At the closing of the submission window, the Estonian Broadcaster (ERR) revealed that it received 258 submissions for the 2018 edition of Eesti Laul, beating 2017 figures.
Interest in Eesti Laul going strong
Estonia may have failed to qualify for the grand final for the past two years, but interest for Eesti Laul isn’t slowing down. On the contrary, ERR received 16 entries more than they did for the 2017 show. Mart Normet, the producer of the show, is very pleased with the submissions success. He also noted that:
” Every year more and more songs are submitted to Eesti Laul which is a very good indicator of trust, and I thank all the musicians who submitted their songs to us today. ”
New rules for songs selection
EER has added some changes to last year’s pre-jury work to select the 20 competing entries. The pre-jury now includes 15 music experts from Estonia and abroad, up from 11 in 2017. Each member will individually listen to the songs through a personal link and assign a score between 0 and 5. The top 15 songs will proceed to the live shows. The editorial staff of Eesti Laul will select the remaining 5 entries. According to Normet, editorial staff will avoid re-voting and controversy among the pre-jury, that “historically selects 15 songs in a mathematical consensus.”
EER will reveal the successful entries on 19-20 December on their website. The 10th edition of Eesti Laul will consist of three shows: two semi-finals on February 10 and 17 and a grand final in Saku Suurhall on March 3. As we previously reported, a combination of televoting and jury voting will select the winning entry.
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Estonia first appeared at Eurovision in 1994 with Silvi Vrait and, with the exception of 1995, it participated every year. It won the contest by surprise in 2001 with “Everybody” performed by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL. Following the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, the country failed to qualify until it introduced Eesti Laul in 2009. Using Eesti Laul, Estonia qualified on five occasions. This year, Koit Toome and Laura represented Estonia in Kyiv with their charming entry “Verona”. Despite being fan favorites, the song failed to reach the grand final, finishing 14th with 85 points.
Are you looking forward to Eesti Laul? Who would you like to win Estonia’s ticket for Lisbon? What is your favorite Estonian entry so far? Let us know in the comment section below, or on Facebook!
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