Uku Suviste: 10 facts about Estonia's Eurovision 2021 singer

Uku Suviste will represent Estonia at Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam with “The Lucky One”.

Uku was originally due to sing “What Love Is” at Eurovision 2020. However, the contest was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike many other countries, Estonia opted to continue with its usual national final for 2021 rather than automatically reselect its 2020 artist. However, the delegation did give Uku a direct pass to the Eesti Laul semi-final. He came to the contest with “The Lucky One” and comfortably won it for a second year running.

And now we’ve compiled 10 facts you need to know about Uku Suviste. Let’s do this!

Estonia at Eurovision 2021: Facts about Uku Suviste

1. He father works in TV

Uku is the son of Raivo Suviste and Heli Suviste-Polikarpus. The pair split up when he was only three, but Uku doesn’t recall the separation as being hard. He would live mostly with his mother Heli and spend holidays with his father Raivo. His father is a well-known TV producer. And, in fact, his job meant that he missed Uku’s birth in June 1982. Instead, he had to attend a course in Moscow. To make matters worse, while doctors in Estonia were delivering a three-and-a-half kilo little boy, Raivo was in a Russian hospital with a toothache. He ultimately learned of Uku’s birth via telegram. A young Uku dreamed of following in his father’s footsteps, but Raivo knew he was destined for another field when he saw him perform the Irish Eurovision winner “Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids” at a high school graduation party.

2. His sister is a tennis prodigy

Uku’s sister Karola Suviste is ranked as one of Estonia’s finest young tennis talents. The 15-year-old attends Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca. When she was younger, Karola would occasionally perform with her big brother. There is a 22 year age gap between the two.

3. He studied at Berklee

Uku began music lessons when he was only six. At the time he took a specialised music class at Tallinn School No. 21 while also singing in the Tallinn Boys Choir. His next step was the Tallinn Music School. He graduated in 1997 after specialising in piano. He finished high school in 2000. He left music to one side in 2001 and spent four years studying computer systems. It wasn’t long before his studies focused on music once more. And in 2006 he headed to Boston to attend the world-famous Berklee College of Music.

4. He did New Wave

New Wave is a long-running festival that celebrates new and emerging talent. Through the years, it’s paid host to countless future Eurovision stars including Dima Bilan, Sergey Lazarev and Polina Gagarina. Winners of the festival include Jamala, DoReDoS, Natalia Gordienko and Damir Kedžo. Uku entered in 2010, representing Estonia. He finished third in a field of 17, behind Armenia and Ukraine respectively. Other future song contest stars in the 2010 line-up included Latvia’s PeR and Belarus’ Litesound.

5. He was on The Voice Russia

Soon after his first Eesti Laul attempt, Uku turned his focus east. In a bid to build a name for himself in Russia, he entered the seventh season of the country’s version The Voice. His audition with Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect” saw two coaches push their buttons — including Ukraine’s Eurovision 2008 star Ani Lorak. Uku joined her team and made it all the way to the semi-final. He may not have won, but the stint allowed him to network with some big names including Phillip Kirkorov and Dimitris Kontopoulos — the so-called “dream team” behind countless Eurovision hits, including “Shady Lady”. Kontopoulos would go on to produce both “What Love Is” and “The Lucky One”.

6. He has a taste for musicals

While he’s best known for his career as a recording artist, Uku is also a regular in stage musicals. He’s starred in several well-known productions including Oliver!, Chicago and West Side Story. One of Uku’s most recent role was playing Danny in Grease. You can watch him and fellow adults play American teens in the trailer below.

7. He’s getting to Eurovision on his fourth attempt

Eesti Laul can be a tough competition. It frequently boasts some of the biggest and best names from the local music scene. Uku entered the selection for the first time in 2017 with “Supernatural”. Alas, he was eliminated in the semi-final. He returned in 2019 with “Pretty Little Liar”. This time he did significantly better, finishing second behind Victor Crone. Of course, while he won the contest on his third attempt in 2020, he didn’t make it to Eurovision then either due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

8. He has released over a dozen singles

Uku has released at least one single almost every year since 2009, including his three Eesti Laul entries. Most are in Estonian, but there are some English and Russian-language tracks in the mix too. In 2013 he collaborated with Belarusian popstar and Eurovision 2005 singer Angelica Agurbash. He has also released an album with Estonia’s 2013 singer Birgit Õigemeel.

9. He’s not afraid to experiment

While his Eurovision and Eesti Laul efforts have typically followed a pretty conventional formula, Uku has been known to experiment from time to time. His bizarre cover of Paul McCartney’s “Blackbird” has to be heard to be believed.

10. He was voted Estonia’s sexiest man

In 2010, readers of the Kroonika magazine voted for Uku to win the title of “Estonia’s Sexiest Man”. Not long after, as if to justify his win, Uku performed “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” on TV wearing nothing but his jeans and some jewellery. Future Eurovision 2014 star Tanja picked up the award for “Estonia’s Sexiest Woman”.