Liverpool

Tonight it’s that time again: the Eurovision Song Contest kicks off with its first semifinal. We cheerfully look at the entries per country. Norway starts the row. Alessandra is ready for it and after the Norwegian entry we are too. Since the starting order is determined by the EBU and no longer by draw, it is always a blast that can open. She does that very will. In the Norwegian national final she sang with autotune. We conclude: she does not need that. Without autotune she will also go to the final. Malta seems to have prepared the act in a special way. Normally there are all kinds of ideas from which a choice can be made. The Maltese have decided not to make a choice, but to do everything. At the start, the men show us that they feel better in their sweater. Halfway through the sweaters come off and they appear to be wearing silver glitter sweaters that many Eurovision participants would be jealous of. A place in the final for Malta will be difficult. Serbia starts as if Luke Black just woke up and doesn’t feel like it at all. That is what the lyrics say. Around him four men (his demons?) who are connected to his bed with some sort of of vacuum cleaner hoses. Luke Black pulls those hoses loose. The Serbs can be happy tonight: they will most likely make it to the final. Latvia is, after Malta, already the second band. The composition is a bright one. The staging with the beautiful lamps is nice, but you kind of forget that there is also a band playing there. And that’s a pity, Latvia does not stand out in this semifinal. That will also be the case in the result. Latvia will not qualify. Do you remember Suzy? She represented Portugal with all glee in 2014. She didn’t make it to the final. It could just happen this year, because Mimicat brings a song in the same genre, but much better. And as red as red can be. But we think Mimicat can be a happy woman tonight after the hosts mentioned her as one of the finalists. We would have loved to have been present at the brainstorming session about Ireland’s act. Because at a good moment someone must have shouted: ‘a golden jumpsuit, that’s it!’. Apparently no one said at the time that this was not a good idea. The result: you look at a jumpsuit for three minutes and completely forgets about the song. We will only see the suit once; Ireland will not be there on Saturday. The Croatian participants seem to have fun. Thank goodness, at least someone has to have fun. A band with members in their sixties in the cloths of dictators, and later in their underpants. Well yeah, for everything is a market, and we even think the country will go to the final. Remo Forrer from Switzerland sings a song about a water gun. Fortunately, no one in the delegation thought that he should also shoot with a water gun. The act is kept sober but fits the song. The final should be possible for Switzerland. Fortunately, the Israeli delegation looked at Wikipedia to see what a unicorn actually is. In the music video, they performed another centaur, now a unicorn. In any case, a lot happens on stage, but unlike Malta, this is a unity. Noa communicates with the audience in the dance part. We cannot imagine Israel failing to reach the final. Moldova sends Pasha Parfeni for the second time. This time he is supported by two ladies, each with a horn of hair on their heads. The entire group’s clothing is somewhat reminiscent of what Ruslana and her backing group wore when they won in 2004. This time it will not be easy for him to reach the final. And then we get Sweden. We can easily say that we see a Eurovision winner at work here. Even if she doesn’t win this year, Loreen already did. Will Loreen be the one who will get two victories, like Johnny Logan? It is possible. Vocally she is good now and the act is also rock solid. We are glad that the structure hanging above her head is hung on sturdy cables. We cannot imagine that Azerbaijan will reach the final. We know first hand that people in Azerbaijan themselves do not trust it either. The first images come from the time when the world was still in black and white and Azerbaijan was still part of the Soviet Union. Fortunately, the rest is in color. However, qualification will be very hard, if not impossible, for Azerbaijan. And on we go to the Czech Republic: beautiful pink is not ugly. And the women of Vesna all have very long braids. We have news for you: the braids are not real. For those who know the video clip, the act in the final does not seem to come across very strongly. We think it is strong enough for the final however. And then the Netherlands: a lot of work has been done and improvement is visible in the act. The vocals certainly sound good, although it must be said that Mia and Dion come across as very cautious. Especially in the first part of the song. The high note that Dion makes sounds very beautiful, and the last half minute is downright magical. We think a place in the final is possible. The last one is Finland. Anyone who thought to get a rest at the end will be disappointed. We can now dream Käärijä with his green bolero. An engaging person who effortlessly conquers the hearts of people of all sort. Televoter winner? Then he would also win the semi-final tonight because there is no jury present. If Finland does not go to the final, we will eat our shoe. All in all, we can conclude that this is a pretty strong and