Estonia is one country that is wasting no time as they move into national final season. Broadcaster ERR has now released the 24 songs competing in Eesti Laul 2019 — and this year, all 24 songs have a music video.
The songs were debuted on a television special, Eesti Laul 2019. Start. For the first time, all competing Eesti Laul entries had a music video made — some put together in a very short timeframe.
Eesti Laul producer Tomi Rahula said, “The artists also took this challenge very well. The videos were made in a short time, but they are very cool and are the faces of artists, songs and makers. For everyone!”
Seven of the 24 videos were made by students at the Baltic Film, Media, Arts and Communication School of Tallinn University, giving the students a chance to get experience working on a high-profile project.
The semi-finals of Eesti Laul 2019 will be held on January 31 and February 2 2019, at the Sports Hall of Tartu University. The grand final will be in the usual venue of Saku Suurhall in Tallinn on February 16th.
Eesti Laul 2019 – Competing songs
Please note: songs are listed here in alphabetical order. The running order of the two semi-finals has not yet been decided.
Semi-final one
- INGER – “Coming Home”
- Jennifer Cohen – “Little Baby El”
- Johanna Eendra – “Miks sa teed nii?”
- Marko Kaar – “Smile”
- ÖED – “Öhuloss”
- Ranele – “Supernova”
- Sandra Nurmsalu – “Soovide puu”
- SOFIA RUBINA (ft. JANIKA TENN) – “Deep Water”
- STEFAN – “Without You”
- The Swingers, Tanja & Birgit – “High Heels in the Neighbourhood”
- Victor Crone – “Storm”
- xtra basic & Emily J – “Hold Me Close”
Semi-final two
- Around The Sun – “Follow Me Back”
- Cätlin Mägi & Jaan Pehk – “Parmumäng”
- Iseloomad – “Kaks miinust”
- Grete Paia – “Kui isegi kaotan”
- Kadiah – “Believe”
- Kaia Tamm – “Wo sind die Katzen?”
- Kerli Kivilaan – “Cold Love”
- Lacy Jay – “Halleluja”
- Lumevärv ft. INGA – “Milline päev”
- Sissi – “Strong”
- Synne Valtri – “I’ll Do It My Way”
- Uku Suviste – “Pretty Little Liar”
What do you think? What entries do you like the best? Which song should represent Estonia in Tel Aviv?
Again, EL is one of the best and most modern NFs…
If it’s not Sandra, there’s a lot of perfect options…
I say Halleluja to Lacy Jay. She’s so professional and the song doesn’t feel like it’s Estonian, it’s international with a message. She’s my winner. My last place is Synne Valtri with “My Way”.
I love the songs from Grete Paja, Uku Suviste and Victor Crone??
This is weird. When I heard the songs last year everyone knew Elina would win from the beginning. But this selection is wrecking my head.
Storm is my favorite of the songs.
And isn’t Tanya(2014) & Birgit (2013), competing together with the swingers? Anyways, Wiwi are you going to make a reaction video to the songs? Would be intresting to hear your thoughts and opinons on the songs.
Kerli Kivilaan – “Cold Love”
I’ve found some songs that have the exact same chorus as this one. It’s like they’re ripping off one after another.
The Vamps – Hideaway
Jason Zhang – Pretty White Lies
Fais – Make Me Do
My previous comment with YouTube links is still waiting for moderation, so I don’t include the links here. You guys can check it out on YouTube.
Yeah, I see more posted on her youtube comments already.
Usually, unless it’s a full 1 to 1 copypaste of melody, it’s not counted as plagiarised and here it’s got different finisher in chorus hook. Idk if their team is not going to explain for themselves, they’ll only face more accusations.
Cold Love has that dreamy and gentle appeal and Kerli Kivilaan is sweet, I definitely want song to fight for the highest. Also, Kaks Miinust, HHitN, Soovide Puu should’ve grace final, yet the latter cure my sighs for this radiofriendly line-up (ugh that new vision).
Kerli Kivilaan – “Cold Love”
I’ve found some songs that have the exact same chorus as this one. It’s like they’re ripping off one after another.
The Vamps – Hideaway
https://youtu.be/UMfAFHpgqiE
Jason Zhang – Pretty White Lies
https://youtu.be/hkckWjLNf4w
Fais – Make Me Do
https://youtu.be/AZb6tDvn-MQ
Well.
Disappointing compared to last year!
There’s obviously no heroic song like “La Forza” (who deserved better btw), but there’s no real interesting pieces like, guilty pleasure, Girls in Pearls’ “Spellbound”.
Only Greta Paia, Lumevärv, Sandra Nurmsalu and Victor Crone may pretend to sth interesting. But I’m not that optimistic… :/
Am I the only one here who is absolutely *living* for Parmumäng?
Yes you are!
Sandra, Jennifer Cohen, Johanna, and Uku Suviste But Lacy Jay & Around the Sun to me are the best. Stefan really disappointed me with this Human cover :(((((((((((((
Follow Me Back – vapid song with cringe lyrics. Also you can’t drop social media names so they’d have to change some of the lyrics, which would be a good thing considering how awful they are. Parmumang – they probably thought “wow, let’s make something different, it’ll surely stand out,” but it’s really that type of song that nobody ends up liking and finishes last in the semi-final. In other words, it’s just bad. Kaks miinust – unremarkable. Kui isegi kaotan – I’m as surprised as you are: we finally have a listenable song! Grete Paia never disappoints. Strong production,… Read more »
the selection last year was much better
Coming Home – meh, very flat and uninteresting, and I don’t really like her voice. Little Baby El – cute concept, but the song lacks charm. Underwhelming vocal performance. Miks sa teed nii? – the production is very 2015 (enough with that type of post-chorus drop), with a little revamp this can do something in the competiton. Smile – uhh, pretty much the opposite from what I like. It’s like Juri Pootsmann on steroids. Ohuloss – a song about Snapchat and Tinder? I have to cringe. Kristel Aaslaid wasting her potential like this smh long gone are the gold Immortality… Read more »
I can say these are not really supposed to be stand-outs. Yet, we have only seen two NF groups so far, awaiting FiK to release their songs. Basically, if the other NFs are also this ‘weak’ because of the Israel effect, expect Eesti Laul to be one of the strongest selection.
My winner is Tanja, Birgit and The Swingers.
My last place is Sandra Nurmsalu.
Sigh. I’ve been noticing something. Can all these countries stop trying to find an Ed Sheeran 2.0? Yeah, i’m talking about the blonde kid with his christmas video and his guitar. This is gonna make me cringe so bad i can already tell. I’ve had enough with Germany, France (the cute kid) and Ireland last year. Yes, he’s one of the most successful singers of this decade but it’s getting predictable and it’s pretty f*cking annoying now. I hope the UK wont do the same.
FYI, that blonde kid is actually “she”, not “he”. And ironically, Ed Sheeran is indeed one of her inspiration so go figure. Also I agree with your statement.
My winner : xtra Basic & Emily J – hold me Close
THE BEST. I DONT KNOW WHY EVERYONE IS NOT FREAKING OUT THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE BOP. ESTONIA YOU BETTER PICK THIS RIGHT NOW!!! And i hope the girl can sing it live ffs…dont be a disappointment
I’m just worried because it’s like Desiree last year. Electronic bop, liked by many but disappointed live and crashed out in the Eesti Laul semis.
Around The Sun “Follow Me Back”
I like it but I have a feeling that this wont work live and it breaks my heart…
It more feels like a fun arrangement been wasted on mediocrity of lyrics and vocals…
Lacy Jay – “Halleluja” The best from semi final 2. Gives me top 5 vibes for sure. it’s the only one that is original and different. With the right performance and visuals, she can slay.
Although it is unlikely that it wins in Estonia.. one of the most Atheistic country in the world.
SISSI – STRONG ( I CAN’T GO ON 2.0)
Pretty decent line-up if you ask me, very radiofriendly. Though it’s true none of them scream winner alert. But I don’t usually like winner entries so there are some songs I’m happy to discover even if they won’t win. This is my ranking after listening all of them (ranking Eurovision songs season has officially begun 😀 ): SEMIFINAL 1: 1. STEFAN – Without you (Love it, maybe it lacks power or progression in the final verses) 2. INGER – Coming Home 3. Victor Crone – Storm (typical lyrics though…) 4. xtra Basic & Emily J – Hold Me Close (very… Read more »
High Heels in the Neighbourhood has a real Girls Aloud/Little Mix vibe. Could do well of the lyrics were audible.
My top 3:
1. Soovide puu
2. Halleluja
3. High Heels in the Neighbourhood
Also good: Without You, Believe, Little Baby El
I can’t share the disappointment of most people… There are a bunch of really good entries.First time listening, heres my ranking of all the songs: (Love at first sight, would probably vote for at Eurovision:) 1.Uku Suviste “Pretty Little Liar” (Idk what it is About this song, it just happened..) 2.Sandra Nurmsula “Soovide puu” (Absolutely stunning!) (Really like:) 3.Stefan “Without you” 4.The Swingers, Tanja & Birgit “hihgh heels in the neighbourhood” 5.Kadiah “Believe” 6.Victor Crone “Storm” 7.Jennifer Cohen “Little Baby El” 8.Inger “Coming home” 9.xtra Basic & Emily J “hold me close” 10.Lacy Jay “hallelujah” (good:) 11.Grete Paia “Kui isegi… Read more »
As usual, my thoughts on this is pretty similar to yours. Sandra is magical and I like Uku’s song a lot too.
The songs are good – most of them, but they don’t really stand out. If I heard them on the radio I wouldn’t change the station, but I would forget them pretty fast. Anyway some did caught my attention:
1. Milline päev
2. Soovide puu
3. Pretty Little Liar
Also good: Cold Love, High Heels in the Neighbourhood, Little Baby El
btw Kerli just released new song “Savages” and even though I like Spirit Animal a bit more, I would still make it my no. 1 if it was among these songs. It also is just 3 minutes long… if I found out that it was send and they didn’t pick it, I’ll be very disappointed.
I think it’s good that Kerli wasn’t picked, since she’s horrible live.
I’d like to see an Estonian language song go to Eurovision because it’s been almost six years since we heard Estonian sung at Eurovision.
Sorry but Eesti Laul and Supernova has disappointed me this year. 🙁
Maybe I’m just in a bad mood.
Just okay. I think I have to see the live performances to pick my favorites.
I thought religious songs werent allowed at Eurovision? Lacy Jay is pushing it with those lyrics. Sandra, Victor and Tania/Birgit are my favourites. Grete is good too.
Like a lot of ESC rules, I think the religious context also has a grey area. I think many songs had words like ,,pray”, ,,faith” and even ,,god” in them, but (as I got it), as long as it doesn’t specifically promote one religion in particular, it’s a go. Correct me if I’m wrong…
I dont see a problem, do you feel threatened sweetie?
It’s been hard to choose a favorite but Little Baby El or one of the nice acoustic ones might do the trick. It’s staging them well that’s important (bad staging and a meh song is why Verona tanked).
If ÖED don’t win with Öhuloss, I will eat my wig… Once I find it ofc.
Million times better than latvian national selection.
For you Sandra fans.. I have to tell that she is unlikely to win because her song and singing style in this video reminds too much notorious Estonian radical Christian band called Sõnajalad. There’s just too many people who hate that band and their style..
Thank you. All they care is Sandra. Song isn’t important for them. Estonians won’t choose this anyway.
A lot of good songs but when I heard Lacy Jay sing Halleluja.. Please Estonia, send her.. Other good songs that wouldnt dissapoint me are “Little Baby El” that is my solid #2. Also “Hold Me Close”, “Storm”, “Without You” and also Grete Paias song. That instagram song had potential but was ruined just by that line.. Lacy wins it hands down for me though, it feels genuine in comparison to the others. It feels real, hope she has a great live performance..
Oh and I forgot the Kerli “Cold Love” song, it was also pretty good but not as good as “Halleluja” and “Little Baby El”
You get fined for walking on train tracks?
In Estonia most of the train tracks are surrounded by fence.
A pretty good selection here ! But looking at the semi-finals allocations, the first semi-final seems really stronger than the second one. My faves are “Soovide Puu”, “Storm”, “Pretty Little Liar” and “High Heels in the Neighborhood” !
My top 3
1. Little Baby El
2. Soovide puu
3. Strong
I love all three of them so I don’t care which one wins!
You are the only person I have seen with the same top three as me!
Swap no.1 and no.2 around a let’s agree! =D
Just as i expected with this new producer: mediocre galore. None of these songs are bad per se but none of them scream definite qualifier or top 10 in ESC. I hope some of these will be elevated by the staging.
EDIT: Also, a lot of these songs seem to just die when the chorus hits. Strong by Sissi has decent verses and good pre chorus but it just falls so flat on the refrain. Lots of missed oppurtunities here.
I strongly agree with you
The songs are quite fine but none of them gives me the vibes I had when I first heard La Forza
I really hope Sandra’s performance will elevate the song (she’s amazing live) but her song is not that special and we all know what she’s capable of (cough Rändajad cough)
Just so that you know.. Her winning is quite unlikely because she chose a song that reminds too much notorious Estonian radical christian band called Sõnajalad. Sadly her song and her changes to win were basically dead at arrival.
My top 3 :
01. Soovide puu
02. Kui isegi kaotan
03. Öhuloss (judge me all you want idc)
Good luck to all of them. It’s a fine mixture of songs, and quite a few stand out for different reasons.
Some curious things I noticed: That Kaia Tamm track (the German one) reminds me of Norway’s Hungry Hearts (remember “Laika”?).
Among The Swingers: Is that Tanya singing in the studio? (If yes, then I guess she won’t be on the Eesti Laul jury this year.)
About “Follow me back”: Finally, it’s a song about Instagram! 😀 Or is it Snapchat? Just remember those branding rules at ESC might force a lyric change.
Sure is Tanya! She’s a featured artist on the track (her and another former Estonian entrant, I think the one from 2013?)
Yes the other one is Birgit from Estonia 2013. One of my favorites of all time.
as an estonian i’m very dissapointed but oh well
What did you expect??? As a non-Estonian, I like quite a few of them, especially the Estonian language ones!
idk i was expecting something more original, all of these songs are pretty much generic pop songs (+ sandra) there’s no diversity at all
Well, as expected, Eesti Laul is stronger than Supernova. None of the songs are bad, but a huge amount of them are still a deja-vu. The songs I liked from the get-go are: Sandra Nurmsalu: Soovide puu – She is as beautiful and as elegant as ever, and the song is so melodic! It’s like something from a fairy-tale! Obvious winner if you ask me, but I was saying the same in 2014, so… Stefan: Without You – Quite a strong ballad which actually provokes real emotion. Just power-up the climax a bit and it could be absolutely amazing. The… Read more »
Hi Colin. How are you? 🙂
I’m looking forward to Estonian fans explaining some of these songs – especially “Parmumäng”! 😀
The Die Katsen song reminds me a little bit of Norway’s Hungry Hearts (“Laika”).
Link: https://youtu.be/pS1Q-1EcEYc
There was some German in that song as well.
Also are some of those video choices are… symbollic? Like walking down a subway tunnel endlessly in slow motion… or pretending the video was filmed on VHS… or providing actual VHS recordings of one’s childhood Christmas days… etc. So many symbols. 🙂
I’m good, thanks. Nice to hear from you. 🙂 I am looking forward to the 2019 season. Who are your favorites in the two first revealed national finals? Mine would probably be Miks Galvanovskis for Latvia and Sandra Nurmsalu for Estonia.
I like quite a lot of the Eesti Laul entries. However, in my opinion, none of them are Eurovision-winning at present.
Parmumäng is good because it is a mix of old folk song style singing (little bit mettalic sound that male singer is doing) and modern indie music. Also Jaan Pehk is famous poet/singer and his words in Estonian are quite good and clever.
1) Pretty little liar
2) Believe
3) Around the sun
But it’s close at this point, with a revamp any of about 10 could win!
This is interesting, some of the songs sound like they’re copying more famous songs, some which at this stage are experimental, one I think is sure to disappoint live and the rest are decent.
Not good song this year, much better last year.
My TOP 3 from I semi
1. Sofia Rubina
2.Stefan
3.Victor Crone
TOP 3 from II semi
1.Kadiah
2.Syne Waltri
3.Lumevarv ft Inga
TOP 6
1. Sofia Rubina
2. Stefan
3 Kadiah
4.Victor Crone
5. Syne Waltri
6 .Lumevarv ft Inga
With this song I dont see Estonia in TOP 10 in final and even in final (if they have hard semi like semi final I from 2018).
In my opinion Victor Crone’s Storm sounds like an underproduced Avicii song. Could have huge potential if they were to revamp it a little bit.
1. Lacy Jay – “Halleluja”
2. Sandra Nurmsalu – “Soovide puu”
3. Uku Suviste – “Pretty Little Liar”
Now waiting for the live performances!!
Some potential here. Latvia could have done with a few of these songs!
So far, Sandra is the obvious choice. Really like it.
The bar just increase for Estonia after 2018’s great performance and result by Elina. Right now I do not have a clear favourite but I see a few that have potential. I will say that for now I am a bit disappointed that the Baltics have no real outstanding act as of right now but this is just the first stages. I am sure that some will end up surprising me and will do fine in ESC. Best of Luck Estonia!
We haven’t heard anything from Lithuania yet, so it’s not a complete picture yet of the Baltics. The Estonian entries seem better than the Latvian ones, but I am not sure they’re enough for another win for Estonia. If anything, I would love to see Lithuania win because it’s the odd country out (Estonia and Latvia won consequently in 2001 and 2002 respectively).
Lucy Jay is absolutely the best entry!