Estonia has chosen familiarity, scale and unapologetic spectacle for Eurovision 2026: Vanilla Ninja – Lenna Kuurmaa, Piret Järvis and Kerli Kivilaan – have won Eesti Laul, the national selection for the country’s Eurovision entry, with “Too Epic to Be True”, taking 35% of the superfinal vote and booking their place in Vienna.
The winning song was written by Sven Lõhmus, one of Estonia’s most influential pop songwriters and producers, whose catalogue has shaped much of the country’s modern Eurovision-era sound.
Vanilla Ninja’s “Too Epic to Be True” brought full-throttle theatrical pop to the Eesti Laul final – all high drama, sharp hooks and unapologetic spectacle.
For international readers, Eesti Laul is Estonia’s annual national selection for Eurovision – effectively the country’s most important televised music competition, where domestic audience taste, broadcaster strategy and Eurovision ambition collide in real time. The format is designed to test both song and performer under pressure: a mixed jury-public first round, then a winner-takes-all public superfinal.
That structure again proved decisive on Saturday night.
Vanilla Ninja advanced to the superfinal alongside NOËP and Ollie after the first-round combined vote of international jury and viewers. In the second round, the scoreboard reset to zero and the public decided the outcome alone. Vanilla Ninja took the moment.
The final top three:
Vanilla Ninja – “Too Epic to Be True”
NOËP – “Days Like This”
Ollie – “Slave”
Behind them came Stockholm Cowboys, Getter Jaani, ANT x Minimal Wind, Clicherik & Mäx, Uliana, Laura Prits, Grete Paia, Robert Linna and Marta Pikani.
If the superfinal crowned the winners, the jury vote told a slightly different story about the night’s technical favourites. The eight-member international jury gave its highest total to Ollie (65 points), with Stockholm Cowboys (63) second and ANT x Minimal Wind (58) third. Ollie and Stockholm Cowboys both received three maximum 12-point scores and were the most frequently named entries in jury top-threes.
But Eesti Laul has long worked like this: juries shape the shortlist; the public writes the ending.
A comeback with strategic logic
On one level, Vanilla Ninja’s victory is a comeback narrative. On another, it is a pragmatic public choice. In a contest where instant recognition, visual identity and chorus impact matter as much as vocal precision, Estonia has selected an act that already understands the mechanics of the Eurovision stage.
Vanilla Ninja are not simply a legacy name at home. Formed in 2002, they became one of Estonia’s most visible music exports in the 2000s, building an audience across German-speaking Europe with songs such as “Tough Enough”, “When the Indians Cry”, “Blue Tattoo” and “I Know”.
They also know Eurovision from the inside. In 2005, representing Switzerland with “Cool Vibes”, they finished eighth in the grand final after leading during part of the voting sequence. Two decades later, they return to the contest – this time representing Estonia itself.
Vanilla Ninja represented Switzerland at Eurovision in 2005 with “Cool Vibes.”
Estonia’s longer Eurovision arc
Estonia’s Eurovision history still has one defining peak: 2001, when Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL won with “Everybody”. Since then, results have been uneven, with qualification often the first challenge rather than a given.
Yet momentum has improved. Estonia’s third-place finish in 2025 reset expectations and reopened a familiar question: not just whether Estonia can reach the final, but whether it can compete for the top end again.
Choosing Vanilla Ninja suggests a clear answer to that pressure: go with recognisable identity, proven stage instincts and a songwriter with deep pop credentials.
The official video for Vanilla Ninja’s “Too Epic to Be True”.
The road to Vienna
Vanilla Ninja will now represent Estonia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna, with semi-finals on 12 and 14 May and the grand final on 16 May.
From now until rehearsals, the usual Eurovision machinery will gather speed – revamps, odds swings, fan-media verdicts, staging speculation. Estonia, however, has made one thing plain early: this is not a tentative entry.
