Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020

Estonia originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the contest was cancelled.

Eurovision Song Contest 2020
Country Estonia
National selection
Selection processEesti Laul 2020
Selection date(s)Semi-finals:
13 February 2020
15 February 2020
Final:
29 February 2020
Selected entrantUku Suviste
Selected song"What Love Is"
Selected songwriter(s)Uku Suviste
Sharon Vaughn
Finals performance
Semi-final resultCancelled
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2019 2020 2021►

The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the national final Eesti Laul 2020 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The competition was won by Uku Suviste with the song "What Love Is".

Background

Prior to the 2020 Contest, Estonia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-five times since its first entry in 1994,[1] winning the contest on one occasion in 2001 with the song "Everybody" performed by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Estonia has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final on seven occasions. In 2019, "Storm" performed by Victor Crone allowed Estonia to qualify to the Grand Final once again, in which the song placed twentieth.

The Estonian national broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), broadcasts the event within Estonia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. ERR confirmed Estonia's participation at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest on 6 August 2019.[2] Since their debut, the Estonian broadcaster has organised national finals that feature a competition among multiple artists and songs in order to select Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The Eesti Laul competition has been organised since 2009 in order to select Estonia's entry. Before that, the Eurolaul format had been used.

Before Eurovision

Eesti Laul 2020

Eesti Laul 2020 was the twelfth edition of the Estonian national selection Eesti Laul, which selected Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The competition consisted of twenty-four entries competing in two semi-finals on 13 and 15 February 2020 leading to a twelve-song final on 29 February 2020.[3] All three shows were broadcast on Eesti Televisioon (ETV) as well as streamed online on the broadcaster's official website err.ee.

Format

The format of the competition included two semi-finals on 13 and 15 February 2020 and a final on 29 February 2020.[4] Twelve songs competed in each semi-final and six 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 for the first four qualifiers and a second round of public televoting for the fifth and sixth qualifier. The winning song in the final was selected over two rounds of voting: the first round results selected the top three songs via the 50/50 combination of jury and public voting, while the second round (superfinal) determined the winner solely by public televoting. In addition to winning the right to represent Estonia at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest, the winning songwriters were also awarded a monetary prize of €3,000. The Estonian Authors' Society and Estonian Performers Association also awarded monetary prizes of €1,000 to the performers of the top three entries.[5]

Competing entries

On 1 September 2019, ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 6 November 2019 through an online upload platform.[4] Artists and composers of any nationality were able to submit entries and each artist and songwriter was only able to submit a maximum of five entries. Foreign collaborations were allowed as long as 50% of the songwriters were Estonian. A fee was imposed on songs being submitted to the contest, with €25 for songs in the Estonian language and €50 for songs in other languages. 178 submissions were received by the deadline.[3] A 14-member jury panel selected 24 semi-finalists from the submissions and the selected songs were announced during the ETV entertainment program Ringvaade on 13 and 14 November 2019. The selection jury consisted of Andres Puusepp, Anu Varusk, Birgit Sarrap, Daniel Levi, Eda-Ines Etti, Hendrik Sal-Saller, Jüri Makarov, Kaupo Karelson, Lauri Hermann, Madis Aesma, Maiken, Owe Petersell, Sten Teppan and Vaido Pannel.[6]

Among the competing artists were previous Eurovision Song Contest entrants Laura, who represented Estonia in 2005 as part of the group Suntribe, and Stig Rästa (as member of Traffic), who represented Estonia in 2014 with Elina Born. Little Mess' entry was co-written by Tanja, who represented Estonia in 2014, and the entry from Traffic was co-written by Victor Crone, who represented Estonia in 2019.

Artist Song Composer(s)
Anett x Fredi "Write About Me" Frederik Küüts, Anett Kulbin
Egert Milder "Georgia (On My Mind)" Kaspar Kalluste, Matteo Capreoli, Egert Milder
German & Violina "Heart Winder" Timo Vendt, Ebbe Ravn, Carine-Jessica Kostla, Liis-Marii Vendt
INGA "Right Time" Peter Põder, Allan Kasuk, Raul Krebs, Inga Tislar
Inger "Only Dream" Inger Fridolin, Karl-Ander Reismann
Jaagup Tuisk "Beautiful Lie" Jaagup Tuisk
Janet "Hingelind" Marek Rosenberg, Lauri Lembinen, Kadri Lepik, Janet Vavilov
Jennifer Cohen "Ping Pong" Jennifer Cohen, Luisa Lõhmus
Kruuv "Leelo" Allan Kasuk
Laura "Break Me" Janne Hyöty, Jessica Hyöty, Laura Põldvere
Little Mess "Without a Reason" Ebbe Ravn, Timo Vendt, Mihkel Mattisen, Tanja Mihhailova-Saar
Mariliis Jõgeva "Unistustes" Mariliis Jõgeva, Oliver Mazurtšak
Merilin Mälk "Miljon sammu" Jonas Olsson, Neea Jokinen, Jana Hallas, Merilin Mälk
Rasmus Rändvee "Young" Karl-Ander Reismann, Rasmus Rändvee
Renate "Videomäng" Renate Saluste
Revals "Kirjutan romaani" Jaanus Saago
SHIRA "Out in Space" Marika Rodionova, Karl-Ander Reismann
Stefan "By My Side" Karl-Ander Reismann, Stefan Airapetjan
Synne Valtri feat. Väliharf "Majakad" Synne Valtri, Jaanus Viskar, Toomas Laur, Gert Gregor Källo, Aapo Ilves
Traffic "Üks kord veel" Victor Crone, Fred Krieger, Vallo Kikas, Stig Rästa
Uku Suviste "What Love Is" Uku Suviste, Sharon Vaughn
Uudo Sepp "I'm Sorry. I Messed Up" Andrei Zevakin
Viinerid "Kapa Kohi-LA" Peter Põder, Hardo Hansar, Oliver Saare, Martti Kask
Ziggy Wild "Lean on Me" Laura Prits, Valdur Viiklepp, Sander Nõmmistu, Henri-Hannes Sell

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 13 February 2020 at the University of Tartu Sports Hall in Tartu, hosted by Karl-Erik Taukar and Tõnis Niinemets. Twelve songs competed for six 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 12,421 votes in the first round and 5,452 votes in the second round.[7] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Ines, who represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 and the group 5MIINUST performed as the interval acts.[5]

  First round (jury and televote) qualifier   Second round (televote-only) qualifier

Semi-final 1 – 13 February 2020
Draw Artist Song First Round Second Round
Jury Televote Total Place Televote Place
1 Rasmus Rändvee "Young" 66 7 1187 6 13 4
2 Kruuv "Leelo" 27 3 495 0 3 11 398 8
3 Stefan "By My Side" 72 8 1036 5 13 5 2034 1
4 INGA "Right Time" 59 6 661 1 7 9 538 4
5 Anett x Fredi "Write About Me" 81 12 1238 7 19 1
6 Revals "Kirjutan romaani" 46 5 734 2 7 8 446 5
7 Renate "Videomäng" 0 0 964 4 4 10 599 3
8 Laura "Break Me" 44 4 915 3 7 7 610 2
9 Little Mess "Without a Reason" 12 0 1412 10 10 6 404 7
10 Egert Milder "Georgia (On My Mind)" 73 10 1317 8 18 2
11 Jennifer Cohen "Ping Pong" 15 1 601 0 1 12 423 6
12 Synne Valtri feat. Väliharf "Majakad" 27 2 1861 12 14 3

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 15 February 2020 at the University of Tartu Sports Hall in Tartu, hosted by Karl-Erik Taukar and Tõnis Niinemets. Twelve songs competed for six 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 20,011 votes in the first round and 9,477 votes in the second round. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the group Black Velvet performed as the interval act.[5]

  First round (jury and televote) qualifier   Second round (televote-only) qualifier

Semi-final 2 – 15 February 2020
Draw Artist Song First Round Second Round
Jury Televote Total Place Televote Place
1 Viinerid "Kapa Kohi-LA" 8 0 1307 4 4 10 1710 3
2 Janet "Hingelind" 4 0 456 0 0 12 188 8
3 Uku Suviste "What Love Is" 52 6 5570 12 18 2
4 Inger "Only Dream" 57 8 1967 7 15 4
5 Merilin Mälk "Miljon sammu" 20 2 1021 3 5 9 1244 4
6 German & Violina "Heart Winder" 15 1 623 0 1 11 1214 5
7 Jaagup Tuisk "Beautiful Lie" 108 12 2033 8 20 1
8 Ziggy Wild "Lean on Me" 52 5 933 2 7 8 898 6
9 Uudo Sepp "I'm Sorry. I Messed Up" 57 7 826 1 8 7 1760 2
10 Traffic "Üks kord veel" 69 10 1522 6 16 3
11 SHIRA "Out in Space" 47 4 1400 5 9 6 1947 1
12 Mariliis Jõgeva "Unistustes" 33 3 2353 10 13 5 516 7

Final

The final took place on 29 February 2020 at the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, hosted by Karl-Erik Taukar and Tõnis Niinemets. The six entries that qualified from each of the two preceding semi-finals, all together twelve songs, competed during the show. The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, an international jury (50%) and public televote (50%) determined the top three entries to proceed to the superfinal: "What Love Is" performed by Uku Suviste, "Write About Me" performed by Anett x Fredi and "Beautiful Lie" performed by Jaagup Tuisk. The public vote in the first round registered 47,082 votes. In the superfinal, "What Love Is" performed by Uku Suviste was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote. The public televote in the superfinal registered 49,216 votes. The jury panel that voted in the first round of the final consisted of Mads Endgaard, Prince Charles Alexander, Sylvia Massy, Felix Bergsson, Daniel Cantor, Fredi Lunden, Kazka, Kimbra and Brian Henry.

Final – 29 February 2020
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
1 Inger "Only Dream" 32 2 2762 5 7 8
2 Rasmus Rändvee "Young" 23 1 999 0 1 12
3 Stefan "By My Side" 48 6 1948 2 8 7
4 Synne Valtri feat. Väliharf "Majakad" 19 0 2758 4 4 9
5 Uudo Sepp "I'm Sorry. I Messed Up" 38 3 991 0 3 10
6 Uku Suviste "What Love Is" 56 7 16880 12 19 2
7 SHIRA "Out in Space" 58 8 2236 3 11 6
8 Anett x Fredi "Write About Me" 87 12 3469 7 19 3
9 Jaagup Tuisk "Beautiful Lie" 65 10 5259 10 20 1
10 Traffic "Üks kord veel" 46 5 3271 6 11 5
11 Egert Milder "Georgia (On My Mind)" 38 4 5005 8 12 4
12 Laura "Break Me" 12 0 1504 1 1 11
Superfinal – 29 February 2020
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Uku Suviste "What Love Is" 33582 (68%) 1
2 Anett x Fredi "Write About Me" 7690 (16%) 3
3 Jaagup Tuisk "Beautiful Lie" 7944 (16%) 2

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2020, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Estonia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2020, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[8] However, due to 2019-20 pandemic of Coronavirus, the contest was cancelled. Suviste has been given a spot in the 2021 Eesti Laul semifinals by ERR, but will have to compete with a new song.[9]

In the Eurovision Song Celebration YouTube broadcast in place of the heats, it was revealed that the song would have performed 2nd, between Greece and Austria[10]

References

  1. "Estonia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  2. Jiandani, Sanjay (Sergio) (August 6, 2019). "Estonia: ERR confirms participation in Eurovision 2020". esctoday.
  3. Farren, Neil (8 November 2019). "Estonia: 178 songs received for Eesti Laul 2020". eurovoix.com. eurovoix.com.
  4. Ryan, Tom (August 30, 2019). "Estonia to select their act for 2020 on 29th February!". escxtra.
  5. "ESC 2020 - Uku Suviste (Estonia)". ESCKAZ. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  6. "Selgusid Eesti Laul 2020 esimesed poolfinalistid".
  7. "Selgusid Eesti Laul 2020 esimesed finalistid". ERR (in Estonian). 13 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  8. Groot, Evert (28 January 2020). "Which country performs in which Eurovision 2020 Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  9. https://menu.err.ee/1065730/uku-suvistele-kingitakse-otsepaas-eesti-laul-2021-poolfinaali
  10. Eurovision Song Contest (14 May 2020). "Part two of Eurovision Song Celebration". Retrieved 3 June 2020.
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