Public Television of Estonia (ERR) has released the songs vying to represent the country in the upcoming edition of the Eurovision Song Contest; however, they’ll first have to win the grand final of Eesti Laul 2024. The entries, a total of 20, were selected by a panel of experts consisting of 41 members directly involved in the world of music: composers, artists, radio and television professionals, producers, teachers, and music enthusiasts. This year, the jury has been the largest in the history of Eesti Laul.
Out of the 20 submissions, the top 5 rated by the panel of experts have already secured a spot in the grand final, set to take place on February 17th. The rest will compete in a semifinal to secure one of the five remaining spots for the final show.
Listen to the songs already classified for the grand final
Brother Apollo – “Bad Boy”
Nele-Liis Vaiksoo – “Käte ümber jää”
Carlos Ukareda – “Never Growing Up”
Uudo Sepp y Sarah Murray – “Still Love”
Daniel Levi –”Over the Moon”
Listen to the semi-finalists songs
OLLIE – “My Friend”
Cartoon, Ewert Sundja – “Oblivion”
YONNA – “I Don’t Know About You”
Peter Põder – “Korra veel”
Antsud – “Vetevaim”
Ewert and the Two Dragons – “Hold Me Now”
Anet Vaikmaa – “Serotoniin”
Silver Jusilo – “Lately”
Cecilia – “FOMO”
Laura – “Here’s Where I Draw the Line”
Sofia Rubina – “Be Good”
5MIINUST x Puuluup – “(nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi”
INGA – “No Dog On a Leash”
Traffic – “Wunderbar”
Ingmar – “Dreaming”
Mechanics of Eesti Laul 2024
The national contest has undergone significant changes this year compared to previous editions, as it has transitioned from two semifinals to just one semifinal featuring 15 entries competing for five available spots.
The semifinal will take place on January 20th next year in Tartu. In this semifinal, there will be two rounds of voting as in previous editions. In the first round, both the jury and the public will vote, and in the final round, the public will select the last finalists.
The five songs selected in the semifinal will join the other five previously chosen by a panel of experts in the grand final on February 17th to be held in Tallinn.
The winner of the contest will be selected, as in previous editions, by both the jury and the public in two rounds of voting. In the first round, both will vote and choose three super-finalists for a second round. In the second round, only the public among the super-finalists will choose the winner of Eesti Laul 2024 and Estonia’s representative in Eurovision 2024.
The hosts of Eesti Laul 2024 will be Tõnis Niinemets and Grete Kuld, who are reprising their roles as presenters, having been part of the Estonian selection last year.
Eesti Laul, Estonia’s pre-selection
The contest was established in 2009 to replace the former Eurolaul, which had been unsuccessful in sending any of its winners to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004.
Since its first edition, Eesti Laul has stood out for bringing musical styles that hadn’t been featured in other European selections. In its inaugural edition, the winners, Sandra Nurmsalu and Urban Symphony with the electropop song ‘Rändajad,’ finally broke the streak and qualified for Eurovision’s grand final, achieving a 6th place.
Among Estonia’s best entries for Eurovision in the Eesti Laul era are Ott Lepland (2012), Elina Born and Stig Rästa (2015), Elina Nechayeva (2018), and the last winner, Alika, who achieved an impressive 8th place in the grand final held in Liverpool with her song ‘Bridges.