Read back: The conclusion of Eesti Laul in Estonia

You can follow the final of Eesti Laul 2018 here in our special liveblog. Find out who will perform for Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon this May!

After two semi-finals we will find out tonight who will represent Estonia in Lisbon later this year. Ten acts will compete and tonight’s show will include a super-final of the top three performances.

Tonight’s show will be hosted by Ott Sepp and Meelis Kubo and the results will be decided by 50% jury to 50% televote.

Tonight’s running order:

  1. Karl Kristjan & Karl Killing feat. Wateva – Young
  2. Eliis Pärna & Gerli Padar – Sky
  3. Nika – Knock knock
  4. Sibyl Vane – Thousand words
  5. Stig Rästa – Home
  6. Vajé – Laura (Walk with Me)
  7. Elina Nechayeva – La Forza
  8. Frankie Animal – (Can’t keep calling) Misty
  9. Iiris & Agoh – Drop that boogie
  10. Evestus – Welcome to my world

You can watch along with the Estonian national final here.
All times will be posted in CET. Refresh every approx 5 minutes.

[21:35] Thank you very much for watching. We hope you enjoy. That ends our broadcast of Eesti Laul 2018.

[21:30] Representing Estonia at Eurovision 2018 is…

  • Elina Nechayeva – La Forza

[21:28] After a 2nd interval act we are ready for the results. Vaje is third!

[21:14] Now it’s time for our first interval act. Lauris feat. Arturs with the song “Can’t help falling in love with you”.

[21:12] Hosts quickly interview our super-finalists before televoting re-opens and now we see the first super-final recap.

[21:05] Now it’s time to combine the televoting score to see who is in tonight’s super-finalists. Frankie Animal elimated by 2 points by televoting.

  • 1st superfinalist is Stig Rästa – Home
  • 2nd superfinalist is Elina Nechayeva – La Forza
  • 3rd superfinalist is Vajé – Laura (Walk with Me)

[21:03] Now we have one of our hosts performing a magic act casting clowns from a black box while holding a magicians hat and stick, dramatic music throughout.

[20:51] Continuation of jury votes:

11th juror:

  • 12 points to Sibyl Vane
  • 10 points to Karl & Karl
  • 8 points to Frankie Animal

10th juror:

  • 12 points to Stig
  • 10 points to Karl & Karl
  • 8 points to Sibyl

9th juror:

  • 12 points to Elina
  • 10 points to Stig
  • 8 points to Nika

8th juror:

  • 12 points to Frankie Animal
  • 10 points to Elina
  • 8 points to Sibyl

7th juror:

  • 12 points to Frankie Animal
  • 10 points to Vajé
  • 8 points to Elina

6th juror:

  • 12 point to Stig
  • 10 points to Elina
  • 8 points to Eliis & Gerli

5th juror:

  • 12 points to Elina
  • 10 points to Sibyl
  • 8 points to Evestus

4th juror:

  • 12 points to Elina
  • 10 points to Sibyl
  • 8 points to Stig

[20:49] Yet another recap currently leading is Elina Nechayeva.

[20:46] After another recap it’s now time for the jury votes:

3rd juror:

  • 12 points to Elina
  • 10 points to Frankie Animal
  • 8 points to Stig

2nd juror:

  • 12 points to Elina
  • 10 points to Frankie Animal
  • 8 points to Vajé

1st juror:

  • 12 points to Elina
  • 10 points to Evestus
  • 8 points to Frankie Animal

[20:37] 7 minutes late back it’s finally back on. Time to find out who will be entering the Estonian super-final for 2018.

[20:00] We are now on an interval break for the local Estonian news while the public can vote. We’ll be back in 30 minutes!

[19:54] Hosts are back on-stage to officially open the televoting. We’re now shown our first recap and the numbers needed to vote within Estonia.

[19:50] #10 | Evestus | Welcome to my world

Last song to perform and of course it’s a visually punk one to close us off. Backing vocals perform while wearing glass bowl with masks. Main singer hosts dreadlocks and punk imagery throughout. Vocals aren’t too bad actually for the track. Performance helps sell it. Could be a dark horse tonight.

[19:41] #09 | Iiris & Agoh | Drop that boogie

Another fun but not well-executed entry. Large pink and blue theme including a pink coach in the centre of the stage. Two backing dancers wearing rabbit masks also present. Vocals honestly don’t sound great but it’s a nice entry before Evestus finish tonight’s initial performances.

[19:36] #08 | Frankie Animal | (Can’t keep calling) Misty

Frankie wears a red gown reminiscent of Loreen’s gown in 2012 but pure ruby red in color. She is joined by her band featuring a drummer and guitarists. Vocals are unique and she would be well suited for Eurovision however I doubt so with this song. Little bit too slow tempoed to sell in three minutes.

[19:26] #07 | Elina Nechayeva | La Forza

Tonight’s big favourite to win. Similar to her semi-final performance. Elina is dressed in the dress with a massive skirt with the use of Dutch angles and spotlights to keep the focus on her flawless vocal ability. The incorporation of moving stars in the background is new, however. Standing ovation from the audience, could this be the winner?

[19:22] We’re now getting a comedic, opera performance from a guy dressed in a pig onesie.

[19:16] #06 | Vajé | Laura (Walk with Me)

Strong use of lighting as Vajé sits on the stage. He gets up and joins a dude who sprays smoke into the audience. Strong vocals and nice chill production. Female dancer comes out and interacts closely with male singer. Should help Stig and Elina stand out from the performance order. Could be a dark horse but can’t see it winning tonight.

[19:10] #05 | Stig Rästa | Home

Strong opening reaction from the audience.  Simple staging with Stig front on stage wearing black shirt, navy jeans and a red leather belt and guitar. Few backing vocalists but Stig’s vocals are the center-point and it overall works incredibly compared to the studio. Strong contender for tonight.

[19:08] Short magic trick now being shown in the green room. Coming up next is another fan favourite Stig Rästa.

[19:05] #04 | Sibyl Vane | Thousand words

Sibyl wears a red hat, checkered black & white jacket with a white, electric guitar. Song is nice but not for Eurovision however the visuals have that quirky jump cut quality that could appeal to televoters.

[18:57] #03 | Nika | Knock knock

Nika is next. Light pink to white gradient background cast with her black silhouette to the opening followed by her sitting down while smoke. This is a really fun performance especially the transition to pre-chorus with three backing dancers. Vocals sound decent but not providing the edge needed but when she reaches falsetto it sounds very strong.

[18:51] #02 | Eliis Pärna & Gerli Padar | Sky

Ellis stars the song looking into a large mirror before singing to the audience. Beautiful cosmic background to the performance which helps the song stand out from the studio version. Gerli comes out and captivates with her humble, sweet voice. Together they work in harmony and overall impressed with the deliverance by both artists.

[18:48] We’re shown the first of tonight’s comedic VTs. Gets a nice reaction from the audience. Next up is Ellis & previous ESC singer Gerli Padar.

[18:44] #01 | Karl Kristjan & Karl Killing feat. Wateva | Young

First up tonight is the two Karls with “Young”. They harmonise very well as they wear thirst-shop, colorful outfits. A very decent song in its own right, just don’t think it fits for Eurovision. Doesn’t captivate you for three minutes entirely. Nice use of yellow LEDs and stars during the bridge.

[18:40] Tonight’s artists are now coming out on-stage in order of performance. Huge reactions for Stig, Elina & Frankie Animal.

[18:38] We’re now joined by tonight’s hosts Ott Sepp and Meelis Kubo who commemorate Koit and Laura on their effort last year. They bring a giant map of Verona on stage so they don’t get lost anymore.

[18:30] It’s time for Eesti Laul 2018. We open to see the large crowd in Tallinn with LED sticks raising in the air. Now we’re starting with an interesting cover of last year’s entry for Estonia “Verona”. This is shortly followed by Laura’s new single “Waterfalls”. It’s playback but the Jedward – Waterline while “singing” works well. Now we’re back to Verona with originally just Koit but Laura comes back on to sing live.

[18:15] The show will begin in 15 minutes. Stay tuned, we should be in for a show!