The Most Famous
SINGERS from Estonia
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Estonian Singers of all time. This list of famous Estonian Singers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Estonian Singers.
1. Ivo Linna (b. 1949)
With an HPI of 48.81, Ivo Linna is the most famous Estonian Singer. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages on wikipedia.
Ivo Linna (born 12 June 1949 in Kuressaare) is an Estonian singer.
2. Anne Veski (b. 1956)
With an HPI of 47.87, Anne Veski is the 2nd most famous Estonian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Anne Veski (born Anne Vaarmann; 27 February 1956) is an Estonian pop singer.
3. Silvi Vrait (1951 - 2013)
With an HPI of 45.15, Silvi Vrait is the 3rd most famous Estonian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Silvi Vrait (28 April 1951 – 28 June 2013) was an Estonian singer and music teacher.
4. Tanel Padar (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 40.19, Tanel Padar is the 4th most famous Estonian Singer. His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.
Tanel Padar (born 27 October 1980) is an Estonian singer and songwriter. He is best known internationally for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2001. Padar became famous by winning the Kaks takti ette, a biennial televised competition for young Estonian singers, in 1999.
5. Kerli (b. 1987)
With an HPI of 39.13, Kerli is the 5th most famous Estonian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 35 different languages.
Kerli Kõiv (Estonian: [ˈkerli ˈkɤ.iʋ] ; born 7 February 1987), better known mononymously as Kerli, is an Estonian singer and songwriter. Born in Elva, Kerli entered multiple singing competitions before being signed to Island Records in 2006 by LA Reid. In 2007, she released her debut self-titled extended play and in 2008, released her debut studio album, Love Is Dead, which charted on the Billboard 200. The lead single from the album, "Walking on Air," charted in many countries and was also featured as the iTunes Store's Single of the Week where it was downloaded over 500,000 times, a record at that time. In the years following, Kerli was featured on Almost Alice with the song "Tea Party" and she began to abandon her alternative rock sound and started to adopt a more electronic and dance-influenced sound, as can be heard in her 2010 single "Army of Love". Following the release of Love Is Dead, Kerli began production on a second studio album which became her second extended play Utopia, released in early 2013, where it became Kerli's second release to chart on the Billboard 200. Two promotional singles from the EP, "Army of Love" and "Zero Gravity", were released prior to the release of the album's first official single, "The Lucky Ones". All three songs entered the top ten of Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart; two of them peaking at number one. Two songs which were co-written by Kerli for Utopia — "Skyscraper" and "I Feel Immortal" — were later recorded by artists Demi Lovato and Tarja Turunen, respectively. Kerli's version of "I Feel Immortal" was later released on Frankenweenie Unleashed!. In 2013, Kerli performed twice on Dancing with the Stars; Vibe called the performances a "major milestone in the EDM world." In November 2013, Kerli left Island Records and signed a record deal with Ultra Music. In 2019, Kerli's second studio album Shadow Works was released.
6. Birgit Õigemeel (b. 1988)
With an HPI of 38.25, Birgit Õigemeel is the 6th most famous Estonian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 64 different languages.
Birgit Sarrap (née Õigemeel; born 24 September 1988), also known mononymously as Birgit, is an Estonian singer. She rose to prominence in 2007 after winning the first season of Eesti otsib superstaari, the Estonian version of Idol. Her debut self-titled studio album was later released in 2008. Birgit has gone on to release four other studio albums in her career. Birgit represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Et uus saaks alguse" after winning Eesti Laul 2013. She qualified for the grand final, where she placed 20th.
7. Piret Järvis (b. 1984)
With an HPI of 37.85, Piret Järvis is the 7th most famous Estonian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.
Piret Järvis (born 6 February 1984 in Tallinn) is an Estonian television host and a singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the popular rock band Vanilla Ninja. Born to Maire and Enno Järvis she has an older sister and a younger brother. After graduating high school she entered International University of Concordia where she was majoring in Media and Public Relations. Later she continued to study journalism at the University of Tartu. She was one of the four members to form Vanilla Ninja in 2002 and wrote lyrics for the song "Club Kung Fu" that made Vanilla Ninja well known in Estonia. She continued as a lyricist for many of the band's songs like "Birds Of Peace", "I Don't Care at All", "Black Symphony" etc. Although she initially played a more 'background' role in the group, she featured heavily on their 2005 album Blue Tattoo due to Maarja Kivi (the former lead singer) leaving in 2004. Järvis often acted as the spokesperson for the group in interviews, and on numerous occasions has been dubbed as the best looking and most stylish member. In 2005 she was voted Estonia's sexiest woman of the year by the readers of Estonia's best-selling gossip magazine Kroonika. Järvis gave out the Estonian votes in Eurovision 2011, which mathematically confirmed Azerbaijan's first victory in the competition. She has worked for different Estonian TV channels since 2002, including TV3, MTV Eesti, MTV Baltics, and is currently a host and a journalist at the Eesti Rahvusringhääling. She has hosted shows such as Pealtnägija, Eesti Laul, Jõulutunnel, and Terevisioon.
8. Stig Rästa (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 37.24, Stig Rästa is the 8th most famous Estonian Singer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Raul-Stig Rästa (born 24 February 1980) is an Estonian singer and songwriter who, along with singer Elina Born, represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Goodbye to Yesterday".
9. Katrin Siska (b. 1983)
With an HPI of 36.99, Katrin Siska is the 9th most famous Estonian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Katrin Siska (born December 10, 1983) is an Estonian vlogger and musician, and a former member of the Estonian girl group Vanilla Ninja. Siska was born in Tallinn, Estonia. Alongside her musical commitments, she studied finance and accounting at a vocational school, and international relations and diplomacy in Tallinn. After moving back to Estonia with Vanilla Ninja from Germany in 2006, she returned to university to study law at Tallinn University of Technology. She is fluent in Estonian, Russian, English, German and Finnish. Siska was a member of a choir at school, and started playing the piano when she was 7 years old. She has a younger sister. In August 2009, Siska joined the Estonian Centre Party. She left Vanilla Ninja in 2022.
10. Maarja-Liis Ilus (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 36.65, Maarja-Liis Ilus is the 10th most famous Estonian Singer. Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Maarja-Liis Ilus, sometimes better known by her performing name Maarja (born 24 December 1980) is an Estonian pop musician and presenter. She has represented Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest twice. She was only 15 when she participated in the 1996 contest.
People
Pantheon has 25 people classified as Estonian singers born between 1949 and 2002. Of these 25, 24 (96.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Estonian singers include Ivo Linna, Anne Veski, and Tanel Padar. The most famous deceased Estonian singers include Silvi Vrait. As of April 2024, 2 new Estonian singers have been added to Pantheon including Stefan Airapetjan, and Alika Milova.
Living Estonian Singers
Go to all Rankings
Ivo Linna
1949 - Present
HPI: 48.81
Anne Veski
1956 - Present
HPI: 47.87
Tanel Padar
1980 - Present
HPI: 40.19
Kerli
1987 - Present
HPI: 39.13
Birgit Õigemeel
1988 - Present
HPI: 38.25
Piret Järvis
1984 - Present
HPI: 37.85
Stig Rästa
1980 - Present
HPI: 37.24
Katrin Siska
1983 - Present
HPI: 36.99
Maarja-Liis Ilus
1980 - Present
HPI: 36.65
Koit Toome
1979 - Present
HPI: 36.35
Elina Nechayeva
1991 - Present
HPI: 35.48
Eda-Ines Etti
1981 - Present
HPI: 34.61
