Live streams and Eurovision go hand in hand — and Estonia might just have given us one of the most bizarre ones yet. As the Eesti Laul 2017 deadline passed on November 1, broadcaster ERR set up a live-stream of a box in their reception area. This wasn’t just any box, though: inside were official submissions for Eesti Laul 2017!

Acts had to hand-deliver their submissions if they wanted to have their songs put forward in the competition, giving us a chance to look at who might be involved. In all, ERR confirmed that 242 entries were received, slightly up on the 238 entries from last year.

Who submitted songs to Eesti Laul?

Whilst ERR did interview some of the acts present, nobody was required to make a big public declaration. Indeed, the acts themselves didn’t necessarily have to be the ones putting the songs in the box. So long as it was in there, they could just about send anyone. Maybe Stig Rasta was busy and sent his next-door neighbour? Who knows! Some faces were slightly more recognisable though, and we put together a handy collage of people that appeared on the stream:

A couple of people stick out to us, y’all. The lady with the crazy hair is Laura Prits, lead singer of rock group Ziggy Wild. The group were formed in 2012 and have made several appearances on ERR programs in the past few years. It would be their first attempt at Eesti Laul, should they make it through.

Also handing in a song was Rasmus Randvee. Rasmus was the winner of Estonia’s version of Idol in 2012, beating a certain Elina Born in the final. Rasmus then returned to his group, Facelift Deer, who took part in Eesti Laul 2013 with the song “Dance”, where they finished seventh. The band have been inactive for over a year now, though, and Rasmus will be competing as a solo act should he make it through.

Helina Risti of 2016 entrants Zebra Island also dropped in a submission. The very last person to submit their song was also a shock. Daniel Levi, 2015 runner-up, arrived eight minutes late, but due to traffic was allowed to enter after all. Without the juggernaut of “Goodbye to Yesterday” in his way, could American-born Daniel have a chance this year?

Other names for Eesti Laul 2017

September saw an Estonian songwriting “camp”, where a number of Estonian stars worked together with acts from Sweden and the United Kingdom. Names involved included former ESC stars Ott Lepland, Ines and Getter Jaani. Rasmus Randvee also took part, perhaps a hint as to where his entry has come from. Other names included Liis Lemsalu and Grete Paia, no strangers to Estonian fans either.

As we talked about when submissions opened, this year allowed for non-Estonians to be involved to some degree in the contest. The camp could indeed have created some real potential hits for Estonia therefore!

Don’t worry though. You don’t have long to wait to find out who made it through. ERR have confirmed that the semi finalists will be revealed on November 8. That gives the acts plenty of time to prepare, too. The Eesti Laul 2017 semi-finals will take place on the 11th and 18th of February at ERR studios. The final will take place on the 4th of March at the Saku Arena.

Are you excited by the acts linked to this year’s contest in Estonia? Let us know in the comments section below!

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Héctor
Héctor
8 years ago

Not too much songs, but most of them have very good quality!

mina
mina
8 years ago

Stig Rästa submitted a song as well, camera didn’t caught him because he brought it to the other part of the TV house in purpose to avoide attention. Rasmus Rändvee’s song is going to be a hit I’m telling you. There’s a little clip on the internet and it sounds amazing.

Adam
Adam
8 years ago

Eesti Laul in my opinion has the highest quality of songs out of any ESC national final (even better than MelFest). I remember 2015 and how I thought most of the songs in the national final alone could easily place in the top 5.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
8 years ago

Hopefully this will be Laura Remmel’s year. The good sis has been robbed so many times…

el
el
8 years ago

Actually Stig Rästa revealed in an interview today evening that he and Vallo Kikas did indeed submit a song as songwriters, he said that he made it early so cameras didn’t catch him. We don’t know who the artist is yet though. I personally have high hopes for Rasmus Rändvee (btw Facelift Deer disbanded), a short clip of his song was revealed on Ringvaade after the Eesti Laul songwriting camp took place and it sounded very promising. Also the girl from Ziggy Wild said that she is taking part as a soloist. I have a feeling Eesti Laul 2017 will… Read more »