This duo is as close to Eurovision royalty we get in Estonia. Koit Toome participated in ESC in 1998, which we have no recollection of whatsoever (we were probably too drunk, was he any good?) and Laura in 2005 with the girl band Suntribe, which we do remember, unfortunately.
Together they have dished up one of the biggest pre contest favorites within the fan community this year, and we can’t deny we’re smitten ourselves. Who doesn’t recognize the feeling of being lost at sea like sailing boats and how annoying it is to misplace medium size Italian towns? We imagine stacks of towns just sitting there on the shelves in the lost and found depots at airports and railway stations across Europe, waiting to be picked up by their owners. But most of us are just too lazy to bother. Good thing we have Koit and Laura to walk that extra mile!
We chose to be lost in Tallinn over a weekend in March as our destination for the annual national final excursion and it was well worth a visit. The Estonians take Eurovision seriously which we can of course totally relate to and the Eesti Laul final was high quality all around. Despite a rather suspense filled first part of the voting it was never any doubt that the Estonians would play the safe and reliable card in the end, after last year’s crash in Stockholm.
We cheered for Verona enthusiastically in the arena with a Norwegian flag the size of a soccer pitch, our red wine in a pint glass and heads on a stick of an act who ended up NOT winning MGP the next weekend as they were supposed to if we were to decide. We had a jolly good time and we are absolutely sure we looked completely ridiculous, but nevermind.
We will cheer for Verona in Kyiv as well. It is a delightful schlager with a retro vibe, which we approve of when it’s done well. We’re happy there’s still a place for these kinds of entries in Eurovision and it will always have its avid supporters. Our biggest concern with this one is the performance that left us a bit cold in Saku Suurhall. Perhaps it came across better on TV, but we do think that Koit and Laura must work on their chemistry on stage. It felt a bit wooden, but it might just be Laura’s super tight dress making it almost impossible for her to move around. Still, a place in the Grand Final and a decent finish is well within reach.
It’s evocative of Modern Talking which is something no reasonable person will be grateful for. Luckily for them, eurovision is full of unreasonablessness. ::D Oh dear… it’s simply horrible ?