Vanilla Ninja heading to Eurovision Song Contest with revamped song
Estonia's Eurovision Song Contest 2026 entry has been reworked to give it a "rockier" sound.
Vanilla Ninja, made up of Piret Järvis, Lenna Kuurmaa and Kerli Kivilaan, won Eesti Laul, the competition to find Estonia's entry, back in mid-February, with the song "Too Epic to Be True."
The song had come in for some criticism on social media over its perceived rather pedestrian sound.
"We felt that we wanted to go to Eurovision with a more powerful, more live-sounding version of our song. Our goal is to give our very best in Vienna, and the rockier sound allows us to make better use of the possibilities offered by the big stage," the band said.
The song contest's scale, in terms of stage and audience, has also been borne in mind, and the set has been redesigned too.
This version was made public today, Friday, ahead of the three-piece heading to the first Eurovision semi-final in Vienna on May 12.
Written by Sven Lõhmus, the new version of the song "Too Epic to Be True" was released on international music platforms at midnight going into Friday, April 17. A music video has also been completed for the song and will likewise be released at midnight.
The music video was directed by Sander Allikmäe, who is also part of the band's Eurovision team. Alongside Vanilla Ninja, drummer Borka will take the stage in Vienna, while backing singers Kaire Vilgats and Dagmar Oja, who found fame several years ago as "Suured tüdrukud," are performing with the band.
While Eurovision is a few weeks away, Vanilla Ninja are already taking part in the contest's pre-event party in London this Sunday, and will perform at home at the Veteranirock event in Tallinn's Unibet Arena on Thursday, April 23.
This concert is to be carried live by ERR.
If Vanilla Ninja makes it through the Eurovision Song Contest semi-final, the grand final on Saturday, May 16 beckons.
Estonia famously finished third last year thanks to Tommy Cash and his entry, "Espresso Macchiato."
Formed over 20 years ago, initially as a four-piece and with several personnel changes down the years, though Järvis and Kuurmaa have remained constants, Vanilla Ninja has had success in several European nations in addition to their homeland, and even represented Switzerland in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Cool Vibes," placing 8th.
Estonia's sole Eurovision victory dates back to 2001 when Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL won with the song "Everybody."
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Karmen Rebane
