ESTONIA 2022

The Estonian final "Eesti Laul" was held on February 12th at Saku Suurhall in Tallinn. Before the final there were quarter finals and semi finals in order to get the long list of 40 songs down to a final of 10. The winner was chosen through two rounds of voting. In the round one, the top 3 was voted on by televoting and international jury. In round two, the winner was chosen solely through televoting. Going to Eurovision is STEFAN with "Hope".

Stefan is an Estonian singer of Armernian heritage. As a child he loved singing and was encouraged to do so and entered the "Laulukarussell" singing competition on television where he reached the final. His 2022 appearance in Eesti Laul was his fourth try at getting to Eurovision. His first try was as part of the duo Vaje and the others he was a solo artist and had reached the final 3 times.

The song starts with a very stylised Western film type earworm, with accompanying whistle tones. The verses are extremely short and have a slightly uneven structure which makes it rather intriguing. The bridge part that follows is longer and has a rather peculiar set up into the chorus which is short and not very memorable. This structure is repeated but with a heaver beat to the track. This second time round the whole thing ends with the "I hope" repetitive post chorus. Just before the two minute mark, we have an elongated third verse, leading into the chorus and an elongated "I hope" roundel to the end which peters out to its haunting guitar melody.

The song has a strong visual identity. It has deep sepia tones and use of narrow filmic letterbox aperture. Behind him the video wall shows rocky panoramas and swooping eagles - all  creating this kind of Western movie character. Stefan plays the guitar in a rather high stance and is wearing causal clothing. Part of the way through he is joined on stage by two shadowy characters seemingly re-enacting a kind of duel. The song has promise but I feel like the soundtrack doesn't live up to the screenplay. Stefan's delivery is a bit on the mumbling side and the meaning is somewhat lost. I am also confused why the main hook of the song - and main title carrier - is left so late into proceedings. I would feel that having tidier runs into the chorus (see verse 3) would leave more room for a chant of "I hope" after ever chorus not just shoved as a mass when it can be fitted in. Personally, I felt like this year's Eesti Laul was lacking in imagination and many of the songs had no personality. Although this was probably the best choice on offer, it is going to need some tweaks.

ARTIST - STEFAN

SONG - Hope

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Stefan Airapetjan, Alika Milova, Karl-Ander Reismann