It’s nearly time for Eesti Laul 2024 – and as the excitement builds, we’ve been talking to some of the 20 hopefuls looking to fly the Estonian flag in May. 

Making his Eesti Laul debut with ‘Dreaming’, 20 year-old Ingmar is one of this year’s youngest contestants. But from touring with Eesti Laul alumni to competing in Estonian Idol he has plenty of performing experience, so we had lots to chat about when we got the opportunity to talk with him!

Read on below to find out more. 

S: Tell us about your song – what inspired you to write it? 

I: My song “Dreaming” is about how when we are young, we dare to dream big and think that anything is possible. But when we grow older, many tend to give up on their true desires and lose that strong sense of belief in themselves. Why does that happen? Many things could be the answer, but with my song I want to empower people into not giving up and going for their dreams.

At the beginning of this year I gave myself a promise to write at least one song every day. Most of them were songwriting exercises, but a few really stood out – and this was one of them. I started writing this song in August when I was still in Estonia. After writing the verse and pre chorus, it took me weeks until I finally came up with a chorus that I thought was really great, by then I was already back in the US.

My dream as a child was to become the director of a zoo. I even went and played violin to animals at the zoo in my hometown. Interestingly enough, in second grade I wrote an essay on who I will be in the future. In that essay, I wrote that one day I’ll write a hit song that will make it to Eurovision.

S: So, you’ve always had a dream of performing on the Eurovision stage. What made you decide to submit this song to Eesti Laul in 2024?

I: Actually, it isn’t my first year to submit a song to Eesti Laul. I submitted a song of mine back in 2020 when I was just 16 years old, which was only the fourth song I’d ever written. Thinking back, I absolutely understand why it didn’t qualify – I was very bold for having just started out with singing and songwriting!

But not qualifying gave me a lot of motivation and made me driven to become better at everything I do – and to come back much stronger. This year, I had no plans of submitting my song until a few friends suggested doing it. I thought to myself: ‘why not, I have this great song idea in mind right now and there is nothing to lose from that opportunity’. Now here I am!

S: While you play several instruments, you are particularly known for your violin skills. Tell us a bit more about that – and how they fit into this song. 

I: Yes, you will hear quite a lot of violins on my track – and I recorded all of them myself. Altogether it must’ve been over a hundred tracks of just violins alone, which is quite a lot. And you may or may not see violins in my live performance as well, you’ll have to see it to find out!

S: You’re currently studying music at Berklee in the USA, one of the world’s most prestigious music colleges. How is that going?

I: Studying at Berklee College of Music is fantastic! I am currently in my third semester studying music production and songwriting. In addition to that, I’ve taken lots of different and very fascinating courses such as film scoring, conducting and hip-hop dancing to name a few. 

Before coming here, I had played classical violin for twelve years. But Berklee is known for its heavy jazz influences, so I started learning jazz violin as well. 

I feel that coming here was the best choice I could have made. By being here, I’ve gotten to work with amazing people. In fact, 3 remarkable, Grammy award-winning people helped me with ‘Dreaming’, : Patrick Viala, Prince Charles Alexander and Chris Lord-Alge.

S: You were also a finalist on Superstaari (Estonian Idol) in 2021, a singing contest won by last year’s Eesti Laul winner, Alika. What was that experience like – and how will it help you in your performance?

I: For me, participating in Estonian Idol changed my life. It was my first experience of singing alone on live television and being watched by tens of thousands of people. That show really opened a lot of doors for me. 

I had two tours across the country with famous Estonian artists including two previous Eurovision singers – Uku Suviste and Koit Toome. My songs even got onto radios after that as well! All of the experiences from that particular show and what has taken place after have prepared me well. I’m ready to deliver my best performance on that stage and not afraid to aim for the win!

S: Finally, do you have any favourite Eesti Laul songs?

I: There have been so many great songs in the history of Eesti Laul. From last year of course I liked Alika’s song a lot. Ollie’s song was great as well – I listened to that almost every night at the gym. Definitely one of the most beautiful ballads and songs to have come out of Eesti Laul is ‘Kuula’ by Ott Lepland.

Thank you Ingmar, and best of luck!

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You can watch Ingmar perform his entry ‘Dreaming’ in the Eesti Laul semi final on January 20th. For now, enjoy the music video below: