Life after Helsinki 2007 Eurovision

Liberato is Italian artist who's Tu t'e scurdat'e me is a mix of sounds and languages; Napoletan with some hook in English just to confuse you. It's hypnotic and addictive, and the video makes me miss Naples so much..... Željko Joksimović has a new hit for the summer, Milimetar, an uptempo number with a retro beat. After initial meh it sticks to your head after a couple of hearings..... There must be a zillion Depascito covers all over the world already of the most streamed song ever. Estonian showband The Swingers have done a swing one and it's very groovy one. They don't know a word of Spanish but do a decent job with it and the singers are none other than Birgit Õigemeel and Tanja :-) Kenan Doğulu is back this summer with İlk Adımı Sen At , that has a nice arrangement and lazy nostalgic summer afternoon beat. And clearly Cornetto as sponsor :-)

Once again many spokespersons are already familiar faces. There are previous Eurovision singers and winners, even previous Eurovision and national final hosts and then well known tv-hosts and hstesses in theirown counties. And then some random celebrities like Ireland's ex-Westlife singer and UK's celebrity tv cook Nigella Lawson. Here they are from Valentina Monetta to Helena Paparizou, from Tinkara Kovac to Andrea Demirovic, Teo, Suzy and Nikki.and more.... and ding dong alert: Krista Siegfrids will burst out with a bubble of laughter and positivity, too!

Estonia didn't qualify for the final this year with Tanja's Amazing . Something that surprised many in Copenhagen as it was given as a pretty sure finalist. Tanja sung her heart out while dancing but maybe the televoters were too stunned to remember to pick up the phone and vote while watching her? She was welcomed to the Euroclub like a hero by adoring fans anyways, and the day after she as performing there again as well as in Eurovillage. And boy did she rock the Euroclub the night after! Corny to say but she was amazing indeed. Makes me wonder should she have dropped the dancing acrobatics and perform this way on Eurovision stage instead? Check her out here and here and here .  And she was looking fabulous in the welcoming party btw....

Today there was a break of the rehearsals in the arena. A part of the singers had though appointment in the recording studios to record their bits of Rainmaker that they will perform together with Emmelie De Forest. Apparently all didn't go as smoothly as the Danes would have wanted, for various reasons.... Anyways, a day off for most ment parties! Parties were arranged all around Copenhagen starting at noon with Macedonia, followed by Latvia, Iceland, Estonia, Georgia...  We opted for Latvia. A Tea party at 2pm and a song title Cake to bake promised well.  And indeed, there were trays full of cakes of various kind with tea or coffee. And a lot of music. Jöran and Katrina with the rest of the band played hosts getting their guests involved with singing. They improvised and entertained us like there was no tomorrow and the other stars that came by just went along:  Hersi from Albania singing in Italian Vivo per lei with Jöran (who certainly isn't Bocelli.....

Kaliningrad born Tanja (Tatiana Mihhailova, 30) isn't a new comer to Eesti laul as she already was a runner up back in 2002 with NightLight Duo and Another country song and took part again in 2003 . Since then she has become a household name and much admired person in theater, musicals and TV-shows. Several bands, talent shows and international festivals later she lands Copenhagen 2014 with partly self-penned Amazing . Robert: Like previous years, a very interesting preselection in Estonia. I like many songs of this Eesti laul like Maiken , Sandra Nurmsalu, Lauri Pihlap, Körsikud, Lenna Kuurmaa and MiaMee but in the end Traffic's song Fur Elise is the best for me. The winning song by Tanja is not at all appreciated by me. No final. Blogilkar :  I have to admit I didn't pay much attention to this among the Eesti laul semifinalists. The dancing & singing performance seemed a bit akward and yes, a bit Loreen-ish. The Estonian final was full of worthy songs, ...

After Romanian "miracle" here comes amazing Estonia. Not really. Neither this one was never among my favorites. Another mediocre heard-it-all-before song but good luck anyways. Amazing beat Super Hot Cosmos Blues band in the superfinal with 53% against 47%. This is like Charlotte Nilsson doing a washed down remix of Euphoria, isn't it? And the staging is a bit too busy, too.... Below are the jury votes. They weren't kind to Maiken and Sandra. Here are the final's first round results: 01. SHCBB (10 jury / 11940 – 10 public) – 20 points 02. Tanja (7 jury / 10580 – 9 public) – 16 points 03. Traffic (8 jury / 5433 – 7 public) – 15 points 04. Lenna (9 jury / 2941 – 5 public) – 14 points 05. Sandra Nurmsalu (2 jury / 10434 – 8 public) – 10 points 06. Norman Salumäe (5 jury / 2347 – 4 public) – 9 points 07. Brigita Murutar (1 jury / 2965 – 6 public) – 7 points 08. Kõrsikud (4 jury / 2256 – 3 public) – 7 points 09. Wilhelm (6 jury / 1525 – 1 public) – 7 p...

Estonia will have its final this Satuday after two semifinals where half of the songs were kicked out. Eesti laul has been the past few years rather indie, exciting, provocative (just think about Winny Puhh ) and innovative. This year wasn't so bold I'm afraid. Relistening the final line up it's pretty safe stuff and who knows what the Estonians will vote to Copenhagen? I don't. Estonia has now made three times in a row to the final, twice with a ballad in Estonian, will the wind change this year, as Sandra suggests? I would still go for that, meaning Maiken. Sandra would do again as well, I like her song and it makes me think of this for some reason, which is a good thing as I loved it. Lenna and Traffic are also potential winners, I think. I would be surprised of anyone else. Except Tanja but not in a good way. Oh hang on, what about Norman?! Here's a recap . Brigita Murutar -  Laule täis taevakaar   Traffic - Für Elise   Norman Salumäe - Search   Wilhel...

Estonian Eesti laul's first semifinal is just iver and we have the finalists. Out of ten five qualified by combined televote and jury vote. The top-5 of the jury vote that was revealed earlier turned out to be the same as the combined result:  Kõrsikud - Tule Ja Jää   Wilhelm - Resignal Tanja - Amazing  Lenna - Supernoova Super Hot Cosmos Blues Band - Maybe-Maybe

Estonia kicks off its national selection aka Eesti laul 2014 this Friday. There will be two semifinals before the grand final in Tallinn as usual. This year's song selection is maybe not as demanding and original as we have used to but offers still a wide range of styles and most of all songs that are not very Eurovisionesque and therefor the whole selection is always rather refreshing. Some familiar names among this Friday's hopefuls: August Hunt (2012), Kõrsikud (2013) and most of all Lenna Kuurmaa, alredy twice the runner up (2010, 2012). Five entries will make it to the final. My favourites are August Hunt, Wilhelm and Kõrsikud. Strangely it seems all bands have been put to this first semi, and all the (female) soloist in the second.... Tanja - Amazing The Titles - Flames Wilhelm - Resignal State of Zoe - Solina NimmerSchmidt - Sandra Vöörad - Maailm on hull Super Hot Cosmos Blues Band - Maybe-Maybe August Hunt - Kus on EXIT? Kõrsikud - Tule ja jää ...