This weekend, Eesti Laul 2024 will host it’s final, meaning we’ll discover which song and artist will be heading to Malmö to represent Estonia at Eurovision 2024.
This year, Eesti Laul changed their system to allow 5 artists to automatically qualify for the final, who we’ll see perform for the first time on Saturday, February 17th 2024 alongside the qualifiers from January’s semi-final.
But who are the AQs? Read on to find out more about these artists…
Brother Apollo – ‘Bad Boy’
Brother Apollo formed in Helsinki, Finland in 2022, and are still relatively new on the music scene despite having experiences as individuals in both touring and competing on Finalnd’s Idol. Made up of 5 members, they describe their music as ‘noughties nostalgia’. Band member Jose has said that at the current moment in time, going to Eurovision is his biggest dream and goal. They consider their biggest competition in Eesti Laul this year to be 5MIINUST & Puuluup, or Daniel Levi, although they’re hoping to go all the way with ‘Bad Boy’ – which they say is a ‘twisted blend’ of Bring Me The Horizon and the Backstreet Boys. The song is about the pressures of fitting in with societies expectations, and the Eesti Laul final will only be the second time the group have performed together in public! You can hear their song below!
Carlos Ukareda – ‘Never Growing Up’
23-year old singer/songwriter Carlos Ukareda will be familar to viewers of last years Eesti Laul, where he competed in the semi-final with ‘Whiskey Won’t Forget’. He’s always had music in his life, being the son of a guitarist from an Estonian Blues Band. Carlos rose to fame after competing in Eesti otsib superstaari (Estonian Idol) in 2018 where he came 6th, and for going viral on TikTok after Ed Sheeran duetted one of his videos. His music combines both pop and country, a style which is reflected in his entry for the contest this year, ‘Never Growing Up’. You can hear his song below!
Daniel Levi – ‘Over The Moon’
36-year-old Daniel Levi is an American-Estonian singer, who many will recognise from past editions of Eesti Laul. In 2015 his song ‘Burning Lights’ came 2nd, and in 2017 he came ninth with ‘All I Need’. Daniel began his career in 2013, releasing his debut self-titled album a year later. He achieved international success alongside Cartoon (also known as Multikas, who competed in this years semi-finals) on the song ‘On & On’, which has 378 million streams on Spotify, and over 500 million views on YouTube (at the time of writing). His Eesti Laul 2024 entry is called ‘Over The Moon’, which he has described as a lullaby. He told ESCUnited that the song is inspired by his children, and hopes it makes people feel safe and loved. You can hear his song below!
Uudo Sepp & Sarah Murray – ‘Still Love’
Uudo Sepp won Eesti otsib superstaari in 2018, releasing his debut album ‘Sinule’ soon after. In 2020 he competed in Eesti Laul with the song ‘I’m Sorry, I Messed Up’, coming 10th in the final. He comes from a small island called Saaremaa, and creates music to escape his fears and express how he’s feeling. He teams up this year with Sarah Murray, a model and singer who was born in Norway, but lives between Chile and Estonia. You can hear their song below!
Nele-Liis Vaiksoo – ‘Käte ümber jää’
Musical theatre star Nele-Liis Vaiksoo takes on Eesti Laul for the first time as a soloist in 2024 with ‘Käte ümber jää’, after previously working on the show as a backing vocalist or as part of the team for other competing artists. She toured Europe in the 1990s with ETV’s Concert Choir, and came fourth in ETV’s children’s singing contest in the early 2000s. She’s starred on stage in productions such as Miss Saigon, West Side Story, Cinderella, Les Misérables and Mary Poppins, and has also provided the voices of Rapunzel and Nala in the Estonian dub’s of Tangled and The Lion King. You can hear her Eesti Laul song below!
Eesti Laul 2024 concludes on February 17th 2023, live on ETV from 18:30 CET // 17:30 GMT.
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