The Estonian national broadcaster ERR has revealed the two hosts for the Estonian Eurovision national selection, “Eesti Laul 2025,” which will take place on February 15 in Tallinn. Who are the hosts, and how are they connected to the world of Eurovision?
Estonian national broadcaster ERR has revealed that “Eesti Laul 2025” will be hosted by Eda-Ines Etti and Korea, a member of the band 5Miinust. Both hosts have previously represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Eda-Ines Etti represented Estonia in 2000 with the song “Once in a lifetime,” finishing in fourth place. Korea, a member of 5Miinust, represented Estonia in Eurovision 2024 with the song “(Nendest) Narkootikumidest Ei Tea Me (Küll) Midagi,” placing 20th. While both artists are well-known for their Eurovision appearances, this will be their first time co-hosting an event together.
List of Contestants and Songs in the Estonian Eurovision Pre-Selection
- Minimal Wind – “Armageddon“
- Andrei Zevakin & Karita – “Ma Ei Tea Sind“
- Gem98 – “Psycho“
- Frants Tikerpuu – “Trouble“
- Janek – “Frozen“
- Johanne Elise – “Eyes Don’t Lie“
- Tommy Cash – “Espresso Macchiato“
- Räpina Jack & Kaisa Ling – “Tule“
- Tuuli Rand – “Rem“
- Ant – “Tomorrow Never Comes“
- FELIN – “Solo Anthem“
- Anna Sahlene – “Love Me Low“
- Stereo Terror – “Prty Till the End of the World“
- An-Marlen – “Külm“
- ELYSA – “The Last to Know“
Click on the song title to listen!
Familiar Names Among the Contestants
Among the contestants so far, there are eight familiar names:
- Anna Sahlene: Represented Estonia in Eurovision 2002 with the song “Runaway“, finishing third on home ground in Tallinn. She also participated in the Estonian pre-selection in 2022 with the song “Champion“, finishing fourth in the final. Sahlene was a backing vocalist for Sweden in Eurovision 1999 and for the UK in Eurovision 2019. Additionally, she competed in the Swedish Eurovision pre-selection in 2003 (5th place in semi-final), 2006 (5th place in semi-final), and 2009 (7th place in semi-final, in a duet with singer Maria Haukaas Storeng).
- ELYSA: Competed in the Estonian Eurovision pre-selection in 2015 with the song “Superlove” under her full name Elisa Kolk, finishing third. In 2022, she returned under her current stage name with the song “Fire“, finishing second. The following year, she returned with the song “Bad Philosophy“, finishing 11th.
- Minimal Wind: Competed in the Estonian national selection in 2022 with “What to Make of This“, alongside singer Elisabeth Tiffany, finishing second. This year, the group will compete alone.
- Janek: Competed in the Estonian national selection in 2023 with “House of Glass“, finishing fifth.
- Andrei Zevakin: Competed in the Estonian national selection in 2021 with “Wingman“, alongside rapper Pluuto, finishing fifth. The following year, he competed with singer Grete Paia with “Mis Nüüd Saab“, finishing sixth. This year, he will compete with singer Karita.
- Frants Tikerpuu: Competed in the Estonian national selection in 2022 with “Laululind“, alongside singer Triin Niitoja, finishing ninth in the semi-final. This year, Frants Tikerpuu will compete alone.
- An-Marlen: Competed in the Estonian national selection in 2022 with “Lõpuls Muutub“, finishing seventh in the second quarter-final, which was not enough to advance to the semi-final.
- Tommy Cash: An internationally recognized Estonian rapper and producer known for his humorous music style and provocative music videos.
The Sixteenth Ticket
Voting for the 20 contestants will open on Saturday, December 28th, 2024, on the Raadio 2 channel website of ERR, where you can vote for a week until Sunday, January 5th, 2025, at 18:00 CET. On Monday morning, January 6th, a special broadcast will introduce the 15 contestants already accepted and reveal the voting results, announcing the 16th and final contestant who will compete in the Estonian Eurovision pre-selection.
List of Contestants and Songs for the Last Spot in the Competition
- AG & Laura Põldvere – “Pimepaev”
- Antsud Metal Project – “Ei Enam”
- Bel-Etage Swingorkester – “Mind Koikjal Naed”
- Carol Suurevalja – “Purpose”
- Cecilia – “Rollercoaster”
- Ela – “Südames”
- Elina Martinson – “Sinitihane”
- Everfall – “Stories We Hold”
- Felix Enghult – “More Than Innocent”
- Gerli Padar – “Võõrkas Jaad”
- Horror Dance Squad – “The Rebel Reborn”
- Kozy – “Jaab Nii (Tahan, Et Tead)”
- Marianne Leibur – “Pluto And Mars”
- Marta Lotta – “Tantsin Veel”
- Merwis – “Aknal Langevaid Pisaraid”
- Mick Pedaja – “Sound of Pines”
- Sarah Murray – “High On Myself New”
- Silver Jusilo – “Turn Back Time”
- Sten-Olle – “Noorex”
- Synne Valtri – “Butterflies & Bees”
Click on the Play icon next to each song name to listen in the link here!
Among the contestants are several familiar names
Laura Põldvere – Represented Estonia at Eurovision 2005 as part of Suntribe with the song “Let’s Get Loud“, finishing 20th out of 25 participants in the semi-final. She returned to represent Estonia again in Kyiv at Eurovision 2017 with Koit Toome and the song “Verona“, again failing to qualify for the final by finishing 14th in the second semi-final. Laura also participated in the Estonian pre-selection in 2007 with “Sunflowers“, finishing third. After two years, she returned in 2009 with “Destiny“, again finishing third. She competed again in 2016 with “Supersonic“, finishing second. In 2020, she returned with “Break Me“, finishing 11th. Last year, she competed with “Here’s Where I Draw The Line“, finishing eighth in the semi-final. Additionally, Laura attempted to compete in Finland’s pre-selection in 2021 with “Play“, finishing last out of seven competitors.
Gerli Padar – Represented Estonia at Eurovision 2007 with “Partners In Crime“, finishing 22nd out of 28 participants in the semi-final, tied with Montenegro. She also competed in Estonia’s pre-selection in 2018 with Eliis Parna and their song “Taevas“, finishing last in the Grand Final of 10 competitors. Gerli is the older sister of Tanel Padar, who won Eurovision for Estonia in 2001.
Cecilia – Competed last year in Estonia’s pre-selection with her song “FOMO“, finishing sixth in the semi-final when only five songs qualified from that broadcast.
Synne Valtri – Competed in Estonia’s pre-selection in 2019 with “I’ll Do It My Way“, finishing 11th. She returned a year later with Väliharf and their song “Majakad“, finishing ninth.
Selection Process
The winner of the final will be chosen in two rounds:
- In the first voting round, the public (50%) and jury (50%) will select three songs to advance to the second round.
- In the second round, the public will have the sole responsibility of choosing the winner and Estonia’s representative for Eurovision 2025.
Estonia in Eurovision 2024
5Miinust & Puuluup represented Estonia at Eurovision 2024 with the song “(Nendest) Narkootikumidest Ei Tea Me (Küll) Midagi”. The song was selected through the national finals Eesti Laul. It finished sixth in the second semi-final with 79 points, qualifying for the grand final against predictions. In the grand final, Estonia placed 20th with 37 points. This marks the third consecutive year Estonia has qualified for the grand final.
Source: ERR
Eurovision 2025: This will be Estonia’s 30th participation in Eurovision. Estonia joined the contest in 1994 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 2001 when singers Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL, won first place with the song “Everybody”.