Estonia at Eurovision
Estonia made their debut at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994 and, after taking a break in 1995, has participated every year since 1996. Of their 29 participations in the Contest, the nation has had 10 top 10 finishes including one win in 2001, with Tanel Padar, Dave Benton & 2XL's entry 'Everybody'.
Last year, Uku Suviste represented Estonia with the Sharon Vaughn-penned entry 'The Lucky One', but failed to qualify to the Final, scoring 58 points to earn 13th place in the semi-final.
2022 entry: Stefan – 'Hope'
Semi-final: Stefan will compete 12th in the running order in Semi-Final 2
My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 17th
Odds to win ranking: 18th
(Rankings as of 12 April 2022)
About the artist
Stefan Airepetjan, known simply as Stefan, is a 24-year-old singer and songwriter born in Viljandi, Estonia, to Armenian immigrant parents. The famous singer first appeared on Estonian TV screens in 2010, as a finalist in the singing competition 'Laulukarussell'. Before his 2022 participation in the Estonian Eurovision selection show 'Eesti Laul', Stefan participated in the National Final three times since 2018, placing in the superfinal (Top 3) twice. In 2020, Stefan won 'Maskis Laulja', the Estonian version of 'The Masked Singer', as the Jäär (Aries) mask.
About the song
'Hope' is a country-infused EDM pop song performed in English. It was written by Stefan himself and Karl-Ander Reismann. Karl-Ander Reismann has written many 'Eesti Laul' entries, as well as chart hits for popular Estonian artists, and Laura Põldvere’s UMK entry 'Play', but 'Hope' is his first Eurovision entry.
Stefan took inspiration from the 1966 Clint Eastwood film 'The Good, The Bad and the Ugly', filming the music video for 'Hope' in the Taberna Desert in Spain - the same location as the iconic movie. The air temperature reached 39 degrees Celsius while filming, but Stefan's dedication paid off, as he won an award for the 'Best music video of the city of Almeria' in 2021.
How was Stefan chosen for Eurovision
From November 2021 to February 2022, Stefan competed in Estonia's national selection show 'Eesti Laul 2022'. Through a format including 40 songs, a 10-song final, two 10-song semi-finals, and, for the first time in the show’s history, four quarter-finals, Stefan beat out a star-studded cast of Estonian Eurovision veterans. These all-stars included Elina Nechayeva (Estonia 2018), Stig Rästa (Estonia 2015), Ott Lepland (Estonia 2012), and Anna Sahlene (Estonia 2002), to win the competition.
Stefan's performance at 'Eesti Laul' earned him 1st place in the combined jury and televote in the first round of voting. His spaghetti Western-inspired staging impressed the Estonian public, who voted for him to win the 100% televote Superfinal and the right to represent their nation in Turin in May.
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Estonia will compete in semi-final 2 on May 12 (European time) in Turin.