Estonia made their Eurovision debut back in 1994, although they were all set to make their debut in 1993, Estonia was made to take part in a qualification round of which they did not qualify through. In 1994, the first time taking part of the Eurovision final wasn’t all that successful, ending up in 24th position, however as time passed, Estonia grew to new strengths. Throughout the late 90’s and early 2000’s Estonia hit their peak, reaching the top 10 on numerous occasions, and even taking out the win in 2001 with the song Everybody. Post-win, Estonia have had a mixed bag of results, some highs and some lows, both of which we will talk about in today’s Best of the Bunch which will feature the songs between 2006 and 2015, and at the end you can vote for your Best of the Bunch!
We’re starting off with 2006, where Estonia was represented by Sandra Oxenryd. Her song was called Through My Window which unfortunately didn’t grab the attention of the European voters. Sandra remained in the semi-final in 18th place and 28 points.
The following year, Estonia tried their luck with Gerli Padar. The wind machine was utilised to its full potential throughout the song Partners in Crime, however it ended up being a bit of a Eurovision crime scene as Estonia remained in the semi-final once again, this time in 22nd place with 33 points.
2008 was an interesting year for Estonia, as they sent the trio Kreisiraadio to Eurovision, who can only be described as the Estonian Wiggles (google is your friend). The trio performed Leto Svet in Serbian, German and Finnish, however their time at Eurovision was Finnish-ed (sorry) in the semi-final with another 18th place, this time with only 8 points.
In 2009, Estonia surprised Europe with the classy Urban Symphony with the song Rändajad which was the first Estonian language song sent by Estonia since 1998. The Urban Symphony comfortably qualified to the final in 3rd place, and in the final, they finished a respectable 6th place with 129, which was their best result since their 2002 home town performance.
Estonia hoped to build on their 2009 results, and chose Malcolm Lincoln and Manpower 4 to do so. The song Siren is what they performed at Eurovision, however once again Estonia found themselves stuck in the final, this time in 14th place with 39 points.
The following year, Estonia came back with what became a pre-contest favourite in Rockefeller Street, performed by Getter Jaani. Sometimes being the pre-contest favourite can be a blessing, and sometimes a curse, and in 2011, it proved to be a bit of a curse for the Estonian act. They did still qualify to the final, however only just, and then in the final they ended up in 24th with 44 points.
In 2012, Ott Lepland was chosen to represent the Baltic state with the huge Estonian language ballad called Kuula. Europe finally responded to the Estonian bid and voted Estonia into the final, where they scored another 6th place, this time with 120 points.
The subsequent year, Estonia was once again trying to keep the streak going and reach the final once again. Birgit Õigemeel was chosen through a national final to represent Estonia with the song Et uus saaks alguse which was sung in Estonian once again. The song scraped through at 10th position, and in the final it ended up in 20th spot with 19 points.
In 2014, Estonia once again chose their act through a national final, and this time around it would be Tanja who would perform her song on behalf of Estonia. The song was called Amazing, and it featured quite an amazing dance routine, and an even more impressive move by Tanja and her dance partner which must have required a lot of practice and patience! The impressive dance moves however it was not enough to push it into the final, only just missing out in 12th place with 36 points.
Finally, we reach 2015, which is arguably one of the most popular Estonian entries from the last 10 years. Elina Born & Stig Rästa created a very tense and captivating performance of their song Goodbye to Yesterday, which was a major pre-contest favourite. The song lived up to the hype, as the duo qualified in 3rd place, and the in the final, finished in 7th with 106 points!
And there you have it, 10 years of Estonia’s representatives all recapped! Now it’s time for you to choose your favourite. It might be hard to choose just one, so vote down below for as many acts as you want! Vote for one, or for all!