Well, the time has come once more…it’s the ESC Insider’s favorite National Final of the year (sorry, Melodifestivalen!).  Estonia’s Eesti Laul consistently brings a great blend of new artists and familiar faces featuring a wide range of musical genres.  Tonight from the Nokia Convert Hall in Tallinn, we’ll hear pop, ballads, folk, rock, dance, and neo-blues, and it’s a pretty wide-open field to see who will take the journey to Denmark.
Tonight’s contenders are:

1. Birgita Murutar – “Laule täis taevakaar (Sky Full of Songs)”
2. Traffic – “Für Elise“
3. Norman Salumäe – “Search“
4. Wilhelm – “Resignal“
5. Lenna – “Supernoova“
6. Super Hot Cosmos Blues Band – “Maybe-Maybe“
7. Maiken – “Siin või sealpool maad (Here or on the Other Side)”
8. Kõrsikud – “Tule ja jää (Come and Stay/Fire and Ice)”
9. Tanja – “Amazing“
10. Sandra Nurmsalu – “Kui tuuled pöörduvad (When the Winds Turn)”

There are a number of familiar names and faces in tonight’s show, including two Eurovision alums.

• Lenna Kuurmaa is the former lead singer of Vanilla Ninja, who sang for Switzerland in 2006, coming in 8th place with “Cool Vibes“.  Either solo or with the band, she has taken part in Eesti Laul (or its predecessor Eurolaul) five times, coming in second place twice (with “Rapunzel” and “Mina jään“).
• Sandra Nurmsalu was the lead singer of Urban Symphony, who came in 6th place with “Rändajäd” in 2009.
• Traffic has taken part in Eesti Laul/Eurolaul four times, coming as close as second place in 2009 with “See paev“.  Songwriter and lead guitarist Stig Rästa is also the frontman of the group Outloudz, who took the runner-up spot in 2011’s Eesti Laul with “I Want to Meet Bob Dylan“.
• Norman Salumäe actually had two songs in the running this year, but the effort with his band August Hunt, “Kus on exit?”, was eliminated at the semifinal level.  August Hunt’s 2012 effort, “Tantsulõvi“, came in 8th place that year.
• One of the members of Kõrsikud (who also took part last year) is Jaan Pehk, who was a member of Ruffus, Estonia’s Eurovision performers in 2003.  Pehk, under the stage names Köök or Orelipoiss, also took part in 2009, 2011, and 2012.
• Tanja (full name Tatjana Mihhailova), a former member of Midnight Duo, took part in Eurolaul 2002 and 2003 as a member of Nightlight Duo.
• Maiken (real name: Kadri Koppel) also took part in Eurolaul 1999 and 2003.