Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Country	Estonia
National selection
Selection process	Eesti Laul 2015
Selection date(s)	Semi-finals: 7 February 2015 14 February 2015 Final: 21 February 2015
Selected entrant	Elina Born & Stig Rästa
Selected song	"Goodbye to Yesterday"
Selected songwriter(s)	Stig Rästa
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Qualified (3rd, 105 points)
Final result	7th, 106 points
Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2014 • 2015 • 2016►

Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Goodbye to Yesterday", written by Stig Rästa. The song was performed by Elina Born and Stig Rästa. Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the national final Eesti Laul 2015 in order to select the Estonian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. After two semi-finals and a final, "Goodbye to Yesterday" performed by Elina Born and Stig Rästa were selected, winning the super final of the competition with 79% of the public televote. In the first of the Eurovision semi-finals "Goodbye to Yesterday" placed third out of the 16 participating countries, securing its place among the 27 other songs in the final. In Estonia's twenty-first Eurovision appearance on 23 May, "Goodbye to Yesterday" finished in seventh place, receiving 106 points.

Background

Prior to the 2015 Contest, Estonia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty times since its first entry in 1994.^[1] Estonia has won the contest once in 2001 with the song "Everybody" performed by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. To this point, since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Estonia had failed to reach the final on seven occasions and had only reached the top ten twice, with Urban Symphony in 2009 and Ott Lepland in 2012, who both finished sixth. In 2014, "Amazing" performed by Tanja failed to qualify Estonia to compete in the final.

The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), which broadcast the contest in Estonia and oragnised the selection of the Estonian entry, confirmed that Estonia would participate in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest on 26 May 2014.^[2] On 17 September 2014, the broadcaster revealed details regarding their selection procedure and announced the organization of Eesti Laul 2015.^[3]

Before Eurovision

Eesti Laul 2015

Eesti Laul 2015 was the seventh edition of the Estonian national selection Eesti Laul, which selected Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. The competition consisted of twenty entries competing in two semi-finals on 7 and 14 February 2015 leading to a ten song final on 21 February 2015. All three shows were broadcast on Eesti Televisioon (ETV).

Format

The format of the competition included two semi-finals on 7 and 14 February and a final on 21 February 2015.^[4] Ten songs competed in each semi-final where 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 the votes of public televoting. The winning song in the final was selected over two rounds of voting: the first round results were determined by the 50/50 combination of jury and public voting, while the second round (super final) was determined solely by public televoting. The original format of Eesti Laul featured only the two highest ranked songs from the first round of voting in the final qualifying to the second round of voting. In 2015, the super final round featured three finalists instead of two.^[4]

Competing entries

ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries between 17 September 2014 and 1 December 2014.^[4] A record 219 submissions were received by the deadline—the highest amount since the conception of the Eesti Laul format.^[5] A jury selected 20 semi-finalists from the submissions and the selected songs were announced during the ETV entertainment program Ringvaade on 4 December 2014.^[6][7] The selection jury consisted of Erik Morna (Raadio 2 head of music), Toomas Puna (Raadio Sky+ program director), Owe Petersell (Raadio Elmar chief editor), Siim Nestor (music critic), Kaupo Karelson (television producer), Valner Valme (music critic), Lenna Kuurmaa (singer), Ago Teppand (musician/producer), Anne Veski (singer), Ingrid Kohtla (music editor) and Mingo Rajandi (musician).^[8]

Among the competing artists was previous Eurovision Song Contest entrant Robin Juhkental who represented Estonia in 2010 as part of the group Malcolm Lincoln. Airi Vipulkumar Ka nsar (Ojamets), Elina Born, Liis Lemsalu, Luisa Värk, Maia Vahtramäe, NimmerSchmidt, Stig Rästa and Wilhelm had all previously competed in Estonian national finals.^[7]

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final of Eesti Laul 2015 took place on 7 February 2015, hosted by Helen Sürje and Indrek Vaheoja with additional commentary provided by Mart Juur and Peeter Oja.^[9][10] The performances of the competing songs were filmed earlier on 30 January 2015.^[11] 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 18,507 votes.^[12] The jury panel that voted in the first semi-final consisted of Owe Petersell, Mare Väljataga, Alar Kotkas, Peedu Kass, Erik Morna, Marie Vaigla, Valner Valme, Grete Paia, Koit Toome, Sander Mölder and Anneliis Kits.^[13]

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final of Eesti Laul 2015 took place on 14 February 2015, hosted by Helen Sürje and Indrek Vaheoja with additional commentary provided by Mart Juur and Peeter Oja.^[9][10] The performances of the competing songs were filmed earlier on 1 February 2015.^[14] 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 38,094votes.^[15] The jury panel that voted in the second semi-final consisted of Owe Petersell, Mare Väljataga, Alar Kotkas, Peedu Kass, Erik Morna, Marie Vaigla, Valner Valme, Grete Paia, Koit Toome, Sander Mölder and Anneliis Kits.^[13]

Final

The final of Eesti Laul 2015 took place on 21 February 2015 at the Nordea Concert Hall in Tallinn, hosted by Marko Reikop and Henrik Kalmet. Five songs from each semi-final, all together ten songs, competed in the first round of the competition where a jury (50%) and public televote (50%) decided the top three entries for the super final. The public vote in the first round registered 76,807 votes. "Goodbye to Yesterday" performed by Elina Born and Stig Rästa, "Burning Lights" performed by Daniel Levi and "Superlove" performed by Elisa Kolk qualified to the super final. The jury panel that voted in the first round consisted of G-Enka (musician), Ines (singer-songwriter), Ingrid Kohtla (music critic), Kristjan Hirmo (DJ and Radio Sky Plus presenter), Els Himma (singer), Priit Hõbemägi (culture critic), Koit Raudsepp (Raadio 2 presenter), Iiris (singer), Reigo Ahven (drummer), Kristjan Randalu (pianist and composer) and Tanja (musician and choreographer).^[16] In the super final, "Goodbye to Yesterday" performed by Elina Born and Stig Rästa won with 79% of the public televote which registered 90,417 votes.^[17]

At Eurovision

Elina Born and Stig Rästa during a press meet and greet

Elina Born and Stig Rästa at a dress rehearsal for the first semi-final

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. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation.^[18] The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.^[19] On 26 January 2015, 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 first semi-final, to be held on 19 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.^[20]

Once all the competing songs for the 2015 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. Estonia was set to perform in position 7, following the entry from Greece and before the entry from Macedonia.^[21]

All three shows were televised in Estonia on ETV with commentary by Marko Reikop.^[22] The first semi-final and final were also broadcast via radio on Raadio 2 with commentary by Mart Juur and Andrus Kivirähk. The Estonian spokesperson, who announced the Estonian votes during the final, was 2014 Eurovision entrant Tanja.^[23]

Semi-final

Elina Born and Stig Rästa took part in technical rehearsals on 11 and 15 May,^[24][25] followed by dress rehearsals on 18 and 19 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.^[26]

The stage show featured Elina Born dressed in a dark jumpsuit with a silver belt and Stig Rästa dressed in a dark suit with casual shoes. The staging for the song included dark colours with white accents and silhouettes of the performers projected on the LED stage floor. The large background LED screens displayed a shadowy cityscape with prominent skyscrapers. Rästa began the performance on stage alone and was then joined by Born during the first chorus. Born then finished the song on stage alone as Rästa exited during the final chorus.^[24][25]

At the end of the show, Estonia was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final.^[27] It was later revealed that Estonia placed third in the semi-final, receiving a total of 105 points.^[28]

Final

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winner's 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.^[29] 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 4, following the entry from Israel and before the entry from the United Kingdom.^[30]

Elina Born and Stig Rästa once again took part in dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show.^[31] The duet performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 23 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Estonia finished in seventh place with 106 points.^[32][33]

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could 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 were released shortly after the grand final.^[34]

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Estonia had placed fifth with the public televote and eleventh with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Estonia scored 144 points, while with the jury vote, Estonia scored 53 points.^[35] In the first semi-final, Estonia placed second with the public televote with 129 points and tenth with the jury vote, scoring 60 points.^[36]

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:^{[28][33][37][38]}

Points awarded to Estonia

Points awarded by Estonia

Semi-final 1 12 points  Hungary 10 points  Belgium 8 points  Russia 7 points  Denmark 6 points  Georgia 5 points  Netherlands 4 points  Finland 3 points  Romania 2 points  Macedonia 1 point  Greece

Final 12 points  Russia 10 points  Sweden 8 points  Hungary 7 points  Belgium 6 points  Latvia 5 points  Australia 4 points  Norway 3 points  Italy 2 points  Lithuania 1 point  Georgia

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Estonian jury:^[34]

• Sven Lõhmus – Chairperson – songwriter, producer
• Olav Osolin – songwriter, commentator
• Dagmar Oja – singer
• Triin Niitoja – singer
• Egert Milder – singer, musician

Split voting results from Estonia (Semi-final 1)
Draw	Country	S. Lõhmus	O. Osolin	D. Oja	T. Niitoja	E. Milder	Average Jury Rank	Televote Rank	Combined Rank	Scoreboard (Points)
01	Moldova	6	12	11	14	12	11	13	12
02	Armenia	14	13	12	13	11	14	14	15
03	Belgium	1	1	2	4	1	1	4	2	10
04	Netherlands	3	9	5	1	6	4	8	6	5
05	Finland	11	8	15	15	7	12	1	7	4
06	Greece	7	14	6	11	13	10	11	10	1
07	Estonia
08	Macedonia	8	7	8	3	3	5	12	9	2
09	Serbia	15	15	13	12	14	15	10	14
10	Hungary	4	2	1	2	2	2	2	1	12
11	Belarus	13	11	10	9	15	13	9	11
12	Russia	2	4	3	5	8	3	3	3	8
13	Denmark	9	10	9	6	4	7	5	4	7
14	Albania	12	5	7	10	10	9	15	13
15	Romania	5	6	14	7	9	8	7	8	3
16	Georgia	10	3	4	8	5	6	6	5	6

Split voting results from Estonia (Final)
Draw	Country	S. Lõhmus	O. Osolin	D. Oja	T. Niitoja	E. Milder	Average Jury Rank	Televote Rank	Combined Rank	Scoreboard (Points)
01	Slovenia	9	10	21	11	9	9	12	11
02	France	19	23	13	23	19	22	21	21
03	Israel	13	11	19	24	10	15	13	13
04	Estonia
05	United Kingdom	24	24	24	18	16	23	14	18
06	Armenia	26	20	22	25	23	25	24	26
07	Lithuania	20	13	9	4	14	10	9	9	2
08	Serbia	23	25	26	22	25	26	19	23
09	Norway	2	8	10	3	6	6	8	7	4
10	Sweden	3	4	2	5	4	2	2	2	10
11	Cyprus	21	14	14	20	21	20	15	17
12	Australia	5	7	4	6	5	5	7	6	5
13	Belgium	7	2	1	10	2	4	5	4	7
14	Austria	12	16	15	7	13	11	18	15
15	Greece	16	22	12	15	22	19	25	22
16	Montenegro	17	15	25	26	26	24	23	24
17	Germany	18	21	20	16	12	17	17	16
18	Poland	15	12	17	19	24	18	20	19
19	Latvia	11	1	8	13	1	7	4	5	6
20	Romania	10	9	23	8	18	13	10	12
21	Spain	6	17	11	12	20	12	16	14
22	Hungary	4	3	5	1	3	1	6	3	8
23	Georgia	25	6	7	9	7	8	11	10	1
24	Azerbaijan	14	18	16	21	15	16	22	20
25	Russia	1	5	3	2	8	3	1	1	12
26	Albania	22	19	18	14	17	21	26	25
27	Italy	8	26	6	17	11	14	3	8	3

References

External links

• Eesti Laul official site

Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Artists 1990s Janika Sillamaa Silvi Vrait 1995 Maarja-Liis Ilus & Ivo Linna Maarja Liis-Ilus Koit Toome Evelin Samuel & Camille 2000s Ines Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL Sahlene Ruffus Neiokõsõ Suntribe Sandra Oxenryd Gerli Padar Kreisiraadio Urban Symphony 2010s Malcolm Lincoln & Manpower 4 Getter Jaani Ott Lepland Birgit Õigemeel Tanja Elina Born & Stig Rästa Jüri Pootsmann
Songs 1990s "Muretut meelt ja südametuld" "Nagu merelaine" 1995 "Kaelakee hääl" "Keelatud maa" "Mere lapsed" "Diamond of Night" 2000s "Once in a Lifetime" "Everybody" "Runaway" "Eighties Coming Back" "Tii" "Let's Get Loud" "Through My Window" "Partners in Crime" "Leto svet" "Rändajad" 2010s "Siren" "Rockefeller Street" "Kuula" "Et uus saaks alguse" "Amazing" "Goodbye to Yesterday" "Play"
(Note: Entries scored out are when Estonia did not compete)