Estonia: Here are the 20 acts for Eesti Laul 2016 (updated)
The 20 songs selected for the Estonian national selection Eesti Laul 2016 have been revealed. The Estonian national broadcaster, ERR, handpicked an 11-member jury to select the songs and artists. UPDATED: Semi-final allocation and running order
The submission deadline for Eesti Laul 2016 was three days ago, and now the 20 artists and songs are revealed. The artists and songs were selected from an 11-member jury in just two days. The contest received 238 songs in total.
Eesti Laul 2016 line-up
Semi-final 1
13 February 2016
- The Jingles: "Love a Little Bit"
- Würffel: "I'm Facing North"
- Mick Pedaja: "Seis"
- Indrek Ventmann: "Hispaania tüdruk"
- Cartoon feat. Kristel Aaslaid: "Immortality"
- Kéa: "Lonely Boy"
- Kati Laev: "Kaugel sinust"
- Zebra Island: "How Many Times"
- Laura: "Supersonic"
- Windy Beach: "Salty Wounds"
Semi-final 2
20 February 2016
- Go Away Bird: "Sally"
- Jüri Pootsmann: "Play"
- Meisterjaan: "Parmupillihullus"
- I Wear* Experiment: "Patience"
- Púr Múdd: "Meet Halfway"
- Grete Paia: "Stories Untold"
- Põhja-Tallinn: "Ei ole mul olla"
- Anett Kulbin: "Strong"
- Gertu Pabbo: "Miljon korda"
- La La Ladies: "Unikaalne"
The jury included Anne Veski, Olavi Paide, Erik Morna, Toomas Puna, Ingrid Kohtla, Eeva Talsi, Owe Petersell, Eisi Mäeots, Siim Nestor, Valner Valme and Kira Evve.
Eesti Laul 2016
- 13 February 2016: Semi-final 1
- 20 February 2016: Semi-final 2
- 5 March 2016: Final
10 songs will compete in each of the two semi-finals on 13 and 20 February 2016. The best five songs from each semi-final qualifies to the final on 5 March 2016. Which songs to qualify for the final will be decided by a 50/50 combination of a professional jury and public televoting. In the final all the 10 qualifying songs are performed live, and a 50/50 combination of a professional jury and public televoting decides the winner.
The submissions for Eesti Laul 2016 was open until 2 November 2015. An expert jury appointed by ERR picked the 20 entries. All song authors and performers must be citizens or residents of Estonia.
Estonia in Eurovision Song Contest
Estonia debuted in 1994 and has been participating in Eurovision Song Contest 21 times since. The only year that Estonia didn't participate in Eurovision since debuting was in 1995, because of the bad result in 1994 (24th place).
Estonia won Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "Everybody". Since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Estonia only qualified for the grand final 5 times out of 12 participations.
