TEAM REVIEWS: Estonia 2025 (2/2)

TERE, EVERYONE! The line-up of Eesti Laul 2025 has been out for an eternity, and the time has finally come to share our thoughts on who we think the winners and the stinkers are at the upcoming final next Saturday.

Due to the size of this national selection we will be splitting up our reviews. This is the second part, and we will tackle the acts in the second half of Estonia’s final: An-Marlen, Frants Tikerpuu, Anna Sahlene, Tuuli Rand, Minimal Wind, Zevakin & Karita, Tommy Cash and Marta Lotta!

The first part can be read HERE if you haven’t already!

Let’s meet the secretive sextet eager to vivisection these eight acts:

• Boris Meersman, ready to roast his fellow editors, and occasionally a song or two.
• David Popescu, a professional music hater from -pretend to be shocked- Denmark.
• James Maude, eager to slice some normie mediocrities with a sharp pop culture reference.
• Rebecca Green, representing the rights of antepodeans.
• Roy Postema, blessing the Estonians with his generosity in the absense of Jasmin.
• Samantha Siegal, ever the contrarian!

Each editor has written a paragraph with their thoughts and opinions in their own style for each song, and has given it a score out of 10. The winner of our Team Reviews is the act with the highest percentage scores. Due to the size of the selection, we will break the ties by taking away the highest and the lowest score and recalculating the percentage.

We are ready to dive right in, but not before this little legal disclaimer:

“All opinions stated belong to the person quoted and do not represent ESCUnited as a whole.”

Let’s continue then, because our winner is in this update!

Boris – 7.5

“A bit of an awkward number by An-Marlen who attempts to bring an introspective edm ballad that is also a techno rave anthem. The harsh techno beat on one end, and the ethereal synths + An-Marlen’s fragile voice on the other is a tad out of balance, and the vulnerability she’s going for is swallowed up whole by the rave portion. With a bit of soundmixing however and some on-stage charm, you can definitely polish “Külm” up into a slick avant-garde party song, however.”

David – 2

“I feel I’m dealing with two opposites; we have a vocalist with a very soft and calm voice, then we have music that goes hard and steady with the dance beat. It really doesn’t mix well, I’m not captivated by anything. Forget the fact that it’s Estonian, not even an English version would save this for me.”

James – 7.5

“This is a viable way to do break-up songs. Chill scandi-pop, our protagonist lashing out at a cold and indifferent lover. It’s more mature than the usual break-up songs in national selections where, let’s be honest, most of the fantasies presented would qualify as domestic abuse. If you think screaming and throwing things is a healthy way to handle yourself in a relationship, get help rather than entering a Eurovision national selection. Anyway, this song could be a little too calm for its own good in getting Estonia out of a populist Semi-Final process, but I can appreciate it nonetheless.”

Rebecca – 6

“I appreciate the contemporary, experimental style of this one, but beyond that I don’t think there’s much going on here. It has a soft, early-2000’s eurobeat sort of sound that I like, and the vocals are buttery-smooth to listen to, but I kept waiting for a hook of some kind to sink its teeth into me. That never ended up happening. It’s pleasant overall but I’m left wanting more.”

Roy – 8

“Such a calming song yet at the same time really danceable as well. Extremely smooth and simple instrumentals. I do think it stands out quite a lot in this lineup for it. I will be anxiously waiting for the live performance. An-Marlen’s vocals are vital for the song to work and could easily make the song feel flat when it will be performed live! Until then, I will be having this on repeat and enjoying every second of it. Could be cool to send to Eurovision.”

Sam – 7

“The perfect song for crying in the club. I actually do really like this – the very 90s Eurodance production over the vocal melody, which definitely takes a backseat here. Like a lot of songs in this selection though, I just feel like it needs more time in the oven. “

Boris – 5

“In one of Shoot From The Hip’s best improvised plays, Priscilla’s Final Petal, the main character is a girl forced to play the piano until her fingers bleed. During the scene where Priscilla is possessed by her dead mother via a buttercup, the actor playing her trundles into the scene screaming “OH, I AM IN MY PIANO LESSON. PLINKY PLONKY. ALL DAY LONG. PLINKY PLONKY PLONK.” and I feel that scene perfectly describes what listening to Frants Tikerpuu’s song, “Trouble”, is like. The piano is SO aggressive you can barely hear Frants, or the rest of the arrangement. Perhaps it’s for the best that any of us can barely hear Frants though, because the lyrics are the usual insipid platitudes made to sound like ominous warnings, with no possession via flower petals (or other interesting plot twists) involved.”

David – 6

“The slick melancholic piano really sets the mood for this song, and it is even felt in how the song is vocally performed. The song never moves from its territory and thankfully for that, it doesn’t play with the feelings. A very interesting piece indeed overall. Maybe a bit saddening that hoped, and more could probably have been done, especially vocally, but I’ll take it for what it offers.”

James – 7

“Classically trained pianist Frants Tikerpuu might be good at tickling the ivories, but is having trouble with the lady folk. I’d use my grandfather’s advice and say “who stapled a dead capybara to your head? Get a haircut, lad!” Estonia has quite the jazz and blues mill that melds modern pop well – recall the Georgia song from a couple years back – and Tikerpuu is no exception. Though this runs the risk of being lost in the zone of indifference due to being good but not good enough for anyone’s top picks.”

Rebecca – 6

“I love me some soul, especially when it has those strong piano chords in there. This had me in the first half, but the second half is really lacking in the hook department because it essentially just repeats without any significant variations. The guitar is also just getting lost in the mix and makes the song lose some of its identity. Backing vocals with a stronger, gospel influence would really elevate this I think, since at the moment it feels quite flat towards the end.”

Roy – 4.5

“Classical beat accompanied by a little bit of guitar. Not something new in Eesti Laul, but this has a decent ring to it. It is kind of catchy and has a nice melody to it. I do fear that the song lacks power and it feels uncompetitive. I feel like Frants will deliver us a good live performance, but for Eurovision I wi3ll pass on this one.

Sam – 3

“There’s gonna be trouble indeed…for Frants at Eesti Laul with this bland ass song. I hate sterile attempts at soul. If you, Reader, haven’t heard this one yet, two thirds of the song consist of the lyrics: “Oh it’s gonna be a trouble / But I can’t turn away.” No, he does not tell us why. “

Boris – 6

“Upon reading the title, I jokingly assumed Sahlene would sing about cunnilingus, and the lyrics… don’t dispute it?! Unfortunately, Erika Vikman outclasses this topically. Musically, “Love Me Low” is your typical Melfest-style Schlager fodder, that I would normally cling to for dear life in its Deltävling before the inevitable 6th place in the heat. In a better musical country like Estonia however, I have other interests than a raunchier “Party Voice”. Could be fun live, but Eesti Laul 2025 needs to enter some dire straights for Sahlene to end up near the top of my ranking next Saturday.”

David – 3

“I feel I’m gonna sound like an absolute prick for saying this, but you can absolutely hear, that someone is stuck in a certain timeframe. This screams early 2000’s, and I’m just wondering, can Anna even do anything else? Don’t get me wrong, she’s a sweetheart at heart, but come on, move along already, you aren’t staying the same age, be more creative.”

James – 9.5

“A “take me any which you can” sex anthem. It’s a museum piece, though, sounding like it comes off album before her Eurovision 2002 third place “Runaway.” That’s not a bad thing, necessarily. It has the classic rules of Eurovision dance banger composition right down to the key change and a simple chantable chorus. And it hews to the rules without being obvious Eurofan member berries (okay, the key change does feel a bit dialed in). I will go so far as say that anyone who dislikes this is an ageist without a pulse and should go mope somewhere else.”

Rebecca – 3

“Melfest wants their Cascada ripoff back, please. The vocals appear to be autotuned to all hell so I don’t hold out hope that the vocals will be any good live. Also, what does it even mean to love someone “low”? Don’t make me ponder your lyrics if you aren’t prepared to either answer my questions or tell me that it doesn’t matter, of which this song does neither.”

Roy – 4

““Another instance where the lyrics are a bit questionable. ‘Love me low. Love me high and don’t let go.’ Not sure about those.. The backing track is another attempt at a throwback-songs. It is executed decently well, but by the end of it I also get quite sick of the repetitiveness of the song…””

Sam – 5

“So forgettable I literally forgot it was in this selection. I have a well-documented earnest appreciation for songs that are aggressively dated, but this one doesn’t hit for some reason. “Love Me Low” is by no means a bad song…but it reminds me of Hera Bjork’s “Fear of Heights” so points off for that. “

Boris – 6

“A trippy trap track by Tuuli, supplemented with a screamy chorus. Kinda like a “Magus melanhooliaa” that bangs less. Not my favourite Tuuli Rand appearance but it could become something if she nails the belting.”

David – 1

“It just becomes unlistenable to me, especially with the INCREDIBLY OVER THE TOP LOUD chorus, when the rest of the song comes out as calm and slow. I’m bored and not feeling like dealing with the loud sudden synthesizer when it hits out of nowhere.”

James – 5

“How unfortunate Tuuli chose a term associated with sleep for this. It’s another slower adult contemporary song that Estonia is becoming known for, songs to listen to while in tears and driving your Jaguar XF, reminiscing about a boring ex who you left because they were more into pigeon fancy than you (or whatever hobbies Estonians get up to).”

Rebecca – 3

“Another Mariah Carey wannabe, and just like Mariah Carey, I find the vocals here quite piercing and uncomfortable to listen to. There’s just not a lot that connects with me here.”

Roy – 3

““Tuuli is giving us a hi-hat heavy trap beat that she sings too. Her voice sounds pretty epic, but the beat just saps all the life out of it. That is unfortunately kind of what a trapbeat does for you.””

Sam – 7

“This is the better R&B song in the selection. The studio vocals are undeniable, so this might do well if the live vocals are comparable. “REM” is a whole vibe, actually. The lyrics basically translate to nonsense in English, but that’s fine for me because the song is in Estonian, which means I can listen in blissful ignorance, and leave the judgement in that area to the Estonians.”

Boris – 9

“Minimal Wind are back and finally have a song worth paying attention to. “Armageddon” is basically the type of ballad that would be played during the third act of a great romantic movie, after the two protagonists had their falling out, and are now back in the homes, crying at their reflection in the mirror. This comparison is complimentary; “Armageddon” is a sophisticated cry ballad, aimed at providing closure and catharsis, which it succeeds in. Elizabeth Tiffany’s velvety vocals are like a warm blanket hugging you around. If you’re feeling a bit down or lonesome, give this majestic song a few plays to feel a bit better again.”

David – 2

“Absolutely not what I had in mind, when thinking “Armageddon”. This would probably be the slowest doomsday ever, and in that case, this song would be perfect. Instead it’s an “Armageddon” for my entire body, as the depressed vibes and tunes, just fills it. There’s just nothing over this song, that makes me wanna come back.”

James – 7

“For a song named “Armageddon” there’s absolutely no sturm und drang. It’s very chill, reflective indie-pop sung without drama. There is indeed minimal wind here over observing a relationship that fell apart.”

Rebecca – 8

“A good indie song is an easy high score in my book, so I try and work extra hard to give some critical feedback. I really like the lryics of this one, but they repeat enough that I start getting slightly bored of them by the end. This could potentially be offset by some vocal variations? The other huge issue I see here is how captivating the music video is—unfortunately, a good music video for ESC entries has a habit of crippling the live performance because it can never live up to the visuals that most people have in their heads already. People have done it before, sure, but it’s no easy feat. I wish Minimal Wind the best of luck, because they have something very special here that I would hate to see drowned out by expectations.”

Roy – 10

“Beautiful. Every little detail and instrument is placed at just the right moments within the song. They accompany Elizabeth’s voice so beautifully. A work of art that is easy to listen to, catchy and slowly becoming grander and grander. Yet it gives a soothing peacefulness. It goes by in a heartbeat and you just want to keep listening to it so you click repeat. The electric guitars at the end give it the grand finish you wish for. The song is also relatively easy to sing consistently and I cannot wait to see it be performed on the Eesti Laul stage, let alone the Eurovision stage! Estonia’s got a really strong selection this year and this is the beautiful cherry on top of the cake!”

Sam – 7.5

“Boris will have a field day with this [ed.: Oh don’t worry, I do — Boris], but it kind of reminds me of a certain song from Luxembourg – MÄNA’s “Human Eyes.” The tempo, the vocal quality, the melancholic atmosphere and lyrics. Obviously, I’m into it. This is one of the more interesting songs in the selection – one that works quite well both as a standalone song and as a Eurovision Song ™ in my opinion. We’ll see if the voting public agrees. -“

Boris – 8

“Estonia now has its own Pia Maria, as Zevakin is accompanied by a random hairdresser. Fortunately for Zevakin, his vocals hard-carry “Ma ei tea sind”, in which Karita is merely a foil. The real winner however, is how the dichotomy between subdued, playful verses and the chorus’s noise explosion compliment one another, creating a party song rife with personality.”

David – 2

“This becomes a bit too much of just screaming. Overall, it’s just unnecessarily loud. I honestly don’t even know, where my mind is at after hearing the song, is it too much, is it trying too hard, is there anything good to come out of this, I think not. It’s not that I don’t like up-tempo music, it’s more that I’m tired of hearing what’s been done for decades now.”

James – 4

“The official video is weird. Andrei is freaking out in the club, and the Umbrella Corporation seemingly drops Karita in to calm him down and seduce him. But his paranoia is proven correct and after a minute of fondling she bites him. I am not sure Eurovision is the place for a young fella’s fear of commitment (that would be the charitable interpretation of the video). Or fear of any type of sexual activity. That being said, the track does accentuate his paranoia, so that’s successful. In a way.”

Rebecca – 5

“Good drop, interesting lyrics. I was prepared to give this an optimistic rating, but then I was made aware of the kind of friends Andrei likes to keep, and so I will not be gracing this entry with anything more than an apathetic, neutral score. I try to keep my biases out of reviews, but there are just some things I believe shouldn’t be ignored.”

Roy – 7.5

“Very fun at first listen, but I have slowly grown a little tired of it. Andrei’s vocals are topped with a good chunk of vocal effects. It makes me quite scared for the live performance. Especially since they make out quite a big portion of the song. These party songs also tend to be a bit tough to stage. As a studiotrack and song on its own, it is really solid and a very good time. Definitely something to get everyone moving and another contender to get into the superfinal if the vocals and performance are good.”

Sam – 7.5

“The cool entry, with its music video full of leather jackets and nightclubs and sex and vampires. And it is cool. I don’t know what Andrei has planned for his staging, but I really do hope he has an interesting concept and pulls off the performance, because this has so much potential. Also: rocks harder than Stereo Terror.”

Boris – 3

“’Italians pronounce English words funny, now clap’ is what will win Eurovision in 2025, according to the already very tiresome Tommy Cash. Somehow, I doubt that. ‘Espresso Macchiato’ is a bland, lazy and soulless song, a flat, uninspired satire that will fail to evoke anything other than awkward silence.”

David – 1

“You might as well just put pineapple on your pizza at this point.”

James – 8

“It is finally happening. The backlash to Italophilia has arrived, but in a light-hearted way. Poking fun at those – usually Americans with the last names of Diefendorfer who had a great-great-great-granny who slept around in Calabria – who fawn over a pile of white rubble as “history”, put on orgasmic reactions to eating a prosciutto sandwich, and of course, the coffee pedants. The novelty songs are starting to pile up in Basel, and Tommy’s deadpan delivery and humor might be too light-hearted and sedate compared to whatever Erika Vikman is hosing us off with. But there should be an audience for some Europeans to laugh at themselves for three minutes (or foreigners who insist Tuscan onions are better than those in Atlanta – for the record, they are not).”

Rebecca – 5.5

“Oh boy. Where do I even start with this. Judging exclusively from the perspective of the song and nothing else: this is awful. It’s dumb and stupid and vaguely insulting to Italians. However, knowing what I know about Tommy Cash, his history of performance art and stunts of a similar nature: this is kind of interesting. The music video makes a lot more sense when you know that it’s a parody of a very famous short film by Andy Warhol. But if he just went up on stage and did that this would go right back to being utter garbage for Eurovision, so honestly I don’t know how to feel. It’s really impossible to decide until I see the performance, because this is just the kind of song that is so intrinsically entwined with its performance that reviewing one without the other is completely illogical. So yeah. Has potential to be brilliant, but I’m not sold yet.”

Roy – 4.5

“He might have a big name, but you still need a good song to get my stamp of approval or win the selection. Repeating some Italian stereotypes incorrectly is not the way to go. It is an earworm and memorable because of it, but it completely lacks outside of the repetitive Espresso Macchiato’s. The verses could have been submitted by any other artist without a name in Eesti Laul and people would write it off immediately. I fear that mister Cash will have to go back to the drawing board and coming up with something better and more out there.”

Sam – 6.5

“Ok, here’s the thing: I, unlike Boris, enjoy the musical stylings of Tommy Cash. I’ve seen him live, and he’s a good performer. He has better songs than this. It’s not a bad song, but it’s not as good – or as interesting, or as subversive, or as funny – as it wants to be. I know Tommy Cash is the favorite to win Eesti Laul, and he probably will because he’s Tommy Cash. But when he inevitably gets to Eurovision, he better put on a show, because staging will absolutely make or break this. “

Boris – 7

“Not the wildcard I expected, but one of the better options amongst the wildcards. Marta Lotta is a Diet Inga, going for a groovier “No Dog On A Leash”. It might not be the tantsulõvi I would be hoping for, but it’s a good palate cleanser after the Pineapple-on-Pizzeria-Music nonsense.”

David – 4

“We’ve gone full out on the 70’s. This screams groovy and disco, and it’s even in Estonian with a pinch of French… only at Eurovision! Fine, it has it’s charm and catchiness, but it’s also hard not to think “what the flip”.  It’s the kind of song you enjoy while it’s on, and the moment it’s over, you just hope no one saw you vibe to it.”

James – 7

“Dancing more? Yes please. This feels like a song for introvert overcoming fear of the dance floor, closing her eyes, and letting go. Good message.””

Rebecca – 6

“Disco just has a way of making you groove no matter what. This has huge roller disco energy, and a fun, retro choreography could really elevate this on stage. My biggest complaint is the speaking section—firstly, don’t speak at me. I’ll say it until people stop doing it. Secondly, why is it in French? I feel like I’m missing a reference or something. Overall funky and fun, so I’m left mostly satisfied.”

Roy – 6

“Coming from the wildcard round, this is definitely decent. It has a radiofriendly catchiness to it. Her voice sounds nice and the song lends itself well for a nice staging as well. I do think the song would not catch any eyes at Eurovision. A decent catchy song, but not the one to send to Eurovision.””

Sam – 6

“This one’s a bit frustrating in that it teases a better song that it amounts to. Put some sauce on this and you’ve got a pretty cool, fun, somewhat authentic 70s disco throwback. The song as it is doesn’t quite get there; it feels underproduced and underrealized.”

THE RANKING

Now that everyone said their piece, let’s fill in the gaps in our ranking:

01. Minimal Wind – “Armageddon” – 73%
02. Räpina Jack & Kaisa Ling – “Tule” – 70%
03. FELIN – “Solo Anthem” – 68%
04. An-Marlen – “Külm” – 63% (higher median)
05. gem98 – “Psycho” – 63%
06. Stereo Terror – “Prty till the end of the world” – 61%
07. Marta Lotta – “Tantsin veel” – 60%
08. ANT – “Tomorrow never comes” – 58%
09. Andrei Zevakin feat. Karita – “Ma ei tea sind” – 57%
10. Frants Tikerpuu – “Trouble” – 53%
11. Anna Sahlene – “Love me low” – 51%
12. Tommy Cash – “Expressio Macchiato” – 48% (29 points)
13. Janek – “Frozen” – 48% (28 points)
14. Tuuli Rand – “REM” – 42%
15. Johanna Elise – “Eyes don’t lie” – 38%
16. ELYSA – “The last to know” – 33%

Those that predicted MINIMAL WIND would take first place are proven correct, as they win with 73%, thanks to high scores from Boris, Roy and Sam! Räpina Jack and FELIN, as revealed in the previous post take 2nd and 3rd, while An-Marlen and gem98 place 4th and 5th with an equal amount of points.

Estonian favourite Tommy Cash finishes in the bottom five, with a 48% F-score. Janek, Tuuli Rand, Johanna Elise and ELYSA also failed to convince our critics, failing to get a passing grade.

VOTING CHART

Rebecca was the most pronounced Estonia enjoyer, just half a point ahead of Roy. Both of them gave decent percentages. Our other jurors needed more convincing, all around the 50% mark.

It’s safe to say that the opinions were a bit divisive with the favourites, and lukewarm with the others.

Do #YOU agree with our assessment. Who are #YOU supporting Eesti Laul? Don’t miss the Estonian final next Saturday, and be sure to discuss it with us on Social Media, Discord or our Forum!