Liis Lemsalu talks to us about “Hold on”, her entry in Eesti Laul
Liis Lemsalu is the winner of 4th edition of Estonian Pop-Idol called “Eesti otsib superstaari”, and she is not unknown to Eurovision fans, as she participated in Eesti Laul twice already. In 2012 her entry “Made up my mind” finished 5th in the final, but one year later the song “Uhhuu” didn’t reach the final. In 2015 Liss will perform “Hold on” together with Egert Milder.
We had a great pleasure to chat with Liis regarding her career, and her participation in Eesti Laul. Check out everything she told us in the following interview:
- Hi Liis! First of all congratulations for qualification to the Eesti Laul 2015! You are the winner of Estonian “Idol”, but Eurovision fans know you from Eesti Laul 2012 where you finished 5th with “Made up my mind”. Why did you decide to enter the competition again?
I guess that the timing was right for me. I was surrounded by the right people at the right time and so it happened, all very naturally. I made the demo for the song approximately a half a year ago, so I guess it just needed the right moment to become alive, the right people..
- Can you tell us more about your song “Hold on” and collaboration with Egert Milder?
I remember when I first started working on “Hold on” I was at home, sitting behind the keyboard and just trying out different harmonies, when I finally found the first chord that I liked I started automatically mumbling “hold on I’m coming for ya” and so I repeated it like a mantra, until it all fell into place. For some reason after I had finished my first demo version, it kinda got stuck and I stopped working on the song, so it was put on hold, until a period of time. When the deadline of Eesti Laul was getting closer and closer, my producer had an idea to make a duet out of the song and so we did. We got together with Slippery Slope at the studio, they had some fresh new ideas that we made happen and from there on it is history.
- Have you already had some ideas about how your stage performance is going to look like?
Yes, I have a bunch of ideas, hopefully we will make them happen as well .
- Have you listened to the other songs in Eesti Laul? Do you have any personal favourites so far?
I haven’t had time to sit down and check all of the songs, but i have heard a few glipses of some songs 🙂
- Do you think it is better to sing in Estonian or English in Eesti Laul and in Eurovision?
I think it does not matter what language you sing in, if the song is good, then it will definitely work, no matter what language you are singing it in. But as I have understood, it is maybe better to sing in English when we are talking about Eurovision, because looking back at the winner songs, they have mostly been in English.
- Can you tell us more about your career? Do you think talent-shows as “Idol” can help young and talented people to become famous and respected singers?
Right now I am working on my new album, that is going to be released next year (2015), so I’m super excited to get it out to my fans. I think that the shows are definitely a good place to build up a platform for your dreams. It is also quite hard, but in the end it is totally worth it if it is something you really wish for.
- Are you a Eurovision fan? Which Eurovision songs do you like the most?
This year I really cheered for the Netherlands, The Common Linnets were like a fresh breeze of air that we all could not get enough of.
- Do you have message for our readers of ESCBubble who will follow Eesti Laul online, and support you?
Get busy doing the things you love and your destiny will find you. Come also and check out my Facebook fanpage, that is the place I keep my fans updated about what is going on with my life.
- Thank you very much Liis! We wish you all the best in Eesti Laul!
Give a listen to “Hold On” by Liis and Egert right here: