Malcolm Lincoln: a comet from Estonia

The decision to move the Estonian national selection to the Nokia Concert Hall in Tallinn, and opening it up for a general public audience proved a big success as the arena was completely sold out. Last years Estonian representatives Urban Symphony opened the show and the crowd enthusiastically supported all of the acts.

As with many countries this year, Estonia opted for a split voting decision to decide their entry. A number of professional juries and the televoting public shared a 50/50 vote weighting. This combined voting resulted in the top two acts moving forward to a sing off super-final.These were Lenna Kuurmaa and Malcolm Lincoln & Manpower 4.

The superfinal result was decided by televoting only. Malcolm Lincoln and Manpower 4 won the public vote and therefore the ticket to Oslo with their Siren. Just a couple of days ago they also signed a record deal with Universal Music for their album to be released in the Baltic states and Scandinavia, digitally all over the world. The launch date is scheduled to be in the end of May.

Have a look at their entry below! You can also see them perform live by watching the Estonian national final again in our ESCTV player.

Who are they?

Robin Juhkental, the leader and founder of the band, had written the track Siren several years ago, but decided to present it to wider audiences only now, when the Estonian round of the Eurovision Song Contest underwent a great change last year when more less-known artists were invited by the broadcaster to join the contest.

Valner Valme, music critic and journalist at the largest Estonian newspaper, says that Malcolm Lincoln is a charming band, whose music combines modern electronics and classical big pop and who do not shy away from any moves to win the listeners’ heart: big choruses, sentiment, an image containing both gay and macho elements, a deadly show and a perfect performance. Nevertheless, it is not a cheap band – they simply play their own game. Stylistically there are no limits, the band draws features from the areas of funk, electro, soul, synth-pop and boy-bands, but what makes it unique is how the band succeeds in putting all the ingredients to work for its benefit.

Malcolm Lincoln was formed in 2009. The band’s other member Madis Kubu aka Fretless Rämbu provides special live support and joins Robin for live shows.

Madis Kubu: “Robin and me, we have a similar understanding of what a live performance should look like and therefore gigging together is pure joy.” The band’s name is inspired from the TV game “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”, where a player was once convinced that the first name of the US President Lincoln was Malcolm and not Abraham. 

Malcolm Lincoln’s back vocals on the Eurovision stage will be provided by Manpower 4, a quartet formed especially for the event.

They will take the stage third in the first Semi-Final of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, on the 25th of May.