Congratulations are in order to the winner of this year’s Eesti Laul (and the act that will go on to represent Estonia at this year’s Eurovision) … *dramatic wind instruments play* Stefan!
Tonight, the ten songs that managed to make it through the November quarterfinals and last week’s semi-finals faced off for the right to represent their country at Eurovision in May. Those songs, in running order, were:
- Elina Nechayeva– “Remedy”
- Andrei Zevakin ft. Grete Paia– “Mis nüüd saab”
- Jaagup Tuisk– “Kui vaid”
- Elysa– “Fire”
- Ott Lepland– “Aovalguses”
- Stig Rästa– “Interstellar”
- Minimal Wind ft. Elisabeth Tiffany– “What To Make Of This”
- Stefan– “Hope”
- Anna Sahlene– “Champion”
- Black Velvet– “Sandra”
After all ten songs performed, a 50/50 split of public and jury voting determined the Top 3 songs that were moving on to this year’s superfinal. The jurors awarded their points first, with Minimal Wind ft. Elisabeth Tiffany coming out on top with 101 points, besting the jury’s 2nd place, Stefan, by 16 points. Anna Sahlene came in 3rd with the jury, with Elysa hot on her heels.
Next up were the results of the public vote. Once those numbers were added, the Top 3 entries moving on to the superfinal were:
- Minimal Wind ft. Elisabeth Tiffany– “What To Make Of This”
- Stefan– “Hope”
- Elysa– “Fire”
In the superfinal, a 100% public vote determined the winner of Eesti Laul. After the dust settled, the winner, with 63% of the public vote, was Stefan and his song “Hope”. Minimal Wind ft. Elisabeth Tiffany finished 2nd, with Elysa in 3rd.
“Hope” was co-written by Stefan and Karl-Ander Reismann, a composer and music producer whose collaborated on Eesti Laul entries with artists like Sissi, Rasmus Rändvee, and Shira at past editions of the contest. This is the first time one of his compositions snatched the victory.
This is Stefan‘s fourth attempt to represent Estonia at Eurovision. He previously competed at Eesti Laul in 2018, 2019, and 2020, placing 3rd on his first two attempts and 7th with his 2020 effort.
With “Hope”, it looks like 4th time was the charm. Watch his winning performance below:
Were #YOU rooting for Stefan to go all the way? If not, which of the finalists were #YOU rooting for? Do #YOU think Stefan can get Estonia back into the grand final? What are those slow motion cowboys so mad about? Sound off in the comments below, in our forum, or on social media @ESCUnited.
