''Eesti otsib superstaari'' ''(Estonia is Searching for a Superstar)'' is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n reality-competition gameshow airing on TV3. It debuted on 11 March 2007 and it has since become one of the most popular shows in Estonia. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the reality program ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'' created by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

entertainment executive

Simon Fuller Simon Fuller (born 17 May 1960) is a British entrepreneur, artist manager, and film and television producer renowned for nurturing and inspiring world class entertainment talent. He is the creator of the ''Idols'' TV format, including the UK s ...

, first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom. The program seeks to discover the best singer in Estonia through a series of nationwide auditions. The outcomes of the later stages of the competition are determined by the viewers. Through telephone and SMS text voting, viewers have chosen as winners

Birgit Õigemeel Birgit Sarrap (née Õigemeel, born 24 September 1988), also known as simply Birgit, is an Estonian singer. Õigemeel rose to prominence in 2007 after winning the Eesti otsib superstaari (season 1), first season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari'', ...

Jana Kask Jana Kask (born 11 November 1991) is an Estonian singer and the winner of ''Eesti otsib superstaari'' 2008, the second season of the Estonian version of ''Pop Idol''. In the final, she competed against Arno Suislep, winning it by getting 52.9% ...

, Ott Lepland,

Liis Lemsalu Liis Lemsalu (born October 20, 1992 in Pärnu, Estonia) is an Estonian singer. 2011 : ''Eesti otsib superstaari'' Lemsalu rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari'', the Estonian version of Idol series. Aft ...

Rasmus Rändvee Rasmus Simon Rändvee (born 28 November 1995, in Pärnu) is an Estonian singer. He is best known for winning the Eesti otsib superstaari (season 5), fifth season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari''. He attended Pärnu Gymnasium and, in 2015, graduated ...

Jüri Pootsmann Jüri Pootsmann (born 1 July 1994), is an Estonian singer. He won the sixth season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari'', and Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Play (Jür ...

and Uudo Sepp (listed in chronological order). The format features a panel of judges who critique the contestants' performances. The judges are former recording artist, music critic and journalist

Mihkel Raud Mihkel Raud (born 18 January 1969) is an Estonian writer, music artist, actor, and a former member of the Estonian parliament. He is best known for his book ''Musta pori näkku'' and as a former host of an Estonian talk show on TV3. Persona ...

(all 5 seasons), singer

Maarja-Liis Ilus Maarja-Liis Ilus, sometimes better known by her performing name Maarja (born 24 December 1980) is an Estonian pop musician and presenter. She has represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest twice. She was only 15 when she participated in the ...

(since season 3) and singer, actor and conductor

Mart Sander Mart Sander (born 10 August 1967) is an Estonian singer, actor, director, author, artist, and television host. Life and career In his youth, Mart Sander studied violin and conducting. He started singing in the choir of the Estonian National Op ...

(since season 5). Composer and pianist

Rein Rannap Rein Rannap (born 6 October 1953 in Tallinn) is an Estonian composer and pianist. Since 1968, Rannap has given numerous public piano performances. Rannap has been active in management and composition for Ruja, Noor-Eesti and Hõim. Pianist c ...

and Radio DJ, journalist and TV producer Heidy Purga belonged to the judging panel of the first season.

Seasons

Seasons summary

To date, five seasons have been broadcast, as summarised below.

Season 1

The first season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari'' debuted on 11 March 2007 and instantly became one of the most popular television shows in Estonia, following in the success of other Idol competitions around the world. The hosts were actress Aigi Vahing and choreographer Jüri Nael. The judging panel consisted of singer, guitar player, music critic and journalist Mihkel Raud, composer and pianist Rein Rannap and radio disc jockey and television producer Heidy Purga. The winner of the series was

, who won a recording contract and 100 000 kroons. She used the money dedicated for the recording contract on building her own recording company MTH Publishing. In January 2008 she released her self-titled debut album and held the number one spot for several weeks. Since winning the show, Õigemeel has released three studio albums and several singles. The runner-up, Luisa Värk also has released an album and several singles.

Season 2

The second season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari'' debuted on 3 February 2008. Actors and comedians

Ott Sepp Ott Sepp (born 29 June 1982) is an Estonian actor, comedian, singer, writer and television presenter. Career Born in Tallinn, Sepp graduated from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2004 and began performing at the Estonian Drama Theat ...

and

Märt Avandi Märt Avandi (born 26 February 1981) is an Estonian actor and comedian. Biography He is known in Estonia for his performances in TV show '' Tujurikkuja'' (2008–2015) with Ott Sepp, that made them household names in Estonia. Avandi has worked a ...

emerged as the new presenters. The judging panel remained the same. The Finale of the series was held in the

Linnahall Linnahall ( et, Tallinna Linnahall, 'Tallinn City Hall') (originally the V. I. Lenin Palace of Culture and Sports) is a multi-purpose venue in Tallinn, Estonia. It is situated in the harbor, just beyond the walls of the Old Town, and was complete ...

arena to an audience of 3000 people. More than 70 000 calls and text messages were sent during the televoting. The series was won by

, who collected 52,9% of the votes in the Finale. Kask signed a record dea while the album was not released by the recording company because of 'riskful situation in the local music market'. In late summer, Kask started collaboration with manager

Ivar Must Ivar Must (born 7 May 1961 in Tallinn as Igor Tsõganov) is an Estonian composer and music producer. He composed " Everybody", which won the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision Song Contest entries *"Nagu Merelaine" by Silvi Vrait, Estonia, ...

and her debut album ''Face in the Mirror'' was finally released in December 2009.

Season 3

The third season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari'' premiered on 6 September 2009. In autumn 2008, TV3 announced that the third season would be postponed due to

the recession ''The Recession'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Jeezy (known at the time as Young Jeezy). It was released on September 2, 2008, by Corporate Thugz, Corporate Thugz Entertainment (CTE) and Def Jam South, Def Jam South Recordings. Th ...

. The auditions for the third series started in August 2009. The

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

-winning singer and guitar player

Tanel Padar Tanel Padar (born 27 October 1980) is an Estonian singer and songwriter. He is best known internationally for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. Padar became famous by winning the ''Kaks takti ette'', a biennial televised competition for ...

and singer

Ithaka Maria Ithaka Maria Harito (born Gyrcelea-Ithaka-Maria Pruuli in Tallinn on 21 June 1979; former surname Rahula) is an Estonian singer and songwriter. She has been studied in Georg Ots Tallinn Music College (1994-1996) and in Estonian Academy of Music ...

emerged as the new presenters of the show. There were also changes in the judging panel, Heidy Purga was replaced by singer

. The Finale of the series was held on 20 December 2009 once again in the

, Tallinn. The series was won by Ott Lepland, who won a recording contract with Crunch Industry. Ott Lepland's self-titled debut album was released on 13 April 2010.

Getter Jaani Getter Jaani (born 3 February 1993) is an Estonian singer and actress. She represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song " Rockefeller Street". Early life Getter was born and raised in Tallinn. In 2015, she graduated n ...

, who finished fourth in the series, got also signed by Moonwalk Records and released her debut album in May 2011. She also represented Estonia in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

Season 4

The fourth season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari'' premiered on 13 February 2011. The judging panel remained the same, consisting of Mihkel Raud, Rein Rannap and Maarja-Liis Ilus. Once again new presenters were introduced, they were actors and singers

Hele Kõrve Hele Kõrve (until 2009, Hele Kõre; born 7 January 1980) is an Estonian stage, television, film and voice actress and singer. Early life and education Hele Kõrve was born Hele Kõre in 1980 in the town of Jõgeva, in Jõgeva County. She graduat ...

and Evelin Pang. The series was won by

, who was awarded with

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists ...

10,000 and a record contract with the Universal Music Baltics. The show was followed by a tour ''"Eesti superstaar - Live tuur"'' around the country in June 2011.

Season 5

"Eesti otsib superstaari" fifth season premiered on 9 September 2012. The hosts of the season are actors

Karl-Andreas Kalmet Karl-Andreas Kalmet (born on 8 February 1989) is an Estonian actor. Kalmet's parents are actor and director Madis Kalmet and diplomat and former actress Gita Kalmet (née Ränk). In 2008, he graduated from British School in The Netherlands in Th ...

and Mihkel Kalmet. Two of three judges from the fourth season, Mihkel Raud and Maarja-Liis Ilus, continued their job as the judges. Rein Rannap was replaced by

. Auditions for the fifth season took place in

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

(11 August 2012),

Viljandi Viljandi (, german: Fellin, sv, Fellin) is a town and municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,407 in 2019. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major Estonian cities, Pärnu and Tartu ...

(18 August),

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

(25–26 August) and

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

(1–2 September).

Season 6

"Eesti otsib superstaari" sixth season premiered on 15 February 2015. The host of the season was singer

Karl-Erik Taukar Karl-Erik Taukar (born 1 March 1989) is an Estonian singer, bass guitarist and television host. Career Taukar was born in Viljandi. In 2012, he was a finalist on the TV3 reality-competition television series ''Eesti otsib superstaari'', the Eston ...

(Previously fourth place on the fifth season). Judges were

Jarek Kasar Jarek Kasar (also known by his stage name Chalice; born 3 April 1983) is an Estonian singer. He started his music career as a rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates ...

and

The series was won by

with Gertu Pabbo as runner-up.

Elimination Chart

Season 7

"Eesti otsib superstaari" seventh season premiered on 18 February 2018. The host of the season was singer

. Judges were

Eda-Ines Etti Eda-Ines Etti (, born 26 May 1981), also known as simply Ines, is an Estonian singer and songwriter. Etti represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song " Once in a Lifetime", placing fourth. Until their win the following ...

and

Koit Toome Koit Toome (born 3 January 1979), is an Estonian singer and musical actor. He has twice represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 1998 he finished 12th with the song "Mere lapsed". In 2017 he sang a duet with Laura Põldvere, entit ...

. The series was won by Uudo Sepp with Sissi Nylia Benita as runner-up. The other finalists were, from third to tenth : Merilin Mälk, Helis Järvepere Luik, Jaagup Tuisk, Carlos Ukareda, Jennifer Marisse Cohen, Anette Maria Rennit, Rauno Gutman and Hele Mai Mängel.

Season 8

"Eesti otsib superstaari" eighth season premiered on 14 August 2021. The host of the season was singer

. Judges were

and also

Birgit Sarrap Birgit is a female given name, a short form of Birgitta and ultimately a Germanic form of the Gaelic name Bridget. Notable people with the name include: * Birgit Brüel, Danish singer and actress * Birgit Collin-Langen, German politician * ...

(Winner of the first season) who replaced

after season seven The series was won by Alika Milova with 71.8% of the votes, and Wanda-Helene Ollep as the runner-up. The other finalists were, from third to tenth : Maribel Vääna, Märten Männiste, Andreas Pall, Ingmar Erik Kiviloo, Tiina Adamson, Marten Põldmets, Diana Maria Toomingas and Merili Käsper.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eesti Otsib Superstaari 2000s Estonian television series Television series by Fremantle (company) 2010s Estonian television series Non-British television series based on British television series Estonian music television series TV3 (Estonia) original programming