On Thursday the Estonian selection process, Eesti Laul, will begin with the first semi final which is being held in Tartu.

One of the acts in semi final 1 is a 2018 returnee, Stefan. He was one half of the duo Vajé, who made the superfinal last year, and they eventually finished 3rd with the song ‘Laura (Walk With Me):

We spoke to Stefan about entering Eesti Laul as a solo artist, the meaning behind his song and his expectations for this year’s competition.

Stefan, welcome back to Eesti Laul. Congratulations on reaching the top three last year as part of Vajé, what made you decide to send a song alone this year rather than with Hans again?

This is so awesome to be back again. I\m so thankful for my family who were always there to support me and my fans who believed in me. It was an amazing experience being with Hans on the biggest stage of Estonia and to sing for half million people. Yes, this time I decided to try as an solo artist and I wrote a song that is really important to me.

The lyrics to Without You are quite dark, about someone who is devastated by their ex-partner being with another man. It’s also a song that you have co-written yourself – is the song about something that has happened to you?

This is from my past. I wont tell you who it is related to, let it be a secret 😉

What are your expectations this year – do you think ‘Without You’ will finish higher than ‘Laura’?

It is hard to tell how people will react to my new song, but I can tell you that when they will see me on stage they will believe in my story and they will like this song even more.

If you were to represent Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest what would that mean to you?

Eesti Laul is such a big opportunity for all people to show themselves and I am so happy to compete with such amazing and talented people. . It would mean so much for me if I would go to Eurovision and represent Estonia.

Thank you Stefan for speaking to us and we’d like to wish you the best in Semi Final 1!

Thank you for the wishes. All the best 💕

12 acts will be performing on Thursday evening and only six acts will make it to the final in Tallinn on Saturday 16th February. Vote for your favourite acts in our Semi Final 1 poll below!