The submission period for the Estonian national final Eesti Laul has closed, and the show’s producers have revealed that the 2015 total has surpassed the 2014 total by 19 entries. But not only that – the Eesti Laul team are moving fast and will soon have the semi-finalist selected, to be announced on Thursday night.
It seems that the Estonian broadcaster ERR is still putting a lot of effort into Eurovision. After the buzz surrounding Elina and Stig’s entry “Goodbye to Yesterday” (it was the Wiwi Jury’s top pick!) and its decent seventh-place finish, it’s no surprise that Estonia would still have their sights set on a second win.
Eesti Laul producers also moved the entry deadline to earlier in the year so they would have more time to focus on promotion and staging for the national final.
Show producer Mart Normet explained, “Elina and Stig have raised the bar greatly in both a local and international level. We are hoping that this year we will also have strong and timeless songs in the selection.” We hope so too!
With the record 238 entries safely at Eesti Laul HQ, a panel of 11 music professionals will now listen to all the songs and choose the best 20. We’re guessing they’ll be doing this right now, as the 20 semi-finalists have to be chosen by Thursday, 5 November. They’ll be announced on the chat show Ringvaade, which starts at 19:00 Estonian time (18:00 CET).
We’ll have three months to get to know the lucky 20. The semi-finals will be held on 13 and 20 February 2016, with the grand final held on 5 March.
Who should represent Estonia in 2016?
Inspired by Estonia’s all-star ESC promo video, we asked you who you’d like to see come back to represent Estonia again. So far the top three are Sandra Nurmsalu (20.32%), Elina and Stig (16.12%) and Ott Lepland (13.17%).
Or should Estonia pick a fresh act for 2016? Who would you like to see in the top 20 on Thursday? Share your thoughts below!
And here are the 20:
http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=who_are_the_hopefuls_to_represent_estonia
As an Estonian I wish that Jüri Pootsmann, Daniel Levi or Cartoon will be one of 20 lucky ones. I’m so excited. Eesti laul will be bigger than ever 🙂
aww the promo is adorable! love it!
I hope Teele Viira to come back, also Daniel Levi and Lenna Kuurmaa.
It would be nice to see Ott Lepland, Maarja and Ines.
@Jesper @CookyMonzta
They definitely didin’t submit a song together, Stig said in an recent interview at the shoot of the eesti laul promo clip that he will probably take part in 2016 only as a songwriter. I don’t know about Elina though.
@Jesper: Separately or together? Or maybe, solo AND duo songs, in the hopes that one and/or both make the final 20?
I hope Sandra Nurmsalu and Lenna Kuurmaa try again.
Elina and Stig submitted a song too if it’s correct. They’ve been hinting on their twitter account lately @ElinaStig