Eesti Laul 2027, Estonia's Eurovision selection, receives 155 songs from over 20 countries
Estonia's national Eurovision selection, Eesti Laul 2027, has received 155 song submissions from more than 20 countries, including Latvia, Finland, the U.S. and Australia. A blind jury will assess all of them.
A total of 155 songs have been submitted to Eesti Laul, Estonia's annual competition to choose its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, ahead of Thursday's lunchtime deadline. The entries come from more than 20 countries – not only neighbors such as Finland and Latvia, but also farther-flung places including the U.S. and Australia.
Sixty of the songs are in Estonian and 95 are in other languages. One of them is written in a made-up language.
How the songs will be judged
All 155 entries will be assessed by a broad jury of several dozen people who work in the music business or related fields. The judging is "blind": songs are evaluated purely on merit, without the jurors knowing who the performer or songwriter is.
Representatives of broadcaster ERR said this year's group of authors stands out for its international reach. "Estonian artists and authors are increasingly working across borders," said Eesti Laul producer Riin Vann, noting that the number of international entrants is growing and that this year's list of countries illustrates the trend.
What comes next
Twelve songs will advance to the main Eesti Laul final. The winner will be decided on January 30 at the gala final concert at the Unibet Arena. ERR will announce the shortlisted contestants at the end of this month, and the public will be able to hear all of those songs at the end of November.
Last year's Eesti Laul winner was Vanilla Ninja with the song "Too Epic To Be True", which did not advance from the Eurovision semi-finals. This year's Eurovision semi-finals and grand final will be held in Burgas, Bulgaria, in mid-May.
