Estonia on stage in Stockholm

Stockholm Globe Arena

Tuesday, May 3, 2016
 
The Eurovision Song Contest has kicked off to a start here in Stockholm. Most of the participants have already arrived and settled into their hotels. Rehearsals in the Stockholm Globe Arena began on Monday with nine countries, including Russia, rehearsing their performances for the first semi final which will be aired next Tuesday, May 10. Amongst the second batch of participants who have rehearsed their songs (Tuesday) is Estonia. Being the first of the Baltic States to stand on the spectacular stage created by innovative Swedes, Estonia is represented this year by 21-year-old Juri Pootsmann, who performed the song entited “Play.”

Estonia’s rehearsal went well today. Despite his inexperience in such huge venues, today’s rehearsal showed that Pootsmann is going to make Estonians proud.
This young artist, who recently won the local Pop Idol show on Estonian Television, catapulting him into domestic mega stardom, can be best described as being similar to the Swedish superstar Tommy Korberg when he was at the start of his career. Just like Korberg all those years ago when he represented Sweden in the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest in Madrid with the song “Judy min van,” Pootsmann has succeeded in gaining the confidence of the whole Estonian nation. Judging from his rehearsal today, it is obvious that despite his youth, the Estonian people are behind him and he is singing for them rather than for the rest of Europe.

Three weeks ago I started my quest for an interview with Poostman. I call it a “quest” because that is what it turned into after my e-mails went bouncing back and forth between Estonian Television executives, Management team persons, and record company executives in Tallinn, none of whom seemed to be able to put me in direct contact with the artist. For a moment it seemed as if I was trying to get an interview with Mick Jagger or the Pope! This somewhat awkward procedure in gaining verbal contact with the artist obviously raised my expectations. Artists who are protected by their entourages are usually interesting people to interview. They are usually cocky and self centred individuals with enormous egos. Well finally, after a lot of ifs and buts, I connected with Pootsmann and found him to be exactly the opposite to what I had expected. Instead of the rock star image with managers and record company executives sheltering him from the media, Pootsmann turned out to be a very pleasant and somewhat modest young man who gladly told me how he started his musical life singing in a choir and how he feels he still has a lot to learn about his profession. He gives the impression of understanding the need for the international exposure through the Eurovision Song Contest, but at the same time he appears very realistic when he says: “I would of course love to have an international career, but not quite yet. For the moment I would like to be successful in Estonia and then later find out what is the right thing for me and perhaps move on if the circumstances permit.”

Pootsmann appears somewhat aloof when he describes his feelings about his own upcoming participation in the contest and his own chances of victory. After some silence he reveals the following: “I really don’t care. It’s not important,” and goes on to say that he hopes he will at least qualify to the final
“because then I will get the chance to sing the song a second time.”

Despite enthusiasm for the Baltic entries, Pootsman, unlike most traditional Eurovision entrants, doesn’t really seem to care what position he reaches. Its not the most important thing in his eyes. This differs a lot from the other two Baltic participants from Latvian and Lithuania, both of whom are in the contest to win! Pootsman says that although he would like to do his best for Estonia, he doesn’t really think it is so “important to be in the top three.
When asked the question of his opinion about the other two Baltic States’ songs, Pootsman is enthusiastic towards his Latvian and Lithuanian colleagues: “I think all the three Baltic countries have very good entries this year, and we all have good chances to go to the final.”

He speaks highly of his Latvian colleague Justs Simrais and smiles as he tells me how he likes the songwriters who wrote the Latvian song “Heartbeat.” Regarding the Lithuanian entry Pootsmann is extremely enthusiastic: “The song (‘I’ve been waiting for this night’) is very catchy. It has a great hook and is perfect for the pop charts.”
As Pootsman stepped down from the stage and together with his delegation took on the media in a Press Conference, I couldn’t help but admire this young Estonian for his modesty. However, what that modesty results in remains to be seen next week at the first semi final.

Footnote: Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 4, Latvia and Lithuania’s rehearsals will take place in the Stockholm globe Arena.