ESTONIA!!!!!'s Eurovision 2008 Entry

ESTONIA!!!!! has decided to go with a... I guess... more amusing... uh... Eurovision song this year. Kreisiraadio's "Leto Svet" is their entry, and it reminds me a bit of Verka Serduchka's "Dancing Lasha Tumbai", only less manic and not in drag. Instead, it looks like it's performed by two men from the Estonian cast of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Only, you know, without togas. I've watched the video twice, and I guess I'm a bit befuddled.

ESTONIA!!!!!

Gerli Padar is adorable in a slightly homely way. That sounds vaguely insulting, but I don't mean it to be. "Partners In Crime" is a pretty generic light rock song in the Pat Benatar vein, but she's doing a great job selling it. I liked this, and not just because I'm biased due to my obsession with Estonian pop music.

Estonia (Eurovision 2007 Preview)

Gerli Padar - "Partners in Crime"

Ani Frieda covers Bonnie Tyler. Minor key, sleek production, tight harmonies on backup vocals. On first listen it's the kind of radio-friendly song that would easily blend into a mix on Top 40 radio in Central Europe. But there's no way it would hold up under heavy rotation at an RTL.

ESTONIA!!!!! (Eurovision 2007 Preview)

Gerli Padar: "Partners In Crime"

A few years ago, Estonia won Eurovision with the song "Everybody," which was performed by Tanel Padar and Dave Benton. Gerli is Tanel's younger sister. Unlike last year's representative, Gerli is actually Estonian, so I've put the extra exclamation point back in. The song, by the way, sounds like Vanilla Ninja, which makes total sense.

21. ESTONIA!!!! - Sandra: "Through My Window"

Wow, another ABBA-esque beginning. And another collection of 80s-influenced outfits. R.U.F.F.U.S. was right: the 80s are coming back. This is awful, but I love Estonia, so I'm giving it a pass. The singer has the old WCW Championship belt on for some reason. I'm waiting for Goldberg's music to start. Nope, still a crappy ABBA rip-off. In fact, Estonia out-ABBAed Sweden this year. That ain't right, but since it's Estonia, I don't want to be right.

[NOTE: The singer is from Sweden, but she's performing for Estonia. I've removed one exclamation point from the headline to this post as punishment.]