She is one of the competing acts at Estonia’s national selection. And former Estonian Idol contestant Merilin Mälk has a lot to offer. In an interview with wiwibloggs, the singer explained the creative process behind her Eesti Laul 2020 entry “Miljon sammu” and why she chose to sing in Estonian.
Merilin took part in the 2018 edition of Estonian Idol. While she ultimately finished in third place, it still gave her the opportunity to sign a record deal with Universal Records.
Ever since, Mälk has worked on new music and released her first own material. We asked the singer about the story behind her Eesti Laul song “Miljon sammu” (A million steps) and her creative process.
For “Miljon sammu”, Merilin decided to sing her entry in Estonian. She told us that “singing and writing songs in Estonian is a lot more challenging than in English. We decided to make a song in Estonian because I don’t want to be a singer who is not challenging herself. I don’t want to fall into a comfort zone in the beginning of my career and this is why I believe that it is so much better to sing in Estonian. In addition, I believe that the song will connect with the Estonian audience much better.”
The track was penned by Mälk along with songwriters Jonas Olsson, Neea Jokinen and Jana Hallas. With regard to the creative process, she explained that “we recorded with a Finnish team and my childhood icon Jana Hallas wrote the lyrics with me. The process was so different since my previous songs had been written and recorded with my friends.”
“This time it was so much more professional and I really felt like everything was taken care of. Hallas is a true pro and she really knows what she is doing. It was really hard to start trusting other people but looking back, it was the best decision I’ve ever made. We recorded the song several times to get the best version, and now I know that the final edit is the very best! I’m really happy!”
“Miljon sammu” is about the challenging path to love
Merilin’s experience on Idol gave her a first insight into work as a performer. She explained, “I know now how some things in this industry work, all the interviews, cameras, dealing with stress, promo etc … and there’s so much stuff that I didn’t even know existed before the show”, Mälk told wiwibloggs.
During her time on the competition, she also had the opportunity to perform together with Koit Toome. Merilin stated that “Koit is one of the most humble people I have ever met. He was a huge fan of mine during Pop Idol and he just gave me so much inspiration to work hard for my dreams. He gave me hope and made me realise that singing is really the thing I have to do and I can’t just give up when it gets hard. Every singer has to start somewhere!”
Ultimately, her inspiration in music comes from “being around it, feeling it and getting more and more inspiration while creating it. I feel like listening to different songs helps me find out my own style that is yet to come my way.”
Besides, Merilin also feels very happy to have signed a recording deal with Universal Records. “Now I have a professional team around me and I feel really safe being signed to a record label. It automatically took away the stress of releasing songs on my own and now I have the freedom to give my best as an artist, not a music manager or a booking agent”, Mälk said.
Merilin Mälk will compete with her song “Miljon sammu” in the second semi-final of Eesti Laul 2020 on 15 February.
What do you think about Merilin Mälk’s entry “Miljon sammu”? Could she be the one to take the country back to the heights of the scoreboard in Rotterdam? Let us know in the comments section down below!
Apparently her YouTube video has the most views of the Eesti Laul contestants so far. But that is likely due to what she is (not) wearing.
Well done anyhow. The song is quite good.
Let’s just agree to say that top is… attractive to a certain audience demographic. 🙂
What she’s wearing has F__K all to do with how great the song is and the number of views. 😉
Am I the only one who likes that Nintendo-ish sound right before the chorus?
Lovely.
A cute little song. Definitely Eesti Laul final-worthy. Good luck, Merilin. 🙂
hmm i feel like this girl has international appeal n she could’ve gotten her ‘7 rings’, regardless i applaud her for stayin tru to her vision
It’s amongst my least favourite Eesti Laul songs but I still enjoyed reading about the process. Good luck to her.
I appreciate a lot her opinion about singing in Estonian, it´s great ! I like her song, but nevertheless she´s not my favourite of Eesti Laul.
I love her! The song is so goooood!!!
It’s too generic for me… It’s catchy, but I can’t see it get far in Eurovision
Far from generic for me. I love the 80’s synth vibe. The Estonian accent and cute voice all blend together beautifully. I could hear the music in the background of Stranger Things.