Tonight the second and final set of artists were announced for Eesti Laul 2020, the now well established selection process used to find the Estonian act at Eurovision.
Announced live on the Ringvaade television show, the following 12 acts were announced as taking part:
- Synne Valtri feat Väliharf – Majakad
- Anett x Fredi – Write About Me
- Inga – Right Time
- German & Violina – Heart Winder
- Viinerid – Kapa Kohi-LA
- Revals – Kirjutan romaani
- Merilin Mälk – Miljon sammu
- Jennifer Cohen – Ping Pong
- Janet – Hingelind
- Egert Milder – Georgia (On My Mind)
- INGER – Only Dream
- Uudo Sepp – I’m Sorry. I Messed Up
The second half of the acts announced for Eesti Laul 2020 throws up a lot of interest:
1. Synne Valtri of course competed last year, finishing a very respectable 11th in the final with ‘I’ll Do It My Way’, whereas Väliharf are a duo who play guitar and harmonica. This will be an interesting one!
2. Anett x Fredi are Anett Kulbin and Frederik Kuuts . Anett competed in Eesti Laul 2016 as a solo artist, failing to qualify from the 2nd semi final with her song “Strong”. Frederick is just 19 years old but burst onto the music scene when at 16, he recorded his album “Lights & Lies”.
3. Inga Tislar is also a returnee from Eesti Laul 2019, where she competed with the production duo Lumevärv on the song “Milline päev” which came 5th in the grand final. Inga was a member of the fantastic La La Ladies, alumni from Eesti Laul 2016, and she has co-written this year’s entry along with Peter Põder, Allan Kasuk, and Raul Krebs.
4. German & Violina’s inclusion has caused a ripple of excitement amongst fans, Violina are a three piece girl band who serve string bops! Amongst their array of violin bangers they served ‘Me Calientas’ with Emily J (Eeest Laul 2019 finalist with the band Xtra Basic) We are struggling to find out too much about German so far, but the songwriters include Timo Vendt who produced both “Et uus saaks alguse” in 2013 and “La Forza” in 2018.
5. Viinerid are an unknown at this time, although the songwriters of Peter Põder, Hardo Hansar and Martti Kask were part of the group Merwis who described themselves as Explosive, emotional and energetic!
6. Revals‘ song was described as “country rock” and if their appearance on ETV back in November 2017 with “Peatumatu” is anything to go by, we will be treated to more diversity from Eesti Laul 2020.
7. Merilin Mälk is just 18 years old but has already come 3rd in Estonian Superstar and has released 3 singles to date, including the fantastic “Honestly”. Her team of songwriters include Jana Hallas, who was responsible for “Milline päev” last year and many others including Eurovision entries “Once In A Lifetime” in 2000 and “Runaway” in 2002.
8. Jennifer Cohen appeared in Eesti Laul last year with her song “Little Baby El” which sadly did not qualify from the first semi final.
9. Janet Vavilov is appearing as “Janet” and has in the past covered Martin Garrix & David Guetta’s “So Far Away” . Her team of co-writers includes Marek Rosenberg who is an Estonian musician and DJ.
10. Egert Milder is another new name to Eesti Laul, his music is described as “soulful indie sounds” which have been inspired by his world travels, including the Caucasian mountains in Georgia, which has no doubt influenced his song for 2020. The songwriting team he is using are the same as on his previous releases, including “U” from June of this year.
11. Inger Fridolin is another 2019 graduate, where she finished a brilliant 6th in the final with “Coming Home”. She has again this year collaborated with Karl-Ander Reismann.
12. Uudo Sepp is our last entry, and at 22 years old, it is his first attempt at Eesti Laul. He won series 7 of “Estonia is looking for a Superstar” and his acoustic guitar led songs have include the big hit “ Sinule”:
The final of Eesti Laul 2020 will take place at the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn on Saturday 29th February, preceded by two semi finals on Thursday 13th February and Saturday 15th February (venues to be announced).
That now completes the final field of 24 artists, as the following were announced yesterday:
- Stefan – “By My Side”
- Kruuv – “Leelo”
- Shira – “Out In Space”
- Jaagup Tuisk – “Beautiful Lie”
- Little Mess – “Without A Reason”
- Ziggy Wild – “Lean On Me”
- Uku Suviste – “What Love Is”
- Traffic – “Üks kord veel”
- Rasmus Rändvee – “Young”
- Mariliis Jõgeva – “Unistustes”
- Renate – “Videomäng”
- Laura – “Break Me”
Who will be the lucky artist representing Estonia at Eurovision and can they beat the position of 2019 Grand Finalist Victor Crone, who finished 20th with ‘Storm’? Let us know on our social media channels!
