ESTONIA

The Estonian Final was held on February 29th at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn, hosted by Karl-Erik Taukar & Tõnis Niinemets. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals where 6 songs qualified from each. There were two rounds of voting. In the first round the top 3 was chosen by a mix of televoting and an international jury. In the second round the winner was chosen solely by televoting. Going to Rotterdam is Uvu Suviste with the song "What love is".

Uku is stood an a small raised circular platform and below him on the actual stage are numerous lit candles which cover most of the stage. Around and above him are long strips of white light which  To our left there is a bright sign reading 'LOVE' just in case you're not following the lyrics of the song. The song starts of almost pitchblack with only Uku visible the backdrop then turns into sky. For the rest of the song the backdrop is dark with different shafts of orangey light. Uku himself is dressed in a smart/casual fashion with a white shirt, white shoes with a light grey suit with shortened sleeves over the top.

There is not a lot to this performance, the fact that he is stuck in a sea of candles means it is near on impossible to move apart from what he can do on the spot. Uvu spends the time concentrating on the song, which is no bad thing, and emphasising points with some Westlife-esque armohraphy and emoting. There are a lot of swooping shots from side to side and from far away to near. Part of me wonders if his platform could be at the front of the stage and the candles behind so he at least feels less distanced from the audience.

The song starts straight away with no intro into verse 1 this is quietly produced and Uvu's voice sounds quite low here. The mood continues with the 'chorus' - I say that is it is the tune of the chorus but with different lyrics. This is followed by a chorus proper with full orchestration. The start of each chorus proper is a heavy drumbeat which indicates the change of direction. This ends with a small refrain which settles the song back down again. Verse two begins and you can hear a piano, drum and the backing singers quite prominently. After this we get three renditions of the chorus: one full out, one just a piano and one more full out. The song ends rather abruptly after this marathon run with him warbling the word 'Love'

This ballad is predictable and repetitive which in Eurovision terms is not a bad start but does menat it gets quite tiresome quickly. The chorus is very memorable because each line starts with the same pattern of notes AND the same words. The beat in the chorus keeps it driving on and makes it much more emphasis that the verses. The verses are awful. The tune is all over the place and the lyrics are sickly sweet, cheesy and over the top and that first rendition of the chorus is just plain unacceptable. If this song had different lyrics and a different stage set up I would be much more positive about this entry. The theme of the song isn't a problem I just feel there needs to be as much hook in the verses too. I don't like the partition between act and audience - even through the camera he looks too far away - and he genuinely looks awkward and stifled in this show.
As much as I have time for the chorus the song structure as a whole lets this down badly. Looking at the competition in its semi it is surrounded by more vibrant, up-to-date songs and more out-of-the-box acts. This is going to feel as dated as anything. Nice try Estonia but I don't think you'll be making the final this year.

Artist - Uku Suviste
Song - What love is
Composers - Uku Suviste, Sharon Vaughn
Lyricists - Uku Suviste, Sharon Vaughn