Last year ERR, the Estonian national broadcaster confirmed an expanded format for Eesti Laul 2022. Over recent weeks, 40 acts became 20 in the new Quarter-Finals round. Today ERR have revealed the full line-ups for both Semi-Finals, as we head towards the live shows in the Saku Suurhall on February 3 and 5.
Eesti Laul 2022
Next month the two Semi-Finals will take place on February 3 and 5 with 10 acts each. From there five songs in each Semi-Final will progress to the final. Both Semi-Finals will have two rounds – winners of the first round will be decided by the jury vote and public votes, and winners of the second round will be decided by public voting only. In total, three acts will be chosen by the jury and two from the public voting in each Semi-Final.
Of course this is the first opportunity to see the remaining 20 acts performing their songs live with full staging. As well as this, the Head Producer of Eesti Laul, Tomi Rahula, has promised some entertaining interval acts to complement the shows.
There will be three live shows, where in addition to this year’s competitors, several other well-known domestic artists will perform in front of the live audience and viewers at home.
Tomi Rahula, (Head Producer, Eesti Laul)
The Grand Final of Eesti Laul 2022 will take place in the Saku Suurhall on February 12, (5pm GMT, 6pm CET, 7pm EET and 4am AEDT). The winner will be decided with two rounds of voting. Firstly, a combined 50/50 jury and public vote to determine the top 3 advancing to the super-final. During the Super-Final, public voting alone will pick the winner to represent Estonia in Turin, this May.
Semi-Final 1:
Below are the 10 acts competing in Semi-Final 1 on February 3, as presented by ERR in alphabetical order.
- Alabama Watchdog – ‘Move On’
- Andrei Zevakin feat. Grete Paia – ‘Mis nüüd saab’
- Elina Nechayeva – “Remedy”
- ELYSA – ‘Fire’
- Helen – ‘Vaatu minu poole’
- Kaia-Liisa Kesler – ‘Vaikus’
- Merilin Mälk – ‘Little Girl’
- Ott Lepland – ‘Aovalguses’
- Stig Rästa – ‘Interstellar’
- Triin Niitoja and Frants Tikerpuu – ‘Laululind’
Semi-Final 2:
Below are the 10 acts competing in Semi-Final 2 on February 5, as presented by ERR in alphabetical order.
- Anna Sahlene – ‘Champion’
- Black Velvet – ‘Sandra’
- Boamadu – ‘Mitte kauaks’
- Evelin Samuel – ‘Waterfall’
- Jaagup Tuisk – ‘Kui vaid’
- Jyrise – ‘Plaksuta’
- Maian – ‘Meeletu’
- Minimal Wind ft. Elisabeth Tiffany – ‘What To Make Of This’
- Púr Múdd & Shira – ‘Golden Shores’
- STEFAN – ‘Hope’
The Semi-Finals will air at 5:15pm GMT, 6:15pm CET, 7:15pm EET and 4:15am AEDT on ETV, which can be viewed here. Meanwhile tickets to attend the shows can be purchased here. Furthermore ERR are planning an additional show called ‘Eesti Laulu’, featuring performances from the Super-Finalists. As of yet there is no date for this show, but it will likely take place between April and May.
Hosting the Semi-Finals
Throughout this Eesti Laul season we have seen former Eurovision representatives turn their hand to hosting duties. Already we have seen previous participants, Tanel Padar, Ines, Uku Suviste, Tanja, Ott Lepland, Laura Põldvere, Jüri Pootsmann and Getter Jaani.
Now for the Semi-Finals it is the turn of Maarja-Liis Ilus, who represented Estonia in 1996 with Ivo Linna on ‘Kaelakee hääl’. Together they placed 5th, Estonia’s best result until 2000. A year later Maarja-Liis returned as a solo artist with, ‘Keelatud maa‘, achieving another top 10 result in 8th. Alongside her as host is actor, Priit Loog. Since graduating from the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy in 2007, Priit has had an illustrious career on stage and screen. In 2020 he won Best Actor at the Estonian Film and Television Awards.
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
The Baltic country made their Eurovision Song Contest debut in 1994, with Silvi Vrait and her song ‘Nagu merelaine’. Since then, Estonia has participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 26 times, reaching the grand final 16 times. Back in 2001 Estonia achieved their first and to date, only victory in the contest with ‘Everybody‘, performed by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL.
In 2020, Estonia selected Uku Suviste to represent Estonia with his song, ‘What Love Is’ which was written by Uku, with Sharon Vaughn and produced by Dimitris Kontopoulos. Unfortunately, the contest was cancelled, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rather than re-select Uku internally, they instead gave him an invitation to compete in Eesti Laul 2021, which he accepted. In a field of 24 acts, Uku won Eesti Laul for the second year in a row with ‘The Lucky One‘. However, this success failed to translate in Rotterdam. Performing 2nd in semi-final two, he finished 13th with 58 points.
Do you see a winner of Eesti Laul 2022 yet? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite Eurovision acts. As well as YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 contest in Turin!
