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 ...

participated in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Turin, Italy, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Måneskin. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and h ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, Italy, with "

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

" performed by Stefan. The Estonian broadcaster (ERR) organised the national final ''2022'' in order to select the Estonian entry for the contest. The national final consisted of seven shows: four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a final. Ten songs competed in each quarter-final and semi-final and five qualified from each show as determined by a jury panel and public vote. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting, the first involving both a jury and the public, and the second and ultimate entirely decided by the public. Estonia was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2022. Performing during the show in position 12, "Hope" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and hence qualified to compete in the final. In the final, Estonia placed 13th with 141 points. It was later revealed that the country placed 5th in the semi-final with 209 points.

Background

Prior to the 2022 contest, Estonia had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-six times since its first entry in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, winning the contest on one occasion in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

with the song " Everybody" performed by

Tanel Padar Tanel Padar (born 27 October 1980) is an Estonian people, 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 ...

Dave Benton Dave Benton (born 31 January 1951, birth name Efrén Eugene Benita) is a pop musician from Aruba who lives in Estonia. He is one of the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. At the age of 50 years and 101 days at the time of his victory, ...

and 2XL. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, Estonia has, to this point, managed to qualify to the final on seven occasions. In , " The Lucky One" performed by

Uku Suviste Uku Suviste (born 6 June 1982) is an Estonian singer-songwriter, pianist and music producer. He was scheduled to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, before cancellation of the competition that year. ...

failed to qualify Estonia to the final where the song placed thirteenth in the semi-final. The Estonian national broadcaster, (ERR), broadcasts the event within Estonia and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. ERR confirmed Estonia's participation at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest on 27 August 2021. 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 competition has been organised since 2009 in order to select Estonia's entry and on 28 August 2021, ERR announced the organisation of ''2022'' in order to select the nation's 2022 entry.

Before Eurovision

Eesti Laul ''2022''

''2022'' was the fourteenth edition of the Estonian national selection , which selected Estonia's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The competition consisted of forty entries competing in four quarter-finals and two semi-finals, leading to a ten-song final on 12 February 2022. All shows were broadcast live on ETV, on

ETV+ ETV may stand for: Television * e.tv, a South African terrestrial television channel * Educational Television (Hong Kong), a television series * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television ap ...

with Russian commentary as well as streamed online at the broadcaster's official website ''err.ee''. The final was also broadcast in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

on Ten as well as via radio in Estonia on

Raadio 2 Raadio 2 is Estonian radio station. It belongs to Estonian Public Broadcasting (formerly Estonian Radio) and started broadcasting on 1 May 1993. History In the course of the radio reform, Vikerraadio was merged with the I program (the name remai ...

with commentary by Kristo Rajasaare, Margus Kamlat, Erik Morna and

Robin Juhkental Robin Juhkental (born 20 May 1988 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian singer. He is the frontman of Malcolm Lincoln. Juhkental has studied in Kivimäe põhikool and Tallinna Nõmme Gümnaasium. He has also studied road engineering in Tallinn Uni ...

Format

The format of the competition included four quarter-finals on 20 November, 27 November, 4 December and 11 December 2021, two semi-finals on 3 and 5 February 2022 and a final on 12 February 2022. Ten songs competed in each quarter-final and five from each quarter-final qualified to the semi-finals. 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 quarter-finals were determined solely by public televoting for the first three qualifiers and votes from a professional jury for the fourth and fifth qualifiers, while the results of the semi-finals were determined by the 50/50 combination of jury and public voting for the first qualifiers and a second round of public televoting for the remaining qualifiers. 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 (superfinal) determined the winner solely by public televoting.

Competing entries

On 2 September 2021, ERR opened the submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries up until 20 October 2021 through an online upload platform. Each artist and songwriter was able to submit a maximum of five entries. Foreign collaborations were allowed as long as one of the songwriters were Estonian and that there were a maximum of two foreign songwriters, one being the composer and one being the lyricist. A fee was also imposed on songs being submitted to the competition, with €50 for songs in the Estonian language and €100 for songs in other languages. 202 submissions were received by the deadline, of which 84 were in Estonian with the remaining in English, French, Spanish, Italian and an imaginary language. A 17-member jury panel consisting of Andi Raig, Bert Järvet,

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 ...

, Eric Kammiste, Heili Klandorf, Henri Laumets, Hugo Martin Maasikas, Jürgen Pärnsalu, Kadiah, Kaspar Viilup, , , Leonardo Romanello,

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 ...

, Meelis Meri, Tarmo Hõbe and selected 40 quarter-finalists from the submissions and ten of the selected songs were announced each week on the ETV entertainment program , between 15 November 2021 and 7 December 2021. Among the competing artists were previous Eurovision Song Contest entrants

Evelin Samuel Evelin Samuel (born 13 May 1975) is an Estonian singer, songwriter, musical theater performer, author of children's books and participant in the Eurovision Song Contest. Career Evelin Samuel has been singing since childhood and was even record ...

, who represented Estonia in ,

Lauri Pihlap Lauri Pihlap (born 9 March 1982 in Tallinn) is an Estonian pop and R&B singer and hip hop artist. In 2000 he joined the band 2XL (later Soul Militia). In 2007 he started its solo career under the name Lowry. His debut album's name is "Split Pe ...

, who represented Estonia as member of 2XL in together with

and

Anna Sahlene Anna Cecilia Sahlin (born 11 May 1976), known professionally as Anna Sahlene and formerly by the one-word stage name Sahlene, is a Swedish performer best known as a singer: she placed third at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 with " Runaway" ...

, who represented Estonia in ,

Ott Lepland Ott Lepland (born 17 May 1987) is an Estonian singer. He first received national mainstream attention in 2009, after winning the third season of ''Eesti otsib superstaari''. Lepland represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Ba ...

, who represented Estonia in ,

Stig Rästa Raul-Stig Rästa (born 24 February 1980) is an Estonian singer and songwriter who, along with singer Elina Born, represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song " Goodbye to Yesterday". Career Between 2002 and 2006 he form ...

, who represented Estonia in with

Elina Born Elina Born (born 29 June 1994) is an Estonian singer. She represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 along with Stig Rästa with the song " Goodbye to Yesterday". She previously attempted to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song ...

, and

Elina Nechayeva Elina Nechayeva ( et, Elina Netšajeva; born 10 November 1991) is an Estonian soprano. She represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song " La forza". Career In 2009, she made her public debut in the t ...

, who represented Estonia in . Alabama Watchdog, , Ariadne, Desiree, Elysa, ,

Grete Paia Grete Paia (born 27 August 1995) is an Estonian singer and songwriter. She is best known internationally for competing in ''Eesti Laul 2013'' and later in '' Eesti Laul 2016''. She also competed in Eesti Laul 2019 and in Eesti Laul 2022 in a d ...

, Helen, Inga Tislar (lead singer of deLulu), , , Lauri Liiv (lead singer of Black Velvet), Little Mess, Maian, , , Púr Múdd, Shira, Sulev Lõhmus (

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

of Black Velvet), Stefan,

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

, and have all competed in previous editions of . Little Mess' entry was co-written by

Tanja Tanja ( sr, Тања) is a feminine given name. It may refer to: Mononyms *''Tanja'' (born 1983), Russian-Estonian singer, also known as Tanja Mihhailova Given name *Tanja Andrejeva (born 1978), Macedonian handball player * Tanja Bogosavljević ...

, who represented Estonia in , and the entry from Stig Rästa was co-written by

Victor Crone Victor Fritz-Crone (born 31 January 1992), also known as Victor Crone, is a Swedish singer, guitarist and songwriter. He represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv with the song "Storm". Biography Victor Crone was born ...

, who represented Estonia in .

Shows

=Quarter-finals

= Four quarter-finals took place on 20 November, 27 November, 4 December and 11 December 2021 at the ERR studios, hosted by previous Estonian Eurovision Song Contest entrants

and

(first quarter-final),

and

Tanja Mihhailova-Saar Tatjana Mihhailova-Saar (russian: Татьяна Михайлова, born 19 June 1983), better known as Tanja or Tanja Mihhailova is a Russian-Estonian pop singer and actress. She was born in Kaliningrad, Russia, and has lived in Estonia from ...

(second quarter-final),

and

Laura Põldvere Laura Põldvere (formerly Remmel; born 30 August 1988) sometimes known professionally as simply Laura, is an Estonian singer. She is said to be the most played Estonian artist on Estonian radio in the past decade. She is internationally known for ...

(third quarter-final), and

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 nig ...

and

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 ...

(fourth quarter-final). In each quarter-final ten songs, revealed five days prior to each show, competed for the first three spots in the semi-finals with the outcome decided upon by a public televote. The remaining two qualifiers were decided by a jury panel between the remaining non-qualifiers. The jury panel that voted in the quarter-finals consisted of , , , ,

Olav Osolin Olav Osolin (born 13 November 1953 in Tallinn) is an Estonian journalist, advertisement figure, radio and television personality and actor. In 1977 he graduated from University of Tartu, Tartu State University in Estonian philology. 1977-1981 he ...

, Bert Järvet, Vaido Pannel and Andres Puusepp. The public vote across the four quarter-finals registered an average of 8,000 votes.

=Semi-finals

= Two semi-finals took place on 3 February 2022 at the

Saku Suurhall Unibet Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Haabersti subdistrict of the Estonian capital, Tallinn. Opened in November 2001, it is the largest multi-purpose hall in the country with around 7,000 seats but can hold up to 10,000 people. It ...

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 ' ...

, hosted by

Priit Loog Priit is an Estonian masculine given name, cognate to English Fred or Frederick and to German Friedrich. People named Priit include: *Priit Aavik (born 1994), swimmer * Priit Aimla (born 1941), writer, poet, humorist and politician *Priit Her ...

and previous Estonian Eurovision Song Contest entrant

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

. In each semi-final ten songs competed for the first four spots in the final with the outcome decided upon by the combination of the votes from a jury panel and a public televote, with the fifth qualifier decided by an additional televote between the remaining non-qualifiers. The jury panel that voted in the semi-finals consisted of Alar Kotkas, ,

Rolf Roosalu Rolf Roosalu, also known as Rolf Junior (born 18 January 1982 in Tartu), is an Estonian Singing, singer who has participated in a number of musicals. He has also, yet unsuccessfully, competed to represent Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest si ...

Kadri Tali Kadri Tali (born on 18 June 1972 in Tallinn) is an Estonian conductor. In 1996 she graduated from Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in choir conducting speciality. 1992-2002 she conducted the choir Ellerhein. In 1997 she founded Nordic Sy ...

, , Margus Kamlat, Mari-Liis Männik,

Mihkel Mattisen Mihkel Mattisen (born 13 August 1976, in Tallinn) is an Estonian pianist, pop singer, songwriter, music producer and teacher. He studied piano at Tallinn Music High School. From 1994 to 2000 he continued to study piano at Estonian Academy of Mus ...

and Maris Järva. The public vote in the first semi-final registered 18,716 votes in the first round and 6,205 votes in the second round, while the public vote in the second semi-final registered 18,195 votes in the first round and 6,066 votes in the second round.

=Final

= The final took place on 12 February 2022 at the

, hosted by

and previous Estonian Eurovision Song Contest entrant

. 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, an international jury (50%) and public televote (50%) determined the top three entries to proceed to the superfinal. The public vote in the first round registered 69,514 votes. In the superfinal, "

" performed by Stefan was selected as the winner entirely by a public televote. The public televote in the superfinal registered 57,197 votes. The jury panel that voted in the first round of the final consisted of Jonathan Perkins (American songwriter and producer),

Mr Lordi Tomi Petteri Putaansuu (born 15 February 1974), best known by his stage names Mr Lordi or Mr L, is a Finnish musician, businessman, special effect make-up artist, songwriter, painter, comics artist and graphic designer. He is best known as the ...

(Finnish musician), (Lithuanian Eurovision Head of Delegation), (Swedish music producer and musician), Emily Griggs (Australian television producer and director),

Natalie Horler Natalie Christine Horler (born 23 September 1981) is a German-English singer and television presenter, best known for being the lead singer of the Eurodance group Cascada. Early life and family Natalie Horler was born in Bonn, West Germany, t ...

(German singer), Lőrinc Bubnó (former Hungarian Eurovision Head of Delegation),

Martin Sutton Martin Sutton (born 15 May 1960) is a British songwriter, record producer, mixer and songwriting coach and mentor living and working in Buckinghamshire. Sutton has written for many artists worldwide, including LeAnn Rimes, Celine Dion, Backstreet ...

(British musician, songwriter and producer), Marta Cagnola (Italian music journalist and critic), Scarlet Keys (American songwriter) and (Swedish choreographer). In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show was opened by

, who represented

Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song " The Lucky One" written by Uku Suviste and Sharon Vaughn. The song was performed by Uku Suviste. The Estonian broadcaster (ERR) organised the national final in order to sel ...

, while

Eurovision Song Contest 2002 The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tallinn, Estonia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everybody" by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL. Organised by the Euro ...

hosts

Annely Peebo Annely Peebo (born 16 November 1971) is an Estonian operatic mezzo-soprano. She was a co-host of the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn. Life and career Annely Peebo gained a diploma for choral conducting and completed vocal studies in oper ...

and

Marko Matvere Marko Matvere (born 4 February 1968) is an Estonian actor and singer. He was the lead actor of the Tallinn City Theatre, but left to become a freelance actor in 2004. Biography Matvere was born in Pärnu and graduated from the Tallinn Conservat ...

as well as

, who represented

Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Play" written by Fred Krieger, Stig Rästa and Vallo Kikas. The song was performed by Jüri Pootsmann. The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the ...

, performed as the interval acts.

Ratings

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the " Big Five" (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 The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...

(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. On 25 January 2022, an 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 has been placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2022, and has been scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. Once all the competing songs for the 2022 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 12, following the entry from and before the entry from .

Voting

Points awarded to Estonia

Points awarded by Estonia

Detailed voting results

The following members comprised the Estonian jury: * Karl Killing * Liina Ariadne Pedanik * Maian Anna Kärmas *

Sven Lõhmus Sven Lõhmus (born 13 July 1972) is an Estonian pop-composer and lyricist. He is a producer at Moonwalk Studios, a music company featuring Estonian artists. He has worked with leading artists of Estonia, including Vanilla Ninja (of which he w ...

* Toomas Olljun

Notes

References

External links

* {{Eurovision Song Contest 2022

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

Eurovision 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 ...