Koit Toome and Laura return to Eurovision with love duet ‘Verona’
Estonia is represented by another duo this year. For both Koit Toome and Laura Poldvere it is not the first time they perform on the Eurovision stage. Toome reached the 12th position way back in 1998 while Laura failed to qualify for the final in 2005 as part of girl group Suntribe. This year they hope for a better result with their 80s inspired pop duet ‘Verona’. The fan polls rank them high, but will the general public appreciate the (romance that turned to) drama as well?
‘Verona’ is composed by Estonian songwriter Sven Lohmus, who also wrote Laura’s solo singles ‘Moonwalk’, Sunflowers’, ‘Destiny’ and ‘Supersonic’ with which she tried to represent Estonia in Eurovision. Every single time she finished in the top 3, but did not win and all of these songs were miles better than Suntribe’s entry from 2005. Either way, this is Laura’s moment to shine, with the 80s throwback, Modern Talking inspired duet. From the moment on the song was selected, Eurovision fans have rated its chances highly and I can see why as ‘Verona’ is a well produced composition with enough hooks to keep the listener entertained. The Romeo and Juliet references are dramatic and maybe slightly cheesy, but isn’t that what we all love about Eurovision as well?
As for the national final performance and rehearsals, especially Laura’s vocals in the first verse need to improve, or Europe might already have given up on them before the first chorus hits. I’m living for their serious stares in the camera so please keep those! I don’t think ‘Verona’ will do better than 7th position achieved by the fresher duet ‘Goodbye To Yesterday’ Estonia sent in 2015, but I don’t expect this fan favourite to flop too hard. A spot in the final would be deserved if you ask me!
UPDATE – Review on semi final performance:
Like in every single edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, this year one of the biggest fan favourites did not make it past the semi final. Estonia’s Koit Toome and Laura were ranked high among the bookmakers and Eurovision fans, but their 80s inpired, Modern Talking sound-a-like failed to impress the voters at home and in the juries. Their performance was vocally shaky at times and visually, the cuts between Laura singing and Koit staring into the camera were a bit too much and uncomfortable to watch. Another favourite that just did not work on the big screen. Still, I would have preferred this in the final over Croatia by a mile.
UPDATE – Semi final result:
Poor old Koit and Laura. They made it into 6th position with televoters, which would easily have been enough to qualify, but then the juries totally robbed them, placing them 17th(!) out of 18. Therefore, Estonia finished 14th in semi final 2.
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