Estonia has a new head of Eesti Laul, the country’s popular national selection. The Estonian broadcaster (ERR) revealed that Tomi Rahula will replace former head Mart Normet.
No stranger to the competition
Tomi Rahula is an established musician, composer and producer. He is also no stranger to Eesti Laul and Eurovision. In fact, in 2011 he participated in the competition together with 2015 entrant Stig Rasta as part of Outloudz. They came second behind Getter Jaani. Besides, he was also one of the composer of the Eurovision 1998 Estonian entry “Mere lapsed” performed by Koit Toome. Mart Normet who headed Eesti Laul since its inception in 2009 was also the country’s HoD. While it is not yet confirmed, it is likely Rahula will also take on that responsibility.
Goal is to make the event even better
Mr. Rahula in an interview to ERR didn’t hide his hopes to take the show to the next level saying:
I decided to take part because I felt that I was prepared to make the whole event even better than it has been so far, with my experience and musical background. In order to have a very good musical performance, there would be a lot of new aspects to Eesti Laul in order to get closer to the artists and songwriters who have moved away from this event. This would be my greatest challenge and why I wanted to do it.
He also stressed on the fact that while the show is already strong, it is important that it remains up to date. When asked about his plans to make the show better he stated:
”I will put my team in place with a view to getting on with things in Autumn […] However not all the changes can be introduced in one go… This is a very good TV show already; the goal is simply to make it even better.”
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 six occasions. This year, Elina Nechayeva represented the country with her operatic pop entry “La Forza”. It placed 8th in the grand final with 245 points, giving Estonia its first final and top 10 placing since 2015.
Are you looking forward to Eesti Laul? Do you think Estonia can win again soon? What is your favourite Estonian entry so far?
Let us know in the comments below or on social media @ESCXTRA.
