Liis Oja

**Liis Oja** EO (born 18 May 1981) is an Estian singer and songwriter. One of the most renown musicians in Estland, Oja has won *Eesto Song* a record-breaking three times, and is additionally the best-selling Estian musician in history.

Born in Tüsamaa, Oja began her career in 1995, after she won the music competition series *Kes on meie järgmine täht?*. While still a secondary school student, Oja was later selected to compete in *Eesto Song 1996* as a vocalist for the song "Armastuse merekarbid" with Võitu Kokk. The two won the competition, and later placed third at the Eureavision Song Contest 1996, becoming the highest-placing Estian entry ever at the time. Oja later returned as a soloist at *Eesto Song 1997*, winning once again with the song "Varjatud maailm." She represented Estland in the Eureavision Song Contest 1997, where she was declared the winner, becoming the first Estian to win the competition. Following her success at the competition, she released the album *Liisi lauljud* (1997), which went on to become the best-selling Estian album of the 1990s. Oja subsequently took a hiatus from music, and graduated from the Otesalu Academy of Music in 2003.

Oja made her musical comeback in 2004, after competing in *Eesto Song 2004* with the song "Taevas täis laule," which went on to place second. She released a number of further singles, and additionally competed in *Eesto Song* in 2005, 2006, and 2008, placing fourth, third, and sixth, respectively. Oja later competed in *Eesto Song 2011* with the song "Siin, siis ja praegu," becoming her third winning entry in the competition. Oja represented Estland once again at the Eureavision Song Contest 2011, where she placed tenth. She went on to release her second studio album *Liisi lauljud, Vol. 2* (2011), which included recordings in the Ditrovian language and was released internationally. In 2015, Oja became a mentor on the show *Kes on meie järgmine täht?*, which she had won in 1995, and later left in 2018 to become a judge on *Eesto tahab superstaari!*.

Since the start of her career, Oja has become known as one of the most acclaimed pop singers in Estland, and has been referred to by the Estian media as variably the "Princess of Pop," "Estland's Sweetheart," and the "Voice of Estland." She is the best-selling musician in Estian history, while her 1997 album *Liisi lauljud* continues to be one of the best-selling albums in Estian history. In 2012, she was named to the Order of Estland for her contributions to Estian music, the highest civilian honor in Estland.

## Early life and education

Oja was born on 18 May 1981 in Tüsamaa, a town in and the seat of Tüsamaa Parish in Otesalu County, considered to be an affluent suburb of Otesalu. Her father, Kõik Oja (born 1950), worked as a corporate attorney, while her mother, Maarja Tamm (born 1952), worked as a family and divorce attorney. Oja is the younger of two children; her elder brother is Markus (born 1979).

Oja began her schooling in 1987, attending a public primary school in Tüsamaa. While in primary school, Oja discovered her love of singing and performing in her primary school music class. She has stated that her music teacher and choir director was the reason she began singing in the first place. Oja graduated from primary school in 1997, and afterwards enrolled in Urjo Laar Music School in Otesalu, where she studied vocal performance. She graduated from the school in 2000, and afterwards enrolled in the Otesalu Academy of Music, graduating with a degree in pop vocal performance in 2003.

## Career

### 1995–2003: Breakthrough, Eureavision win, and hiatus

While still a primary school student, Oja auditioned for *Kes on meie järgmine täht? 1995*, a long-running singing competition meant for teenage Estian singers. Aged only 14, Oja was the youngest contestant accepted as a semifinalist. She continuously passed through the competition rounds, and later was selected as the winner by the competition's mentors during the finale on 19 August 1995. With her win, she become the youngest contestant to ever win the competition. As part of her prize package, Oja received the opportunity to work in the recording studio with several notable Estian songwriters and producers, and additionally release her own single.

One month after winning *Kes on meie järgmine täht?*, Oja was asked by Estian singer and songwriter Võitu Kokk to perform on his song "Armastuse merekarbid" in the upcoming *Eesto Song 1996*. Kokk had initially planned to perform the song with Estian singer Kataliin Puisko, but Puisko dropped out due to a schedule conflict. Kokk was a mentor during *Kes on meie järgmine täht?*, and had been impressed by Oja's performances. She accepted, and "Armastuse merekarbid" was released as her *Kes on meie järgmine täht?* single, even though that was not the initial plan. Kokk and Oja went on to win *Eesto Song*, giving them the right to represent Estland at the Eureavision Song Contest 1996. They ultimately placed third in the competition, becoming the highest-placing Estian entry in the competition at the time.

The following year, Oja returned to *Eesto Song 1997* as a soloist with the song "Varjatud maailm," also written by Kokk. Oja went on to win the competition again, becoming the first artist to win consecutively. She later represented Estland at the Eureavision Song Contest 1997, where she won the competition. This made her the first Estian person to win the competition, and the Eureavision Song Contest 1998 was held in Otesalu due to her win the year before. Following her win, Oja released her debut studio album *Liisi lauljud* in August 1997, and later embarked on a Eurean tour from September 1997 until January 1998. *Liisi lauljud* went on to become a massive success in Estland, becoming the best-selling album of the 1990s in Estland, and one of the best-selling albums of all-time in the country. Due to the stress of the tour and her responsibilities as a professional singer getting in the way of her education, Oja announced in 1998 that she would take a hiatus from music in order to focus on her education.

### 2004–2010: Musical comeback

After graduating from the Otesalu Academy of Music in 2003, Oja returned to music when she was announced as a competitor in *Eesto Song 2004* with the song "Taevas täis laule." One of the favorites to win the competition, Oja went on to place second, although "Taevas täis laule" still went on to become a hit song in Estland. She later also released the single "Üksi," which became another hit song.

Oja competed in *Eesto Song* thrice more within the decade. In 2005, she was confirmed as a competitor in *Eesto Song 2005* with the entry "Õed õhust," which was entirely composed by Oja herself. "Õed õhust" went on to place fourth in the competition. She later returned for the third consecutive year at *Eesto Song 2006*, competing with the song "Ma olen võitmatu," becoming her first uptempo entry to the contest. The song placed third in the competition, but still went on to become a massive success in Estland and the best-selling Estian single of 2006. She later also released the hit singles "Sellised ööd," "Tüdrukud ei nuta," and "Punased roosid" in 2006 and 2007, all of which were uptempo tracks that became hit singles. Oja later embarked on a small tour from August to October 2007, performing in Estland and Ranland.

The following year, Oja returned to *Eesto Song 2008* with the uptempo track "Lähme!," another uptempo song in the dance-pop genre. Despite once again being a favorite to win the competition, Oja ultimately only placed sixth, her worst showing in the competition.

### 2011–2014: Eureavision return

After taking a brief hiatus from her music career to prioritize motherhood and her personal life, Oja returned to music after being announced as a competitor in *Eesto Song 2011* with the song "Siin, siis ja praegu." Despite previous forays into uptempo dance-pop music, "Siin, siis ja praegu" was a return to the pop ballads that Oja began her career performing. Oja later went on to win the competition, becoming the first person to ever win *Eesto Song* three times. As the winner, Oja represented Estland at the Eureavision Song Contest 2011. Initially, Oja planned to perform a Ditrovian version of the song titled "Here, Now, and with You." After a negative reaction from international fans, Oja reversed her decision and confirmed that she would perform the original Estian version. Oja went on to qualify to the grand final from the first semi-final, and ultimately placed tenth in the final.

After her third time competing in Eureavision, Oja confirmed that she would be releasing a second studio album, which would be released internationally. The album, *Liisi lauljud, Vol. 2* was later released in September 2011, becoming a widespread success in Estland. The album's release was followed by a second Eurean tour, which performed shows in small venues in fourteen countries from November 2011 to March 2012. Following the completion of the tour, Oja stated that she did not like to tour because she did not like being separated from her family.

### 2015–present: *Kes on meie järgmine täht?* and *Eesto tahab superstaari!*

In 2015, it was confirmed by Eesto Televisioon (ET) that Oja would be joining *Kes on meie järgmine täht?* as a mentor. The mentors appear in each weekly episode to coach the contestants on perfecting their performances. Oja joining the show marked the twenty year anniversary since her win in 1995, which launched her career. After her role in the competition received positive feedback, Oja remained as a mentor for the 2016 and 2017 seasons as well, before departing ahead of the 2018 season.

In 2018, ET announced that Oja would be joining the judging panel for the fourteenth season of *Eesto tahab superstaari!*. She remained as a member of the judging panel for its fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth seasons as well.

## Personal life

Oja began a relationship with Estian politician Tanel Parüümaa in 2004. They became engaged after one year of dating, and later married in 2006. Oja and Parüümaa have two children together: Ülla (born 2009) and Ott (born 2013). The family resides in Luroja, a small village in Tüsamaa Parish. Besides Estian, Oja is additionally fluent in Ditrovian and Medish.

## Discography

*Main article: Liis Oja discography*
* *Liisi lauljud* (1997)
* *Liisi lauljud, Vol. 2* (2011)

## Concert tours

* Liis Oja: Eurean Tour (1997–98)
* Õed õhust Tour (2007)
* An Evening with Liis (2011–12)