Music and geography combine together in Eurovision. Fans get to experience a wide breadth of musical genres from each region of Europe. One such little combination is the three Baltic nations — Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.
The three Baltic states have been fairly successful in the Eurovision Song Contest. Estonia, became the first former Soviet state to take home the trophy in 2001, with Latvia following suit the following year. Lithuania is still waiting to snatch the crown.
Last year saw mixed results for the Baltic nations. Estonia was the only country to qualify, with Victor Crone’s “Storm” ultimately placing twentieth in the final. Latvia and Lithuania, unfortunately, were not able to progress from their semi-finals. This marked the third year in a row that Latvia had been unable to advance.
However, we are here to talk about the three Baltic entrants of 2020. So, without further ado, take a look at who the Baltic nations were set to send to Eurovision this year before voting for your favourite in our poll.
Eurovision 2020: Baltic entries
Latvia: Samanta Tīna – “Still Breathing”
The first of the Baltics to select their entrant for Eurovision 2020 was Latvia, who utilised their national selection show Supernova. Surviving an eclectic audition process that featured numerous Supernova veterans, Samanta Tīna stunned the competition to win the right to represent Latvia at Eurovision 2020 with her song “Still Breathing”.
Samanta had previously attempted to represent Latvia a total of five times, as well as her neighbour to the south, Lithuania, twice. However, 2020 marked her year, as she finally managed to convince her nation to let her fly the Latvian flag at Eurovision. At the time of writing, it is unknown whether or not Samanta will continue to be Latvia’s representative at Eurovision 2021 following the cancellation of this year’s show.
Lithuania: The Roop — “On Fire”
Next up to determine their Eurovision act was Lithuania. Despite receiving a revised name (Pabandom iš naujo!), the Lithuanian national final was pretty much the same format, and length, as previous years. Arguably one of the strongest selection processes of the Eurovision calendar, The Roop had to battle off threats from numerous heavyweights in the Lithuanian music scene en route to being crowned the winner with their song “On Fire”. To say that the group simply “won” the competition is somewhat of an understatement, as in the final they accumulated more televotes than all the other acts combined – on top of winning the jury vote.
This was the second time that The Roop were competing to represent Lithuania at Eurovision. They previously entered the national selection in 2018, where they ultimately placed third. Lithuanian national broadcaster LRT has offered The Roop a direct pass to the grand final of Pabandom iš naujo 2021, which they must then win in order to represent their country at Eurovision 2021. The group have not yet stated whether they will accept this offer.
Estonia: Uku Suviste — “What Love Is”
Last up to choose was the northernmost Baltic nation, Estonia. They used their ever popular national final Eesti Laul. Almost from the start, the competition seemed to be a two horse race between Uku Suviste and fellow Eesti Laul participant, Jaagup Tuisk. Ultimately, Uku managed to steamroll the competition, amassing just short of 70% of the final televote in the superfinal for his song “What Love Is”.
This was the third time that Uku had participated in the Estonian national selection. His first attempt was in 2016, and last year he placed second. Estonian broadcaster ERR has offered Suviste a direct pass to the semi-finals of Estei Laul 2021, where he will have to compete again in order to represent Estonia at Eurovision.
Poll: Which is your favourite Baltic entry of Eurovision 2020?
Those are the three acts that would have represented the Baltics this year at Eurovision 2020, but only one can emerge as your favourite. Be sure to have a listen through all the songs and then cast your vote in our poll below!
You can vote for as many acts as you like, but you can only vote ONE time. Tick the box next to each act you want to support before pressing submit.
[polldaddy poll=10539798]What do you make of this Baltic trio? Which one is your favourite? Sound off in the comments below!
I’d rank Estonia right at the top.
After that I’m not sure where Latvia or Lithuania should rank.
But hopefully I’ll fill the spot directly below Estonia 😉 ?
1.Lithuania (I think TOP 4 in final and best result for Lithuania)
2.Estonia (also in final 16-20 place)
3.Latvia (stay in semi)
Everyone but Estonia.
For the life of me I cannot understand the hype around Lithuania. It is a song that only underlines why some people treat the contest as a joke. It doesn’t endear itself to me in any way. At least Little Big know that they are not to be taken seriously. This is trying to be cool and modern but fails on every level. Sorry but this forum is for honest opinions and I’m being honest.
It’s a humorous entry, but the one well done. It’s musically interesting and it has an underlying message with some gravitas. That’s what makes some funny-ish songs on ESC actually deliver quality as well. Occidentalis karma, Hey Mamma, Toy and Think About Things have some vague similarities in that regard – quality entries with humorous approach. Not to be mixed-up with straight-up ”joke entries” like Uno and Lasha Tumbai, which are amazingly funny in their own right, but for different reasons. Failed ”joke entries” are another thing entirely and are probably the most painful thing to digest.
“On Fire” is pretty much like Netta but good.
Latvia and Lithuania are both top 10 for me. Estonia is bottom 3.
Albania xd
It’s strange that for once Lithuania has by far the best song. Estonia and Latvia really need to step their game up. Eesti Laul and Supernova were quite lackluster lately.
It’s one of the things that makes the cancellation really hit hard–I believe Lithuania could have gotten their best result ever by reaching the top five or even win. But we’ll never know now.
Definitely a mixed bag from the Baltics this year for me:
3. Latvia 9.5/10
23. Lithuania 6.5/10
39. Estonia 3/10
I thought we were no longer downvoting people’s opinions?
It’s Lithuania’s first ever good song so they’re extremely keen on it and downvote everybody who doesn’t have “On Fire” in their top5.
1. Lithuania – 9/10
2. Latvia – 6.5/10
3. Estonia – 4.5/10
“On Fire” by The Roop from Lithuania.
No contest.
*grimace* Poor choice of words.