Toome and Sirli Hiius. The duo enjoyed a number of Estonian hits, before splitting in 1998. Koit then built on his solo career by participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. He came 12th with the song ‘Mere lapsed‘.
Laura Põldvere launched her career in 2005 by participating in Eurolaul, the Estonian national final for Eurovision at that time. She finished in both second as a solo artist, and in first as part of Suntribe. However, they failed to qualify for the final. In 2007, Laura returned to Eurolaul, but only came third with the song ‘Sunflowers’. Laura participated in the new Estonian national final format, Eesti Laul, in 2009. She came third again, this time with ‘Destiny’. Last year, she tried to represent Estonia for the fourth time, with her song ‘Supersonic’, which came second.
The last year for Laura has been a rather sad one; her two year marriage with Estonian pianist Joel-Rasmus Remmel ended. Furthermore, just before Christmas last year, her brother died in Thailand. The win at Eesti Laul must’ve been some very welcome happiness for her!
Estonia will perform in the second half of the second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine, on the 11th May. We wish them good luck!
How do you think Estonia will do in this year’s contest? Will Verona qualify? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Comments on Koit Toome & Laura Release Revamped Version of ‘Verona’ for Estonia!