Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017

Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Verona" written by Sven Lõhmus. The song was performed by Koit Toome and Laura Põldvere. The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the national final Eesti Laul 2017 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2017 contest in Kiev, Ukraine. The national final consisted of three shows: two semi-finals and a final. Ten songs competed in each semi-final and the top five from each semi-final as determined by a jury panel and public vote qualified to the final. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, a jury panel and a public vote selected the top three to qualify to the super final. In the super final, "Verona" performed by Koit Toome and Laura was selected as the winner entirely by a public vote.

Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Country Estonia
National selection
Selection processEesti Laul 2017
Selection date(s)Semi-finals:
11 February 2017
18 February 2017
Final:
4 March 2017
Selected entrantKoit Toome & Laura
Selected song"Verona"
Selected songwriter(s)Sven Lõhmus
Finals performance
Final resultFailed to qualify
(14th, 85 points)
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2016 • 2017 • 2018►

Estonia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 11 May 2017. Performing during the show in position 17, "Verona" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. They came 6th from the televoting which was not enough to qualify, Verona failed to qualify being one of the fan-favourite.

Background
Main article: Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2017 Contest, Estonia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-two times since its first entry in 1994,[1] winning the contest on one occasion in 2001 with the song "Everybody" performed by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Estonia has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final on five occasions. In 2016, Estonia failed to qualify to the final, placing last in the semi-final with the song "Play" performed by Jüri Pootsmann. The last time they had made the final was in 2015 with the song Goodbye to yesterday, where they were represented by Stig Rästa and Elina Born.

The Estonian national broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), broadcasts the event within Estonia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. ERR confirmed Estonia's participation at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest on 12 April 2016.[2] Since their debut, the Estonian broadcaster has organised national finals that feature a competition among multiple artists and songs in order to select Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The Eesti Laul competition has been organised since 2009 in order to select Estonia's entry.

Before Eurovision

Eesti Laul 2017

Eesti Laul 2017 was the ninth edition of the Estonian national selection Eesti Laul, which selected Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The competition consisted of 20 entries competing in two semi-finals on 11 and 18 February 2017 leading to a ten-song final on 4 March 2017.[3] All three shows were broadcast on Eesti Televisioon (ETV) as well as streamed online at the broadcaster's official website err.ee.

Format

The format of the competition included two semi-finals on 11 and 18 February 2017 and a final on 4 March 2017.[4] 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 were determined by the 50/50 combination of votes from a professional jury and public televoting for the first 4, then the final spot was decided in a second round of voting by televote only.[5] 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 (super final) determined the winner solely by public televoting.[5]

Competing entries

In early September 2016, ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 1 November 2016. Eligible artists and songwriters were required to have Estonian citizenship or be permanent residents of Estonia. For the 2017 competition, foreign collaborations were allowed as long as 50% of the song authors were Estonians. Artists and songwriters were allowed to submit up to three songs each with an exception to this rule for songwriters who participated in songwriting camps organised by the Estonian Song Academy in spring and autumn 2016. An eleven-member jury selected 20 songs for the competition and the selected entries were announced on 8 November 2016. The selection jury consisted of Andres Puusepp (Power Hit Radio), Erik Morna (Raadio 2 music manager), Harri Hakanen (Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu music manager), Ingrid Kohtla (Tallinn Music Week and Eesti TOP 7 Producer), Kaidi Klein (journalist), Kristel Aaslaid (musician), Olavi Paide (Produktsioonifirma Ruut), Owe Petersell (Radio Elmar), Piret Järvis (ERR journalist), Siim Nestor (Eesti Ekspress music journalist) and Toomas Puna (Sky Plus program manager).[6]

Artist Song (English translation) Composer(s)
Almost Natural "Electric" Anis Arumets, Amiran Gorgazjan, Noah McNamara, Willie Weeks
Alvistar Funk Association "Make Love, Not War" Margus Alviste, Inga Kaare, Jürgen Urbanik
Angeelia "We Ride With Our Flow" Angeelia Maasik, Andres Kõpper
Antsud "Vihm" (Rain) Aile Alveus-Krautmann
Ariadne "Feel Me Now" Margus Piik, Tomi Rahula, Anni Rahula
Carl-Philip "Everything But You" Carl-Philip Madis, Carola Madis, Arno Krabman, Jaap Reesema, Leon Paul Palmen, Noah McNamara
Close To Infinity feat. Ian Karell "Sounds Like Home" Ian Robert Karell, Johannes Kanter, Sander Ulp, Tanel Kordemets
Daniel Levi "All I Need" Daniel Levi Viinalass, Ago Teppand
Elina Born "In or Out" Stig Rästa, Vallo Kikas, Fred Krieger
Ivo Linna "Suur loterii" (Big Lottery) Rainer Michelson, Urmas Jaarman
Janno Reim & Kosmos "Valan pisaraid" (I'm Pouring Tears) Janno Reim
Karl-Kristjan & Whogaux feat. Maian "Have You Now" Karl-Kristjan Kingi, Hugo "Whogaux" Martin Maasikas, Maian Lomp
Kerli "Spirit Animal" Kerli Kõiv, Brian Ziff
Koit Toome & Laura "Verona" Sven Lõhmus
Laura Prits "Hey Kiddo" Laura Prits, Andres Kõpper, Tara Nabi
Leemet Onno "Hurricane" Leemet Onno, Ed Struijlaart
Lenna Kuurmaa "Slingshot" Lenna Kuurmaa, Nicolas Rebscher, Michelle Leonard
Liis Lemsalu "Keep Running" Liis Lemsalu, Mihkel Mattisen, Gustaf Svenungsson, Magnus Wallin
Rasmus Rändvee "This Love" Rasmus Rändvee, Ewert Sundja, Bert Prinkenfeld, Stewart James Brock
Uku Suviste "Supernatural" Uku Suviste, Oliver Mazurtšak

Shows
Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 11 February 2017. Ten songs competed for five 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 19,057 votes. The jury panel that voted in the first semi-final consisted of Metsakutsu, Kadri Voorand, Niko Nykänen, Eva Palm, Jüri Pihel, Maia Vahtramäe, Sten Teppan, Aleksandr Žedeljov, Ingrid Kohtla, Meisterjaan and Allan Roosileht.[7]

  First round (jury and televote) qualifier   Second round (televote-only) qualifier

Semi-final 1 – 11 February 2017[8]
Draw Artist Song Round One Round Two
Jury Televote Total Place Votes Place
1 Elina Born "In or Out" 85 12 1780 5 17 3 — —
2 Carl-Philip "Everything But You" 63 7 726 4 11 6 1089 3
3 Laura Prits "Hey Kiddo" 37 1 660 3 4 8 696 6
4 Leemet Onno "Hurricane" 38 2 599 2 4 9 743 5
5 Ivo Linna "Suur loterii" 61 6 4244 12 18 1 — —
6 Lenna Kuurmaa "Slingshot" 74 10 1912 7 17 2 — —
7 Karl-Kristjan & Whogaux feat. Maian "Have You Now" 74 8 2509 8 16 4 — —
8 Janno Reim & Kosmos "Valan pisaraid" 43 3 590 1 4 10 991 4
9 Ariadne "Feel Me Now" 52 5 4241 10 15 5 8065 1
10 Uku Suviste "Supernatural" 45 4 1796 6 10 7 2906 2
Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 18 February 2017. Ten songs competed for five 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 19,233 votes. The jury panel that voted in the second semi-final consisted of Metsakutsu, Kadri Voorand, Niko Nykänen, Eva Palm, Jüri Pihel, Maia Vahtramäe, Sten Teppan, Aleksandr Žedeljov, Ingrid Kohtla, Meisterjaan and Allan Roosileht.[9]

  First round (jury and televote) qualifier   Second round (televote-only) qualifier

Semi-final 2 – 18 February 2017[8]
Draw Artist Song Round One Round Two
Jury Televote Total Place Votes Place
1 Koit Toome & Laura "Verona" 63 6 5226 12 18 2 — —
2 Kerli "Spirit Animal" 93 12 2337 8 20 1 — —
3 Daniel Levi "All I Need" 91 10 1109 4 14 5 4058 1
4 Liis Lemsalu "Keep Running" 83 8 2246 7 15 4 — —
5 Close To Infinity feat. Ian Karell "Sounds Like Home" 14 1 940 2 3 9 1578 4
6 Antsud "Vihm" 41 4 1691 6 10 6 2245 3
7 Almost Natural "Electric" 24 2 633 1 3 10 915 6
8 Rasmus Rändvee "This Love" 81 7 2678 10 17 3 — —
9 Alvistar Funk Association "Make Love, Not War" 30 3 1074 3 6 8 1305 5
10 Angeelia "We Ride With Our Flow" 52 5 1299 5 10 7 2265 2
Final

The final took place on 4 March 2017 at the Saku Suurhall in Tallinn. The five entries that qualified from each of the two preceding semi-finals, all together ten songs, competed during the show. 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 super final. In the super final, the winner was selected entirely by a public televote. The running order was revealed on 21 February 2017.[10] In the first round, a jury (50%) and public televote (50%) determined the top three entries to proceed to the super final: "Verona" performed by Koit Toome and Laura, "This Love" performed by Rasmus Rändvee and "Spirit Animal" performed by Kerli. The public vote in the first round registered 100,578 votes. In the super final, "Verona" performed by Koit Toome and Laura was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote.[11] The public televote in the super final registered 80,360 votes. The jury panel that voted in the final consisted of Måns Zelmerlöw, Toomas Edur, Julia Bali, Harri Hakanen, Marju Länik, Valner Valme, Henry Kõrvits, Siim Nestor, Piret Krumm, Alon Amir, and Poli Genova.[12]

Final – 4 March 2017[8]
Draw Artist Song Jury Televote Total Place
1 Liis Lemsalu "Keep Running" 62 6 4880 4 10 7
2 Koit Toome & Laura "Verona" 60 5 27759 12 17 2
3 Karl-Kristjan & Whogaux feat. Maian "Have You Now" 71 8 8362 5 13 4
4 Lenna Kuurmaa "Slingshot" 62 7 3422 2 9 8
5 Daniel Levi "All I Need" 49 2 3657 3 5 9
6 Elina Born "In or Out" 45 1 3057 1 2 10
7 Ivo Linna "Suur loterii" 57 4 14002 8 12 5
8 Rasmus Rändvee "This Love" 77 10 8617 6 16 3
9 Ariadne "Feel Me Now" 55 3 12325 7 10 6
10 Kerli "Spirit Animal" 100 12 14497 10 22 1
Super Final – 4 March 2017[8]
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Kerli "Spirit Animal" 23901 (30%) 2
2 Rasmus Rändvee "This Love" 11641 (15%) 3
3 Koit Toome & Laura "Verona" 44818 (55%) 1

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[13] On 31 January 2017, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Estonia was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 11 May 2017, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[14]

Once all the competing songs for the 2017 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Originally, Estonia was set to perform in position 18, following the entry from Lithuania and before the entry from Israel.[15] However, following Russia's withdrawal from the contest on 13 April and subsequent removal from the running order of the second semi-final, Estonia's performing position shifted to 17.[16] It was later revealed that Estonia placed fourteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 85 points: 69 points from the televoting and 16 points from the juries.

Points awarded to Estonia
Points awarded to Estonia (Semi-final 2)
Televote
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Jury
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Estonia

Jury members

The following five members comprised the Estonian jury: [17]

Split voting results from Estonia (Semi-final 2)
Draw Country Jury Televote
O. Paide R. Rändvee G. Jaani J. Maltis M. Länik Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Serbia179971210117
02 Austria6615136511
03 Macedonia1613101471213
04 Malta7761087414
05 Romania14171416414112
06 Netherlands1554435692
07 Hungary11813699238
08 Denmark825323815
09 Ireland347964747
10 San Marino12161517171716
11 Croatia10101211111165
12 Norway2132521083
13  Switzerland41188108312
14 Belarus9121713151556
15 Bulgaria13211112210
16 Lithuania51516151616101
17 Estonia
18 Israel13141112141374
Split voting results from Estonia (final)
Draw Country Jury Televote
O. Paide R. Rändvee G. Jaani J. Maltis M. Länik Average Rank Points Rank Points
01 Israel25191420151719
02 Poland1211171481222
03 Belarus26151819212192
04 Austria1113311201117
05 Armenia2291612181324
06 Netherlands10447127415
07 Moldova21231921172274
08 Hungary208116910138
09 Italy14262424132365
10 Denmark9310346520
11 Portugal37510238210
12 Azerbaijan6222515111516
13 Croatia19172325222513
14 Australia459554712
15 Greece16212218191923
16 Spain17241326262625
17 Norway72221021011
18 United Kingdom561975618
19 Cyprus23122113241614
20 Romania24251223142056
21 Germany15202617252426
22 Ukraine18102022231821
23 Belgium21678692112
24 Sweden8148438383
25 Bulgaria1161111247
26 France131815161614101
gollark: DURING YOUR AWARD SPEECĦ, demand they turn it down.
gollark: HACK THE SPEAKER SYSTEM.
gollark: SPEAK LOUDER THEN.
gollark: Just constantly shout "TURN THE VOLUME DOWN" until they get rid of you and/or turn it down!
gollark: Actually, instead of ear protection you can use *active* sound blocking, by carrying around a giant set of speakers and automatically playing the Soviet national anthem at twice the volume of whatever they're playing.

References
  1. "Estonia Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  2. "Ettevalmistused 2017. aasta Eesti Lauluks juba käivad". err.ee (in Estonian). ERR. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  3. Galliford, Fiona (29 April 2016). "Estonia: Eesti Laul 2017 tickets to go on sale next week". esctoday.com. Esctoday.com. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  4. Ernits, Rutt (7 September 2016). "Eesti Laul tuleb muudatustega, võistluslugusid saavad esitada ka välismaa autorid". err.ee (in Estonian). ERR. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  5. "Laulukonkursi "EESTI LAUL 2017" reglement". err.ee (in Estonian). ERR. 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  6. "Eesti Laul 2017 eelžürii liige Kristel Aaslaid: žüriis olla on raskem, kui ise lugu esitada" (in Estonian). DELFI. 7 November 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  7. "Selgusid Eesti Laul 2017 esimesed viis finalisti". eestilaul.postimees.ee (in Estonian). Postimees. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  8. Weaver, Jessica (5 March 2017). "Estonia: Eesti Laul 2017 voting breakdown released". ESCToday. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  9. "Selgusid Eesti Laul 2017 viimased finalistid". eestilaul.postimees.ee (in Estonian). Postimees. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
  10. Davies, Megan (21 February 2017). "ESTONIA: EESTI LAUL FINAL RUNNING ORDER ANNOUNCED". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix.
  11. Escudero, Victor. "Koit Toome and Laura to bring Verona to Kyiv!". Eurovision.tv. Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  12. "Eurovisioonile sõidavad Koit Toome ja Laura". http://eestilaul.postimees.ee. Postimees. 4 March 2017. External link in |website= (help)
  13. Jordan, Paul (25 January 2017). "Semi-Final Allocation draw to take place in Kyiv". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  14. Jordan, Paul (31 January 2017). "Results of the Semi-Final Allocation Draw". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  15. Jordan, Paul (31 March 2017). "Semi-Final running order for Eurovision 2017 revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  16. "EBU: "Russia no longer able to take part in Eurovision 2017"". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  17. Jordan, Paul (29 April 2017). "Who will be the expert jurors for Eurovision 2017?". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
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