Introduction

The 24 years old singer Birgit Õigemeel comes from Vilivere, a small city 30 km south of Tallinn. In school she has been specialized in music and theatre at an early age. She has also been singing as a soloist in the gospel choir called “Tallinna”. In 2007 she has won the Estonian superstar with “Mida Tähendab”, which has been voted as second best song of 2007 in Estonia. Birgit has participated three times in the Eesti Laul, 2008 with “365 Days” (3rd) and 2012 with “You’re Not Alone” (7th) and this year with the ballad “Et Uus Saaks Alguse”, which has been the winning entry among a strong competition. By now she has been releasing three albums and eleven singles.

The song “Et Uus Saaks Alguse” is a beautiful ballad sung with a lot of fervency. Her elegant look judged by the performance at the Estonian final together with the beautifully illuminated stage has kept the audience by a storm. This will hopefully also be the case in Malmö. The melody in some parts reminds a bit of the Danish entry 2010 “In A Moment Like This”. Even though, this is maybe one of the strongest ballads this year at the ESC. 

History

Participations: 19

Debut: 1994

Biggest success: 1st place 2001 “Everybody” by Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL, 1x 3rd place “Runaway” by Sahléne in 2002 , 1x 4th place, 1x 5th place, 3x 6th place, 1x 8th place

This year it will be the 19th time for Estonia participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. The debut entry “Nagu Merelaine” by Silvi Vrait came 24th only in 1994, but after this not very successful start in the ESC, Estonia became very much stronger. A lot of good places could be reached, even in the top 10. Then the guys named Tanel Padar and Dave Benton surprised with a splendid performance “Everybody” in 2001 and for the first time in history Estonia and likewise first Eastern European country could win the ESC.

The year after the Estonian broadcaster ETV has organized a wonderful event in the capital of Tallinn. The most successful songs from Estonia were: “Rändajad” by Urban Symphony in 2009 (6th), “Runaway” by Sahléne in 2002 (3rd) and “Once in a lifetime” by Ines in 2000 (4th) as well as Ott Lepland with “Kuula” (6th) last year in Baku. Since the semi finals have been introduced in 2004, Estonia made it only three times into the grand final.