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…. in the sense that there is a lot known about them – but we have one electro-pop stadium-filling superstar, one perpetually runner-up who deserves better, one determined singer on her fifth attempt, one emerging songwriter, one Ukrainian vocal coach turned Estonian hopeful, and one legendary band finally competing for their home country after representing Switzerland two decades ago! Who are they? – well read on!
NOËP
Right, let’s start with the big guns, shall we? NOËP (that’s Andres Kõpper when he’s at home) has basically conquered Estonian electronic pop since dropping “Move” in 2015, which has racked up over 7 million Spotify plays because apparently everyone loves a good electro-pop banger. Born in 1990, he started out studying accordion and piano like a proper Estonian before deciding to become a film director, because why not, and then finally settled on music full-time—some of us call that a journey, others call it an identity crisis. His bright, idiosyncratic sound pulls from Alt-J, Jose Gonzales, and Mura Masa, which he crafts using just a keyboard, laptop, and launchpad, proving you don’t need a full orchestra to sound absolutely brilliant. The man’s trophy cabinet is frankly obscene: Pop Album of the Year in 2019, then a record-breaking six nominations at the 2022 Estonian Music Awards where he walked away with Male Artist of the Year, Pop Artist of the Year, and both Album and Pop Album of the Year—save some for everyone else, mate. In 2023, he made history by staging Estonia’s first-ever stadium concert in Tallinn with 14,000 people in attendance, and he’s performed everywhere from Beirut to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, because apparently Estonian electro-pop translates universally. With over 90 million Spotify streams and collaborations with CHINCHILLA, MARO, and Dillistone, NOËP brings both commercial clout and critical acclaim to Eesti Laul with “Days like this”—this is the calibre of artist Estonia’s serving up, and we’re absolutely here for it.
Grete Paia
If there were loyalty points for competing at Eesti Laul, Grete Paia would have enough for a free coffee by now—this is her FIFTH attempt, having competed in 2013, 2016, 2019, 2022, and now 2026. Born August 27, 1995, on the island of Saaremaa (which sounds like it should be a Harry Potter location but is actually quite real), she started writing songs at 13 and had her Estonian-language track “Lõpp sellel lool” topping Radio Elmar charts for three weeks when she was just 14. Her Eesti Laul 2013 debut with “Päästke noored hinged” was properly dramatic—the jury placed her sixth, but the Estonian public absolutely loved her, giving her the most votes in both the semi and the final, ultimately making her runner-up in the superfinal. She tried again in 2016 with “Stories Untold” (7th place), returned in 2019 with “Kui isegi kaotan” (narrowly missed qualifying despite strong support, ouch), and featured on Andrei Zevakin’s 2022 entry “Mis nüüd saab”. Since marrying Joonatan Siiman in September 2023, she’s back for another crack at glory with “Taevas jäi üles,” and honestly, if determination were a scoring category, she’d have won ages ago. The Estonian public clearly adore her—maybe 2026 is finally her year?
Marta Pikani
Marta Pikani is one of this year’s dark horses, emerging from 171 submissions with her self-penned “kell kuus” to secure a coveted spot in the final. While she’s not yet a household name like some of her competitors—sorry Marta, but when you’re up against NOËP and Vanilla Ninja, that’s just how it goes—her selection by the 34-member blind jury suggests there’s something rather special about her songwriting. She represents that exciting new generation of Estonian talent getting their moment on the big stage, which is precisely what national selections should be doing instead of just recycling the same faces year after year (we’re looking at you, certain other countries). Sometimes the most interesting winners come from the artists nobody saw coming, and Marta could well be this year’s surprise package when the songs drop in December.
Ollie
Oh, Ollie. Poor, brilliant, chronically second-place Ollie. Born Oliver Mazurtšak on August 26, 1993, he’s finished as runner-up at Eesti Laul in BOTH 2023 and 2024, which is either remarkable consistency or absolutely heartbreaking, depending on your perspective. His father is Jüri Mazurtšak, drummer for bands that competed at Eurovision 1998 and 2002, so clearly Eurovision runs in the family genes alongside an apparent inability to actually win the thing. In 2023, his song “Venom” made it to the superfinal where he placed second behind Alika, then in 2024 “My Friend” dominated both rounds—first place in the semi with 17 points, first place in the first round of the final with 22 points—before finishing second in the superfinal to 5miinust and Puuluup, who took 28% of the vote. He was literally the betting favorite multiple years running, which means even the bookies thought he’d win and he STILL didn’t, which is just cruel at this point. Now he’s back for 2026 with “Slave,” and honestly, if there’s any justice in the world, the third time will be the charm—though knowing Ollie’s track record, he’ll probably dominate everything and then finish second in the superfinal again. We’re rooting for you, Ollie, but maybe invest in some therapy if it happens again.
Uliana Olhyna
Uliana Olhyna brings proper international credentials to this year’s lineup—she’s a Ukrainian singer who’s made Estonia home and now competes with “rhythm of nature”. Based in Tallinn, she runs Angel Voice Studio where she’s a vocal coach with “20 years in music,” which sounds impressively professional when you say it like that. She’s performed at the prestigious Laima Rendezvous Jūrmala festival in 2024, belting out her track “You are Loser” (bold choice for a song title, that) alongside major Ukrainian and international artists, proving she can handle the big stages. As a Ukrainian artist competing for Estonia, she’s part of that increasingly international Eurovision landscape where artists represent their adopted homes—think Cornelia Jakobs for Sweden, Netta for Israel, or basically half of Australia’s entries. It’s what makes Eurovision properly interesting instead of just being 37 countries sending their most stereotypically national acts, and we’re absolutely here for the diversity.
Vanilla Ninja
AND HERE’S THE BIG ONE. Vanilla Ninja, Estonia’s legendary all-female rock band, are back with “too epic to be true,” and if that song title isn’t perfectly self-aware, we don’t know what is. These are the ladies who represented SWITZERLAND at Eurovision 2005 in Kyiv with “Cool Vibes,” finishing a respectable 8th despite being, you know, completely Estonian and having never actually lived in Switzerland. That happened because their Swiss producer David Brandes secured them an internal selection, which caused absolute chaos—Estonians were furious their band was representing another country, and the Swiss were equally miffed about being represented by non-Swiss artists, though Estonia ultimately gave them the maximum 12 points because of course they did. Plot twist: they’d actually tried to represent Estonia FIRST at Eurolaul 2003 with “Club Kung Fu,” which got the most telephone votes but didn’t win the jury vote, so they basically said “fine, we’ll go elsewhere”. The drama didn’t stop there—member Maarja Kivi left due to pregnancy right before Eurovision 2005 and was replaced by 15-year-old Triinu Kivilaan, who turned 16 JUST before the contest, barely satisfying the age requirement like some kind of Eurovision fairytale. Since then, they’ve released proper hits across Europe including “When The Indians Cry” (#8 in Germany) and “Liar,” and dropped new material as recently as 2021 with “The Reason Is You”. Twenty years later, they’re finally getting their chance to represent their actual homeland, bringing decades of experience, name recognition, and probably some unfinished business to Eesti Laul 2026. If this isn’t the stuff of Eurovision dreams, what is?
The other half will be announced tomorrow. Stay tuned!
