Estonia: ERR releases the rules of Eesti Laul 2021 and opens the period for submissions

The Estonian national broadcaster, ERR, has released the rules of the next ediition of Eesti Laul and has opened the submission window for interested acts. 

EER has made public the rules and process of the forthcoming Eesti Laul, the competition that determined the Estonian Eurovision representative each year.

The submission window will stay open from September 1 up to November 6, 2020. A total for 24 songs will be selected for two semi final rounds set to take place on February 18 and 20. Six qualifiers will form the line up in the Grand final that will take place on March 6, 2020. The shows will be aired live on ERR and audience attendance will depend on the Covid-19 restictions active that crucial time.

THE EESTI LAUL 2021 RULES

ERR has released the rules that apply to the next edition of Eesti Laul.

Regarding the songs : 

• the duration of the performance of the song is up to 3:00 (three) minutes;
• the song must have original (original) lyrics and music;
• the lyrics or music of the song may not be disclosed (published or directed to the public) by the participants or third parties before 07.12.2020 . The songs that made it to the semi-finals of the preliminary round will be published by ERR, unless ERR has decided otherwise;
• the song or its performance must not be contrary to law and / or good morals or damage the reputation of the competition or the Eurovision Song Contest.

Regarding the performers/authors:

The performer (s) and performance (s) of the song must meet the following requirements:

• no more than 6 persons may be on stage when performing a song;
• in all rounds the song must have the same soloist (s) and author (s) as in the preliminary round;
• the date of birth of any performer may not be later than  15.05.2005 ;
• The performer of a song may not be a person who in the same year performs or claims a song from another country in the Eurovision Song Contest.
• Non-resident authors may participate in the competition under the following conditions:
• a non-resident author may only be a co-author;
• only one non-resident author may be a song music author;
• there may be only one non-resident author among the authors of the lyrics of the song;
• the song may not have more than 2 (two) non-resident co-authors;
• there must be at least one citizen or resident of the Republic of Estonia among the authors of the song’s music;
• at least one citizen or resident of the Republic of Estonia must be among the authors of the lyrics of the song.

• The performer (s) of the song may be citizens, residents or non-residents of the Republic of Estonia.
• One author of music and / or lyrics or a group of authors may participate in the competition with up to  5 (five) songs.
• One performer or a group of performers may perform up to 5 (five) songs in the competition.

Regarding the participation Fee: 

In order to participate in the competition, a participation fee must be paid (the amount of the participation fee includes VAT). The participation fee depends on the deadline for performing the song:

• The participation fee for an Estonian-language song performed on 01.09 – 31.10.20 (at 11:59) is 25 €, the participation fee for a foreign language and multilingual song is 75 €;
• The participation fee for an Estonian language song submitted on 31.10 at (12:00) – 06.11.20 (at 12:00) is 50 €, the participation fee for a foreign language and multilingual song is 150 €.
• The participation fee must be paid to the ERR account via the bank link. The performer of the song and the title must be indicated on the payment order. If the author (s) or performer (s) submit more than one song to the competition, the participation fee must be paid separately for each song. The participation fee is non-refundable.
• If necessary, the participation fee will be used to cover the costs related to the participation of the winner of “Eesti Laul 2021” in the 65th Eurovision Song Contest, unless ERR has decided otherwise.

Regarding the song submission:

The deadline for submitting a song to the competition is 01.09.2020 – 06.11.2020 at 12:00 . The song together with other material listed in the rules must be uploaded to the ERR web environment eestilaul.ee.

To participate in the competition, the following must be submitted and uploaded with each song:

• to 3 (three) phonograms in WAV format:
• 1 phonogram (full master);
• instrumental phonogram without background vowels;
•  if background vowels are used, an instrumental phonogram with background vowels.
• the lyrics of the song (if the lyrics are not in Estonian, then also their translation into Estonian);
• a short biography of the performer (s) of the song as a pdf file, which would reveal the previous experience of the performer (s) on stage and on television;
• Promotional photos of the performer (s) (2-5 pieces). If desired, also add a video file from the previous live performance of the soloist (s) ( up to 3 min ).
• vision / explanation of the song stage show as a pdf-file

 The 24 semi finalist will be revealed no later than 12 November while all entries must be presented before December 5, 2020. In case last year’s winner, Uku Suviste, decides to submit an entry, has will qualify directly to the semi finals.

The Eurovision Story so Far 

Estonia joined the Eurovision family in 1994 . On their debut participation they were represented by Silvi Vrait, who finished 2nd last with only 2 points. Seven years later the country was crowned winner of  Eurovision Song Contest 2001 for the first and only time until today. Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL, performed the song Everybody and against all odds achieved to bring the trophy from Copenhagen in Estonia.

However this success didn’t continue as Estonia failed to qualify for the final from 2004-2008. In 2009 the successive bad results led to the establishment of Eesti Laul, as the show through which the country has been selecting its Eurovision entries the last ten years, having six times qualified to the final. Last year Eesi Laul 2018 winner,  Elina Nichayeva represented the country with her entry  La Forza which finish 8th in the Grand final.

In 2019, the country was represented by Eesti Laul 2019 winner, Victor Crone who performed on the Expo Tel Aviv stage the song “Storm” which finished 20th in the grand final.

Uku Suviste won the Esti Laul 2020 national final with the song “What Love Is” but due to the cancellation of Eurovision the musician was deprived the chance to represent Estonia in Rotterdam this year. Lets remember his Eurovision 2020 entry:

Source: EER