A lot has happened in the wider Eurovision world since the Eesti Laul quarterfinals started in mid-November. We now have an actual entry to the contest (Bulgaria), another artist announcement (The Netherlands), and once we’ve gone through these ten songs, we will have heard the Estonian entry to Eurovision 2022, even if we won’t know which one until February. Hopefully Estonia decides to continue with this format, because if nothing else, I’ve found at few Estonian artists to follow I certainly wouldn’t have found any other year (because not all of them made it to the semi finals).

Púr Múdd, Shira — “Golden Shores”
Synth-pop duet which starts off promisingly but the chorus is a bit of a let down — I was hoping for something bigger. It drives along amiably though, and after a few listens it grows on you.

ELYSA — “Fire”
The verses sound a bit too close to “Dilemma” by Nelly & Kelly Rowland for comfort — and as the rest of the song, it’s just a collection of cliches.

Minimal Wind ft. elisabeth tiffany — “What To Make Of This”
Minimal indeed! The guitar on this very relaxed track is wonderful and steals the show, leaving the vocals and other instruments as mere obstacles to hearing more of it. This is probably the downside of the song as well.

Dramanda — “Tule minu sisse”
Grungy slice of slow-burning alternative pop. Lots of things going on here, with Dramanda’s vocals almost a haunting presence in a muddy musical environment. One of the more interesting songs of all the quarterfinals on all fronts.

EMILY J. — “Quicksilver”
A bit too much pop-by-numbers for me. Nothing bad about it as such, but nothing special either.

Ott Lepland — “Aovalguses”
Gentle piano ballad that lifts off halfway through, except not really. Lepland’s voice is the obvious highlight here, but I’d have preferred a bit more variety in the musical accompaniment.

Eleryn Tiit — “Tunnete keel”
A good example of some honest synth-pop with some really great sounds and vocals that blend seamlessly with the music.

Jessica — “My Mom”
While I appreciate the sentiment behind this song, it’s a bit too sentimental for my lyric-wise. However, I like how it builds from a very basic beginning to something with more character.

Ariadne — “Shouldn’t Be Friends”
Catchy and bouncy electro-pop which ended too suddenly for my liking. She had an extra half-a-minute at her disposal, and arguably should have used it for a better finish.

Black Velvet — “Sandra”
Decent pop song with retro-vibes, but also probably the worst video clip of the season so far.

My ranking (qualifiers in bold):

1) Dramanda — “Tule minu sisse”
2) Eleryn Tiit — “Tunnete keel”
3) Púr Múdd, Shira — “Golden Shores”
4) Minimal Wind ft. elisabeth tiffany — “What To Make Of This”
5) Ariadne — “Shouldn’t Be Friends”
6) Ott Lepland — “Aovalguses”
7) Jessica — “My Mom”
8) Black Velvet — “Sandra”
9) EMILY J. — “Quicksilver”
10) ELYSA — “Fire”