Aussievision's Eesti Laul rankings 1st to 24th

The 24 entries in the Estonian national Eesti Laul were released over the weekend.

After a quick run through of the songs Mike and myself, who host the Aussievision podcast, ranked our songs and presented them on Sunday's show.

This is what we have done over the last few years and our personal tastes are generally pretty similar and sometimes match the winners and sometimes not.

To really get a better understanding of what songs were sticking out, we went to our extended Aussievision team for their top 10s. The team covers a broad range of genders, ages and backgrounds.

And let's just say the results were QUITE different... So here's our ranking 1st to 24th with some individual details and comments.

1st: SHIRA - "Out in Space" (78 points)

• Highs: 12 points from Fleur, Guy, Emma and Laura

• Lows: 1 point from Liv, 0 points from Dale

Guy: For me the biggest thing with SHIRA is her voice. She sings the song with a good balance - there’s something a little bit haunting, but it’s not too dark. The song reminds me a little of Riverside by Agnes Obel, but SHIRA’s vocal elevates Out in Space to another level.

Fleur: Intro grabs you. Great voice. I love this. My favourite. This is a genuinely good song. Love the music too. Hope this gets through.

Aaron: SHIRA's song is a quiet delight, with the chorus adding a delicate power to the song. If countries are going to go with melancholy and meaning this year, Estonia would be doing themselves a service selecting this.

Emma: SHIRA was my Number 1. I loved her voice and found this very interesting to listen to compared to a lot of the other entries. It's also the song I can imagine most on the Eurovision stage. Having said that, I don't think this would do particularly well at Eurovision... it's just the best of a pretty average bunch IMO.

2nd: Jaagup Tuisk - "Beautiful Lie" (72 points)

• Highs: 12 points from Liv and Kyriakos, 10 points from Fleur

• Lows: 1 point from Mike, 0 points from Guy

Liv: You know what? Just the other day I was thinking how nice it would be to have an acapella song back at Eurovision again (or at least elements of the song in acapella) and Estonia has delivered! This song really is a journey – a dark and moody opening to grab followed by more bright and empowering gospel to bring it home. Am I sensing a solid jury score if it makes it to Eurovision? Two elements I see being potentially problematic are: the lyrics really are a bit rhymey-wimey in the chorus which personally knocks a few points of the ‘authentic’ scale for me, plus gospel choir can be tricky to nail live. Overall there are certainly more pluses than minuses – it has a unique fusion of ideas but it works and has lots of potential for staging. Can easily imagine a partner on stage telling the story and getting the critical emotional connection for a song like this to hit home. I really love this.

Fleur: This is the standout this year. Not sure if I love it but this it has something unique that is going for it. Will make the super final.

3rd: Synne Valtri feat. Väliharf - "Majakad" (49 points)

• Highs: 12 points from Ruby, 10 points from Laura

• Lows: 0 points from Kyriakos and Emma

Liv: I have NO idea what is going on – but this song feels cheeky and a nod to something. It just has a fun-euro-banger vibe to it with a bit of tongue and cheek. I’m hoping the staging will enlighten me. It needs a decent revamp injection to tighten it up but I see the bones of something creative here.

Fleur: The opening verse sounds like “Diva” by Dana International. Then later I’m getting Boney M vibes. Just weird. I love Synne though. Might be the dance anthem that Estonia needs.

Mike: This is dated Eurodiscotrash and I bloody love it, particularly the disco element.

4th: Traffic - "Üks kord veel" (38 points)

• Highs: 10 points from Guy and Aaron

• Lows: 0 points from Ruby, 1 point from Dale, Fleur and Laura

5th: Rasmus Rändvee - "Young" (36 points)

• Highs: 12 points from Dale, 8 points from Mike

• Lows: 0 points from Fleur, Laura and Ruby

Fleur: Reminds me a little of “Storm” but more forgettable. Not keen on it. I can’t see the Estonian public wanting to send something like this so soon.

Dale: This reminds me of a cross between Avicii and Douwe Bob. It can be a bit repetitive at times but it feels pretty modern and has a lot of room to bring something to the vocal live.

6th: Kruuv - "Leelo" (35 points)

• Highs: 10 points from Ruby, 8 points from Dale and 7 points from Emma

• Lows: 0 points from Mike, Kyriakos, Guy and Liv

Fleur: Interesting. Is it a novelty song? I don’t mind it, some nice grooves in there. Not likely to win though. Could be a fun entry.

Dale: I adore this song and it's everything that Eesti Laul should be about. It's infectious fun and if you don't enjoy it you are a little bit dead inside.

7th: Ziggy Wild - "Lean on Me" (33 points)

• Highs: 12 points from Aaron, 8 points from Liv, 7 points from Kyriakos

• Lows: 0 points from Dale, Mike, Fleur, Guy, Emma and Ruby

Aaron: Lean On Me is an Estonian "Data Dust," at least in style. The vibe is rockin' and it keeps the Eesti Laul flame burning for alternative, indie and rock.

Liv: The point of difference in Eesti this year – high adrenaline rock with some cracking country elements. With lots of mid-tempo, similar mould songs at Eesti this year this really stood out for me – but then again I do like a bit of yeehaw at Eurovision. This song can be a touch repetitive but I forgive it for bringing me to life 20 songs into the playlist.

8th: Stefan - "By My Side" (33 points)

• Highs: 10 points from Mike and Liv

• Lows: 0 points from Dale, Fleur, Aaron, Emma, Laura and Ruby

Liv: There is a beautiful simplicity to this. He has a lovely voice and I find the song captivating despite being reasonably repetitive and somewhat generic. I think there is an earnest quality to how he sings which sells it for me and moves it to the ‘authentic’ tier of songs.

9th: Uku Suviste - "What Love Is" (28 points)

• Highs: 12 points from Mike, 10 points from Dale

• Lows: 0 points from Fleur, Guy, Aaron, Emma, Liv, Laura and Ruby

This was the favourite from myself and Mike but the team disagreed!

Mike: I think this is better than his song 'Pretty Little Liar' which finished runner-up last year. Old school man power ballad that has Eastern vibes. I can see this on the Eurovision stage, he can belt out this vocal and he is rather photogenic...

Dale: This does have a slight dated vibe but it's still utterly enjoyable. The verses are a bit cheesy but the chorus is really really good. It won't win jury votes but could certainly do well with the public. I am a big fan!

10th: Renate - "Videomäng" (25 points)

• Highs: 8 points from Fleur, 7 points from Guy and Ruby

• Lows: 0 points from Dale, Mike, Kyriakos, Aaron, Laura and Liv

The rest:

• 11th: Merilin Mälk - "Miljon sammu" (23 points)

• 12th: Uudo Sepp - "I'm Sorry. I Messed Up" (17 points)

• 13th: Revals - "Kirjutan romaani" (17 points)

• 14th: Laura - "Break Me" (15 points)

• 15th: Janet - "Hingelind" (15 points)

• 16th: Inger - "Only Dream" (14 points)

• 17th: Egert Milder - "Georgia (On My Mind)" (12 points)

• 18th: INGA - "Right Time" (9 points)

• 19th: Anett x Fredi - "Write About Me" (8 points)

• 20th: German & Violina - "Heart Winder" (7 points)

• 21st: Viinerid - "Kapa Kohi-LA" (7 points)

• 22nd: Mariliis Jõgeva - "Unistustes" (5 points)

• 23rd: Jennifer Cohen - "Ping Pong" (4 points)

• 24th: Little Mess - "Without a Reason" (0 points)