Vanilla Ninja reached Vienna and got straight to work this weekend, rehearsing an all-new stage show as the band prepares to compete for Estonia with “Too Epic to Be True.”
Earning their spot by winning Eesti Laul in February, Piret Järvis, Lenna Kuurmaa and Kerli Kivilaan said the performance came together as hoped as they test drove their entry’s rock-driven revamp and new stage show ahead of next week’s Eurovision semifinal.
“I felt really amazing,” Kuurmaa said during the band’s appearance on the official Eurovision podcast. “Because I was just like — it was a wow moment, those first steps onstage.”
Compared with their Eesti Laul performance, the group said the staging and sound were adapted for the song contest’s large-scale production in Vienna, with heavier guitars and updated visuals designed for the arena setting.
The band members added they were impressed by Eurovision’s production advances since their previous appearance in 2005.
Estonia enters this year’s contest with recent momentum after Tommy Cash finished third overall at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, with his viral hit “Espresso Macchiato.”
Vanilla Ninja will compete in the first semifinal on May 12, joining more than a dozen acts including Finland, Sweden and Lithuania.
The second semifinal follows on May 14, with the grand final set for May 16 at Wien Stadthalle.
In all, semifinalists from 30 countries will compete for spots in the final alongside host nation Austria and the “Big Five”: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.
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