For my sixth blog of song reviews, I decided to do the Baltic nations. All three nations held a national final format to decide their entry. What’s interesting is both Estonia and Lithuania not only had a final but they also had a Superfinal of three the same day of the final to decide their entries. Quite something. So here are my reviews of the Eurovision songs of the Baltic nations:
ESTONIA
SONG: “Espresso Macchiato”
PERFORMER: Tommy Cash
With Estonia competing in Eurovision, the network ERR held its annual Eesti Laul to decide its representative. It took a jury of over 30 professionals to decide the sixteen artists and songs for Eesti Laul. At the start of the broadcasted competition, there were sixteen songs and artists competing to represent. Three of the contestants represented Estonia in the past. The first Final held on February 15th consisted of all sixteen performances with a split of jury and televote points to decide the three qualifiers for the Superfinal later that evening. The Superfinal was decided completely on televotes of which, Tommy Cash won with 84% of the vote with “Espresso Macchiato!” Cash, whose real name is Tomas Tammemets, is a singer/rapper from Tallinn with a recording career going back to 2012.
At first you think the song is a ballad, but then it goes into its dance vibe. The song is a mix of Italian and English lyrics and is a play on the common stereotype of Brooklyn Italian men. The stereotype portrayed in the song has divided people on whether it’s offensive or not. Such references like the Italian playboy with a lot of gold or even a mafioso reference will test the sensitivities of people. Nevertheless the Youtube video has some people from Italy commenting they’re not offended. In fact, some enjoy this song. I’ll let you decide for yourself. Comedic entries are often a risk at Eurovision as the BBC show How To Win Eurovision has demonstrated, but this song has a catchy dance appeal to it. Additionally in a Contest which has a lot of serious intense performances, it’s nice to have one that lightens up.
ESC Chances: The 2020’s has been mostly good for Estonia. One miss of the Grand Final, but one Top 10 finish too. This song is already Top 10 in the betting odds. I can see a lot of people liking it especially since the 2020’s has seen Eurofans finally be welcoming to rap entries. The way I see it, they will welcome rap entries as long as singing is included in the song. This song has a good mix of singing, rapping, a catchy beat and light-hearted humor. I know I’ve often talked about the importance of staging for Eurovision songs but we should remember Estonia had a catchy song last year that got a low finish in the Grand Final because of dreadful staging. Staging will again be make-or-break here. It doesn’t have to resemble the video too much, but it has to work the song right for it to get a good finish.
LATVIA
SONG: “Bur Man Laimi”
PERFORMER: Tautumeitas
Supernova was again the contest for LTV to decide which act and which song to send at Latvia’s entry for Eurovision. Auditions for performers and a songwriting camp were held months before the final. The twenty contestants and songs were revealed in November with one dropping out because of health issues. The contest consisted of a single semifinal of all 19 performers on February 1st to decide the ten finalists. Surprisingly, 2016 entry Justs was eliminated. The final was held on February 8th with a 50/50 split of jury points and televote points deciding the winner. At the end, it was vocal group Tautumeitas who won with their song “Bur man laimi.” Tautumeitas is a six-female sextet who formed in college and their style of music is a mix of Latvian folk music and ‘worldbeat’ music.
Four of the five songwriters of this song are members of Tautumeitas. The song is completely in the Latvian language and the mix of Latvian folk music and modern music is very evident. Translated, the title means ‘bring me happiness.’ The song is about them being strong and their use of an oak tree as their association with strength instead of a steel bridge. Why? Steel rusts over time while trees grow evergreen branches over their long lives. The song has a unique mystic feel with vocals that alternate from gentle moments to bold moments. The performance from the national final starts with a rainfall and has the singers performing as wood nymphs, adding to the mystical feel. I find the song to be very unique. I like unique entries in Eurovision that add a lot to the Contest. Their staging also works the song quite well.
ESC Chances: Latvia is known for a lot of hard luck at Eurovision. Ever since the two semifinal system that started in 2008, they’ve only qualified for the Grand Final four times. Dons from last year was their first qualification since 2016. Just because I feel the song gives a lot to like and admire doesn’t mean most viewers and voters will. Also entries that are original, unique and in good taste face stiff competition from songs that are catchy and are loaded with eyebrow-raising gimmicks in their performance. Also I fear many viewers will dismiss this performance as too angelic. The song has a lot of people liking it, but it will really have to make the right staging changes if it wants to qualify.
LITHUANIA
SONG: “Tavo Akys”
PERFORMER: Katarsis
For Lithuania to decide its entry for Eurovision 2025, network LRT set up the Eurovizija.LT final once again. For this year, there was an auditioning process that came down to 45 songs and performers decided in December. The 45 would compete in five semifinals of nine contestants with each semi held week by week. The Top 2 of each semi qualified for the final with two ‘wildcard’ third-placers based on popular vote results also qualifying. February 15th consisted first of a Final of the twelve and later a Superfinal where the Top 3 from the Final would play out to win. With a mix of jury and televoting results deciding the Final’s three Superfinalists and televoting alone deciding the winner of the Superfinal, the winner was alternative rock band Katarsis and their song “Tavo akys.” Hailing from the capital Vilnius, Katarsis are a four-man band formed in 2020 and just released their first Extended Play album last year.
This is the third song in the 2020’s sung completely in Lithuanian. This is the most such frequency ever for Lithuania. Written by lead singer Lukas Radzevicius, the English translation of the title is ‘your eyes.’ This alternative rock song is about feelings of anger after the end of a relationship. The song and its vocals open unconventionally but the song develops over time. As the energy in the song builds, you can feel the anger in Lukas’ voice. The song definitely ends at peak energy. It’s a song that gets better every time you listen to it. On stage, the singer knows how to mix the intensity of his vocals with the angry energy of the song.
ESC Chances: In the 2020’s, all four entries for Lithuania qualified for the Grand Final and the lowest they finished was fourteenth. I myself have sensed it’s possible Lithuania can get their best-ever finish this decade, which would be fifth or higher. With Lithuania currently having its longest qualifying streak of four straight Grand Final qualifications, I can see this song qualifying as well. I can see this song appealing to the alternative rock crowds or people that want a song with energy, but without the gimmicks. As for staging, I’d say leave it as is. For something like an alternative rock song, adding unnecessary staging can hurt its chances of qualifying. In most alternative rock songs, the band is its own show.
And there you have it. That’s my blog of the Eurovision songs coming from the Baltic entries. There are a lot of mixed expectations for the three songs but Basel will decide everything in may.
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