Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 explained

Year:2019
Country:Estonia
Preselection:Estonian: [[Eesti Laul]] 2019
Preselection Date:Semi-finals:
31 January 2019
2 February 2019
Final:
16 February 2019
Entrant:Victor Crone
Song:Storm
Sf Result:Qualified (4th, 198 points)
Final Result:20th, 76 points

Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Storm" written by Stig Rästa, Vallo Kikas, Victor Crone and Fred Krieger. The song was performed by Victor Crone. The Estonian broadcaster Estonian: [[Eesti Rahvusringhääling]]|i=no (ERR) organised the national final Estonian: [[Eesti Laul]] 2019 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. The national final consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Twelve songs competed in each semi-final and six from each semi-final as determined by a jury panel and public vote qualified to the final. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the superfinal. In the superfinal, "Storm" performed by Victor Crone was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote.

Estonia was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 14 May 2019. Performing during the show in position 14, "Storm" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 18 May. It was later revealed that Estonia placed fourth out of the 17 participating countries in the semi-final with 198 points. In the final, Estonia performed in position 18 and placed twentieth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 76 points.

Background

See main article: Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Prior to the 2019 contest, Estonia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-four times since its first entry in 1994,[1] winning the contest on one occasion in 2001 with the song "Everybody" performed by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Estonia has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final on six occasions. In 2018, "Italian: La forza|i=no" performed by Elina Nechayeva managed to qualify Estonia to the final where the song placed eighth.

The Estonian national broadcaster, Estonian: [[Eesti Rahvusringhääling]]|i=no (ERR), broadcasts the event within Estonia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. ERR confirmed Estonia's participation at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest on 3 September 2018. Since their debut, the Estonian broadcaster has organised national finals that feature a competition among multiple artists and songs in order to select Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The Estonian: [[Eesti Laul]] competition has been organised since 2009 in order to select Estonia's entry and also on 3 September 2018, ERR announced the organisation of Estonian: Eesti Laul 2019 in order to select the nation's 2019 entry.[2]

Before Eurovision

Eesti Laul 2019

Estonian: Eesti Laul 2019 was the eleventh edition of the Estonian national selection Estonian: [[Eesti Laul]], which selected Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The competition consisted of twenty entries competing in two semi-finals on 31 January and 2 February 2019 leading to a twelve-song final on 16 February 2019. All three shows were broadcast on Estonian: [[Eesti Televisioon]]|i=no (ETV) and on ETV+ with Russian commentary as well as streamed online at the broadcaster's official website err.ee. The final was also broadcast via radio on Estonian: [[Raadio 2]]|i=no with commentary by Erik Morna, Margus Kamlat, Bert Järvet and Kristo Rajasaare.[3] [4]

Format

The format of the competition included two semi-finals on 31 January and 2 February 2019 and a final on 16 February 2019. Twelve songs competed in each semi-final and the top six from each semi-final qualified to complete the twelve song lineup in the final.[5] The results of the semi-finals was determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a professional jury and public televoting for the first four qualifiers and a second round of public televoting for the fifth and sixth qualifiers. The winning song in the final was selected over two rounds of voting: the first round results selected the top three songs via the 50/50 combination of jury and public voting, while the second round (superfinal) determined the winner solely by public televoting. In addition to winning the right to represent Estonia at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, the winning songwriters and producers were also awarded monetary prizes of €3,000 and €1,000, respectively. The Estonian Authors' Society and Estonian Performers Association also awarded a monetary prize of €1,000 to the top three entries.[6]

Competing entries

On 1 October 2018, ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 6 November 2018 through an online upload platform. Each artist and songwriter was only able to submit a maximum of five entries. Foreign collaborations were allowed as long as 50% of the songwriters were Estonian. A fee was also imposed on songs being submitted to the competition, with €25 for songs in the Estonian language and €50 for songs in other languages. 216 submissions were received by the deadline. A 12-member jury panel selected 24 semi-finalists from the submissions and the selected songs were announced during the ETV entertainment program Ringvaade on 15 November 2018.[7] The selection jury consisted of Ivar Must (composer), Lenna Kuurmaa (singer), Kaupo Karelson (television producer), Leen Kadakas (Universal Music Baltics manager), Vaido Pannel (Estonian: Raadio|i=no Sky+ music editor), Allan Roosileht (Star FM presenter), Laura Põldvere (singer), Karl-Erik Taukar (singer), Dagmar Oja (singer), Rolf Roosalu (singer), Renee Meriste (music manager) and Sten Teppan (Estonian: [[Vikerraadio]]|i=no music editor).[8]

Among the competing artists were previous Eurovision Song Contest entrants Sandra Nurmsalu, who represented Estonia as part of the group Urban Symphony in 2009, Birgit, who represented Estonia in 2013, and Tanja, who represented Estonia in 2014. Grete Paia, Inga, Jaan Pehk, Kerli Kivilaan, Kristel Aaslaid (Estonian: Öed|i=no), Tuuli Rand (Estonian: Öed|i=no), Sofia Rubina-Hunter, Stefan and Uku Suviste have all competed in previous editions of Eesti Laul. Victor Crone's entry was written by Stig Rästa, who represented Estonia in 2015 with Elina Born.

ArtistSongSongwriter(s)
Around the Sun"Follow Me Back"Daniel Rukovitškin, Georg Eessaar
Cätlin Mägi and Jaan Pehk"Estonian: Parmumäng|i=no"Cätlin Mägi, Jaan Pehk
Grete Paia"Estonian: Kui isegi kaotan|i=no"Grete Paia, Mihkel Mattisen, Timo Vendt, Kerli Puusepp
Inger"Coming Home"Inger Fridolin, Karl-Ander Reismann
Iseloomad"Estonian: Kaks miinust|i=no"Vilho Meier, Siim Randveer
Jennifer Cohen"Little Baby El"Chris Hierro, Jennifer Marisse Cohen, Luisa Lõhmus
Johanna Eendra"Estonian: Miks sa teed nii?|i=no"Johanna Eendra, Joosep Eendra
Kadiah"Believe"Kadi Poll
Kaia Tamm"German: Wo sind die Katzen?|i=no"Kaia Tamm
Kerli Kivilaan"Cold Love"Kerli Kivilaan, Egert Milder, Andres Kõpper
Lacy Jay"Estonian: Halleluja|i=no"Ago Teppand, Lacy Nicole Jones, Hugo Martin Maasikas
Lumevärv feat. Inga"Estonian: Milline päev|i=no"Margus Piik, Kermo Hert, Jana Hallas
Marko Kaar"Smile"Marko Kaar, Egert Kanep
Estonian: Öed|i=no"Estonian: Öhuloss|i=no"Tuuli Rand, Kristel Aaslaid, Bert Prikenfeld, Egert Milder
Ranele"Supernova"Marek Rosenberg, Lauri Lembinen, Marco Margna, Anne Loho
Sandra Nurmsalu"Estonian: Soovide puu|i=no"Priit Pajusaar, Sandra Nurmsalu, Aapo Ilves
Sissi"Strong"Karl-Ander Reismann, Sissi Nylia Benita
Sofia Rubina feat. Janika Tenn"Deep Water"Sofia Rubina-Hunter, Janika Tenn, Oljana Kallson
Stefan"Without You"Stefan Airapetjan, Karl-Ander Reismann
Synne Valtri"I'll Do It My Way"Sünne Valtri
The Swingers, Tanja and Birgit"High Heels in the Neighbourhood"Tanja Mihhailova, Timo Vendt, Mihkel Mattisen
Uku Suviste"Pretty Little Liar"Uku Suviste, Oliver Mazurtšak
Victor Crone"Storm"Stig Rästa, Vallo Kikas, Victor Crone, Fred Krieger
Xtra Basic and Emily J"Hold Me Close"Andrei Zevakin, Igor Volhonski

Semi-finals

The two semi-finals took place on 31 January and 2 February 2019 at the University of Tartu Sports Hall in Tartu, hosted by Ott Sepp and Piret Krumm. In each semi-final twelve songs competed for the first four spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote which registered 23,372 votes in the first semi-final and 23,633 votes in the second semi-final; the remaining two qualifiers were decided by an additional televote between the remaining non-qualifiers which registered 7,038 votes in the first semi-final and 11,175 votes in the second semi-final.[9] The jury panel that voted in the semi-finals consisted of Toomas Olljum, Maiken, Tanel Padar, Sven Lõhmus, Berk Vaher, Kristjan Hirmo, Margus Kamlat, Jüri Pootsmann and Luisa Rõivas.[10]

Semi-final 1 (First round) – 31 January 2019
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
VotesPointsVotesPoints
1The Swingers, Tanja and Birgit"High Heels in the Neighbourhood"4562,0887134
2Marko Kaar"Smile"504390012
3Xtra Basic and Emily J"Hold Me Close"2511,802678
4Johanna Eendra"Estonian: Miks sa teed nii?|i=no"3427962410
5Stefan"Without You"86122,6688202
6Sandra Nurmsalu"Estonian: Soovide puu|i=no"3741,677595
7Jennifer Cohen"Little Baby El"4251,083386
8Sofia Rubina feat. Janika Tenn"Deep Water"487747187
9Estonian: Öed|i=no"Estonian: Öhuloss|i=no"3631,219479
10Victor Crone"Storm"82106,34612221
11Ranele"Supernova"806660011
12Inger"Coming Home"7483,84110183
Semi-final 1 (Second round) – 31 January 2019
ArtistSongTelevotePlace
Jennifer Cohen"Little Baby El"1,1023
Johanna Eendra"Estonian: Miks sa teed nii?|i=no"4946
Marko Kaar"Smile"2528
Öed"Estonian: Öhuloss|i=no"8545
Ranele"Supernova"3257
Sandra Nurmsalu"Estonian: Soovide puu|i=no"1,7361
Sofia Rubina feat. Janika Tenn"Deep Water"1,0734
Xtra Basic and Emily J"Hold Me Close"1,2022
Semi-final 2 (First round) – 2 February 2019
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
VotesPointsVotesPoints
1Synne Valtri"I'll Do It My Way"2812,729897
2Iseloomad"Estonian: Kaks miinust|i=no"3857620510
3Lumevärv feat. Inga"Estonian: Milline päev|i=no"5881,3863115
4Sissi"Strong"5572,5576134
5Cätlin Mägi and Jaan Pehk"Estonian: Parmumäng|i=no"3741,240269
6Kadiah"Believe"4962,6637133
7Kaia Tamm"Wo sind die Katzen?"2001,1121112
8Kerli Kivilaan"Cold Love"75121,4885172
9Grete Paia"Estonian: Kui isegi kaotan|i=no"2202,75210106
10Lacy Jay"Estonian: Halleluja|i=no"3521,467468
11Around the Sun"Follow Me Back"3638420311
12Uku Suviste"Pretty Little Liar"71104,63512221
Semi-final 2 (Second round) – 2 February 2019
ArtistSongTelevotePlace
Around the Sun"Follow Me Back"6297
Cätlin Mägi and Jaan Pehk"Estonian: Parmumäng|i=no"7786
Grete Paia"Estonian: Kui isegi kaotan|i=no"1,2304
Iseloomad"Estonian: Kaks miinust|i=no"3948
Kaia Tamm"Wo sind die Katzen?"1,0235
Lacy Jay"Estonian: Halleluja|i=no"2,0093
Lumevärv feat. Inga"Estonian: Milline päev|i=no"2,2842
Synne Valtri"I'll Do It My Way"2,8281

Final

The final took place on 16 February 2019 at the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, hosted by Karl-Erik Taukar and Piret Krumm. The six entries that qualified from each of the two preceding semi-finals, all together twelve songs, competed during the show. The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury (50%) and public televote (50%) determined the top three entries to proceed to the superfinal. The public vote in the first round registered 54,896 votes. In the superfinal, "Storm" performed by Victor Crone was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote. The public televote in the superfinal registered 51,148 votes. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Ivo Linna, who represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996, Getter Jaani, who represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, and Elina Nechayeva, who represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, performed as the interval acts. The jury panel that voted in the first round of the final consisted of Stig Karlsen (Melodi Grand Prix music director), AFSHeen (American producer and composer), Guna Zučika (Latvian music manager), Ben Camp (American songwriter), Cyrus Saidi (American music manager), Lörinc Bubno (Hungarian Eurovision Head of Delegation) and Josh Cumbee (American singer, producer and songwriter).[11]

Final – 16 February 2019
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
VotesPointsVotesPoints
1Sissi"Strong"4682,9906144
2Lumevärv feat. Inga"Estonian: Milline päev|i=no"46102,1882125
3Victor Crone"Storm"25215,51312143
4Kerli Kivilaan"Cold Love"4371,481079
5Xtra Basic and Emily J"Hold Me Close"2101,4400012
6Kadiah"Believe"2532,2873610
7Synne Valtri"I'll Do It My Way"402,3234411
8Stefan"Without You"70126,1327191
9The Swingers, Tanja and Birgit"High Heels in the Neighbourhood"2642,737597
10Uku Suviste"Pretty Little Liar"3658,98710152
11Inger"Coming Home"2416,904896
12Sandra Nurmsalu"Estonian: Soovide puu|i=no"4061,914178
DrawSongAFSHeenTotal
1"Strong"3 10 8 6 6 10 3 46
2"Estonian: Milline päev|i=no"4 12 8 10 4 8 46
3"Storm"5 4 2 3 2 3 6 25
4"Cold Love"1 7 5 10 7 6 7 43
5"Hold Me Close"6 4 4 4 1 2 21
6"Believe"6 3 6 3 7 25
7"I'll Do It My Way"2 2 4
8"Without You"7 8 7 12 12 12 12 70
9"High Heels in the Neighbourhood"10 1 1 8 5 1 26
10"Pretty Little Liar"12 1 3 7 1 8 4 36
11"Coming Home"5 12 2 5 24
12"Estonian: Soovide puu|i=no"8 2 10 5 5 10 40
Superfinal – 16 February 2019
DrawArtistSongTelevotePlace
1Victor Crone"Storm"23,2701
2Stefan"Without You"12,3803
3Uku Suviste"Pretty Little Liar"15,4982

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2019, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Estonia was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 14 May 2019, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[12]

Once all the competing songs for the 2019 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Estonia was set to perform in position 14, following the entry from Iceland and before the entry from Portugal.[13]

The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast in Estonia on ETV with commentary in Estonian by Marko Reikop and on ETV+ with commentary in Russian by Aleksandr Hobotov and Julia Kalenda.[14] [15] The Estonian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Estonian jury during the final, was Kelly Sildaru.

Semi-final

Estonia performed fourteenth in the first semi-final, following the entry from Iceland and preceding the entry from Portugal. At the end of the show, Estonia was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Estonia placed fourth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 198 points: 133 points from the televoting and 65 points from the juries. At Eurovision, Kaire Vilgats, Dagmar Oja, Kaido Põldma, Lars Gunnar Säfsund and author Stig Rästa joined Crone off-stage as backing singers during the live performance. The actress and singer Saara Kadak, who supported Crone on stage during the Estonian national final, withdrew due to her wedding day and upcoming premiere of the musical West Side Story at the Estonian National Opera.

Final

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winner's press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Estonia was drawn to compete in the second half. Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Estonia was subsequently placed to perform in position 18, following the entry from Iceland and before the entry from Belarus. At the conclusion of the voting, Estonia finished in twentieth place, scoring 76 points: 48 points from the televoting and 26 points from the juries.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.[16]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Estonia and awarded by Estonia in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Estonian jury:[16]

+
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
RankPointsRankPoints
013 3 3 4 7 3 8 14
0211 14 8 7 14 11 16
0312 12 12 11 11 15 1 12
041 5 2 5 12 4 7 9 2
0510 13 10 9 13 12 4 7
062 6 1 1 1 1 12 3 8
079 15 5 2 6 6 5 8 3
087 2 4 3 2 2 10 10 1
098 1 14 12 4 5 6 13
1014 11 11 8 15 14 7 4
1113 10 13 14 8 13 11
1216 4 16 15 5 10 1 6 5
136 9 9 6 9 9 2 5 6
14
1515 16 15 16 16 16 15
165 7 6 13 3 7 4 12
174 8 7 10 10 8 3 2 10
+
DrawCountryJuryTelevote
RankPointsRankPoints
0121 17 14 7 23 18 16
0223 23 23 17 11 23 25
036 10 3 2 10 3 8 13
0415 16 24 18 8 19 23
055 6 8 14 1 5 6 1 12
062 13 12 15 21 9 2 5 6
0720 25 22 9 25 22 12
0817 18 16 19 2 11 18
093 1 1 1 3 1 12 8 3
1011 19 9 8 7 12 4 7
1110 20 7 10 13 13 19
127 5 2 20 4 4 7 3 8
1318 22 19 21 15 24 22
1424 21 20 22 20 25 24
1522 14 15 11 17 20 2 10
1619 15 10 12 6 15 21
1714 11 6 13 22 16 6 5
18
1916 12 13 3 18 10 1 15
2013 2 5 4 9 6 5 10 1
219 8 11 5 16 8 3 17
2212 7 17 23 12 17 11
234 9 18 25 5 7 4 20
241 4 4 6 14 2 10 7 4
2525 3 25 16 19 14 9 2
268 24 21 24 24 21 14

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Estonia Country Profile. 5 November 2015. EBU.
  2. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 3 September 2018. Estonia: ERR Confirms Eurovision 2019 Participation. 18 November 2018. eurovoix.com. Eurovoix.
  3. Web site: 15 February 2019. Kuula, kuidas kõlaksid Eesti Laulu võistluslood uudistena. 1 September 2021. err.ee. Estonian.
  4. Web site: 16 February 2019. Kuula üle: Eesti Laulu erisaade. 1 September 2021. r2.err.ee. Estonian.
  5. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 5 September 2018. Estonia: 24 Acts To Compete in Expanded Eesti Laul Selection. 5 September 2018. eurovoix.com.
  6. Web site: Eurovision 2019 - Victor Crone (Estonia). 12 November 2020. ESCKAZ.
  7. Web site: Granger. Anthony. 15 September 2018. Estonia: Eesti Laul 2019 Participants Revealed. 16 September 2018. eurovoix.com.
  8. Web site: 15 November 2018. Galerii: Eesti Laul 2019 poolfinalistid on selgunud. err.ee. et.
  9. Web site: Farren . Neil . 31 January 2019 . Estonia: Eesti Laul Semi-Final One Results . Eurovoix.
  10. Web site: 2 February 2019 . Kõik Eesti Laulu finalistid on selgunud . 1 September 2021 . err.ee . Estonian.
  11. Web site: 17 February 2019. Vaata, kes kuulusid Eesti Laulu rahvusvahelisse žüriisse. 1 September 2021. err.ee. Estonian.
  12. Web site: Jordan. Paul. 28 January 2019. Eurovision 2019: Which country takes part in which Semi-Final?. 28 January 2019. eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union.
  13. Web site: 2 April 2019. Exclusive: This is the Eurovision 2019 Semi-Final running order!. 2 April 2019. eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. dmy-all.
  14. Web site: 18 May 2019. Eurovisiooni lauluvõistlus 2019. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190701212840/https://etv.err.ee/935528/eurovisiooni-lauluvoistlus-2019. 1 July 2019. 19 May 2019. ETV - ERR. et.
  15. Web site: 8 May 2019. Во вторник ETV+ и RUS.ERR.ee покажут первый полуфинал конкурса песни "Евровидение". live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190508111106/https://rus.err.ee/936057/vo-vtornik-etv-i-rus-err-ee-pokazhut-pervyj-polufinal-konkursa-pesni-evrovidenie. 8 May 2019. 13 May 2019. ERR. ru.
  16. Web site: Groot. Evert. 30 April 2019. Exclusive: They are the judges who will vote in Eurovision 2019!. 30 April 2019. Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. dmy-all.
  17. Web site: Results of the First Semi-Final of Tel Aviv 2019 . European Broadcasting Union . 1 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210401192415/https://eurovision.tv/event/tel-aviv-2019/first-semi-final/results/estonia . 1 April 2021 . live.
  18. Web site: Results of the Grand Final of Tel Aviv 2019 . European Broadcasting Union . 1 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210401192400/https://eurovision.tv/event/tel-aviv-2019/grand-final/results/estonia . 1 April 2021 . live.