Laura Põldvere (formerly Remmel; born 30 August 1988) sometimes known professionally as simply Laura, is an

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

n singer. She is said to be the most played Estonian artist on Estonian radio in the past decade. She is internationally known for representing Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 as part of the girl group

Suntribe Suntribe was an Estonian girl group that participated in the 50th Eurovision Song Contest in 2005. The original line-up was Mari-Leen Kaselaan, Rebecca Kontus, Laura Põldvere and Jaanika Vilipo. They were later joined by a fifth member, Daana ...

and did so again in in a duet with Koit Toome, singing "

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...

Career

Laura started her career in 2005, when she participated in

Eurolaul Estonia has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 27 times since making its debut in 1994. Its first appearance would have taken place in 1993 but a qualification round was installed for seven former Eastern Bloc countries hoping to make t ...

2005 with the song "Moonwalk". "Moonwalk" came second, but Laura won the contest as the member of the girl group

. Suntribe represented

Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "Let's Get Loud" written by Sven Lõhmus. The song was performed by the group Suntribe. The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Televisioon (ETV) organised the national final ''Eurola ...

, but failed to advance to the final. Laura also took part at "Eurolaul 2007" for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, her entry "Sunflowers" came third. In September 2007, Laura released her debut album "Muusa" and started studies in

Berklee College Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, putting her music career on hold. In 2009, she returned to

Eesti Laul Eesti Laul (English: 'Estonian Song' or 'The Song of Estonia') is an annual music competition organised by Estonian public broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, a ...

as a solo singer in hopes of representing

Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Estonia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Rändajad" written by Sven Lõhmus. The song was performed by the group Urban Symphony. The Estonian broadcaster Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR) organised the national final ...

. Her entry "Destiny" came third. The same year, she released her album "Ultra". In November, 2011, Laura released her first

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

"Sädemeid taevast", which consisted of all her singles since 2005 to 2011 as well as a track from her second studio album "Ultra". Laura once again competed to represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, entering

with the song "Supersonic". It placed second in the Superfinal. In Eesti Laul 2017 she competed in a duet with Koit Toome with the song "

" and won. They thereafter represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. Despite being fan favourites, the duo failed to advance to the Grand Final after placing 14th in their semi-final, a blended result of 6th place from the Televoting and 17th from the Juries voting. They had been predicted as likely qualifiers beforehand, ranked 5th in the second Semi-Final by betting odds and 5th by OGAE voting overall. Laura again competed to represent Estonia at Eurovision in Eesti Laul 2020 with her song "Break Me". Reaching the final, she finished 11th out of 12 entries. In January 2021, it was revealed that Laura would attempt to represent Finland at Eurovision in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2021 with her song "Play". She finished last in the selection with 13 points out of 7 competing artists.

Personal life

Laura was married to pianist Joel-Rasmus Remmel in 2013. They divorced in 2016. Her younger brother Gregor died in 2016. Põldvere moved to Finland in 2019, and she works in

Espoo Espoo (, ; sv, Esbo) is a city and municipality in the region of Uusimaa in the Republic of Finland. It is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordering the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärv ...

Discography

Albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Poldvere, Laura 1988 births Living people 21st-century Estonian women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2017 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Estonia Estonian pop singers Musicians from Tartu Miina Härma Gymnasium alumni Berklee College of Music alumni Eesti Laul winners Estonian expatriates in Finland