After several weeks of waiting, Estonia’s ERR finally put Eurovision fans out of their misery when it released the 24 entries for Eesti Laul 2021 on Saturday 5 December. And while there will be an even longer wait until the live shows kick off in February, many have spent the weekend ranking their favourites.
So, we want to ask one very important question: who should win Eesti Laul 2021 and represent Estonia at Eurovision 2021? You can listen to all the competing songs by clicking the links below. Then cast your vote in our poll.
You can vote for as many songs as you like, but you can only vote once! The poll will close ahead of semi-final one on 18 February 2021.
Eesti Laul 2021: All 24 entries
Click on the song titles to listen to each of the songs and watch the music videos.
- Alabama Watchdog – “Alabama Watchdog”
- Andrei Zevakin & Pluuto – “Wingman”
- Egert Milder – “Free Again”
- Gram-Of-Fun – “Lost In A Dance”
- Hans Nayna – “One By One”
- Helen – “Nii kõrgele”
- Heleza – “6”
- Ivo Linna, Robert Linna, Supernova – “Ma olen siin”
- Jüri Pootsmann – “Magus melanhoolia”
- Kadri Voorand – “Energy”
- Karl Killing – “Kiss Me”
- Kéa – “Hypnotized”
- Koit Toome – “We Could Have Been Beautiful”
- Kristin Kalnapenk – “Find A Way”
- Nika Marula – “Calm Down”
- Rahel – “Sunday Night”
- REDEL – “Tartu”
- Sissi – “Time”
- Suured tüdrukud – “Heaven’s Not That Far Tonight”
- Tanja – “Best Night Ever”
- Tuuli Rand – “Üks öö”
- Uku Haasma – “Kaos”
- Uku Suviste – “The Lucky One”
- Wiiralt – “Tuuled”
Poll: Who should win Eesti Laul 2021?
[crowdsignal poll=10679177]Which song did you vote for? Who do you think will win? Who should win? let us know in the comments.
Pootsmann is terrible
Kaos is so underrated! It really stands out from other entries in this NF.
The only singers with a chance at succeeding in Eurovision are Koit and Uku despite their songs being in a 2015/2016 style. But, so were SCREAM (Sergey Lazarev 2019), Zero Gravity, Michael Schulte’s song and other 2018, 2019 and 2020 songs. That something doesn’t sound up to date doesn’t matter, because as we all know, music is timeless. If music wasn’t timeless, neither Jamala nor Salvador Sobral would’ve won in their representing year. Why other fan favorites shouldn’t win: Gram of Fun’s song is 80’s style and 80’s style songs don’t do that well usually, San Marino can proof that.… Read more »
Actually not, Most songs are awful this year. Unoriginal, very similar sounding, forced singning and weak, some are even oldfashioned and instrumentally bland. Something you wont even remember, even Tartu, which was funny at first, is annoying at second listening. Like most songs in most countries, nothing awesome. Real good songs are missing entirely. I mean not only Estonia, but also rest of the countries. Alabama was at least with good energy and charimas, Wingman has potential, but is weak-sounding, meaning singing is bad (Jaagup Tuisk with Bachata has similar sound to it but way better, Zevakin should have tried… Read more »
Eurovision isn’t original either.
Kaos!
I’m the only one who is a massive fan of Hans’ song? It’s incredible.
Heleza is my no 2, and I enjoy Koit, Uku and Nika’s songs as well. I think Uku’s song is better than last year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he would win based on sympathy, but I think there are better songs in this years selection.
WIGman is currently at #2 on spotify estonia <3 and uku?
i only like free again and wingman, both of these are solid tho. uku winning the poll yikes
There is a lot of diversity and some known artists, but none of the songs really excited me. Surprisingly i enjoyed Ivo Linna. Here is my top:
1 Sissi – Time
2 Ivo Linna, Robert Linna ja Supernova – Ma Olen Siin
3 Nika Marula – Calm Down
4 TANJA – Best night ever
5 Rahel – Sunday Night
6 Tuuli Rand – Üks öö
7 Uku Suviste – The Lucky One
8 Jüri Pootsmann – Magus melanhoolia
Off Topic : According to Le Parisien, Masked Singer France first ever winner (from 2019) Laurence Boccolini will co host the new national selection Eurovision France alongside etablished French commentator Stéphane Bern. This is a cool news because she will definitely bring fun and positivity to the show! She has a lot of humor but also know how to be serious at the right time, plus she has a 20 years background of hosting various TV shows on the first French channel TF1 which is not negligible!
ok another thought! It’s great we have Koit and Ivo Linna in the mix since there’s more possibility that older people will have their votes more spread across them three (Uku, Koit and Ivo) – means more chance of younger acts going forward.
For everyone interested, I translated the Estonian (and the French) songs, so, a really simplified meanings listed: Magus melanhoolia is about not letting depression getting the best of you, but also owning the fact we all get sad and pensive sometimes. 6 is about being persistent and not letting your past mistakes define you. Wingman is about seduction in a club. Uks oo is about a steamy encounter and dancing with someone. Tuuled is about being ready for a new beginning through metaphors of ever changing winds. Ma olen siin is about a hope for a better tomorrow knowing someone… Read more »
A kind soul named joonas07 has already translated most of the lyrics on lyricstranslate.com:
https://lyricstranslate.com/en/translator/joonas07
I really don’t get what people see in Uku Suviste and The lucky one. Pretty face?If it wins I think it will fall flat on stage, because Uku is simply not a good performer imo.
We listen to a great song
…..Jaagup Tuisk had a similar type of song last year and I bet you liked Jaagup’s song. You probably only think The Lucky One is bad, because you dislike Uku Suviste.
Jaagup Tuisk directed Ukus new song video.
Andrei&Pluuto
Heleza
Koit Tomme
“Humans aren’t animals” I agree with that statement when I look to this poll, because we can clearly see humans step the same rake more than once. It’s like the Groundhog day. Uku’s song is better than his past attemp but it wasn’t hard to top it. I’m talking about Uku but there you have Juri and Koit 2nd and 3rd. It’s like people only listen to the songs from previous Eurovision contestants. There are far better options in the line-up. My votes go to: Gram-Of-Fun – Lost In A Dance: I’m into synthetizers so I find this one with… Read more »
Knowing the circumstances, I think that people will go for Uku Suviste again and knowing the circumstances, I can’t blame them. The song itself is fine, I guess, a bit more modern, but I think there are many options I’d personally prefer on this list. Juri, Andrei & Pluto and Heleza have interesting songs with different sounds we haven’t heard as much on ESC (plus having another language can be a plus, if there’s coherency in it). I’m not sure would any among them have a huge success in ESC, but you never know. As proven by Georgia in 2016… Read more »
The delivery is always important, but especially with these ”risky” songs. Juri’s song sounds great (to my taste, anyway) as a studio version, but this could easily turn to screeching in live. Knowing that he’s a great vocalist, I don’t expect that to happen, but there’s always a danger.
I’ll have to translate all of these songs, though (6, Tartu, Wingman, Kaos…). I translated Juri’s, but still did not others. Just in case their lyrics aren’t worse than Alabama’s. 😉
I think Uku has this in the bag and I won’t be surprised if he brings Estonia back in the top 10
I wouldn’t go this far lol. To me this will bring the same kind of result than Victor Crone – maybe worse
His song is miles better than Victor Crone. How can you even compare?
Exactly, Crone only qualified based on his looks
I agree, I can see him top 10
I’m waiting for betting to open so I can have a flutter! Clear Eesti Laul winner.
After having a conversation below about how The Lucky One is not a good song, I decided to listen to it a few more times. It actually grew on me so much, and I quite like it now. My only issue is the production, which is really compressed and feels very restricted. But if this won I wouldn’t be mad. (I still prefer Magus Melanhoolia by miles though)
The production is that makes this song that great.
I am sure that Uku has this in the bag and I am really happy for him.
I would disagree. As a music producer, the production has potential but it’s compressed to the point of ineligibility. It’s still not a bad song though.
You must not be a very successful music producer if you find the production of this song “compressed”
What a low thing to say. Assess your life, Emily, because insulting someone with that degree of confidence is a sign of either immaturity or of a lack of empathy. If you are below the age of 20, fine. You get a pass for that. Your brain is still developing. If you are an adult, get a life. And by the way, compressed is an actual term in music production. Not that you’d know that. And honestly, I hope you take the time to consider how hurtful your words can be.
Why is honesty hurting you?
This song is not compressed. If you find it compressed you are obviously not doing your job well.
Are you joking? The song IS compressed. You can tell because of how muddled the backing track is, especially in the chorus. If I may ask, are you a music producer? If you aren’t, you have absolutely no say on this matter since I doubt you could distinguish panning from an eq. Just saying, you are acting like a complete douchebag.
Just to clarify, the type of compression being used in this song is extending the tails of the drum/cymbal sounds, making the whole song muddled. Compression is not a bad thing in and of itself, but it is being used wrong here.
Here is a quote from CNeT: “The easiest way to think of dynamic range compression is making loud stuff quieter, and quiet stuff louder. It’s like putting a speed limiter on a car, making sure no car can go faster than 65 mph, but no slower than 45. ” This is what is happening in the Lucky One. The softer drum sounds such as soft cymbals and shakers are being elevated to the same volume as harder drum sounds such as a kick and a snare. It is also, as I said, increasing the tails of these sounds. This creates… Read more »
You aren’t slick, Emily. exactly 5 downvotes on each comment? I hope you’re having fun with your multiple accounts.
Magus Melanhoolia is a bad choice, because as we all know, Jüri’s vocals are bad. His performance in ESC 2016 is proof for that (yes, it isn’t up to date, but that doesn’t change anything). Besides that, Magus Melanhoolia is an auto tuned song, which will easily flop in Eurovision, despite it being a good radio friendly song.
“Wingman” sounds like something the Czech Republic would send to Eurovision recently, isn’t it? And I mean it as a compliment.
I would call it “cozy pop”. It’s more laid-back than the pop we have in Melfest for example. I’ve followed 3 editions of Eesti Laul. The last 2 were quite bland with a lot of similar entries, but 2018’s was awesome. That final had a little bit of everything.
My favorite that year was Iiris, but I liked one of the rock bands too (can’t remember if it was Vajé). And it was very fun to see something like Evestus on a final, very few countries would allow it to happen. I wasn’t a big fan of “La Forza” or “Home” though. But both of them were better than “Storm” and I would have trouble to find anything in these 4 years of Eesti Laul that made me colder than “What Love Is”. Thankfully, Uku upped his game, his new song is still not my thing, but this time… Read more »
Well, the lyrics seem pretty nonsensical and probably meant in a humorous way. Thus, it could be described as a ”joke entry”. However, I wouldn’t equate ”joke” with ”cheap”, which is what a lot of people are meaning by it. For instance, ”Uno” or ”Hey, Mamma” are joke entries, but they are really good, quality songs too. On the other hand, something like the Lithuanian ”Nomads in the Night” was never meant to be taken as a joke entry, but his bizarre delivery made it such, but in a bad way. So, there’s a whole spectrum of what a ”joke”… Read more »
Who will win: probably Uku, but I would pay attention to Koit… And since Eesti Laul has a superfinal, what if they divide votes and a third act unites all the people that want a fresh face as a winner? I guess this is the tiny chance of a surprise happening. Who should win: I’ll stick to Jüri (though I’m not sure how he would do in ESC, juries haven’t been rewarding risks lately and at least Roxen and Victoria tend to have indie entries with more mass appeal) and especially Gram-of-Fun, which I dare to say it could be… Read more »
From all the comments I’ve seen from you really seem to hate high male voices for some reason.
Fair enough. I tend to like all of vocal types equally, I just judge on whether it sounds good to my ears. Personally, I think Jüri’s head voice is not forced and is just as beautiful than his chest voice, which I also love.
Agreed. And btw I thought you meant forced as in ‘not within his vocal range and pushing too hard’, just to clarify. 🙂
All good! I would never have guessed you aren’t a native speaker, your English is arguably better than mine is, and I am a native speaker!
Two of my fav songs from them. You have impeccable taste 😉
About Koit: maybe I’m overestimating his chances and Estonian voters agree with you (as I do) that, even if he made an effort to modernize his sound, his song is not special enough for a new comeback. But what if they believe he deserves “vengence” for what happened to “Verona”? The irony is that if he doesn’t get to the superfinal, I can see his votes going to Uku and making his life even easier. About Jüri: since I also love his “normal” tone, I can understand why you’re struggling to accept his decision of going with the head voice… Read more »
Laura competed last year and didn’t reach the superfinals, so I’m not sure that Koit will achieve so only on the laurels of Verona. I do find his song this year more memorable than Laura’s last year.
I am still rooting for Juri to win this and avenge himself from 2016, but MM is an even riskier song. I wouldn’t want him to be the first ESC contestant to finish last twice. There’s a risk, but at the same time, I could see him finishing in top 10, if the song clicks with some people.
No disrespect to Laura, but with that song it was tough to succeed. Also, Koit’s song shares a vibe with “What Love Is” and I would say it’s a better effort. Maybe that’s why I believe he would be the biggest threat to Uku. I guess Jüri’s hypothetical chances in Eurovision would be better if we already hadn’t so many confirmed artists that could fight in the same lane. I mentioned Roxen and Victoria before, but there’s Gjon’s Tears in the same semi, it would be a direct comparison. So, yeah, it would be risky. On the other hand, the… Read more »
You got this, Uku!
The article in the address bar asks, “Who WILL win Eesti Laul?” but the article title in front of my asks, “Who SHOULD win Eesti Laul?”. I’ll answer both!
WILL: It’s Uku vs. Koit as either of those two getting into the superfinal will win the public vote. Egert’s the most likely if those two miss out.
SHOULD: Best chance at ESC for Estonia? Egert or Gram-Of-Fun look the safest qualifiers to me but Koit’s song is riskier in terms of qualification but with the potential of the best final result.
1.Sissi – “Time”
2. UKU SUVISTE “THE LUCKY ONE”
3.HANS NAYNA “ONE BY ONE”
Wildcard: JÜRI POOTSMANN “MAGUS MELANHOOLIA”
People do be sleeping on Calm down tho. My winner
It took me a while to formulate an opinion on this year’s Eesti Laul, but I think I’ve finally come up with something that resembles a top 5: “Ma olen siin” – Ivo Linna, Robert Linna, Supernova – it’s a good rock song, enough said. To be honest, I don’t much care for the lyrics, but musically it’s on another level. I can’t quite put my finger on what emotions it is trying to evoke (nostalgia, longing, hope?), but for me it’s a feeling of familiarity and comfort, sort of like a cup of good tea in the morning. Its… Read more »
There’s indeed something very comforting on “Ma olen siin”. I assume they’re father and son and this is always a nice spice to throw over a contest entry. Are they popular in Estonia? It could be a surprise.
Ivo Linna is quite an icon in Estonia actually from what I heard.
Good to know. As Briekimchi wrote below, the song gets better each time I listen to it. Maybe more people will pay attention to it when they perform it live.
Although not really helpful from an Eesti Laul or ESC point of view, “Ma Olen Siin” is the song that just gets better and better each time I hear it. It might well end up being my favourite of the selection come the end of the season.
Thanks, I’m sure I’m overthinking it, but even if there’s no message to be found in “Tartu”‘s lyrics, just like with abstract art, you can simply enjoy it and overlook the lack of meaning behind it. I’m also glad that it’s only 2 minutes long, as I feel that stretching it to match the three-minute standard would have only made it less impactful in the process (and 2 minutes is a perfectly fine length for a song, some of my favourite songs like “Girlfriend In A Coma” or “Norwegian Wood” are even shorter). Knowing that they’ll have to rely on… Read more »
Quality should always prevail …over hype.
“Lost in Dance” is incredible. Love the 80’s sound, I wish there were more songs like this.
Karl Killing ftw!
Best options I think- wingman, lost in dance, 6,MAGUS MELANHOOLIA!.
Uku and koit are not that bad, but they are a very “safe” bet for ESC, which can make them quite forgettable next to other countries.
“Lost In Dance” is amazing. Love the 80’s vibe, I wish there were more songs like this.
Ivo Linna, Robert Linna, Supernova “Ma olen siin” , that´s my favourite and i really like it a lot. i can imagine that many viewers of the ESC would love it. And please don´t change the language, it´s perfect just as it is.
I fell in love with “Magus melanhoolia”. Damn, what a contemporary sound. Uku still sounds like classic Kirkorov to me…
Magus Melanhoolia gets better and better after every listen. There’s something fascinating (+ Jüri’s voice)
I know none of my favorites will win, I voted Heleza and Gram-of-fun. Why have newcomers when people keep voting the same sh*t?
Anyways the top three songs selected by this audience are also going to go to the super final, and none will qualify at ESC. Mark my words…
Maybe because the newcomers are just not good enough? Easy as that.
Jüri, Gram-of-Fun, Heleza and Egert are my winner. It’s a shame none of them will win
i know this isn’t relevant but elina nechayeva just got 2nd place in masked singer estonia
She’s a Queen.
Lost in a dance is my absolute winner and i love that it gets the love it deserves!
Uku Suviste. He has much better song than last/this year and I think he deserved it after all. It’s not sympathy vote, I just want more to see him on Eurovision than Jüri or Koit for example, though I like their songs even more. I wish they applied those songs in 2022.
than it is sympathy vote, because you’re not judging the songs but the circumstance Uku has found himself in.
Okay then
It is sympathy vote, as you’re voting for what Uku’s gone through instead of the music.
You know that artists don’t have a sad backstory to rely on in Eurovision?
Then what is the point of voting for him? Nobody’s going to care about his backstory in the contest.
It’s a musical contest, not a storytelling competition.
Agree with number 2-5 in the poll , they would be my Top 4 ! The winner of the poll is my number 9
Spotify debuts in Estonia
– #9 Wingman
– #12 Magus Melanhoolia
– #14 6
——
– #62 The Lucky One
– #65 WCHBB
Local language might help like in all countries for spotify and charts
oh happy tp hear this! Than Uku’s win isn’t guaranteed! tho older generation doesn’t really use Spotify in Estonia probably.
I don’t mind it to be the real result
uku TANKED
Estonia, in 2015 you made my favourite song ever un esc, do It on 2021 with Lost in a dance. Its much more original and cool than the others!
Uku of course. He has a great song.
My favorites are Koit and Uku. Koit’s song is really beautiful imo and Uku’s song is a considerable improvement over his entry last year. I do think that Uku representing Estonia would be the best scenario at this point, as he tried several times and did win Eesti laul last year, so he deserves to go to Eurovision. Overall, it’s a good quality national selection. Good job Estonia, Eesti Laul never disappoints!
Wingman is the best in my opinion 🙂
Now while I can admit that The Lucky One is better than What Love Is by a mile, it is by no means a good song. I have no idea why it is winning this poll.
because it is a great, modern, contemporary , current song.
In no way, shape, or form is it any of those things except for it being a song.
you should urgently update your Spotify lists with recent releases. This song is 2021 all the way.
Are you joking? Listen to SOPHIe or Arca or Sevdaliza or FKA Twigs, and once you have done that I dare you to look me in the eye and tell me that The Lucky One is 2021 all the way.
OK it’s not not modern, but it definitely isn’t a definition of modern. It’s not 2020 or 2019, it could be 2015/2016 or something. None of chart topping artists would want to sing that song. It’s also super generic imo.
The song of Uku is the definition of CURRENT. The #1 genre in music today is the 80s pop vibes that Weekend introduced with his album and Dua Lipa followed. “The lucky one”, as all songs that are released now days on spotify, follows that trend.
except that Dua and the Weeknd do it supremely well. Uku does not.
The fact is that the song is exactly what I said : modern, current, contemporary.
The fact that you don’t like it is just your opinion, in which from what I see the majority of the readers of this website seem to disagree.
It’s not a fact. It’s an opinion. And isn’t it ironic that you proclaim it to be modern when it could have popped right out of the 80s. It’s the delusion for me.
I literally hear no 80′ vibes in Uku’s song. 80’s inspired song is the song from Gram-of-Fun.
you can’t listen the 80s vibes on Uku’s song???? is this for real???? Have you listened to the album of Weekend??? Its exactly that sound.
Ok I am done with this conversation.
ok than, but it’s a fact that Weeknd wouldn’t touch this song.
It’s basically “What Love Is”, but with better lyrics?
Still sounds like a Kirkorov. I ain’t buying it…
In my opinion, give “Lucky one” to Hans Nayna and give “One by One” to uku Suviste, Uku would still be the winner of both this poll and Eesti Laul.
Both songs are made of the same steel, both written with cheesy lyrics.
It is my opinion, I don’t think people would have voted “Lucky one” that much if it was sung by someone else.
By the way, my top 3 winners are Lost in a dance, 6 and Wingman 😀
If The Lucky One was Hans’ song, Hans would be my favorite. Eurovision fans aren’t pity voters. If they were pity voters, Sergey Lazarev would’ve been 2nd or 1st in 2019. Waylon would’ve made the top 10 in 2018, etc etc. Eurofans aren’t pity voters. If they think a song is their favorite, it is their favorite and not because of other reasons.
I really want “Heaven’s Not That Far Tonight ” to win but I know it won’t becauae its not modern enough. I also like Lost In A Dance because it gives me that real 80s vibes but again probably won’t win.
Uku Suviste, for sure, he has amazing song!!??