The semi final of Eesti Laulu 2024 took place on Saturday 20 January at the University of Tartu Sports Hall (Tartu Ülikool spordihoone). At first there was a dance number, then the hosts Tõnis Niinemets and Grete Kuld, as well as all the participants of the night were introduced.
1. 5MIINUST x PUULUP was first up with their song '(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi' was up first. They gave a slightly comical performance with them all making silly movements up on stage.
2. A slightly calmer entry INGA with 'No dog on a leash' had lots of green and blue lighting.
3. OLLIE was up next with 'My friend'. He started with a slow song playing the piano, then it turned into an energetic rock song.
4. YONNA's 'I don't know about you' was more of a ballad. The scene started in black and white, then turned to colour.
5. Next was PETER PÕDER with his song 'Korra veel', which was rock with a slightly 90's feel.
6. MULTIKAS & EWERT SUNDJA with 'Oblivion' was up next. They were all wearing masks to look like Evert, then all took off their masks during the performance.
7. The band TRAFFIC with their catchy entry 'Wunderbar' then performed. They were on treadmills, a weird cartoon star also appeared in the animation.
8. INGMAR's 'Dreaming' was a slightly more dramatic song, accompanied by a string quintet.
9. Next up was ANET VAIKMAA with 'Serotoniin'. Lots of red lights in the staging, she played guitar toward the end.
10. LAURA was up then with 'Here's where I draw the line' performing her ballad in the rain with her newly blonded hair.
11. SOFIA RUBINA sang 'Be good', her feel good song, with backup dancers up on stage with her.
12. ANTSUD performed their very captivating 'Vetevaim' adding the genre of folk to the mix. They had pyros toward the end.
13. Then SILVER JUSILO sang 'Lately', a slower song with dark staging and a 90s feel.
14. CECILIA's 'FOMO' was fast paced and catchy with flashing lights in the staging.
15. The last competitors of the evening, EWERT & THE TWO DRAGONS performed 'Hold me now'. This was Ewert's second time on stage tonight, where he sang and played the piano.
Meanwhile, an interesting reggae version of 'Tattoo' was performed. The first round of voting was then concluded. With a 50:50 public:jury vote, three acts were announced as the new finalists: EWERT & THE TWO DRAGONS, OLLIE and 5MIINUST x PUULUUP
Then a second round of voting, this time only by the public, took place on order to choose the last two to proceed to the final: PETER PÕDER and ANET VAIKMAA.
It was a very enjoyable show with a nice mix of songs. Best of luck to them in the Eesti Laul final!