Estonia – National broadcaster ERR have revealed that they received 157 entries for this year’s Eesti Laul selection competition. An internal jury will now assess these songs and reduce the entries down to twenty. The names and song titles of the final twenty will be announced later this week. Two semi-finals will be held on the 16th and 23rd of February 2013, an the final on 2nd March 2013.
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The Eurovision Times 
I will be following this NF for sure. This one has consistently kept the level way above average even when it is not at its best. I can’t wait. :)
One of the few nfs I’ll be following for sure. I hope they keep the high standards of the last two years. Good luck.
I’m one of those who didn’t really like Eesti Laul 12.Of course, “Kuula” was much better than their 2011 silly pop choice.I do hope for a better song selection the year to come.Good luck!
Sometimes Estonia has been a bit too minimalistic for my taste, but one can’t deny that they have one of Europe’s most daring, interesting and fresh national finals. I have really liked all the four latest Estonian entries, and Estonia remains one of my favourite ESC countries.
Kinda sad, that out of all those 157, we will only hear 20 :P. Oh well.
Personally, I disliked “Kuula”, it reminded too much of “Hero.”
I can’t wait to hear the finalists of what will hopefully be another fantastic edition of Eesti Laul! :D
According to the ETV website, the finalists will be revealed during the show “Ringvaade” at 7pm Estonian time on Thursday
Let’s see what they prepared for us. Estonia is one country that hasn’t failed me in the past 5 years.
Eesti Laul is the NF I always look forward too most. I have absolutely loved every single edition of this format, and last year’s ‘Oblivion’ is my favourite ESC cum NF song of 2012. ‘Kuula’ was fantastic too, in particular Ott’s live performances in Baku. In fact, ‘Kuula’ is my favourite Estonian ESC entry ever … and yes, I even prefer it to ‘Siren’ because Malcolm Lincoln’s live performance was a tad lacklustre imo. Other Estonian ESC songs I love are their 1998, 2003 and 2009 entries. However, I never liked Estonia much back in the 90s and mid 00s, and thus Estonia is only in 32nd place on my list of ESC countries with an average score of 5.63.
I agree Ott (and his wonderful backing vocalist Marvi Vallaste) did give a fantastic performance in Baku, elevating what was essentially a rather dull, generic ballad to something much more impressive. For me though, ‘Siren’ remains my favourite Estonian entry (and one of my favourite ESC entries of all time) due to its sheer musicality and quirky, yet restrained performance.
Estonian entries I love: 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2010, 2012
There is obviously something about Estonia that gets me. It must be to me what Cyprus is for togravus and Finland is for Morgan.
But Cyprus isn’t even among my top 5 ESC countries … which are Serbia, BiH, Italy, Albania and France. Then I have Yugoslavia in 6th place and Cyprus and Portugal in shared 7th.
As I said the other day, I only ever really loved Cyprus from 1991 to 2000 … and then there are only a few other songs I really like (1982, 2004, 2011).
Ah, I see. I do only remember your conflict about Cyprus and Finland and how much you differed in your opinion about them.
My Top 5 would probably be made up of France, Serbia, Estonia, Yugoslavia and Portugal. But there’s a couple of other countries there too: Italy, Denmark and Monaco.
Since 2009 they have never lost a place in my personal top 10 !
And of course , that ranks them at #7 on my esc countries list with an average of 6.78 ! Pity for their 2001 , 2005 , 2006 and 2008 entries that drag their average a bit lower…
And very sophisticated NF’s during the last years as well !Well done !
Is it only me(and Shevek if i can recall)that disliked Ott’s,let’s say,vocal approach of the song during the esc semi and final?It was like he was screaming: notice me!I can sing really well!
No, I also hated it. While I recognize that Ott can sing well and the song is well-composed, I have the song near my bottom because of how he sang it at Eurovision.
Yes, Dimitri, I have always loved ‘Kuula’ since the first time I heard it way back when. I was even more convinced by its live rendition in Eesti Laul 12. I try to ignore Ott’s boisterous performances in Baku, because they ruine the delicate balance between his voice and the backing singer’s.
Rona Nishliu’s new song.I thought that you’d like to listen to it.I read that it highlights the proble of violence in teenage couples.
This song is soooo much better than “Suus”. If only she had had this song in Baku instead…
Fantastic like everything Rona does. She is one of the very few artists (in contrast to just singers, entertainers, wannabe singers or worse …) that have participated in ESC since the contest went astray in the early 1970s.
Yay, finally … finally … Christmas holidays have come! :)
Thanks for the lick, Dimitri. :) Rona is pure class no matter what she does.
P.S.: does anybody know how can one comment on the renewed ESC Today?
Thanks for the link, obviously! LOL
I just hope that one doesn’t have to have a profile on facebook to comment on ESCtoday from now on; in that case I won’t be, since I don’t have a profile on fb and I don’t have any intentions of making one :(
Hi Shevek, everyone :)
I think that you are right regarding esctoday.You have to post comments via facebook which is lame.Even if you do have a fb account many,people don’t want to reveal so much personal information through a eurovision site.I just wish ET had more updates.
Ho, Oxi. I do not have a Facebbok page either, so I guess ESC Tday is off -limits as far as I am concerned
Great stuff indeed. Thank you Dimitri!
Elegant and Rona is absolutely a one of a kind. But in comparion with “Suus”, it grows pale, like most songs.
I’d like to see Iiris Vesik in NF, smth like “Astronaut” would be AMAZING!! :-**
Yes! I love Iiris! Have you heard her album “The Magic Gift Box” yet? It’s fantastic :D
No I haven’t, but thanks for infos a lot, I will! :)
Based on the stuff from last year, Estonia should, once again, be the host of a very good national final. It was right behind Iceland for me in terms of quality in 2012.
Estonia should host a good one this year – good luck!
Just a quick something, (i know it’s hardly relevant!), take a few secs to have a go at this poll – it’s just for fun and hey – it’s Christmas! ;)
Oops! Here’s the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CQFFKSH
Off-topic, but the songs competing in the Latvian NF have been uploaded onto the LTV website…
http://www.ltv.lv/eirovizija/dziesmas/
Re the Latvian Preselection : An improvement indeed compared to previous years , and quite a diversity if you ask me.Unfortunately the “Swedish Mafia invasion” is more than obvious…
I think that Latvia is in for a chance with any of the :
1)”When you’re with me” : Music-wise the most interesting choice BY MILES.It reminds me a lot of “Goodnight Moon” by Shivaree which can only be good of course !
2)”I need a hero” : The big ballad sung by someone who sounds like Delta Goodrem.Probably this one is a Swedish product because the similarties to “I’m moving on” by Sarah Dawn Finer are more than obvious.This is a very safe choice for Latvia both jury and televoting-wise taking into consideration that there is a key change of course !
3)”Sad trumpet” : You remember Moldova 12 ? Well this is the sad cover ! Even if it begins as quite boring and repetitive , it sticks into your memory by the end while remaining artistically credible.As Morgan said the artist behind it , is rumored to be PeR which btw were my favorites in 2012.
4)”Tirpini” : The one to love if you are the Folk/ethnic-lover esc fan ! With a powerful vocal and stage performance this could be GREAT as well !
5)”Give me a try” : The decent pop rock entry.
6)”One” : The catchy ESC stomper which the majority of esc fans will worship and a few others ( that come to my mind :P ) will look down on.Some parts remind me of “Papi” by J-Lo and of Cyprus 12.
————————————————————————————————————————-
I also enjoyed :
7)”Joey” : A likeable country tune.
8)”Here I am” : The pop rock ballad a la Kelly Clarkson.
9)”Phoenix fly” : An ok pop midtempo track a la Denmark.
10)”Upside down” : The esc cheese and camp fest.If you don’t believe wait till after the 2nd chorus :p
11)”Now or never” : Very catchy.I think Trianas Parks are behind this one but it’s not one of their strongest esc efforts imo…
12)”Let the night belong to the lovers” : The chill out choice that of course stands no chance in esc !
I did not say such a thing.
Sorry Morgan .It was Patrick , my fault !
already a thulb down? god this place stinks more than I remembered
thulb, lol, i so cant type when im angry, therefore i should leave again, sorry i disturbed the place’s little pleace
I gave you a thumb up! :)
Good night! :-***
Patrick said that! :)
Nothing is jumping out at me yet as a possible winner, but there are four songs that I personally don’t mind:
1. “When You’re With Me” (quite a nice retro-tinged ballad, although I find the lyrics a bit naff)
2. “I Am Who I Am” (bad lyrics, but nevertheless a simple, catchy pop-rock tune)
3. “Tirpini” (with a great live, this has the potential to really stand out from the pack)
4. “Give Me A Try” (a straight-forward pop-rock, composed by one of the members of Brainstorm :D)
Thanks for the link, marc.
Well, I chose to listen to the title I most liked and you know what? I like it very much! So, atm, I shall say ‘Sad Trompet’ for the win!!! (Was it wriiten by Swedes? I hope not! LOL)
No it’s written by Latvians and it’s performed by PeR from last year Latvian NF, you know that band! You should listen to “Tirpini”, it’s interesting for you a lot, it’s folky and it’s the only one which is not in English language…it’s in some strange language :D
Wow, it sounds really different to “Disco Superfly”! :D
I enjoyed ‘Disco Superfly’.
Yes, so did I – it was my favourite song of the Latvian NF last year!
Ahh, the song “Here We Go” is also by PeR!
Thanks, Marko! :) I listened to it just because you said so and I think that ‘Sad Trumpet’ is more to my liking, but the live performances will be pivotal. ‘Sad trumpet’ will probably grow on me more and more. I have to go and get some rest now. Good night, Marko and everyone else.
P.S.: I like the first two Latvian hopefuls that I heard, but after reading the comments around here, things will most probably change in the near future.
No one here who likes “Cold heart”? I feel a bit confused when so many people here embrace that unstructured nature song “Tirpini”. In my ears it did just sound plastic.
And I see that no one still has manage to figure out what language it is. :)
I quite like the musical style “Cold Heart” is written in, but I found the singer’s delivery obnoxious and annoying :/
Eulenspiegel, I see what you mean about ‘Tirpini’; ‘Sad Trumpet’ is much better. I am so very tired right now. I gave ‘Cold heart’ a try and I think it has potential. However, I strongly suspect it will crash and burn live; I may be wrong though. There are so many songs to listen to!
Boa noite.
Boa noite, Shevek.
I thought the singer’s voice in “Cold heart” sounded very strong and safe, but maybe you both are right that it will just be bad and annoying live.
Now, I would sum up what I think about “Tirpini” by comparing it with an Estonian entry from the past: the Buddhist/Catholic marriage called 11!
Estonia you rarely disappoint – Ott Lepland was amazing this year, I was lucky enough to see him perform live on a visit to Tallinn, simply stunning. Good luck with your choice for 2013.
About Latvia, I have listened to their hopefuls and I liked 8 songs, in this order:
1. I need a hero – great ballad
2. Higher and higher – I think it’s of Swedish composer, or from Denmark
3, Tirpini, I dunno which language this is, it sounds interesting, so you can see i can like folky entries, I think it’s in one local very small language, the same one as Latvian song “Risti rasti” from their 2010 preselection, but I’m not sure, i even knew the a name of that language, but I forgot..
4. Phoneix Fly
5. Here I am
6. One
7. Love responder
8. Now or never
Regarding Latvia,the names of the authors of the songs have been published.
http://escxtra.com/2012/12/ltv-announce-participants/
There are quite a few Sweidish names among them.
Oh dear… LOL I haven’t heard a single song yet.
Some are from Denmark, and I think some are from the USA.
The finalists of the Austrian NF have also been revealed…
http://kundendienst.orf.at/programm/fernsehen/orf1/sc.html
I’ll save my opinion on the Latvian songs for when there is a new article about it. However I find it depressing news that 9/24 songs in a NATIONAL final are Swedish and in total 11 are not Latvian. That’s almost half. :(
And i just read that Moldova allows foreign composers to compete in their final for the first time…
Didn’t Moldova have a Siegel/Meinunger song in their final 2010?
I also think this year there was a song penned by Siegel.It was something about the sunshine if i remember corectly but that’s what esctoday reports.That for the very first time their national broadcaster has invited foreign composers to submit their songs.
Guys Esctoday have problem ?
I was wondering the same thing, Lina. Hi, btw. :)
Hi Lina & Shevek!
No, Esctoday.com hasn’t got problems, but they revamped their website. ;-)
Hello Nicky & Shevek x x x x x x
ESCToday.com still has problems even if they revamped their site. Instead of new design they should focus more on getting stuff to work.
New ESCtoday desighn is aufull !!!!!!! I dont like it at all …. News and adverdises are all together like a salad . First ESCtoday desighn was the best :(
It is a tad confusing and it’s too white, imo. They seemingly refuse to have any kind of editorial perspective. They seem to be afraid of stepping on someone’s (namely the EBU’s) toes.
@yabbadabbadooo i thing the most of old ESCtoday modderators have quit ( for example the German modderator who was in core team ). Now they work only 2 – 3 modderators in “daily” base and the rest new modderators appears only 2 – 3 months before ESC ….
I guess that we have to bring Morgan out of pouting if we want more updates on ET. Please, Morgan, come back!
P. S. I have listened to the Latvian hopefuls while cleaning the house today and gosh! it is a mediocre bunch of songs. Almost every single one of them will leave Latvia stuck in the semis once again.
The only songs that generated some interest while listening were ‘Love’, ‘Cold Heart’, ‘Sad Trumpet’ (deductions for horrendous English though) and ‘When You’re with Me’ but even if I like those songs personally, I do not expect any of them to set the scoreboard on fire in case they are chosen to represent Latvia in Malmö.
The worst ones: ‘Upside Down’ (0/12) … ‘Love Responder’, ‘Good Woman’, ‘Now or Never’, ‘Here We Go’ and ‘Better Than You’.
I put Austria’s and Latvia’s articles up but I see now that Hulluna is back, no need for me anymore
Nooo don’t go! Thanks for doing the articles, I don’t get chance when at work so much, really appreciate you helping!
well to be fair, the other articles did not interest me much: i really only care for estonia and MF lol, but we should like email each other to coordinate the articles or like you can email me when you cant make articles or stuffs like that; i dont mind doing it and i dont want eurovision times to go under i just wont comment on the articles
Plaese stay and bear with us!
Morgan, please stay. There is always need for someone like you.