Tallinn Calling! Estonia held the first national final of nine on Super Saturday, and their results are in. The winner Eesti Laul champion is Alika with her powerful ballad “Bridges”.

She beat out the field of 12 to claim the crown. After nine participants fell to the wayside, Alika found herself in the Superfinal with two rock songs – Ollie’s “Venom” and Bedwetters’ “Monsters”. Ultimately, the smooth yet dramatic tones of “Bridges” won out.

After qualifying and finishing 13th in 2022 with Stefan’s wild west pop hit “Hope”, Estonia will be hoping to build on this. Could they push that little bit further into the Top 10 with ‘Bridges’?

Alika — “Bridges” (Estonia Eurovision 2023)

Eesti Laul 2023 finalists

Twelve acts competed in the Eesti Laul final. 

  1. Meelik – “Tuju”
  2. INGER – “Awaiting You”
  3. JANEK – “House Of Glass”
  4. ELYSA – “Bad Philosophy”
  5. m els – “So Good (At What You Do)”
  6. Bedwetters – “Monsters”
  7. Andreas – “Why Do You Love Me”
  8. ALIKA – “Bridges”
  9. Anett x Fredi – “You Need to Move On”
  10. OLLIE – “Venom”
  11. MIA – “Üks samm korraga”
  12. SISSI – “Lighthouse”

After the first jury and public vote, nine fell to the wayside, leaving Bedwetters, Alika, and Ollie to fight it out once more in the superfinal.

Superfinal results

  1. ALIKA – “Bridges” — 42%
  2. OLLIE – “Venom” — 33%
  3. Bedwetters – “Monsters” — 25%

During the first stage of the grand final, an international jury decided together with the public who got the three spots in the Eesti Laul 2023 superfinal. Then, the public alone voted for which of the three acts would make it to Eurovision 2023 and represent Estonia in Liverpool.

Like the semi-finals, Tõnis Niinemets and Grete Kuldab also hosted the grand final, This time, the show took place in front of a huge live audience inside Tondiraba Ice Hall, located in Estonia’s capital Tallinn.

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Stephanie
Stephanie
1 year ago

Don’t know about this one…frankly it leaves me cold…But I put in one of the better entries.

Kevan1994
Kevan1994
1 year ago

This really felt like Spain’s final with 2 front runners. Both Alika and Ollie would’ve been wholly deserving of the win. And Bedwetters really improved for me from the semi and were an excellent third place. Meelik and Sissi also being in the top half made this result a great one overall!

roro31
roro31
1 year ago

I want to clarify several things. First, in the 2000s, a lot of ballads went through, whereas at the time it was 100% televoting. Alika can therefore claim a place in the final. In addition, it is in the second semi-final, “weaker” on paper than the first so it’s even better. Second, I don’t understand eurofans who find a ballad equals boring. Eurovision is above all musical diversity, there are pop songs but also ballads, rock, metal, traditional or even indie pop. There is something for everyone and regardless of the musical style, music unites and it is a universal… Read more »

moth
moth
1 year ago

the hags complaining in this comment section lol keep em coming i can’t wait to laugh in yalls face when alika qualifies in may

Lucille
1 year ago
Reply to  moth

Sameeee, she literally has the best song but these dumb bxieaches are complaining for no reason

Thallo
Thallo
1 year ago

It’s a decent song, but the way she shouts during the chorus, pre-chorus and bridge is quite annoying. The way she says brrrrriiiiidddggggessss like +20 times is quite annoying too.

Overall, i’m not impressed. It sounds like a NQ song from any Eurovision from the 2010s. It doesn’t feel fresh, it feels stale. I’m counting this one out already.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
1 year ago
Reply to  Thallo

The expression of “Bridges” is a musical expression. (Now, please pretend that I have written 5,000 words on “defend musical expression.”)

ThePointsMan
ThePointsMan
1 year ago
Reply to  Thallo

Yes, I was going to point out that too: Her singing “brrrrrrrridgdgdgdgeeesss” may be a key resource but it’s also irritating. Welcome back to the 2000’s!!!

Kevan1994
Kevan1994
1 year ago
Reply to  Thallo

Thallo, she says Bridges 4 times.

Lucille
1 year ago
Reply to  Thallo

She only said jt 4 times dumb idiot, you eurotrash fans always complaining for the sake of complaining, and no this won’t be a NQ, it will be an easy Q, now get your delusional brain out of here.

Lucille
1 year ago
Reply to  Thallo

You clearly don’t know what the ESC audience likes..

Jake
Jake
1 year ago

in a season that feels like it’s shaping up to be lots of bands and kitsch–I think this will come across as the “serious” classic entry with a great voice… I think this is probably the first selected song that would appeal to older viewers and then to juries in the final…it’s still not a song I’d want to listen to over and over again, but I think it can be competitive given that’l probably be a lack of ballads

Eurovisionfrance
Eurovisionfrance
1 year ago

She sings wzll… but I have a feeling that we’ve got back in time of at least years, the gestures, the dress, the violin, the melody,… everything looks and sounds like eurovision 2010 :/

Alex
Alex
1 year ago

I am sorry but who cares about her voice? This is not a singing competition. it\’s about the song

Ivar
Ivar
1 year ago

Well done, Eesti! This should get you a decent result!

Marty McCU
Marty McCU
1 year ago

Listen carefully, she probably has the most powerful voice so far in the competition. This is no winner, but has appealing Tori Amos vibes. Will qualify for sure. I like it , but its not a top 5.

Thallo
Thallo
1 year ago
Reply to  Marty McCU

Marco Mengoni, Blanca Paloma & even Norway’s Alessandra (… those whistle notes!) can outsing this girl.

ALIKA doesn’t have great control, she can BLAST her vocals, but her range and depth isn’t great.

Lucille
1 year ago
Reply to  Thallo

Your sentences don’t make sense.

Mary
Mary
1 year ago

Alika had 9% more than Ollie. She had small advantage because Ollie and Bedwetters were both rock songs and in a way they were cancelling each other. If the third superfinalist would have been for example Meelik, then i think Ollie would have won. But it’s all in past now. I still support my country and hope Alika will qualify to the final and do well.

Polegend Godnova
1 year ago

my favorite this year so far!

Chupacabra
Chupacabra
1 year ago

Strong entry, great voice, solid ballad, will qualify and end up on left side of scoreboard. Thnx Estonia in this until now very weak year.

Kuhkatz
Kuhkatz
1 year ago

Biggest issue here? Heard it once, can‘t remember anything. As it is 100 % televoting in the semifinals, this might be a huge problem for this kind of song.

For me, all songs placed second to fourth would stood out more.

Jamie
Jamie
1 year ago
Reply to  Kuhkatz

What? You don’t remember the self-playing piano??? It’s so hilarious to me that people are fascinated by this 100 year old trick 😀

Kevan1994
Kevan1994
1 year ago
Reply to  Kuhkatz

Okay, can you generally not remember “anything”? Like absolutely nothing at all?

Mr X
Mr X
1 year ago

Estonia 5,5/12

lasse braun
lasse braun
1 year ago

too much talking here about the seeming bad things and not the good things in alikas song!
this song is a masterful ballad and the singing is absolutly world class!
we might have a voice like this in 5-10 years and we might even have 2 of them at the ESC in 2023 – alika & paloma blanca – bridges is one of those timeless songs and already an evergreen in 2023.
the highest quality package has been won by eesti laul and now please some more support – it’s all about music.

🙂

Stephanie
1 year ago
Reply to  lasse braun

It has the writers behind Switzerland 2021 (Wouter Hardy and Nina Sampermans) behind it, and of course Hardy also co-wrote Duncan’s winning song in 2019

L’oiseau
L’oiseau
1 year ago

Finally something with quality this year…

AllThingsNordic.eu
1 year ago

Decent, but boring. A poor entry, no chance to get to the final. It does not appeal either to the juries or the voters too much.

Kevan1994
Kevan1994
1 year ago

Can I ask why you find it boring?

Jsp
Jsp
1 year ago

Nothing new, nothing exciting… Good luck at the semifinal, there won’t be no jury to save this. Ollie would’ve been a better choice!

nat
nat
1 year ago
Reply to  Jsp

WHATT

Blackadder
Blackadder
1 year ago

Very poort, not always in tune…

Tomm
Tomm
1 year ago

She might be kicked off since she is Russian!

Andu
Andu
1 year ago
Reply to  Tomm

She is Ukrainian- little bit different country you know ?

redfox
redfox
1 year ago

lol it is very disappointing it is a boring song and it is not an estonian song. it is not an Eesti Laul but ordered from Netherlands but i mean it doesnt really matter, everything is just entertainment I guess being ukrainian still gets stuff for you but maybe in may people will no longer vote that hard just because of that I actually didnt like Ollie first but his performance was really strong Meelik cracked me up, it would have done really well in liverpool. I was surprised that the jury gave it several 12 points. world is fair… Read more »

Kevan McDougall
Kevan McDougall
1 year ago

I swear any ballad that a country selects is just immediately marked as “boring” or “outdated” by a solid chunk of the fandom. Bridges is clearly a well-constructed ballad, fresh, has great vocals, and had a great live performance. I was very pleased with the Top 5 and thought the right Top 3 and right Top 2 were selected. I would’ve happy with either Ollie or Alika, so congrats to Alika on a very well-deserved victory.

Nikos
Nikos
1 year ago

So disappointed. Venom was my #1 for the whole season, if maybe even #1 of the past several years! Sigh, Bridges is just overly theatrical and inauthentic. Alika can definitely sing well and I do give her that, but this just feels like movie soundtrack, effective for a particular dramatic scene, but you aren’t there for the song, it just is background music. So I can see a scenario where this could be in trouble with the televote-only semifinals. Reminder that Estonia is in the first half, and I think could end up in that dreaded 2nd/3rd in the running… Read more »

Maya G
Maya G
1 year ago

I’m pretty disappointed to get this from Estonia. She sings well but that’s where it ends for me. I guess it’s supposed to be an emotional song but it just leaves me indifferent.
Despite being in the theoretically less competitive semi final, I’m not sure this can make it to the final, especially considering there would be no juries voting in the semis

Musimak
Musimak
1 year ago

Wwoaw. My ESC 23 winner…
: february 11 and we already know 3 of the top 10 of the final in Liverpool : estonia malta and sweden..

James
James
1 year ago

This has potential to be a very smart move from Estonia. Because the semi finals are televote-only, many countries will be sending upbeat songs and so far this is the most traditional ballad we’ve got. We need to remember that if the ballad is well sung and staged well (which this definitely has the potential to be), then any slow-paced song can find its way to the final in both jury and televote. If there is a higher proportion of upbeat songs compared to ballads this year the demand will remain roughly the same, but the supply will be much… Read more »

Ressay
Ressay
1 year ago

I just feel that I’ve heard this song about 223456 times…

Irishfan
Irishfan
1 year ago

Beautiful.

Mbappe
Mbappe
1 year ago

I guess she’s an effective performer but the song just feels like the reheated recipe of a typical ESC ballad to me. Estonia has pretty much always got some interesting options in their NF but they’re just not going to succeed with this current voting format, last time I was rooting for an Estonian entry in May is actually 2016, already 7 years ago…

Mbappe
Mbappe
1 year ago
Reply to  Mbappe

By “not going to succeed with this current voting format”, I actually mean they’re probably not going to send anything interesting to ESC as long as they’ve got this televote-only superfinal method.

Esc addict / Shut up and watch my ...
Esc addict / Shut up and watch my ...
1 year ago

Mixed feelings….

Esc addict / Shut up and watch my ...
Esc addict / Shut up and watch my ...
1 year ago

Tonight is kind of disaster imo, not a super but a disaster saturday…

Jessica Folcker
Jessica Folcker
1 year ago

My favourite bagels are plain. My favourite songs are not. Next!

wait, what
wait, what
1 year ago

she’s gonna slay in may and the fandom will go nuts, i’m mentally already there

Sol Stevia
Sol Stevia
1 year ago

Oh Alika won. Well ok then.

So I should be thrilled cus I love this song but the live performance lacks emotion…

I’m not gonna leave a detailed comment on Latvia, Romania, Malta, Croatia & Denmark….Just one pile of flaming garbage. Each of them for wildly different reasons.

Sol Stevia
Sol Stevia
1 year ago
Reply to  Sol Stevia

Nah forget I don’t love the song anymore. It’s too emotionless to connect to. It could have been amazing with a different singer.

I can confidently say that out of the 15 entries we have so far I like nothing. Not dissing anyone it’s just unlucky for me.

Benito Camelo
Benito Camelo
1 year ago

The superfinal was awesome and the three of them were so close, congrats to Alika!
Ps: Let’s hope Ukrainians don’t want to cancel her because of her Russian heritage

Sometimes
Sometimes
1 year ago
Reply to  Benito Camelo

Alika is openly pro Ukraine and has done charity concerts to support Ukraine,
she will be fine 🙂

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Sometimes

If Ukraine has a problem with her, they can just not vote for her in the semi final.

Ben
Ben
1 year ago
Reply to  Benito Camelo

What the hell are u talking about? She has relatives who live in ukraine. Also she supports Ukraine.

Riin
Riin
1 year ago
Reply to  Benito Camelo

She has Ukrainian roots …

Robinito
Robinito
1 year ago

Why does every country keep choosing the wrong song 🙁

Leafar
Leafar
1 year ago

happy for her but I’m so saaaad for Meelik, they were one of my favorite acts of this year i wanted to them so bad on Liverpool’s stage :’)

Zanoni
Zanoni
1 year ago

I felt like Estonia put on a good show all season, and this is a very good entry.

Anoni
Anoni
1 year ago

Ngl, I can’t help but feel very sad for Bedwetters. They had the best performance tonight and were pretty close to gettting it but alas… So happy for Alike though!! Her song, and Not Meant to Be by Eline Thorp, are the only songs I felt inspired enough to learn the lyrics of and sing. That says something about them.

Héctor
Héctor
1 year ago

The three were so good. It was a difficult choice though I would have gone for Ollie or Bedwetters who I think have more appealing and potential on stage. Sissi really exceeded my expectations so she along Meelik were my 4th and 5th place.

Sim
Sim
1 year ago

I can’t remember the song at all. I remember the piano playing by itself but that’s about it. I think it will struggle to qualify without juries but let’s see how it will do in Liverpool. Congratulations to Alika!

Marcin
Marcin
1 year ago

Boring

mark dowd
mark dowd
1 year ago

Deban..you gave Alika one measly point.

Once again… Off the mark.

mark dowd
mark dowd
1 year ago

Even with 100% televote this is sailing through the weaker semi into the final. Song has instant appeal and she’s vocally superb. Juries may make her a top ten bet in final. Like Greece 2022.

Dalth
Dalth
1 year ago

They had a few better options to choose from but having watched Eesti Laul over the years Estonians do tend to play it safe. Its fine, but doubt it will light up the score board.

Kinn
Kinn
1 year ago

ESTONIA — “Bridges”

I mean, a piano that plays itself already has me hooked from frame one. Alika has a voice worth killing for, and it covers just as well live as in studio. The song is perhaps a bit too slow for me, and I get the sense that sentiment is mirrored by many Eurofans, but I’m not giving up on them: Estonia could wreak havoc with the juries… if the televote sends it through semis, that is.

Score: 8.5/10.

Liisu
Liisu
1 year ago

Fun fact – Alika and Alessandra are born in the exact same day

Vladimir P.
Vladimir P.
1 year ago

This is disappointing. I was really hoping for Ollie. Good luck Estonia. Greetings from Serbia

WERGELAND
WERGELAND
1 year ago

Come to this completely cold – like it very much!

Chris
Chris
1 year ago

Boring..