Gallery: First five Eesti Laul finalists chosen
The first five finalists at Eesti Laul, Estonia's annual competition to find its entry to the Eurovision Song Contest, have been revealed, after Thursday's first semi-final.
The five acts to make it through are: Andreas with "Why Do You Love Me", Ollie, with "Venom", Anett x Fredi with "You Need To Move On", Bedwetters ("Monsters") and Janek ("House Of Glass").
Ellip ("Pretty Girl"), Kaw ("Valik"), Merlyn ("Unicorn Vibes"), Mia ("One Step at a Time") and Neon Letters & Maiko ("Tokimeki") failed to make the cut this time.
Hosted by singer Grete Kuld and comic Tõnis Niinemets, at the Viimsi Artium venue just out side Tallinn, four of the finalists chosen were picked by a jury, with one (Bedwetters, as it transpired) chosen by audience 'phone-in.
Janika Sillamaa reprised the song "Carefree mind and heart fire" from 1993, while two other acts, Minimal Wind and rappers Clicherik & Mäx also performed on the show, as did the presenters (see gallery above).
The second semi-final is to take place on Saturday evening, and can be followed live on ETV.
Eesti Laul coverage is also available from ERR's Jupiter streaming service here, and the individual official videos of all semi-finalists can be viewed by scrolling down our front page.
Five more acts will be chosen to go through to the Eesti Laul final on Saturday, February 11, with Estonia's entry for 2023 to be picked from these.
The winner will go through to the main Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals to be held in Liverpool, England in May, and, if the entry makes it, to the grand final.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kerttu Kaldoja
Source: ERR Menu