Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Logo of Eesti laul 2011

Eesti Laul 2011 was the third edition of the Estonian national selection Eesti Laul, which selected Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. The competition consisted of twenty entries competing in two semi-finals on 12 and 19 February 2011 leading to a ten-song final on 26 February 2011. All three shows were broadcast on Eesti Televisioon (ETV) as well as streamed online at the broadcaster's official website err.ee. The final was also streamed online at the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.

The format of the competition included two semi-finals on 12 and 19 February 2011 and a final on 26 February 2011. Ten songs competed in each semi-final and the top five from each semi-final qualified to complete the ten song lineup in the final. The results of the semi-finals was determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a professional jury and public televoting. The winning song in the final was selected over two rounds of voting: the first round results selected the top two songs via the 50/50 combination of jury and public voting, while the second round (superfinal) determined the winner solely by public televoting.[1][2]

On 19 October 2010, ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 13 December 2010. All artists and composers were required to have Estonian citizenship or be a permanent resident of Estonia. 140 submissions were received by the deadline.[3] An 11-member jury panel selected 20 semi-finalists from the submissions and the selected songs were announced during the ETV entertainment program Ringvaade on 16 December 2010.[4] The selection jury consisted of Toomas Puna (Raadio Sky+ program director), Owe Petersell (Raadio Elmar chief editor), Erik Morna (Raadio 2 head of music), Siim Nestor (Eesti Ekspress), Valner Valme (Postimees), Kaupo Karelson (Produktsioonifirma Ruut), Ingrid Kohtla (music editor), Kristo Rajasaare (Rabarocki and Tallinn Music Week organizer), Tauno Aints (composer), Koit Raudsepp (Raadio 2) and Hannaliisa Uusma (musician).[5]

Among the competing artists were previous Eurovision Song Contest entrant Orelipoiss, who represented Estonia as member of Ruffus in 2003. On 20 December 2010, "Meeting the Wolf" performed by Janne Saar was disqualified from the competition due to the song being published before 1 September 2010 and replaced with "Second Chance" performed by Tiiu Kiik.[6] On 23 December 2010, "Ilusad inimesed" performed by Laika Virgin feat. Fredy Schmidt was disqualified from the competition due to the song being published before 1 September 2010 and replaced "Unemati" performed by Meister ja Mari.[7] On 15 February 2011 "Jagatud öö" performed by Uku Suviste was disqualified from the competition as the song lyrics were used in another song released in 2004.[8]

The first semi-final took place on 12 February 2011 at the ERR studios in Tallinn, hosted by Piret Järvis and Lenna Kuurmaa. Ten songs competed for five spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote which registered 22,499 votes.[9][10] The jury panel that voted in the first semi-final consisted of Tõnis Kahu, Valner Valme, Ines, Owe Petersell, Olav Osolin, Mare Väljataga, Birgit Õigemeel, Tauno Aints, Leen Kadakas, Karel Kattai and Raul Vaigla.

The second semi-final took place on 19 February 2011 at the ERR studios in Tallinn, hosted by Piret Järvis and Lenna Kuurmaa. Nine songs competed for five spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote which registered 22,499 votes.[11][10] The jury panel that voted in the second semi-final consisted of Tõnis Kahu, Valner Valme, Ines, Owe Petersell, Olav Osolin, Mare Väljataga, Birgit Õigemeel, Tauno Aints, Leen Kadakas, Karel Kattai and Raul Vaigla.

The final took place on 26 February 2011 at the Nokia Concert Hall in Tallinn, hosted by Piret Järvis, Lenna Kuurmaa and Ott Sepp.[12] The five entries that qualified from each of the two preceding semi-finals, all together ten songs, competed during the show. The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury (50%) and public televote (50%) determined the top two entries to proceed to the superfinal: "Rockefeller Street" performed by Getter Jaani and "I Wanna Meet Bob Dylan" performed by Outloudz. The public vote in the first round registered 63,190 votes. In the superfinal, "Rockefeller Street" performed by Getter Jaani was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote. The public televote in the superfinal registered 45,325 votes.[10][13] The jury panel that voted in the first round of the final consisted of Jaanus Nőgisto, Iiris Vesik, Erik Morna, Veronika Portsmuth, Chalice, Kristo Rajsaare, Hannaliisa Uusmaa, Siim Nestor, Peeter Vähi, Helen Sildna and Ott Lepland.

• In the Semi-final 2 Estonia came 9th with 60 points: the public awarded Estonia 13th place with 46 points and the jury awarded 6th place with 83 points.
• In the Final Estonia came 24th with 44 points: the public awarded Estonia 23rd place with 32 points and the jury awarded 18th place with 74 points.