Eurolaul 2008, Estonia's national final to determine their Eurovision Song Contest entry is taking place tonight. The show is the second in tonight's double-header live stream on eurovision.tv.
Like in recent years, ten songs will be presented in the national final. The winner will be chosen by televoting. The show starts at 20:30 CET and will be hosted by Marko Reikop and Ines, who sang Estonia tojoint 3rdplace in the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest with Once in a lifetime.
The show is underway.We begin with our hosts in the greenroom discussing the competition and the Eurovision Song Contest.
Song 1: Kreisiraadio – Leto svet
The song brings back memories of Israel's Hoopa Hoola song and Lithuania's we are the winners. It is a catchy football song style entry with the band marching and dancing on stage with backing dancers in gold bikinis doing a riverdances style routine. The finish ends with a cheerleading formation with the dancers balancing on each other.
Song 2: SKA Faktor – Real big money
Real big money is an uptempo song by a talented band. Somewhere between the Housemartins and Beautiful South, the performance is strong. The instrumental features a strong guitar solo and there are trumpets on stage. The band have an interesting end to their performance, walking off stage before the music is finished.
Song 3: Rolf Junior – One on one
Rolf takes to the stage in less formal clothes than the first two acts. A white vest top with coloured bands around the middle and low cut at the front and white jeans. His backing dancers look like they are from the film Fame! The song is a mid tempo disco track. During the performance, he pulls a bunny rabit soft toy from a hat provided by a dancer. The song is consistent, without rising for a big finish.
Song 4: Taavi Peterson – Question man
Taavi is dressed in skintight brown trousers, orange tshirt, denim jacket and red scarf. His backing dancers are also dressed casually to perform this low key rock song. Vocally, it may be the weakest performance so far and the song is certainly not a 'typical Eurovision' entry.
Song 5: Kristjan Kasearu & Paradise Crew – Üksinduses
This song is a mid tempo rock song, with a strong vocal performance from a trendily dressed Kristjan. The vocal harmonies with the lead backing singer a very good and the stage presentation is strong. With a piano solo providing a soft ending to the song, it is a good performance all round.
Song 6: Birgit Õigemeel – 365 days
Estonian pop idol winner, Birgit, takes to the stage in front of a romantic movie setting on the video wall. Dressed in a sophisticated ballgown, Birgit delivers the ballad strongly. with a perfect hit on the big notes.
Song 7: Luisa Värk & Traffic – It's never too late
Luisa and Traffic perform a simple pop song. Dressed in a pink top and . The lead singer of traffic wears a shirt and grey jeans. The song builds as they duet for the chorus. The harmonies are strong and the song is catchy. It's a good all round perforance and the two singers have good chemistry on stage.
Song 8: Supernova – Stefani
Supernova perform a country rock style song in Estonian. Its a good performance and the vocals are strong. The song is simple with emphasis on the guitars again.
Song 9:Iiris Vesik – Ice-cold story
This indie rock song is very different to anything else in the show so far. The female vocals are performed strongly and the band are dressed in interesting outfits with long coats. During the bridge, the band freezes on stage. There are cellos being played on stage and it's a very strong performance.
Song 10: Margus Vaher – God inside your soul
The final act in tonights final is another mid tempo rock pop love song. Our lead female singer is dressed in a red mini-dress / trouser combination and her partner on stage is dressed in a blck outfit with a red shirt. The vocals are steady and melodic and the studio set shows stars all around with red wave images on the video screen.
The Interval
After the songs, we are treated to an arial view of the green room. The theme music of the evening is Mika's Love today. There is a review of the songs from the final with voting numbers.
Ines' performance is followed by Gerli Padar, last year's Eurolaul winner performs a a slow accoutic version of Partners in crime in Estonian with Taavi Langdi on guitar. They are followed by Estonia's 2002 Eurovision Song Contest representative, Sahlene who performs her new song Brief and beautiful. Finally, the Bedwetters perform as the voting lines close.
A costume change for our hosts before the telvote results. And the results are announced from 10th to 4th place. A 10 minute televote begins for the top three. The results from 4th to 10th place are:
4 One on one 2660
5 God inside your soul 2399
6 Real big money 1444
7 Uksinduses 1189
8 It's never too late 866
9 Question Man 837
10 Stefani 646
A further 10 minute televote takes place to determine the top three songs and Estonia's 2008 Eurovision Song Contest entry. It will be from:
- Kreisiraadio – Leto svet
- Birgit Õigemeel – 365 days
- Iiris Vesik – Ice-cold story
And the result is:
- Leto svet 52518
- Ice cold story 30963
- 365 Days 12990
Kreisiraadio will represent Estonia at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade.
