1st semifinal overview
Of course we first see beautiful images of the Netherlands. The tiny house already plays a role. After Duncan Laurence has opened with a new song, the four presenters welcome you; three in a dark dress or suit, Chantal in yellow. Lithuania: Yellow suits no one; but there are exceptions. Just try doing with your fingers what the guys from The Roop do. They are dancing, but not alone. We are sure of a place in the final for the yellow men. Slovenia: “Amen”: this is not the last prayer you will hear. But Ana Soklic shows that she has a strong voice. She is a woman of the world: you can see that on the LED screens behind her. Unfortunately the final might be one bridge to far for her, we think. Russia: You cannot miss it: Mazinha is a Russian woman. If you think she is going to perform the same trick as Linda Wagenmakers did: keep looking, she is doing something different. Mazinha will definitely reach the final. Sweden: If you follow Melodifestivalen you will, as usual, see not much new things. But people who were concerned about Tusse’s voice can rest assured: there is nothing wrong with that. Tusse goes straight to the final. Australia: The story is known, Montaigne is not in Rotterdam. You don’t notice that. Her performance is in every way a lot stronger than anything we’ve seen of her before. However, we think it’ll be tough for Montaigne to reach the final. North Macedonia: Vasil comes with a ballad. And then half of the viewers say “wow, beautiful”, and the other half “boring”. But “Here I stand” suddenly means something completely different now that Vasil came out as gay in public two weeks ago. We are pretty sure that it’s not gonna help him to a place in the final. And then Nikkie de Jager comes to update us on everything that has happened online in recent weeks. Then Edsilia Rombley talks to us from the greenroom, after which the show continues. Ireland: Ireland does not use LED screens but cardboard. Two particularly handsome ladies serve all those pieces of cardboard in the Irish act. Yes, as a TV viewer you miss that part. She impresses by running the set, and empathizes with it so that it actually sounds like she is out of breath. It’s not impossible for Ireland to reach the final. It’ll be hard however. Cyprus: Elena Tsagrinou sings that she likes menthe wrong men. If you think she’s breaking the rules by having a lot more than six people on stage, no, she works with mirrors. For a moment it was rumored that Lady Gaga would perform at the Eurovision song contest: not, but Elena comes close with her song. Cyprus will go to the final, no doubt about it. Norway: Another bunch of demons, but now with an angel in the middle. But that one is a fallen angel. One with a special story, as you can read here. We do not know TIX personally, but he has stolen our hearts because of ihis openness. It will definitely bring him the final. Croatia: Croatia works with holograms. Or did you really think they cloned Albina? The song has everything to make it to the final, but then Albina has to sing it well. And we haven’t really heard her do that until now. Reaching the final will be tough, but not impossible. Belgium: You could expect it: Hooverphonic is not in for a puppet show and therefore puts down a more down to earth act. As a result, Geike Arnaert’s strong vocals come out all the better. Not making concessions could just result in something beautiful. One of the editors of Eurovision Universe has already promised to eat his shoe if Belgium does not make it to the final. We think that will very well be possible. Israel: We can only say that Eden Alene is doing her best. Yet “Set me free” is not an entry that stands out from the rest. Eden sings a very high note: great that she does that, but it is not necessarily beautiful. The final is probably very far away for Eden. And then we are going to look at Måns Zelmerlow, who will be interviewed by Chantal Janzen. Romania: And then Roxen suddenly wears something different than during all rehearsals: a red and white blouse with ruffles and ditto skirt. Roxen has certainly made progress in the past week, but beautiful singing is something else in our humble opinions. No final this year for Romania. Azerbaijan: The Azerbaijan delegation knows how to throw a party on stage. Fortunately, because let’s say it carefully: “Mata Hari” is not their strongest entry ever musically. Mata Hari means “eye of the day”, or simply sun. This can be seen in their act. See you in the final on saturday Azerbaijan. Ukraine: If you are wondering what a forest would look like after a nuclear disaster, Go_A will show you. There are outspoken fans of this entry, but also outspoken opponents. Whether you like it or not, Ukraine show us a great performance. Malta: With Destiny you don’t have to worry about her voice: it is always good. She now wears a silver-colored suit and ditto boots: she has changed that quite often in recent days. The song is still a swinging song. Malta jumps into the final without any doubt. Then we can enjoy Davina Michelle singing the song “The power of water”, supported by actress Thekla Reuten. In addition, images of waterland in the Netherlands are added. Don’t go to the toilet now, but keep watching, because it is spectacular! When the lines are closed and the votes are counted we will see the countries that are automatically placed for the final. Italy: You see a glam rock band, but that is not exactly what you hear. Rock it is. Opinions can be divided into “loud noise” and “great”. Something
