Meet Elina Nechayeva From Estonia

This year 43 countries will be present at this years Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Lisbon in May. With less than a week to go until all of Europe descends on Portugal's capital, Eurovoxx will introduce you to each country that will be participating.

Who is Elina Nechayeva?

Elina Nechayeva will be this years Estonian Eurovision representative with the song, "La Forza". Another young performer at this years contest, the 26 year old singer was born in 1991, and is a soprano singer. She first came to the publics attention in 2009 when she performed on "Eesti otsib superstaari" which is part of the 'idol franchise'. She was knocked out in the preliminary round.

This however, did not stop her, as she participated in more television shows, and has gained prominence as a result. Back in 2014 she participated in 'Klassikatähed', and made it to the finals. She co-hosted on Estonia's Eesti Laul semi finals last year, and this year was one of the artists, and won the whole competition.

Check Out Elina Nechayeva's Eurovision Entry, "La Forza" Here:

How Was Elina Nechayeva Chosen?

This year Estonia opted for its 'Eesti Laul 2018' which was in its tenth year. The show gave a professional jury, and the public a split 50/50% vote, which decided who should be the country's next Eurovision entrant. The show consisted of two semi finals. Ten artists were in ach semi, and had to battle it out for five places in the Grand Final. Elina sang in the first heat, and won it. Both the Jury and public chose her as their favourite.

The Grand Final of 'Eesti Laul' saw ten artists compete for the honour of representing Estonia at the Eurovision this year. The show which was broadcast live on the 3rd March 2017 saw the young singer win this right. With the juries she won with nearly 30 points more than her nearest competitor, and the same happened with the public who categorically chose her as their favourite. "La Forza" swept away the competition with more than 32,000 more votes than her second place rival. The super final then took place, and saw the top three perform once again, in which Elina won with more than 70% of the vote.

Check Out Eurovoxx Reaction Video To "La Forza" Here:

Estonia At Eurovision

The Baltic nation first made its Eurovision appearance in 1994, where it came 24th. This year will mark the countries 24th appearance at the competition. It didn't take long for the country to win, and in 2001 the country had its first win when "Dave Benton, Tanel Padar & 2XL" won with the song "Everybody".

They were to host a year later, and came a very respectable 3rd when Swedish singer Sahlene nearly "Runnaway" with the Eurovision trophy for a second year. The country have had a mixed bag of results since. They have not troubled the scoreboard, as they did at the start of the Millennium.

Estonia have made the top ten on 9 occasions, and since the introduction of the semi finals, the Baltic state have failed to qualify on four occasions. This year they have sent a strong entry that has done well in many polls, and a favourite with bookies. Can Elina give the country its second win?

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