Welcome readers to the Eesta Laul Final coming live from Saaku Suurhall. Thank you to Wayne and Ronny for the great lead-ins with the semi-final write-ups. Tonight starts with a snappy children’s choir singing Victor Crone’s 2019 entry “Storm.” They are joined on stage by the 12 finalists who sing along. After the song each finalist is introduced while the teenagers dance behind them. We move quickly to the songs.
1. Inger - ONLY DREAM -
Inger makes an attempt to liven up his mellow song with a hyper speed graphic opening that fades into him slowly strumming guitar. It’s an earnest song and as expected he sings from back of his throat. His yellow turtleneck matches his yellow socks. More on those later…The crowd sways and waves their phone lights. A very earnest, bland performance.
The postcard intro shows him walking through Estonia with his cute dog. I love dogs! The song starts with him on a stage out in the crowd. Solid vocals through first chorus. Uninspired staging and quickly forgotten.
The crowd sways as the song starts with their phone lights already out. This performance is basically a staring contest between Stefan and the camera to see who can go longest without blinking. His vocals are on point throughout including the frequent falsetto, but another slow song to start the show. Where is the energy?
4. Synne Valtri feat. Väliharf - MAJAKAD
Was that a ROCK ACCORDION? We’ve got smoke, we’ve got lighting, we’ve got a sparkling dress. I’m waking up! She sings the first verse; the rock accordion and acoustic guitarist sing the second. The crowd appears to be enjoying this. I can see the live audience enjoying this number in Rotterdam.
5. Uudo Sepp - I’M SORRY I MESSED UP
…aaaand back to a sleeper with another song full of feels. Not the strongest vocals to start out. The lyrics of the chorus are displayed on the LED screen, to little effect. The final chorus brings backing vocalists and a bit more power from Uudo. But overall still did not leave a strong impression.
His intro shows him expertly playing his song on piano…who knew he had such skill? And those blue eyes – he’s like a Siberian Husky! The staging starts with him alone on stage, then builds nicely into the first chorus with candlelight below and an array of lights lowering from the ceiling. For the second verse we get smoke effects, more lighting tricks, and continued strong vocals. Though not my personal favorite I understand it being a fan favorite with the catchy chorus and strong delivery.
Another dog in the intro! Estonian’s love dogs! The song starts with her at the piano, but she quickly makes her way center stage for the first chorus. A powerful wind machine kicks off in second chorus along with falling rain on the LED screens. She falls a little pitchy on the “whooahh”s but overall brought decent vocals.
8. Anett x Fredi - WRITE ABOUT ME
Beware - this song has some EXTREME CLOSE UPS of Anett! She’s calm, cool, and has a jazz vocalist feel to her delivery. The song is pleasant, enjoyable. The little horn/saxophone crew is a nice touch on stage. But like many of the prior acts this doesn’t pack a punch. and would make a nice opportunity for a bathroom break in Rotterdam.
9. Jaagup Tuisk - BEAUTIFUL LIE
Here we have the bookie’s favorite to win, will he live up to the hype? Vocals are solid through the first chorus - and the camera work and lighting maintain interest. The backing vocals hit with a little too much “oomph” and drown him out in the first chorus. The visual effects of the augmented reality rain bring that memorable “moment” that many of the earlier acts lacked.
The intro features them playing their instruments in a town square, picking up some coin donations in the process. So if they don’t win – at least there is that. A piano, singer, and guitarist kick off the song. It has a catchy piano backing, and the pianist has a wicked sleeve tattoo. The split screen and swivel camera work can be a little dizzying. We see Stig Rästa on stage, who is basically Estonian Eurovision royalty. A good song – could this benefit from being the first in Estonian?
11. Egret Milder - GEORGIA ON MY MIND
The song starts with our singer at a multi-colored upright piano, singing well while playing along. By the second verse he’s standing and interacting with the crowd and camera audience. He looks to be having a genuinely good time, and shows his happiness by jumping up on the piano. The crowd sings along, seems to be into it. Still a bit of a sleeper to me.
Her video intro is in an upside-down house. I want to go to there. The song has an interesting start with Laura all in white, laying on a white backdrop and fighting some shadow hands. Turns out it is all pre-recorded and she appears (live) during the chorus dressed in black. This reminds of Victor Crone and the mix of live and pre-recorded video. I wonder what the limits are on this? Her voice is good throughout and she hits the high notes.
Of the 12, the standouts for me are the ones that brought visual interest and energy: Majakad, What Love Is, Beautiful Lie, and Üks Kord veel. However if I were voting based only on the Estonian dogs seen so far, then it would be Shira’s dog followed by Siberian Husky Uku and finally Rasmus’s dog.
After a news program airs for several minutes we are back and witness a fun electro interval act from Púr Múdd followed by jury votes. It’s tough to see a runaway favorite from the jury as 12 points get awarded to Jaagup Tuisk, Egret Milder, Uku Suviste, Annet x Fredi, Stefan…Once all Jury votes are counted Annet x Fredi are in the lead followed by Jaagup and then Shira. Jury vote totals are translated to the 12 point system.
Ahead of the public vote we get a visit from Koit Toome (Estonia 2017, “Verona”). They play a guessing game to match random items to the finalist they belong to. Inger’s yellow sock proves to be a problematic match. Next the host sings an interval act song and all the finalists dance. It looks fun and I’m sure everyone is as relaxed as they appear.
Now the public vote. Announced in low-to-high order of combined public and jury votes:
0 for Rasmus, 1 for Laura. 0 for Uudo. 4 for Synne. 5 for Inger. 2 for Stefan. 3 for Shira. 6 for Traffic. Four acts remain and together have the top combined points, but only three can continue to the Super Finale. They are:
Jaagup Tuisk.
Annet x Fredi.
Uku Suviste
So goodbye Egret! And hello MORE VOTING! A rock interval act from Tanel Padar passes the time. Then a “name that song” game with the super finalists. And then Anne Veski for one final sparkly, dancy 3-song medley interval act.
FINAL RESULTS! 3rd place to Annet x Fredi. 2nd place to Jaagup.
WINNER IS UKU SUVISTE!
He heads to the stage for his reprise. In the pre-song interview he seems genuinely emotional about the win. Thanks for reading all! All images from etv OTSE.