Each was hoping to be among the five contenders tapped to go through to the February 26 final, but once the judges and televoters gave their verdict, only the following remained standing:

"The Storm" by the young, alternative group Mimicry, "Valss" (Waltz) a rhythic, folksy number by Orelipoiss, the Britpopish track "Smile" by MID, Ithaka Maria's Shakira-like offering "Hopa'pa-rei!," and "All & Now" by Rolf Roosalu.

These five will join the winners of the first semifinal at next weekend's grand showdown, which will held in front of a live audience at the Nokia Concert Hall in downtown Tallinn.

None of the songs at the semifinal stage was performed live. Instead, bands were on hand in the studio as previously-recorded clips were played and televoters dialed in their choices.

This marks the first year that Estonia has used a semifinal system. The change, according to an Eesti Laul press representative, was made to give exposure to more up-and-coming artists.

The two semifinals ended up lopsided, however, when the list of participants in the second round was shortened from ten to nine.

One competitor, Uku Suviste, was knocked out of the running just days before the event when it was discovered that the lyrics to his song "Jagatud öö" (Shared Night) had been used in a 2006 composition, thereby disqualifying it under Eurovision rules. It was too late to prepare for a replacement. ETV said.

Both semifinals were hosted by Lenna Kuurmaa and Piret Järvis, members of Vanilla Ninja, the Estonian all-girl rock band that represented Switzerland at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev.

This year's ESC will be held in Düsseldorf in the first half of May.