The race for Eurovision in Estonia is on. The first semi-final of Eesti Laul 2020 saw 12 acts sing their hearts out, but only six were able to advance to the finals. Rasmus Rändvee, STEFAN, Laura, Anett x Fredi, Egert Milder and Synne Valtri & Väliharf will be heading to the grand final.
Eesti Laul 2020: Semi-Final One Results
The grand final qualifiers were decided using two rounds of voting. First, a jury panel and televote decided the top eight out of the 12 acts. Those eight faced a further round of televoting where the top six qualified for the grand final.
After the first round of voting, the first four qualifiers were Rasmus Rändvee with”Young”, Anett x Fredi with “Write About Me”, Egert Milder with “Georgia (On My Mind)” and Synne Valtri & Väliharf with “Majakad”.
The final two qualifiers were decided by the Estonian public alone. Joining the qualifiers were Stefan with”By My Side” and Laura with “Break Me”.
Anett x Fredi – “Write About Me”
Anette Kulbin and Frederik Küüts have teamed up for the song “Write About Me”. This was one of the favourites in the Wiwi Jury, with several jurors giving it their top rank for the semi-final.
Egert Milder – “Georgia (On My Mind)”
Egert Milder’s ode to the nation of Georgia also made it to the grand final. He gave a lively performance, giving a unique interpretation of a singer getting on top of a piano.
Laura – “Break Me”
She was lost in Verona back in 2017, failing to get Estonia to the Final of Eurovision but Laura was set to break that curse. And she did so by qualifying for the grand final.
Rasmus Rändvee – “Young”
Rasmus entered this semi-final as the frontrunner, so it’s no surprise he advanced to the grand final. He was the bookies favorite to win the semi-final and had respectable reviews from our panel of in-house bloggers.
STEFAN – “By My Side”
Eesti Laul veteran Stefan gave a stirring performance of his ballad “By My Side”, showcasing his strong and characteristic vocal. The 2019 jury vote winner will have another chance to impress audiences at the grand final.
Synne Valtri & Väliharf – “Majakad”
Schlager queen Synne Valtri teamed up with the bearded folk duo Väliharf. Their song “Majakad” created Viking-Schlager — a genre no one knew they needed until this evening.
On Saturday, 12 more acts will take to the stage in the hopes of joining tonight’s qualifiers on February 29 final of Estonia’s Eesti Laul.
Eesti Laul 2020 – Semi-final one qualifiers
- Rasmus Rändvee “Young” (Round one qualifier)
- Anett Kulbin & Fredi “Write About Me” (Round one qualifier)
- Egert Milder “Georgia (On My Mind)” (Round one qualifier)
- Synne Valtri & Väliharf “Majakad” (Round one qualifier)
- Stefan “By My Side” (Round two qualifier)
- Laura Põldvere “Break Me” (Round two qualifier)
- Kruuv “Leelo”
- INGA “Right Time”
- Revals “Kirjutan romaani”
- Renate “Videomäng”
- Little Mess “Without a Reason”
- Jennifer Cohen “Ping Pong”
- Synne Valtri & Väliharf “Majakad”
What do you think of this week’s qualifiers? Do you think the winner is among them? Let us know in the comment section below.
Egert offered the best live performance by far, the only polished “ESC-ready” performance of the semi, and he’s a very charismatic performer. Rasmus was indeed disappointing but his song was good enough to get him through hopefully he can up his game for the final. Laura, Stefan, Synne, and Anett x Fredi are all logical qualifiers given the live perfs (even if Stefan’s song is still pretty weak), although I thought Revals were very good too, could’ve been a surprise qualifier imo. Jennifer and Renate mucked up her vocals, Little Mess lived up to their name, and Inga and Kruuv… Read more »
What the hell happened to Rasmus? I remember he was great live back when he was a superfinalist. But this performance is quite a mess. It’s like he is ill or something because he is really struggling. And yeah overall he’s just walking here and there. So weird. Anyway it is the best song in the bunch in its studio version.
He’ll be fine in the finals. He’s an excellent vocalist. He had a fast choreo. Plus, most of them sounded worse than in the studio version due to poor sound system in the semi. Too bad.
He had problems with the audio. I’m quite sure, he’ll do better in the final.
They still haven’t fixed the audio issues from last year. I’m surprised as they seemed to have everything working by last year’s final but this was almost as bad as the 2019 SF1.
A lot of the acts just didn’t sound professional vocally. This seemed to affect the “pop” singers more than other genres as Jennifer and Little Mess really struggled. To a lesser extent, Synne, Rasmus and Stefan were all not at that best either. Hopefully, they’ll get this worked out before the final.
The semi-finals are being held in a different place than the final.
That might be it.
Same Semi Final location as last year though, right?
Jeez, Rasums looks so nervous and his vocal is shaky. Disappointing.
I’m glad that Anett & Fredi made it, my favorite song and performance of the semi. I also like Rasmus’ song, though his performance could be better and more focused. I trust he’ll get there in the final. On the other hand, I’m not a fan of Stefan’s song, but he gave a convincing performance and I was expecting him to qualify in the 1st round of voting. The only act that hasn’t qualified and I think should move on was Inga (though it was weird how for a while the camera forgot about her to focus on one of… Read more »
I also really like “Write About Me” as a song. 🙂
It’s simple, but sweet and effective. The fact in the end she’s the one who wrote the song about her loved one is a nice touch.
Semi winner is Anett, Rasmus or Egert. But which one? And will that translate into the finals? Also, I’m starting to think that Majakad might be real threat to the win. Both Verona and Storm only qualified when combining televote with the jury vote. That means that the viewers really pushed for it.
Who do you predict to qualify in the second semi? I predict Jaagup, Uku, Shira, Uudo, Traffic and Inger.
Round One: Jaagup, Uku, Inger, Shira
Round Two: Merilin, Traffic
I don’t remember some of the songs, but I guess you’re right, Colin. The first one seemed more open. On the other hand, there’s a big chance the second will bring the winner.
Jaagup, Uku, Shira, Uudo, Traffic and Inger might be true from second semi to go through to the Saku Suurall Grand Final, in Tallinn.
Egert Milder Georgia (On My Mind) is my favorite.
lauras performance was very weird with that videopart especially at the beginning – than microproblems too? some voice songparts a touch too much but after that battle she is still in the game. 🙂 the final will be a new day and a new contest but WTF where is the fu-cking banjo on the stage? that banjo makes this song so different & unique,so a banjoplayer belongs on the stage! what for a mistake!!! her dressing was not the right choice – very hot but maybe too sexy ? – i love sexy ladies but for this song hmmm? the… Read more »
I love Laura but I think her vocals are getting worse with time!… She was really awful live, no energy whatsoever, and those falsettos are the worst I have ever heard- she should stop trying to do them.
I think Rasmus shouldn’t run that much in the audience in his performance. He should focus more on the song.
Egert is very good. Rest is a bit meh. Estonia choose wisely!
Just discovered Majakad. Sounds like an ESC entry from the 80ies. My new guilty pleasure! 🙂
I’m okay with the six qualifiers, I’ll admit I don’t have a clear favorite in the whole Estonia selection this year. But I do like Egert and Synne &Väliharf ‘s songs the most outta the six qualifiers of this semi. After hearing all the second semi participants live I’ll might be better able to pick a favorite? I dunno just none of the songs this year really speak to me. Anyways congratulations to the qualifiers.
Egert really surprised me with his performance! I think this could be a dark horse to win if Jaagup flops live. It has a very catchy hook but they need to restructure the song to fit in a bridge and another chorus.
I believe that Estonia made generally right choices today, even if I wish Renate qualified too. Rasmus has my favorite song + he is usually superb live. Today he was…good. Not fully his usual stellar self, but still good. He might have been nervous or was running a lot, it can all be fixed on 29th. He CAN and I’m sure, will do better. This was still fairly solid and high expectations had their due. Stefan was vocally amazing and his song is very touching. I’m sorry he only made it through second round. Laura’s song is fairly median, but… Read more »
The flip side comments: P.S. I hope Rasmus is okay; that vocal really worried me. Hugs for him. I am so sad for Renate too; nervous vocals after she worked so hard to get to this stage. But well done for making it through the song anyhow. Little Mess and Kruuv did almost nothing wrong, so it is unfortunate that they are out at this stage – I felt that they deserved to qualify. Jennifer Cohen got better as she went along, but the vocals were not as good as the competition. As for Revals, they were very good, I’m… Read more »
I’ll be honest and say that Jennifer Cohen is the only one I noticed to have a bit shaky vocal in live, even if I would never call it bad. I think Rasmus did pretty well, but not as flawless as he did three years ago. Combination of quite poor sound system, nerves and fast choreo. Inga and Kruuv did very well on stage. I believe the songs were just not as strong in comparison to tougher competition. I do think that Inga could win Eesti laul in the future. She is young and really talented. A Little Mess were… Read more »
I just re-listened to the live version of Young and I honestly don’t find it bad. He was actually fairly good, but the expectations were really high. He seemed a bit nervous at one point near the middle, but aside that, I think it goes a lot on the poor sound system. It affected several contestants to a certain degree.
Inga was amazing in live. I just don’t find her song as exciting. But I do see her winning EL at some point.
I haven’t checked out the performances yet, but based on the songs themselves, I’m glad Write About Me got through. Definitely one of my faves! Also happy for Rasmus, Egert, and Synne.
Congratulations to all of the qualifiers. There is a lot to talk about with this Semi, but I will leave the more polarising opinions to other commenters tonight. I’m feeling quite exhausted.
Hurrah!!
Egert Milder Georgia (On My Mind) through in round 1.
I was hoping for this result
My favourite song in this year’s Eesti Laul by a long way!!
Wishing you the best in the final.
Do the right thing Estonia!!!
By the way, some side updates on other ESC things: – Croatia won’t be putting out the Dora entries before the show (so all the naysayers saying Croatia won’t qualify can shut their traps, we don’t know anything) – Poland changed the rules of their show mid-selection (which is weird, but makes sense kinda) and the new ones seem to bode ominously for Albert Cerny. (Remember how once upon a time Poland cared so little about Eurovision that random Swedes and Americans and Brits with no Polish connection whatsoever regularly competed in their shows? How times change.) – Israel put… Read more »
Thanks, Joe! Speaking of Dora, Opatija is already decorated with crystal Dora trophies. It looks cool! 🙂
And Fai Rumore… YES! 🙂
Thank you, I really appreciate your comments 🙂
Do you also have any information regarding the dates when the internally selected songs will be released? I mean besides France, Belgium and Austria?
You’re welcome! And sadly, no. I got this all from another fansite.
Hmm, no problem! I just know that both Austria’s and the Netherlands’ song will probably be released on the 4th of March.
Could it have been the Voix of Euro, by any chance? The most reliable source of ESC news by far.
That’s the one! Probably one of the most trustworthy ones out there. (Besides Wiwibloggs, of course).
(I will never speak ill of Wiwi since I’d actually like to work here one day. Don’t even care that they ranked Amar pelos dois mid-table back in 2017, nobody’s perfect!)
I think that you and Skiwalko would make fantastic additions to the Wiwibloggs team, as you both are extremely knowledgeable on everything Eurovision, and you both give well-thought, meticulously written, positive comments, which actually add and improve the article’s content. Furthermore, your comments are always well-received among the readers, as evidenced by high up-votes and large responses to them. I would also throw into the mix other commenters, like Sabrina, Azaad, etc. Overall, I believe that there is a large talent pool of potential Wiwibloggs journalists here in the comments section. Wiwibloggs should get some new blood in 2020. Maybe… Read more »
Aw, well, the folks here with positive contributions to the Eurovision discourse are what keep me coming back, even when stans and naysayers and Brexit Career Women try to take the fun away – but, as Lucia Perez would say, they can’t take the fun I’ve had away from me! (Only she said it in Spanish, but you get it). I’d love to see some of us get a boost like that. You’ve got great contributions yourself! (Although by your criteria, “good frequent commenters” may translate as “the same people who basically live-blogged Sanremo like maniacs.” In the best way,… Read more »
By the way here’s a whole breakdown of SnS rules’ changes, if you’re interested (it’s in Polish, but I hope Google Translate will do), there have been quite a lot of them, actually:
eurowizja.org/szansa-na-sukces-eurowizja-2020-tvp-nowy-regulamin-zmiany/
About Poland, I’m glad that in the end we never sent anyone of those people you mentioned. I’d say our least Polish act was Isis Gee in 2008 since she was just an American with Polish roots, and judging by some of her interviews she doesn’t really speak the language.
She still had an excellent song and has made Poland proud.
I guess by virtue of qualifying when they wouldn’t see another qualification for six years. Other than that, not much to write home about. She would’ve finished joint-last if it weren’t for tie-breaker rules. (Although apparently she appeared on an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show with fellow Eurovision contestants Julio Iglesias, Celine Dion…and ABBA, supposedly. I’m guessing they meant some amalgamation of 2/4 of ABBA? In any case, 1) of all the Eurovision contestants, she was the one who got to appear with arguably the three most successful contestants ever, save maybe for Cliff Richard, and 2) apparently not… Read more »
I agree, contest-wise, For Life was a medium success. I just meant that it was in my personal top 5 of the year.
It was a pretty good song
My mistake: the rules actually made it EASIER for Albert to compete! The rule used to be that you had to have Polish citizenship (which Albert managed to sneak by), but they got rid of it, so he’s even more OK.
Egert was my favourite before the show and he still is. Really like Georgia.
I’m also pleased with Write about me qualifying.
Rasmus was a bit disappoing live
Not surprised Synne got so much support from Estonian televote with her vocals/presence and with this kind of song.
kinda bummed for little mess, i somehow love their song and the uk girl group vibes it gives! the results have been quite shocking, i was expecting laura and stefan to go to the final directly from the first round, guess we can rule em out.
I was hoping they’d (Little Mess) be good too. But the redhead girl was off pitch and so the harmonies didn’t work.
Just saying, if Egert wins this thing somehow, he got the break of a lifetime by having Georgia voting in Estonia’s semi-final.
I was really underwhelmed by this semi. The vocals were awfully subpar, and the production was nonexistant. Hopefully the second semi is better because I’m afraid to say, Estonia could miss out on the final this year at eurovision despite being drawn in the (presumably) weaker semi.
Second semi is still coming soon. How quickly we forget that we haven’t heard the mondo-hyped Jaagup perform “Beautiful Lie” yet. If he performs it live as well as he did in the studio cut, you bet your butt Estonia’s going to qualify.
That’s true. Jaagup will definately be the major stand out of semi 2 and tbh Estonia’s last hope of a top 10 finish in eurovision. His vocals are definately good as I did watch an acoustic version of his song, but I’m just concerned that some people will view it as an Arcade “copy” (which I don’t get at all) and subsequently not vote for it. I just hope his performance will be better than the ones we’ve witnessed today…