At Eurovision 2025 they stormed to a third-place finish with Tommy Cash and his song “Espresso Macchiato.” And today Estonia’s ERR revealed the first six finalists of Eesti Laul 2026 who will try to climb even higher. The announcement came during the Ringvaade programme. The remaining six finalists will be revealed during tomorrow’s show.
Estonia’s Eesti Laul 2026: The first 6 finalists
- NOËP – “DAYS LIKE THIS”
- Grete Paia – “TAEVAS JÄI ÜLES”
- Marta Pikani – “KELL KUUS”
- OLLIE – “SLAVE”
- Uliana Olhyna – “RHYTHM OF NATURE”
- Vanilla Ninja – “TOO EPIC TO BE TRUE”
The first set of finalists include NOËP, who topped our Wiwi Wishlist for Estonia this year. Responding to our enthusiasm, he told our blogger Bob: “There’s no other show like Eurovision for an artist. You could go from being a bedroom artist to performing for hundreds of millions of people in a matter of months — and I think that’s really cool and unique.”
Among the other finalists are perennial fan favourites OLLIE (who has finished as runner-up twice) and Grete Paia. Also in the mix are Vanilla Ninja, an all-female rock band who placed eighth at Eurovision for Switzerland in 2005.
The Eesti Laul selection process
ERR called on the good and the great of Estonia’s music industry to select the finalists. This is how they described the selection process.
“A total of 34 music professionals evaluated the songs submitted to the Eesti Laul 2026 competition. Among them were experienced artists and concert organizers, television and radio professionals, as well as music journalists. Many jury members have prior experience with major song contests, either as participants or behind-the-scenes contributors to both Eesti Laul and Eurovision.”
“This year’s diverse panel of musicians included An-Marlen, Andrei Zevakin, Eleryn Tiit, Frederik Küüts, Eda-Ines Etti, Ramo Teder, Rahel Ollisaar, Raul Ojamaa, and Klassikatähed 2025 participant Isabella Runge. Also on the jury were actress Evelin Võigemast, who has appeared in numerous TV shows and has extensive stage experience, and dance pedagogue and choreographer Teet Kask.”
“The jury also incorporated the perspectives of many radio professionals. Representing Estonian radio stations were Andres Aljaste, Grete Kuld, Henri Laumets, Maian Kärmas, Maris Järva, Maris Kõrvits, Petr Sushkov, Robert Kõrvits, and Sander Varusk. Music journalists Kadi-Maarja Võsu and Neit-Eerik Nestor also contributed to determining the finalists.”
“The Eesti Laul jury additionally included several television professionals who have produced music shows and videos: Sander Allikmäe, Marek Miil, Magnus Müürsepp, and Kristo Veinberg. Former TV host and current viewer Meelis Kompus also evaluated the songs. The music industry and concert organizers were represented by Eva Palm, Kaarel Sein, and Mihkel Sirelpuu.”
“Eesti Laul has traditionally collaborated with organizations representing authors and performers. This year was no exception — the preliminary jury included Music Estonia’s CEO Ave Sophia Demelemester, Indrek Sarrap representing the Estonian Association of the Phonogram Producers, Estonian Authors’ Society chair Karl-Ander Reismann, and Estonian Performers Association chair Ülar-Johannes Palm.”
Ooh, Ollie is back in the game. Hopefully he took the year off from competing in Eesti Laul 2025 to cook up something really good so he can take the top prize in 2026. I am also intrigued who else might be competing.