By Aline Mahrud
WHEN?: Semi finals Thursday and Saturday 3 and 5 February, final Saturday 12 February 2022
HOW DO I WATCH?: Eesti Laul 2022 ETV
Estonia has not 1 but 5 returning former entrants to its Eesti Laul 2022 Eurovision selection show.
- Read on for reasons including who the returning artists are and who we give our 12 points to
12 points: Anna Sahlene Champion (Anna Sahlene, Nicklas Ecklund, Dagmar Oja, Kaire Vilgats)
Sahlene is Swedish and finished 3rd for Estonia with Runaway in a Eurovision final we saw in 2002 at the Saaku Suurhall. It was a hugely memorable performance not least because she was 1 of just a few acts to use the runway into the audience and it absolutely erupted with appreciation for her guitar-led pop song which she sang thrillingly.
Champion wouldn’t be out of place in greatest show on earth Melodifestivalen which starts this week. Sahlene featured in MF 3 times after 2002 but entries We’re Unbreakable, This Woman and Killing Me Tenderly never made the finalen. Champion is a co-write and it’s the live performance we’re most looking forward to. It’s performed last in semi 2 on Saturday 5 February 2022. Update: Sahlene sings 9th in the final
10 points: Stig Rästa Interstellar (Stig Rästa, Fred Krieger, Victor Crone, Herman Gardarfve, David Lindgren Zacharias)
Rästa won a monsta for Best Song in 2015 for Goodbye To Yesterday his duet with Elina Born which finished 7th at Eurovision in Vienna, Austria. Interstellar also has an anthemic Melodifestivalen feel and was co-written with Victor Crone, a Swede who finished 20th for Estonia in 2019 with Storm. Crone finished 9th in Melodifestivalen a year later with Troubled Waters. He has co-written the Melodifestivalen entry this year for Robin Bengtsson which competes in Saturday’s Heat 1. Performs 6th in the 1st semi. Update: Performs 6th in the final
8 points: Stefan Hope (Stefan Airapetjan, Karl-Ander Reismann)
Boasting the melodic country pop sound made famous by acts like Avicii, Stefan’s anthemic Hope is the highest placing act in our ranking by a non-returning representative. He co-wrote the entry and his partner is also credited in the team behind an act further down this list. Performs 9th in semi 2. Update: Performs 8th in the final
7 points: Evelin Samuel Waterfall (Glen Pilvre], Priit Pajusaar, Katrin Pärn)
Samuel finished 6th in Jerusalem, Israel in the 1999 Eurovision singing Diamond Of Night. her ethereal vocals are once again put to good use on the gentle Waterfall which might sound a little too dated to some ears. She performs 4th in Semi 2. Update: Evelin did not make the final
6 points: Merilin Mälk Little Girl (Karl-Ander Reismann)
Little Girl sounds very familiar which is a quality often welcome in Eurovision but we can’t pinpoint its influence which is perhaps very much to its benefit. Writer Reismann has 2 other co-writes in this selection including the much-fancied Stefan track we have placed 3rd. Update: Merilin did not make the final
5 points: Ott Lepland Aovalguses (In the light) (Ott Lepland, Maian Anna Kärmas, Karl-Ander Reismann)
Lepland represented his country finishing 6th in 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with song Kuula (Listen). Aovalguses sounds to these ears like a slightly downbeat Elton John which means it suffers a little from not being completely understood by this non-Estonian speaker. Update: Performs 5th in the final
4 points: Elina Nechayeva Remedy (Sven Lõhmus)
P-opera singer Nechayeva dials down the operatics which saw her finish 8th in Lisbon, Portugal in 2018 with La Forza (The Force). Songwriter Lõhmus is no stranger to the contest himself having written Estonia’s entries in 2005, 2009, 2011 and 2017. His best result was 6th with Urban Sympony in Moscow, Russia with Rändajad (Migrants). Update: Performs 1st in the final
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