Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Encyclopedia
After discussions on whether Estonia should withdraw due to the Russia
n participation in the 2008 South Ossetia war
in Georgia
, Eesti Rahvusringhääling
(ERR) announced that, due to public demand, they will participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, to be held in Moscow
.
In August 2008 Estonian Minister of Culture Laine Jänes
announced a possible boycott could be held between the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania
. Latvia later rebuked the boycott and announced that they would be present at the 2009 contest.
In September 2008 a public poll was held on whether Estonia should participate at the contest. 66% of the poll takers wished to see Estonia at the contest. ERR later submitted to public demand and announced that they would participate at the contest in May. The winner of the newly formed contest Eesti Laul, replacing the former Eurolaul
, was Urban Symphony with the song "Rändajad
" (Nomads or Travellers), written by Sven Lõhmus
, which received 82% of the final vote.
, will be used to select the Estonian representative for the 2009 contest. Eesti Laul 2009 will be held on 7 March 2009 and will include ten songs competing for the Estonian ticket to Moscow. An open call for songs for all Estonian residents was launched, with a closing deadline of 8 December 2008. The judging panel that selected the shortlist knew the names of the singers and composers of each song, unlike in the previous "Eurolaul" contest.
ERR received 110 songs for the contest. A jury appointed by the broadcaster selected 10 songs to perform in the contest, with the finalists being known on Thursday, 11 December, on Estonian television. The list of participants include former Eurolaul and Eurovision participants. Laura Põldvere
represented Estonia, as a member of Suntribe
, at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
. Rolf Junior participated at last year's Eurolaul, coming fourth, and Lowry was a member of Soul Militia
, then 2XL, that represented and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2001
, along with Tanel Padar
and Dave Benton
.
During the contest, hosted by brothers Henry
and Robert Kõrvits, ten songs in total will be performed. Voting was done in two stages: firstly, two songs were selected to proceed to a "Super Final" by a mixture of televote and jury vote; the winner was then decided from these two songs entirely through televoting.
After all the songs had performed, a 50/50 mix of jury and televote selected two song to progress to the Super Final. These were Urban Symphony with "Rändajad" and Traffic with "See päev". the winner of the jury vote was Urban Symphony, while the winner of the televote was Laura, who failed to receive enough points from the jury to qualify.
After the two songs performed again, televoting decided the final winner of the contest. Traffic received 18% of the final vote, while Urban Symphony received 82%, winning the contest.
they had to compete in one of the two semi-finals in Moscow. At the second semi-final on 14 May Estonia and Urban Symphony performed 18th in the running order, following Ukraine
and preceding the Netherlands
. The group qualified Estonia to the finals for the first time in the country's history since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004.
At the final on 16 May Urban Symphony performed 15th in the running order, following Malta
and preceding Denmark
and finished 6th.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n participation in the 2008 South Ossetia war
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, Eesti Rahvusringhääling
Eesti Rahvusringhääling
Eesti Rahvusringhääling – Estonian Public Broadcasting – is a publicly funded radio and television organisation created in Estonia on 1 June 2007 to take over the functions of the formerly separate Eesti Raadio and Eesti Televisioon , under the terms of the Estonian National...
(ERR) announced that, due to public demand, they will participate at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, to be held in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
In August 2008 Estonian Minister of Culture Laine Jänes
Laine Jänes
Laine Randjärv is an Estonian politician from the Reform Party. She was the Mayor of Tartu from 23 September 2004 to 2007, and previously she was Deputy Mayor from 2002 to 2004. 2007–2011 she served as the Minister of Culture in Andrus Ansip's second government...
announced a possible boycott could be held between the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
and Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
. Latvia later rebuked the boycott and announced that they would be present at the 2009 contest.
In September 2008 a public poll was held on whether Estonia should participate at the contest. 66% of the poll takers wished to see Estonia at the contest. ERR later submitted to public demand and announced that they would participate at the contest in May. The winner of the newly formed contest Eesti Laul, replacing the former Eurolaul
Eurolaul
Eurolaul was an annual televised competition to select a song to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest made by the Estonian Public Television Service ETV. For many years the competition differed from the national selections of most other countries in that the outcome was solely...
, was Urban Symphony with the song "Rändajad
Rändajad
"Rändajad" is a song by the Estonian band Urban Symphony, composed by Sven Lõhmus, and represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia....
" (Nomads or Travellers), written by Sven Lõhmus
Sven Lõhmus
Sven Lõhmus is an Estonian pop-composer, producer and lyricist.Established producer from Estonia. He has worked with leading artists of the Baltic States, including Vanilla Ninja , the Suntribe, the Urban Symphony. 3 times, in 2003, 2004, 2010, he won the award for "best author" to the "Eesti...
, which received 82% of the final vote.
Eesti Laul 2009
ERR announced that a new contest, completely different from the preceding EurolaulEurolaul
Eurolaul was an annual televised competition to select a song to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest made by the Estonian Public Television Service ETV. For many years the competition differed from the national selections of most other countries in that the outcome was solely...
, will be used to select the Estonian representative for the 2009 contest. Eesti Laul 2009 will be held on 7 March 2009 and will include ten songs competing for the Estonian ticket to Moscow. An open call for songs for all Estonian residents was launched, with a closing deadline of 8 December 2008. The judging panel that selected the shortlist knew the names of the singers and composers of each song, unlike in the previous "Eurolaul" contest.
ERR received 110 songs for the contest. A jury appointed by the broadcaster selected 10 songs to perform in the contest, with the finalists being known on Thursday, 11 December, on Estonian television. The list of participants include former Eurolaul and Eurovision participants. Laura Põldvere
Laura Põldvere
Laura Põldvere also known as Laura is an Estonian singer perhaps mostly known for representing Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 as part of the girl group Suntribe.- Career :...
represented Estonia, as a member of Suntribe
Suntribe
Suntribe was an Estonian girl-band, composed entirely of students, which represented their country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Kiev, Ukraine. The original four-strong line-up was Mari-Leen Kaselaan , Rebecca Kontus, Laura Põldvere and Jaanika Vilipo...
, at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
. Rolf Junior participated at last year's Eurolaul, coming fourth, and Lowry was a member of Soul Militia
Soul Militia
Soul Militia is an Estonian hip-hop act, internationally most notable for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 as backing singers for Tanel Padar and Dave Benton, with the song "Everybody". The group consists of Lauri Pihlap , Sergei Morgun and Kaido Põldma . A fourth member, Indrek Soom ,...
, then 2XL, that represented and won the Eurovision Song Contest 2001
Eurovision Song Contest 2001
The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 12 May 2001 in the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was the first time in 36 years that Denmark hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, thanks to the Olsen Brothers' win the previous year in Stockholm...
, along with Tanel Padar
Tanel Padar
Tanel Padar is an Estonian singer. He is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. Padar became famous by winning the Kaks takti ette, a biennial televised competition for young Estonian singers, in 1999...
and Dave Benton
Dave Benton
Dave Benton is a pop musician and 2001 winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.Benton was born on the Caribbean island of Aruba in 1951 and in his 20s moved to the United States...
.
During the contest, hosted by brothers Henry
G-Enka
Henry Kõrvits , better known by his stagename G-Enka is an Estonian rapper and record producer.G-Enka started rapping in 1996 along with Revo and DJ Paul Oja, who was G-Enka's schoolmate. Together they started a band called Toe Tag. Their first album The Real Kuhnja Homophobes was released next year...
and Robert Kõrvits, ten songs in total will be performed. Voting was done in two stages: firstly, two songs were selected to proceed to a "Super Final" by a mixture of televote and jury vote; the winner was then decided from these two songs entirely through televoting.
After all the songs had performed, a 50/50 mix of jury and televote selected two song to progress to the Super Final. These were Urban Symphony with "Rändajad" and Traffic with "See päev". the winner of the jury vote was Urban Symphony, while the winner of the televote was Laura, who failed to receive enough points from the jury to qualify.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lowry | "You Ain't What I Need" | Lowry | 6 | 8 | 14 | 4 |
| 2 | Janne Saar | "I Am Too Good For You" | Vahur Valgmaa, Janne Saar | 8 | 4 | 12 | 5 |
| 3 | StereoChemistry | "Öösiti kõndides" | Holger Tilk | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
| 4 | Urban Symphony | "Rändajad Rändajad "Rändajad" is a song by the Estonian band Urban Symphony, composed by Sven Lõhmus, and represented Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia.... " |
Sven Lõhmus Sven Lõhmus Sven Lõhmus is an Estonian pop-composer, producer and lyricist.Established producer from Estonia. He has worked with leading artists of the Baltic States, including Vanilla Ninja , the Suntribe, the Urban Symphony. 3 times, in 2003, 2004, 2010, he won the award for "best author" to the "Eesti... |
10 | 9 | 19 | 1 |
| 5 | Chalice Chalice (singer) Chalice is an Estonian singer. He started his music career as a rapper.-Discography:*Ühendatud Inimesed *Süsteemsüsteem *Taevas ja perse *Supervõimed -External links:... & Maagiline kuues |
"Nelikümmend" | Chalice Chalice (singer) Chalice is an Estonian singer. He started his music career as a rapper.-Discography:*Ühendatud Inimesed *Süsteemsüsteem *Taevas ja perse *Supervõimed -External links:... |
3 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| 6 | Köök & Kaire Vilgats Kaire Vilgats Kaire Vilgats , born on January 11, 1976 is an Estonian singer and actress.Vilgats was born and grew up in Pärnu, a resort town in South-West of Estonia... |
"Üürnik" | Jaan Pehk Jaan Pehk Jaan Pehk is an Estonian writer, singer and guitarist.Pehk is a member of the Young Authors' Association in Tartu and the Estonian Writers' Union.-Collaborations:Claire's Birthday... , Madis Aesma |
4 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
| 7 | Rolf Junior Rolf Roosalu Rolf Roosalu, also known as Rolf Junior , is an Estonian singer who has participated in a number of musicals. He has also unsuccessfully competed to represent Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest four times... |
"Freedom" | Rolf Junior Rolf Roosalu Rolf Roosalu, also known as Rolf Junior , is an Estonian singer who has participated in a number of musicals. He has also unsuccessfully competed to represent Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest four times... , Maian Kärmas |
1 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 8 | Traffic | "See päev" | Stig Rästa, Fred Krieger | 9 | 7 | 16 | 2 |
| 9 | Ithaka Maria | "One Last Dance" | Pearu Paulus, Ilmar Laisaar, Alar Kotkas, Marya Roxx | 7 | 3 | 10 | 6 |
| 10 | Laura Laura Põldvere Laura Põldvere also known as Laura is an Estonian singer perhaps mostly known for representing Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 as part of the girl group Suntribe.- Career :... |
"Destiny" | Sven Lõhmus Sven Lõhmus Sven Lõhmus is an Estonian pop-composer, producer and lyricist.Established producer from Estonia. He has worked with leading artists of the Baltic States, including Vanilla Ninja , the Suntribe, the Urban Symphony. 3 times, in 2003, 2004, 2010, he won the award for "best author" to the "Eesti... |
5 | 10 | 15 | 3 |
After the two songs performed again, televoting decided the final winner of the contest. Traffic received 18% of the final vote, while Urban Symphony received 82%, winning the contest.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Televote | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urban Symphony | "Rändajad" | Sven Lõhmus Sven Lõhmus Sven Lõhmus is an Estonian pop-composer, producer and lyricist.Established producer from Estonia. He has worked with leading artists of the Baltic States, including Vanilla Ninja , the Suntribe, the Urban Symphony. 3 times, in 2003, 2004, 2010, he won the award for "best author" to the "Eesti... |
82% | 1 |
| 2 | Traffic | "See päev" | Stig Rästa, Fred Krieger | 18% | 2 |
At Eurovision
Since Estonia came 18th in the semi-final of the 2008 contestEurovision Song Contest 2008
The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Contest. It was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. This year was the first contest to have two semi-finals which were held on 20 and 22 May, and the final held on 24 May 2008...
they had to compete in one of the two semi-finals in Moscow. At the second semi-final on 14 May Estonia and Urban Symphony performed 18th in the running order, following Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and preceding the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The group qualified Estonia to the finals for the first time in the country's history since the semi-finals were introduced in 2004.
At the final on 16 May Urban Symphony performed 15th in the running order, following Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and preceding Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and finished 6th.
See also
- Estonia in the Eurovision Song ContestEstonia in the Eurovision Song ContestEstonia first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994. Its first appearance would have taken place in 1993 with Janika Sillamaa and "Muretut meelt ja südametuld", however a...
- Eurovision Song Contest 2008Eurovision Song Contest 2008The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Contest. It was hosted in Belgrade, Serbia after Marija Šerifović won the 2007 Contest in Helsinki, Finland. This year was the first contest to have two semi-finals which were held on 20 and 22 May, and the final held on 24 May 2008...
- Eurovision Song Contest 2009Eurovision Song Contest 2009The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest and was hosted by Russia after their win in 2008. It took place between 12 and 16 May 2009 at the Olympic Indoor Arena in Moscow, Russia....