Eurovision 2021 Reviews – Estonia

Estonia has had a mixed history at Eurovision, reaching their peak in 2001 with Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL who won the contest with the song Everybody. Since then, they have had a few Top 10 results, but have also failed to qualify to the final a number of times. This year, hoping to achieve another successful result for Estonia is Uku Suviste with his song, The Lucky One. 

Anita (Eurovision Union)

Song and Vocals 

Uku Suviste returns to the Eurovision line-up this year, after winning Eesti Laul for the second year in a row. With an underwhelming entry last year, Uku returned with yet another underwhelming song. Whether he won Eesti Laul on solely merit or based on sympathy due to the cancellation last year is up to individual opinion, but if this is the best Estonia has to offer, they may need to rethink their game plan for future years. 

The song features many of the same elements as last year, and it’s unsurprising since it was written by the same team. The first verse doesn’t have the hook needed to capture your attention, and things don’t really improve in the choruses. This feels like the type of song that would have done reasonably well at Eurovision a decade ago, but in the context of 2021, The Lucky One falls completely flat. By the end of the song, it’s hard to remember the melody, and that is far from ideal at Eurovision. The running order does no favours for Estonia either, having them second in the semi-final. This further cements Estonia as a non-qualifier, at least in my eyes. 

Vocally, Uku is a decent live performer, but due to the song, his performance is quite uninspiring. There’s nothing that gives the performance that ‘special moment’.

Performance and Act

While the live stage performance at Eesti Laul isn’t bad, it also doesn’t do enough to capture the attention of the viewers. The staging used a lot of props to make up for the lack of impact in the song, and the darkness of the performance can make it difficult for the audience to connect with Uku. The storm clouds had a nice effect in the background, and the transitions with the water background looks good, but the jumps between that and the live performance are too harsh. I hope we see something a bit more refined for Eurovision. 

Conclusions

I don’t see Estonia as a qualifier based on the song, and its place in the running order. It fails to make a big impact, and I can’t see it being a high scorer in both jury and the public vote. I don’t begrudge Uku for getting his ticket to Rotterdam, however I just wish we saw something more contemporary and unique. 

Rating

3/10

Dennis (ESCDaily)

Song and Vocals

Uku Suviste is not the most convincing vocalist in the class of 2021, which is of course not helping the chances of Estonia. ‘The Lucky One’ is a rather flat and uninspired composition. Listening to the song for three minutes, feels like a lot longer. Usually that is a first sign of an entry not doing well in a competition where you need to stand out instantly on first listen.

Performance and Act

There is a lot going on during the Estonian song, which makes sense given the weak basis of the composition. We see visual projections of Uku in the water, lightning flashes and a lot of chains hanging around Uku. For the first couple of minutes, it helps to still grab the attention of the viewer. But near the end of the song, it’s not enough to hold that attention. So the Estonian delegation still needs to come up with something extra to keep things interesting for the full three minutes.  

Conclusions

Estonia has one of the weaker songs in the field and doesn’t have a performer to lift that song and ‘cover up’ the weakness of the composition. They received the second starting position from the production team, also not helping Estonia in being memorable enough at the end of the show on Thursday. Sorry Estonia, but I believe you have a non-qualifier here.

Rating

3/10

Additional Scores from Eurovision Union and ESCDaily editors: 

Steef:: 3/10

Joshua: 5/10

Selim: 6.5/10

Heath: 5.5/10

Kaitlin: 4/10

Average Score:  4.3/10

What do you think of The Lucky One? Follow our Eurovision 2021 reviews here.. You can support your favourite acts in our Eurovision 2021 poll, which you can find here.