Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018

Eesti Laul 2018 was the tenth edition of the Estonian national selection Eesti Laul, which selected Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The competition consisted of twenty entries competing in two semi-finals on 10 and 17 February 2018 leading to a ten-song final on 3 March 2018.[3] All three shows were broadcast on Eesti Televisioon (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 Raadio 2 with commentary by Erik Morna, Margus Kamlat, Bert Järvet, Kristo Rajasaare and Mihkel Ulk.[4][5]

The format of the competition included two semi-finals on 10 and 17 February 2018 and a final on 3 March 2018.[6] Ten songs competed in each semi-final and the top five from each semi-final qualified to complete the ten song lineup in the final. 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 qualifier. 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 2018 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.[7]

On 19 September 2017, ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 1 November 2017. All artists and composers were required to have Estonian citizenship or be a permanent resident of Estonia and each artist and songwriter was only able to submit a maximum of three entries, with an exception for composers who participated in songwriting camps organised by the Estonian Song Academy in spring and autumn 2017. Foreign collaborations were allowed as long as 50% of the songwriters were Estonian.[8] A record 258 submissions were received by the deadline—breaking the previous record of 242, set during the 2017 edition. A 15-member jury panel selected 15 semi-finalists from the submissions with the remaining 5 semi-finalists selected by members of the Eesti Laul editorial board. The selected songs were announced during the ETV entertainment program Ringvaade on 10 November 2017.[9][10] The selection jury consisted of Karl-Erik Taukar (singer), Koit Raudsepp (Raadio 2 presenter), Alon Amir (music manager), Mariliis Mõttus (Müürileht music editor), Andres Puusepp (DJ), Jaane Tomps (Delfi music journalist), Harri Hakanen (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu music manager), Mingo Rajandi (musician), Siim Nestor (music critic), Getter Jaani (singer), Sten Teppan (Vikerraadio music editor), Mari-Liis Männik (Radio Elmar), Toomas Puna (Raadio Sky+ program director), Irina Svensson (Raadio 4 editor) and Valner Valme (music critic), while the Eesti Laul editorial board members consisted of Ove Musting (director), Ingrid Kohtla (editor), Mai Palling (editor), Filip Adamo (consultant), Ruth Heinmaa (producer) and Mart Normet (producer).[11]

Among the competing artists were previous Eurovision Song Contest entrants Gerli Padar, who represented Estonia in 2007, and Stig Rästa, who represented Estonia in 2015 together with Elina Born. Iiris, Indrek Ventmann, Karl Kristjan, Rolf Roosalu and Semy have all competed in previous editions of Eesti Laul. Marju Länik's entry was written by Axel Ehnström, who represented Finland in 2011 as Paradise Oskar.[7]

The two semi-finals took place on 10 and 17 February 2018, hosted by Kristel Aaslaid and Martin Veisman. The live portion of the shows were held at the ERR studios in Tallinn where the artists awaited the results while their performances, which were filmed earlier at the ERR studios between 2 and 4 February 2018, were screened. In each semi-final ten 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 22,985 votes in the first semi-final and 9,782 votes in the second semi-final; the fifth qualifier was decided by an additional televote between the remaining non-qualifiers which registered 10,909 votes in the first semi-final and 7,920 votes in the second semi-final. The jury panel that voted in the semi-finals consisted of Lenna Kuurmaa, Eeva Talsi, Hanna Parman, Mariliis Mõttus, Kristjan Hirmo, Tomi Rahula, Jaanus Nõgisto, Dave Benton, Rainer Ild, Aleksandr Žemžurov and Erik Morna.[12][13][14]

The final took place on 3 March 2018 at the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, hosted by Kristel Aaslaid and Martin Veisman. The five entries that qualified from each of the two preceding semi-finals, all together ten songs, competed during the show.[15] 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 70,755 votes. In the superfinal, "La forza" performed by Elina Nechayeva was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote. The public televote in the superfinal registered 61,637 votes.[16][17] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Koit Toome and Laura, who represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017, Leslie Da Bass with Evelin Võigemast, and Rasmus Rändvee with X Faktors winner Arturs Gruzdinš performed as the interval acts.[18] The jury panel that voted in the first round of the final consisted of Valter Soosalu (conductor), Maiken (singer), Ģirts Majors (Positivus Festival organizer), Nicola Caligiore (Italian Eurovision Head of Delegation), Laura Prits (singer), Sten Teppan (Vikerraadio music editor), Joana Levieva-Sawyer (Bulgarian Eurovision Head of Delegation), Helen Sildna (Tallinn Music Week organizer), Ole Tøpholm (radio presenter), Marina Kesler (choreographer) and Ivar Must (composer).[13][19]

Elina Nechayeva during a rehearsal before the first semi-final

Elina Nechayeva took part in technical rehearsals on 29 April and 3 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 7 and 8 May. This included the jury show on 9 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Estonian performance featured Elina Nechayeva performing on stage in a dress which measured 52 m² and weighted around 8 kg, on which numerous moving patterns reminiscent to flowers, galaxies and paint are continuously projected.[22][23] In regards to the projections, video artist Alyona Movko stated: "There is a girl. She is an icy queen where love will melt her heart. The snow will become water. And after there is glowing, like a fairytale. And with Elina's hands there is growing of flowers – and after that she sends out these flowers, sending her love. And she is filled with love. It's the same story with colours in the song. They go from pastel colours to full red flowers. It's about love." A team of at least eight people moved Nechayeva's dress onto the exact position of the stage, as required by the projectors, with the entire preparation for the performance (finding a dress, creation and generation of the animations, mapping the projections onto the dress, synching with television when captured by a camera and finalising the choreography) taking two weeks.[22] Although there were initially some logistical troubles regarding the projection effect, they were ultimately resolved by the time the Estonian delegation arrived in Lisbon. Elina Nechayeva was joined by two backing vocalists: the co-composers of "La forza" Mihkel Mattisen and Timo Vendt.[24]

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 5th in the semi-final, receiving a total of 201 points: 120 points from the televoting and 81 points from the juries.[25]

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' 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 first half.[26] 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 6, following the entry from Austria and before the entry from Norway.

Elina Nechayeva once again took part in dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Elina Nechayeva performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 12 May. Estonia placed 6th in the final, scoring 245 points: 102 points from the televoting and 143 points from the juries.[27]

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.[28] 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.[29]

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:

The following members comprised the Estonian jury:[32]

• Eva Palm (jury chairperson) – head promoter of Live Nation Baltics
• Allan Roosileht – radio host and DJ
• Anett Kulbin – artist
• Karl Killing – artist
• Rainer Ild – artist

Detailed voting results from Estonia (Semi-final 1)[30]

Draw	Country	Jury							Televote
		E. Palm	A. Roosileht	A. Kulbin	K. Killing	R. Ild	Rank	Points	Rank	Points
01	Azerbaijan	3	8	14	8	14	8	3	11
02	Iceland	12	5	9	9	17	11		16
03	Albania	10	10	13	5	8	10	1	13
04	Belgium	7	11	3	15	10	7	4	8	3
05	Czech Republic	18	6	6	18	16	14		4	7
06	Lithuania	13	3	1	2	2	2	10	2	10
07	Israel	17	14	2	17	18	12		10	1
08	Belarus	8	12	18	16	15	17		5	6
09	Estonia
10	Bulgaria	4	15	12	6	3	4	7	17
11	Macedonia	16	16	15	14	13	18		18
12	Croatia	9	13	7	10	5	9	2	15
13	Austria	2	1	8	1	1	1	12	3	8
14	Greece	6	7	16	12	12	13		14
15	Finland	5	2	10	13	11	6	5	1	12
16	Armenia	14	18	17	7	7	15		12
17	Switzerland	15	17	11	11	6	16		9	2
18	Ireland	11	9	5	3	9	5	6	6	5
19	Cyprus	1	4	4	4	4	3	8	7	4

Detailed voting results from Estonia (Final)[31]

Draw	Country	Jury							Televote
		E. Palm	A. Roosileht	A. Kulbin	K. Killing	R. Ild	Rank	Points	Rank	Points
01	Ukraine	19	17	11	14	18	19		19
02	Spain	20	20	6	9	9	13		18
03	Slovenia	22	25	17	13	19	23		24
04	Lithuania	11	4	1	2	1	2	10	1	12
05	Austria	3	1	3	1	2	1	12	5	6
06	Estonia
07	Norway	6	6	14	8	12	7	4	9	2
08	Portugal	5	19	12	10	7	8	3	22
09	United Kingdom	12	9	5	19	17	12		21
10	Serbia	25	24	23	20	21	25		25
11	Germany	17	7	2	4	3	5	6	15
12	Albania	18	18	19	18	10	20		20
13	France	8	10	15	17	16	14		12
14	Czech Republic	23	11	8	25	24	15		6	5
15	Denmark	14	12	16	21	14	17		3	8
16	Australia	13	13	24	12	20	18		14
17	Finland	7	5	18	11	15	9	2	2	10
18	Bulgaria	2	15	4	5	4	4	7	23
19	Moldova	10	16	25	23	23	22		10	1
20	Sweden	4	3	20	7	11	6	5	17
21	Hungary	21	23	22	22	13	24		8	3
22	Israel	24	22	7	24	25	16		16
23	Netherlands	9	8	21	15	5	10	1	11
24	Ireland	15	21	10	6	8	11		13
25	Cyprus	1	2	9	3	6	3	8	7	4
26	Italy	16	14	13	16	22	21		4	7