News - Gerli Padar to Helsinki | Eurovision Song Contest News - 2008 Belgrade, Serbia 

The Estonian final is well under way. Ten songs are competing for the golden ticket to the next Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki. The winner will be selected entirely by televoting in two rounds. During first televoting round viewers will have ten minutes to select three super-finalists. After that, there will be a second round of voting during which the public will continue voting for the three entries. The second round of voting will also last for 10 mintues and determine Estonia's 2007 Eurovision Song Contest entry.

Live broadcasting of Eurolaul 2007 starts at 20,35 (CET) on national television and via webcast from the etv.ee website.

VOTING INFORMATION FOR ESTONIAN READERS
Viewers in Estonia who are calling from the telephone networks of Elion, EMT, Elisa, Tele2, Starman and Norby can televote. One call costs 7 kroons and 50 cents (0,50 euro). Also there are change to see live broadcasting via Internet on ETV's website or on website etvpluss.ee. Clients of EMT have change to follow Eurolaul final through mobile. Elion is responsible for organising the televoting.

VOTING NUMBERS:
Kristjan Kasearu & Paradise Crew - So much to say/900 7701
Arne Lauri - Supreme nature/900 7702
Koit Toome - It doesn`t matter/900 7703
Laura - Sunflowers/900 7704
Gerli Padar - Partners in crime/900 7705
Vanilla Ninja - Birds of Peace /900 7706
Linda - One year from now /900 7707
Soul Militia - My face /900 7708
Ines - In good and bad /900 7709
Hele Kõre and Kristjan Kasearu - Romeo and Julia /900 7710

 

LIVE COVERAGE

Kristjan Kasearu & Paradise Crew- So much to say

And the show kicks off with Kristjan and the Paradise crew. He sings in English with Estonian subtitles. An alternative pop rock song and Kristjan performs actually better than in the video, strong and energetic. His great looks will certainly score high with the girl and boy fans. The studio  looks stunning, white couches for the select few and a great futuristic décor.

Arne Lauri - Supreme nature

Here come the elements!! An original performance with a choreography right out of Bollywood and lots of narure sounds. Last year we saw Tahitian dancers with Monaco in Athens, now Arne is taking us to India. Both singers and all three female dancers, clad in saris, are barefoot. Some impressive Mudras ( hand gestures) by the female singer add atmosphere to the song. Feel the mother nature!!!

Koit Toome –Veidi Veel ( It doesn't matter )

A very ‘’eurovision’’ song, a straight schlager balad somehow  difficult to stand out among the other “very eurovision” songs. But Koit does his best to perform it nicely. He moves confidently around the stage and the whole image is youthful and refreshing. Koit’s  is the only entry in Estonian. His  voice  does bring Aha to mind now doesn’t it?

Laura - Sunflowers

And yet another naturalistic themed song, an uptempo ballad. Laura sings the fourth song of the evening and one of the favorites among esctoday readers it seems. Best vocal performance, so far, strong and confident. Laura is accompanied by an entire band:  keyboards, drums, bass, bongos… the works! She is wearing a classy yellow evening gown, which doesn’t really suit the style of the song but it certainly suits her!

Gerli Padar - Partners in crime

Here comes Gerli, a darker shade of Pink! Her song is a kind of Pink inspired gutsy alternative pop. She is confident and comes out really nice! A flawless vocal performance and good camera interaction.

Vanilla Ninja - Birds of peace

And now it’s time for Vanilla Ninja, trying their hand once more. Typical VN sound, girlie rock, a nice powerful song – less powerful than Cool vibes though and it will be compared, I’m afraid. The ladies play their own instruments and are accompanied by two back vocalists and a drummer.

Linda - One year from now
Some nice rock guitar work in the beginning! And then … here comes Bubble Gum Pop!! Linda is a real looker, very sweet and very …… sixteen. Her lack of experience naturally shows, but the girl has potential! The song is actually quite catchy and Linda’s peers should love it.

Soul Militia - My place

Oh oh, here come Soul Militia. This song has ‘’Censored’’ written all over it. The naughtiest lyrics ever by the five boy band that can’t help but bring Justin Timberlake to mind.  And there are subtitles so that noone misses the finer ‘’points’’ of the song. Shudder to think what will happen with the EBU rules if they are through!

Ines - In good and bad

Ines has crossed the ocean to make a come back for Eurolaul. The song sounds very 90’s pop and as “Eurovision” as they make them! Confident performance, good crescendos, the lady is an experienced performer. Her hot little yellow dress and boots are a plus too.

Hele Kõre & Kristjan Kasearu - Romeo & Julia

And enter Hele and Kristjan! The most eagerly awaited performance of the evening. A very melodramatic direction and a haunting melody. This song is definitely not typical Eurovision material but it stands out as such. The two singers begin by standing opposite each other at a distance, dressed in costume. Hele’s voice dominates. Kristjan’s  does not help him in the low notes and he would need to work on that should he make it to Helsinki.

And that concludes the performances for the evening. The first voting round should start any minute now. It will last 10 minutes and three acts will make it to the next round.

And the winners of the first round are:

1. Hele Kõre & Kristjan Kasearu - Romeo & Julia

2. Gerli Padar - Partners in crime

3. Laura – Sunflowers

The voting restarts and the call numbers are the same. In ten more minutes we will know the final winner.

 

And the winner is .... Gerli Padar - Partners in crime with 55 416 votes