The storm has passed and Estonia has a new Eurovision representative. Uku Suviste has won Eesti Laul 2020 with “What Love Is”.
Uku Suviste – “What Love Is”
Voting took place across two rounds.
A first round used 50/50 jury and televoting to pick three superfinalists. They were Jaagup Tuisk, Uku Suviste and Anett x Fredi.
In the superfinal 100% televoting picked the winner. At the end of play Uku Suviste came out on top.
This was Uku’s third attempt in the competition. He placed runner up last year behind Victor Crone. He lagged someway behind both the alternate superfinalists in jury voting. But in the end the public saw him home. An improved performance since the semi-finals will have helped him here.
Eesti Laul 2020 Jury Voting
The jury’s votes were quite white spread this year. Acts including Jaagup Tuisk, Uku Suviste and Stefan picked up top marks from different jurors. But Anett x Fredi came out on top with the juries overall.
Jaagup, Anett x Fredi and Uku Suviste then advanced to the superfinal off the back of the public televote.
Eesti Laul 2020 finalists
Tonight’s acts performed in this order:
1 Inger – “Only Dream”
2 Rasmus Rändvee – “Young”
3 Stefan –”By My Side”
4 Synne Valtri feat. Väliharf –”Majakad”
5 Uudo Sepp –”I’m Sorry. I Messed Up”
6 Uku Suviste – “What Love Is”
7 SHIRA – “Out in Space”
8 Anett x Fredi – “Write About Me”
9 Jaagup Tuisk – “Beautiful Lie”
10 Traffic – “Üks kord veel”
11 Egert Milder – “Georgia (On My Mind)”
12 Laura – “Break Me”
Uku Suviste will perform in the first half of Semi-Final 2 in Rotterdam. Estonia had a better track record than most last decade. It made the final on six out of ten attempts. Last year Victor Crone placed 20th with his entry “Storm”. Whether this year’s act can go farther remains to be seen.
Do you think the right song won? How will it do in Rotterdam? Let us know in the comments below!
One of my favourites <3<3 <3
That’s sweet. 🙂
At least someone likes it. I think we were all so focused on Jaagup
I think there were stronger songs in Eesti Laul this year that probably should have been chosen to represent Estonia. I think Uku’s song last year was much stronger.
I thought neither of them were good enough… :/
But which song would you have sent?
THis sounds so Russian, not in a positive way . And veeery dated.
:(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
:(((((((((((
Pleasant. Nothing special. Too many songs like this and we may welcome the Coronavirus postponement
lololol It’s going to be a boring year
I’m getting 2010 vibes this year
This isn’t worse than Duncan’s winning song last year and is better than some of the winning songs in recent years. Tallinn 2021?
“Arcade” is a STRATOSPHERE above this…..looks at the lyrics, the mood….this is SO DATED and generic. It is like a stale box of 1970s chocolates. We are in NQ territiory here.
Yikes!
Uku won superfinal in a landslide lol
I’m not that surprised seeing the other 2 but still pretty impressive.
I think only Egert could have challenged him but juries messed it up
I still prefer Jaagup over any others
Uku is able to write good songs. Why this time a very weak one ?
Is he? lol
I wouldn’t have voted for the winner, but I thought the show itself was super. The comedy bits in between the songs were brilliant.
A fun show. But with an unsatisfying result for me
Both Uku and Natalia won their televotes, with Uku even losing a jury vote. How are you suggesting it’s fixed? Estonians obviously liked it the best. Unless we have other info to corroborate your claim. Natalia’s victory with only 3000 votes is a bit ”eh” considering Melfest’s lowest voted act, Albin, had over 400.000 votes. Makes the whole thing seem pedestrian in Moldova.
I’m not saying it is rigged but you can buy votes, use SIM cards, etc and keep it realistic.
With Moldova, perhaps. 3000 votes and all that. With Estonia, doubtful. Not only that there are much more votes involved, but Estonia is also known as one of the most transparent countries in Reporters Without Borders assessment. Any irregularity like that would have likely be out pretty soon. Also, if it was meant to be fixed, he would’ve surely win the juries too, right? Estonian people just preferred this song (or more likely, Uku himself). I am highly disappointed, but I don’t think it was “fixed”.
I must say! Estonia gave away its chance to have another victory. And what a victory it would be… Jaguup was just perfect!!! The whole act had so many interesting layers… The song, the message, the great and classy choreography, his vocal performance, the heart beat, the staging… I love Esti Laul but I always get frustrated with the final outcome. But hey, if that is what Estonia wants, so be it… Anyway thank you to revealing to me this fabulous artist. I will be listening to him and explore his work further
Unfortunately, I don’t think Jaagup would’ve won only one year after Arcade. They are too similar in genre. However, it was a top 10 guaranteed. I also firmly believe that Rasmus, Stefan, Anett & Fredi and Shira would have secured at least a qualification for Estonia. This could qualify, but could just as easily stay in the semi.
Oh yes, Colin. I also believe that there would be other options, all those you mentioned, actually. But for me Jaguup had victory all written over it. If you look to the patterns of victories roughly it has been two ballads – one bop. I think that there is room for another ballad victory 🙂 So, having Estonia out of the way, there is hope for Croatia 😉
Whilst I can’t say for sure if Jaagup would’ve won the whole thing, I would have been very happy and not surprised if he had made top 5 at the grand final. Essentially, he was Estonia’s best shot at the final, just can’t understand why they chose this bland song. Probably because Uku is handsome, if he had been your average guy without good looks no one would have bothered with him. Looks and popularity unfortunately rule the roost.
Maybe looks was part of it, but Jaagup is also good looking in a boyish kind of way. Indeed something strange happened in Eesti Laul…
I don’t think Jaagup would’ve won ESC but would’ve definitely been a better option!
I’m still not over Jaagup not winning. Why? Why , oh why? There must be an Eurovision god somewhere or isn’t there?
Uku looks great and the staging is very professional. The song is nice. Yet again its just another generic love song.
The staging is boring IMO and very basic. and please remove that cheesy LOVE from behind Uku
This is not bad but not great either. For me there were other options that could have been better for Estonia and for the musical diversity of the ESC, like the other two super finalists. But anyway, absolutely great show. Even if I don’t understand one word of Estonian was a pleasure to watch.
I agree it’s fun! But since I don’t agree with the winner I am not 100% happy 😀
Second semi final will be full of surprises and tears of loss , every country get a shot to qualify. My big excitement is Bulgaria , hopefully Greece , Serbia will not have a ballads , with good revamp i see Armenia qualifying, we got 3 strong female voices/ballads as well Poland, Albania and Moldova .
Who do you think will qaulify?
It’s equal with the French entry in terms of blandness and boringness.
Yikes! LOL 😀
I guess every year there are countries that must have a bland and boring song…
What is happening to Estonia since 2016 (minus 2018)?
Lack of good songs and artists entering Eesti laul contest…
And too many upcoming artists and newbies. No star producers or songwriters either :O
where is elina nechayeva when you need her
Next year, Estonia tends to be amazing once every three years (GtY 2015- La Forza 2018)
kuula 2012… randajad 2009… you’re so right
I loved Elina in 2018 and I would love to see her come back! (although I’m not sure if that’ll happen)
Queen Elina must save us!!
I like the melody and it would be an ok song if the lyrics just weren’t so cringy.
How to put this… The song is fine, but compared to some of the songs they had in their final, this does come as a huge disappointment. As much as I am disappointed in Iceland for not picking Iva (even more for her not even making the superfinal), this hit harder. Dadi’s song was my second in his final, Uku’s song was my eighth in his. What I will say is that he sings lovely and the song has a memorable, explosive chorus. What I will also say is that I won’t be voting for Estonia this year and currently… Read more »
estonians didn´t choose him, the local russians did.
Why is that? He is from Russian descent?
Bulgarian-Russian superstar singer and producer Philipp Kirkorov says Estonian singer Uku Suviste (37) who is competing in this year’s Eesti Laul charmed him in the Russian talent show “The Voice”, adding Suviste could be a major star in Russia. … “He is an extraordinary artist and singer. There is nobody like Uku.
Kirkorov’s song.
I feel mean but I think Kirkorov should retire :O
Uku deserve it.
Jaagup gain experience and come in 2021.
Or could’ve gotten experience this year at ESC and then come even stronger another year 😀
Estonia 3/10
Oops!
An idea for a silly poll:
Which non-winning National Final song should San Marino or another microstate poach?:
– Monique “Make Me Human”
– Élodie “Andromeda”
– Jaagup Tuisk “Beautiful Lie”
– Iva “Oculis Videre”
– Add to list here
yes, all
Elvana
Chakras
Jaguar Jonze?
Rebellion -Portugal
Rasmus Randvee “Young”
Shira “Out In Space”
Rancore “Eden”
Barbora Mochowa “White & Black Holes”
Karelll “At Least We Tried”
KaYra “Alligator”
Madara “Maras zeme”
There is more. This would be a good idea to do (and for San Marino to execute, actually).
Andrija Jo – Oci Meduze
Well, he could still win. Unlikely, but he could…
Genuine question, is this actually something that is possible? As in, can entries from National Finals that didn’t win their NF, apply to represent another country with the same song? Because I would kill to see Jaguup at a grand final with his entry. It was just too good to never see the light of day again.
PoopyScoopy, that’s a great question. Answer: EBU has no explicit rules forbidding that. Theoretically, it’s possible. For example, a few years ago Napoli, after failing to win in Belarus, entered the Polish selection with the same song. The Polish NF rules allowed that. And that’s all it comes down to – local rules. Some selections have very strict rules regarding participation in other contests, some don’t. Same applies to rules about songs’ language, nationality of performers or songwriters. They may or may not be as restrictive depending on the local contest rules.
In theory, it depends on the contract and the timings involved. With Italy I would think it is highly unlikely, because all the artists for Sanremo are already signed to contracts with record labels and/or broadcaster. But with something like Estonia or Lithuania’s competitions, I would assume that once they got knocked out, their songs are free to go sell anywhere else?
Perhaps this is something Wiwibloggs could write about one day, exploring whether or not this would actually be technically possible. The truth is I don’t know for sure.
We all poop. For me, this was the biggest injustice of the season.. so far. It was not an injustice but pray for me was a great song, from Norway.
All above plus 2 more are already in my 2020 playlist
-Jaguar Jonze “Rabbit Hole”
-We All Poop “All That Blood”
Actually the non-selected songs in my playlist are more than the selected ones…
That’s a really good idea, I hope it happens one year.
Interesting proposition here. Three years ago we were fancying the idea of San Marino stealing Loreen, after she and her “Statements” were sent packing from MelFest.
And what is going on in San Marino, anyway? Not a word from them. The options they have should come a lot easier now, after scoring a worthy qualifier in Serhat’s “Na-Na-Na” last year.
Jaagup 🙂
Don’t overreact, people.
Estonia picked a song that won’t qualify instead of a song that would probably have not qualified.
This is not on par with some of the really questionable NF choices of the past.
sis beautiful lie would have come top 15 at least
Top 15?! You’re kidding, right? It’s a sure NQ material
Oh how disappoint this all is. 🙁 I am not happy at all
I thought you thought highly of Beautiful Lie. I also thought you liked Uku as well.
You’re seeing the songs that other countries are choosing right?
It’s showing up how mediocre the entire Estonian selection was.
I would politely disagree here. I have Eesti laul at 6.55 average, which is solid. My top 5 songs would surely be in my top 15 or so, with top 3 (Rasmus, Jaagup, Shira) probably scoring my overall top 5.
Much higher standard than in Armenia, Moldova, Latvia, Belarus, better than Serbia, Lithuania (on average, although not in the number of standout songs), Sweden and Norway, on pair with Albania, Ukraine and almost Australia and Portugal too, not as good as Iceland, Czech Republic, Finland and Italy.
I’m just comparing the Estonian selection (the whole thing) with the actual winners from the other NFs and when I do that, it doesn’t look that good for most of the Estonian songs as the potential entry.
Yikes!
Me thinking Beautiful Lie would win was all a beautiful lie that crashed
Jaagup should have won!
#westanarobbedking
There should be a parallel universe where our favies could shine
Poor song. Poor vocalist.
I don’t know that to think of his singing but the song is definitely bland :/
no no no estonia honey what are you doing
Lmaoooo
Well that’s what I thought! Collective delusion…..or momentary insanity?
This is pretty dull and uninspired unfortunately. I guess he won due to his popularity, because I can’t find any other reason why Estonians picked this over much better songs.
I can only hope now we won’t have to see him in Eesti laul anymore :D:D:D
I don’t have anything against him personally but I just don’t like his songs or his artistry…
Slightly disappointed here proabably Uku’s worst EL entry has ended up being the one that wins but he is as always going to win one soon so I worry we might be staying in semi final this year but if the semi so weak then we might scrape through, time will tell
Time will tell but I am afraid that (since it sounds dated like Verona) it will have the same faith as Verona.
Toilet break
Salad breaaaaaaak
we are lost in coronaaa
I watched the final today, when it was this song’s turn I thought it would be one with the lowest score. It sounds so late 2000s, besides that awful “tarara-tarara-tararooo, tarara-tarara-tariiiiii” chorus. The other 2 finalists were amazing, how on earth Estonians went for this hell of a cliche?
This is what I’m asking myself every day since it won hahaha
They should be thankful that they are in the second semi. They might sneak through with this generic song. Also, this is the risk of having a national selection. You might have several good songs and people applauded that….but that means nothing if you select a generic song in the end.
Oh how I wish there hadn’t been this super final where only televoters decide the winner. The juries could’ve saved this..
Come on, Estonia did nothing new this year. I mean everytime they have so many good and unique songs and they end up with the safiest choice. And when I thought that they will not qualify again this year with such a safe entry then I realized that they participate in a propably weak semi, with two other countries having almost the same compositors and a couple of Baltic States supporting them. So yes it is likely that we will see them again in the final
What Baltic states? There’s only Latvia in semi 2. And Finland who supports Estonia.
The song is actually writeen by Kontopoulos and thats confirmed. The lyricist is the same as supergirl and he just lies cause its not alowed to have foreign composers in eesti laul
So they broke the rules with Uku?
Yes. They said that Kontopoulos has produced it but that’s a lie, it’s a typical cliche ballad made by him
Now that you’re mentioning, it does sound a lot like Kontopoulos. Like a bad generic Kontopoulos more precisely.
OMG that’s lame! Ugh so annoying
Is it the same country who sent LA FORZA ?
S*it happens 🙁 🙁
Boring entry, no qualifier… Sorry
RIP Final 🙁
Horrible year !
It’s a skip for me !
Yeah I think I might only watch the final this year
I feel bad for Uku. This was his worst attempt in Eesti Laul
Not that his other attempts have been good. 😀
Horrendous result, feel so sorry for Jaguup. He was the true winner.
Couldn’t agree more!
At least the awful Laura isn’t going to Rotterdam. Can’t stand her.
Hahaha. What don’t you like about her or her songs?
How beautiful the performance would have been on the euro stage such a shame now they don’t even have a chance to reach the finals.
Yes I’m still bummed about not having Beautiful Lie on the big ESC stage…. oh what we could’ve had…
Why everybody liked Jaagup? Tried to listen it several times and I didn’t start to like it. I just cannot imgine it getting in the grand final. I can’t even remember it’s melody at all. Uku’s song is at least catchy and melody can be remembered.
But Uku’s song is so dated and cheesy. The juries do not love these kind of songs. It will stay in the semi.
agree. Jaagup was overrated. The song is nice to listen to, but after it ends you cant remember a single note. A winner needs to stick somehow and only a good performance wont make people vote for it. Estonia made the right choice
Really, because it didn’t take me long to be repeating Jaagup’s song in my head, it was memorable. Uku’s song though ? No chance, bland and forgettable. And Jaagup’s overall staging and performance was in a different league to Uku.
You had one job, Estonia.
They have all screwed up tonight, They sent this, while a nice song , Beautiful lie in another much higher class.
Give power to the people and they choose garbage…
I need to see my therapist after this cr*p winning 😀
A long time to wait …. 😀
You are more confident than I am. 🙂
I love your optimism!
True. at least there is someone with optimism. Unlike me lol
Oh dear, and are his shoes glued to the floor? He has lovely eyes though, which may pull him through
Well, let’s hope so….lol
Supernatural…
This has to be a joke.
Unfortunately, it is horrible, dystopian reality.
This is what Hatari was talking about last year
Justice 4 Jaagup!
This saturday was wasted, only 6 songs out of 20 are good, this is so dated, unlike Jaagup it won’t qualify
What a waste it was to let Jaagup go like this….
I can’t believe it.
This songs sounds like it’s 15 years old. Sorry but SOMEONE had to say it.
Why would that be a problem? There were good songs 15 years ago. Unfortunately this song is nothing like them, and THAT’s the problem.
or 20 years old and not in a good way.
I am disliking a lot of the songs this year, but this is the first entry that I actually hate. Sounds like a Dima Bilan 2006 reject.
Sorry for the harshness, Estonia but you could have at least picked Jaagup.
Hate is a very strong word… But I agree with you using it…
Well I hate this song, too and I’m Estonian. I can’t believe Uku was chosen.
As an Estonian who feels defeated:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF8CDm_vd0o
😀
yeah exactly it´s a slavic entry, he was in Russian Voice or something, gone all crappy slavoschlager. It´s not an estonian song, we have taste.
OK I ranted on in Moldova, but Estonia……………really? This decision makes me particularly mad because you don’t usually mess up in deciding your songs (e.g. 2015, 2018), but I’m sorry, what did Uku have that Jaagub didn’t? The song is bland, the staging is bland, his voice is fine but this isn’t competitive enough. You had an opportunity to give Europe amazing visuals, vocals and choreography in Jaagub Tuisk, but you through it all away for some cheesy love song from the early 2000s. For shame Estonia. I am seriously considering putting this in my last place.
I’m really disappointed with my country right now. What the hell happened???
It seems this time your country went for the look. This is not Mr Universe!!!
Look? What look? lol 🙂 OOps now I feel like I’m mean to Uku.