semifinal 1

The first semifinal

Finally, the moment has arrived: we get to see the full first semifinal. Only now can we truly judge if and how good it is. In the opening of the show, we see ’12 points’ and old footage, after which the cubes rise. This is followed by Eleni Foureira, then Eric Saade, and subsequently, Chanel also makes an appearance. Then the presenters Malin Åkerman and Petra Mede make their entrance, dressed in clashing pink and orange. Cyprus: Now that we can hear the entire song, it’s noticeable that Silia Kapsis’s singing has improved considerably during rehearsals. She and the dancers are dressed in white against a turquoise background. And yes, the shirts come off, at least the dancers’ shirts. And, of course, there’s a dance break. Serbia: In a cloudy sky, on a rock, Teya Dora sings her song. Later in the act, she steps off her rock. The act barely resonates because not everyone understands why there’s a flower at the end of the act. Serbia might struggle; there’s a risk it might be overshadowed. Lithuania: We now effortlessly recognize the song with the ‘lady Mondegreen’ lyrics. Silvester Belt’s entry does make an impact. The song is accessible to a wide audience, which cannot really be said for several other entries this evening. Ireland: Bambie Thug is doing their best to put on a terrifying act. With a devil on stage, a witches’ circle, and a pentagram, the artist definitely stands out. Whether the average viewer understands what’s happening is questionable, even as Bambie Thug exorcises the devil at the end and remains in an outfit in the transgender colours. For fans of beautiful singing: Bambie Thug has a beautiful singing voice, but also lets out a lot of screams. Then the hosts chat, during which the attentive (and somewhat older) viewer might notice a reference to Lill Lindfors (the 1985 host). United Kingdom: We previously reported that Olly Alexander had said this was the most homosexual act ever. Having seen the entire act, we can wholeheartedly agree. Whether this entry is suitable for very young viewers is debatable, but perhaps you had already sent them out of the room during the previous act. Ukraine: On the floor, we see blue and yellow, the Ukrainian colors. The song is beautifully performed by Jerry Heil. As Alyona Alyona starts to rap, we see concrete colors. On the cubes, silhouettes of people are projected. Altogether, it’s very impressive and could possibly be a winner. Poland: Luna sings from a chessboard. The two towers in the center play a major role in the song, along with a black, a white, and a red king. It’s a chess game for three players, and Luna seems to have entered it. She, too, overcomes forces from the past. Croatia: There’s a lot happening; the song is about young people leaving the country in search of greener pastures. The song is ranked number one by the bookmakers. It could well finish very high. It certainly swings, but it will require some skills from Baby Lasagna to properly convey the message. Iceland: After several acts where a lot has happened, Hera Björk is somewhat of a breather. Unfortunately, this challenging song doesn’t really stand out compared to the rest. But perhaps that’s precisely its strength. Of course, we wish Hera Björk the best in the contest. Then there’s a video; watch closely, because it’s brief. We definitely see a role for Arcade and Dancing Lasha Tumbai. Germany: Then, out of competition tonight, comes Isaak, who has brought his fire pit indoors. He sings that he’s always on the run but meanwhile doesn’t move from his spot; an interesting contradiction. It would be nice if Isaak could shake off the curse of the lower ranks. We fear that’s wishful thinking. Slovenia: Then the ode to Veronika of Desenice follows. Certainly, a good singer, but whether this act will clearly convey what Raiven intends to spotlight is doubtful. The viewers will hear and see how well it’s sung, but unfortunately, the televoters aren’t generally moved in large numbers. Finland: We see a whirlwind show from Windows95man. For three minutes, something happens that keeps the viewer engaged. The joke with the underwear and the attempt to suggest a naked Windows95man does the trick. However, Windows95man cannot sing; that’s what Henri Piispanen is for. And he does it quite well. Moldova: Really, no one believes in a final spot for Natalia Barbu anymore. It’s a shame because the graphics are certainly worth noting. Only, we had already noticed that when Natalia Barbu seems to get wings, she’s not positioned correctly for the camera. We still want to point out her dress, which is special. The song, unfortunately, is not. Sweden: Of course, the hall goes wild, the Norwegian twins Marcus & Martinus representing Sweden are incredibly popular. A music video, a slick show. The show by the twins from Norway, competing for Sweden, is solid. But whether the song is strong enough for a high score could be doubted. Azerbaijan: The Azerbaijani act consists of a woman who seems to come out of the water on the LED screens, waving her hands. These hands later reappear on stage. Fahree and Ilkin Dovlatov sing the song with this ensemble in the background. Whether the traditional Azerbaijani singing (mugham) comes across and makes it to the final is doubtful. Australia: An act that does make an impression. Especially singer Zaachariaha impresses with strong vocals. Initially, he stands at the front singing the song with the background singers. Later, there’s a lot of dancing and movement, and it turns into a cheerful, friendly performance. Australia might make it to the final. Portugal: A calming moment in this busy evening. No frills, a well-singing singer, and several masked dancers, all in white. Iolanda’s high note certainly makes a big impression in the press center. After so much commotion, it just might be that Portugal suddenly makes it to the final. Luxembourg: The act from

Winners press conference

Ten countries head to the final. After this there is a winners press conference. The ten winners all answered some questions, and here is a short overview of what was said. Croatia will perform in the second half of the final. The groups wants to make this world a little bit better place for everybody. The singer said “please stop f*cking wars. In wars there is no winners, in Eurovision there is no losers. They are proud to reach the final, as several times they reached the 11th place. Moldova will perform in the second half of the final. It felt pretty similar to his 2012 performance, because even Loreen is back! He likes to feel that they were more prepared this year. His wife says that if you work together you do everything together, even taking a shower together. Switzerland will perform in the first half of the final. Remo says it was his biggest dream to go to the finals. He started believing in it. Remo also confirms that the fan bubble in Eurovision is another level: he felt the love, also in the preview parties. He is the youngest qualifier. The next goal in his life is to win Eurovision. He always had a very low voice, people never expected it. “It is what it is, I have a babyface and a low voice. It’s okay for me to be the baby”. When he heard the song for the first time he started crying. It’s about a boy with a watergun now having to fight for his country. He is very sad about the situation in Ukraine. There is hope for a better future and he keeps Ukraine in his prayers. Finland will perform in the first half of the final. He is one of the favourites, and he says he doesn’t want to take any pressure. He wanted to have his vocals good by training and practicing. All artists want to win. “I just go and do my best and let’s see what happens”. Maybe he just wants to smile when he does his performance in the final. Some people do some crazy things, they got power and energy, maybe they can do the same in the final. It feels great for him to do the song entirely in Finnish. He wants to show and do his best, showing that you can win, also with a song in Finnish. Czechia will perform in the first half of the final. They say that they wanted braids because it shows the concept of sisterhood. She said that if all people no matter in what country would feel with their heart, there wouldn’t be a war like this. In the past the husband said “it is me or the career’, but she is happy that there is not a situation like this anymore. In some countries there is still that situation, and she hopes that is gonna change. The hands in the song symbolize manipulation. At one point you see the hand that is coming up above them. It symbolize the power that you have when you use it for bad things, you have the power to use it in a good way too. Israel will perform in the second half of the final. She feels the energy, this is different from other things as you are representing her country. In the beginning she was afraid not to make it to the final. She says “You know me, I am never relaxed, I want to do it better and better and better.” Her parents were with her in the green room: “Making my parents proud is so important to me. They were always there for me, there couldn’t be something more powerful than for them to be there”. Portugal will perform in the first half of the final. She thought of giving away “Ai coração” to other people. Her husband told her not to do it. The song is a very traditional song but she wanted to do a specific Mimicat song. As soon as she was selected she changed the arrangement. She says she was not confident with herself and her body as a teenager. She started living her live when she was in college and started making music. She played in a band and the members of the band told her she was vulgar. That’s where she wanted to prove them wrong. She wanted to say: keep going on and be yourself, as a message to her younger self. About getting to the final she says: “I have no expectations for the final as my goal was to get into the final”. Sweden will perform in the first half of the final. She never thought in her wildest dreams that she would come back to Eurovision. She fell in love with the song and then the Melodifestivalen question came up. She first said no but when she said ‘maybe’, people were so happy. That is how she decided to do it again. She had to feel not like she had to improve herself but she does have a need to make us feel and for that she works her ass off. Thoughts about winning or losing she blocks, as in her opinion the performance is not authentic anymore. “My job is to make you feel”. Serbia will perform in the first half of the final. He wrote the song originally as an anthem during the pandemic. He wanted to sleep through everything by playing videogames. He wanted to wake up himself and then wake up the world for the world problems. Luke Black also talks about the mass shootings in Belgrade. It triggered people more in their mental health. Luke wants to dedicate this performance to the victims. He wants to say ‘stay strong’ to the families. Norway will perform in the second half of the final. Alessandra said it was nervewrecking to be mentioned as the last one. She said her stomach was talking while

Semifinal 1: the results

The gauntlet had been thrown. Ten finalists will go through to Saturday’s Grand Final. The happy ten are: Croatia Moldova Switzerland Finland Czechia Israel Portugal Sweden Serbia Norway

A funny guide through the 1st semifinal

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