Eurovision Season 2018: First Semi Final Rehearsal Roundup
I have been chomping at the bit to be able to write this blog post but finally at around 6 pm today British time, I got enough information on the goings on in Lisbon to open my computer and start typing! I will be going through my thoughts on each act before presenting an updated list of the qualifiers.
Azerbaijan
I remember the days when Azerbaijani entries used to compete for the win. This staging demonstrates to me that the delegation have gotten bored and have started trying to resort to the generic staging. What is going on with those six weird pyramids? What does any of it have to do with crossing your heart? I would be surprised if this didn't qualify but this will do close to nothing on the Saturday night and could compete with their worst placing of 22nd in 2014!
Iceland
I feel really bad about the general state of affairs here. Iceland are one of my favourite countries at Eurovision and Ari seems like a nice enough bloke but I hope he seizes his moment on Tuesday because even with a flawless performance, the staging is too simple and boring and consequently, this is going nowhere near Saturday night.
Albania
I have liked this song ever since I heard it. Albania have an up and down history with Eurovision but when they get it right, they get it very right. Eugent is the best entry that Albania have had in a while and his lovable charisma plus simple rock staging is making me hopefully believe that Albania could go somewhere with this (by which I mean placing in the top half on Saturday).
Belgium
I always talked about this song with a caveat. Everybody I have showed this song to has loved it, but the problem was always going to be the staging. Nobody knows what the song is about and consequently, it has no identity. What's even worse is that it doesn't seem like anybody on the Belgian team this year has any idea on the identity of this song including Sennek. Despite it being top 5 in the bookies for a while, it's beginning to look like not only are the Belgians in trouble but that they could feasibly not make Saturday night. I thought that of all the favourites in the top half of this semi, there might be a shock and this could definitely be it.
Czech Republic
I feel really bad for Mikolas. He has done everything right and the staging for this looks like it's going to be excellent, but he has ended up in hospital. As we eagerly await news on his situation, it only leaves me to say that if he can recover to do his stunning array of flips, that the Czechs are guarenteed not only their best ever Eurovision result but a top 10 finish! If he doesn't, the Czechs will have to replan his movements and that could lead to some tricky final rehearsals in the lead up to Tuesday and then Saturday.
Lithuania
I felt like an idiot when I said in my initial predictions that this would place in the top 10 in the final only to learn that many people think this song is boring and cheesy. Well, you've all been proven wrong because she has nailed this staging. In a semi final with so many brash identities, this is a song that speaks to the heart, can be left to interpretation with strong live vocals and now excellent staging. The Lithuanians have worked the stage to perfection and I am back to believing that she could place in the top 10 on Saturday night!
Israel
Being the favourite in the lead up to the final is becoming a bit of a curse. Netta came into this rehearsal with all the expectation on her and it didn't deliver. In order to win Eurovision, this song has to come out of the blocks with energy everywhere. There needs to be quick lights, dancing, lots of switching of the camera angles and instead, they brought waving cats on screens. On top of that, we are beginning to realise that the sassy attitude that Netta brings to 'Toy' is not at all representative of her personality as a person and consequently everything is all over the shop. The part where she is still favourite in the betting odds to win the contest astounds me. It will qualify for the final but I wouldn't say that this will place top 10 in its current state.
Belarus
To anybody who thought this would go anywhere... really guys? This act has annoyed me since everybody was swooning over it during the national final. The delegation have turned up with staging completely different to the national final but which is so ridiculous that it had the entire press centre applauding. I feel so bad for Belarus because they wasted the momentum that NAVIBAND won them last year and at this point, the best they can do is try to leave Lisbon with their dignity intact and regroup for next year. A car-crash start, a car-crash national final and finally a car-crash end product.
Estonia
I mean... this does what it says on the tin. There's a pretty dress, she sings it flawlessly, it is unique, she is beautiful. There are some people (mainly jurors) who will be very impressed by this. I can't see the televoters warming to it at all. It's difficult to judge how this will be perceived by the Estonian broadcaster. This year was a success if they were attempting to improve on the last two years of non-qualification. However, if this is their attempt at bringing the contest back to Tallinn, it's not happening for them this year and maybe in that regard it will be a failure. This will probably come top 10 on the Saturday night which for Estonia is definitely not a bad result.
Bulgaria
The Eurovision dark horses of the last few years have brought a dark vibe to Semi Final one. The key to this will be seeing how dark the vibe on stage comes across. I loved the dark vibe that Azerbaijan brought to the contest last year but I only saw that in play once I had the chance to see the camera angles that the broadcaster had chosen. If the camera angles capture the emotions and feelings of the five singers and the song then this will do well on the Saturday as well. If they haven't then I'm nervous about this qualifying and could potentially be another shock.
FYR Macedonia
A song that the Eurofans loved and a lot of people don't understand. The Macedonians needed to nail the staging to stand a chance of qualifying and they haven't. It's a shame because Eye Cue seem like a nice enough band that had the opportunity to make some headway in the contest (and become the first Macedonian act to qualify since 2012). As was the case in the previous years though, they haven't learnt their lessons on staging and consequently are probably sticking around in the semi!
Croatia
Everybody seems to be saying the Franka did well. I am ready to believe that however I still don't think the song is strong enough for the Croatians to qualify, especially in a semi where people have their act and take it right to the limits.
Austria
And speaking of taking things right to the limits, the Austrians are through in my eyes. Whilst I haven't seen the full staging, everything I know about it is extremely impressive and once they rehearse it properly, this will do excellently for Austria. Another staging masterclass from the Austrians!
Greece
My issue with this is simple. Yianna talks about how Greek the staging and the song is and how representative of Greece her act is. That might be true, but this is a European song contest and you can't vote for your own country. She will get 12 points off Cyprus without a doubt but I otherwise struggle to see what about this act will want to make people at home pick up the phone and vote for it. For people who think that fully representing your country is what people in Europe want, Scooch was arguably the most British act we have ever sent to Eurovision and nobody got it because nobody understood the wit, sarcasm or double entendres. I don't get this act and I would like people who do get this act to explain why this is one of the ten best songs in this semi because I don't see it.
Finland
First of all, I will say that Saara was always going to have a lot of expectation on her. A Eurofan favourite who gets selected as the Finnish entry and then releases three songs that didn't quite meet expectations. Then she performs all three in the Finnish national final and the staging didn't quite meet expectations. There's a part of me that thinks that the hype around Saara is so much that nothing will ever quite be good enough. Nevertheless, I actually think that the team has nailed the staging and that once it's rehearsed will look fantastic for a TV audience will being suitably bonkers and representative of Saara's personality as an artist.
Armenia
Sorry to say it, but as with Croatia, the song is not strong enough for him to stand there and just sing it. The wind machine does nothing, what on earth is the stone circle doing there and where is his charisma or appeal to a TV audience? Sorry Armenia, but I think this is failing to qualify. If it does, it will be only the second time that Armenia has failed to qualify for Saturday.
Switzerland
I have never connected into this. She is angry, she has no chemistry with her bandmate at all, she struts all over the place thinking she is looking really badass when in reality, she looks like she is getting swallowed by the stage and the occasion. Maybe the camera angles paint a different picture that will make the verdict on this closer than it looks but at the moment, I am pretty certain this isn't qualifying.
Ireland
I'm a classic Eurovision fan who loves to stick on a good Irish Eurovision ballad every now and again. Johnny Logan is going to be somewhere crying into a pillow as he watches the legacy that he built for Ireland at the contest get tarnished for yet another year. The song is almost there but not, he is a performer is almost there but not and the staging is almost there but not. Whilst I struggle to believe that this was the best song that Ireland had the possibility to send, I also think that they have no clue how to stage their entries. This is further evidenced by the fact that the last time they did anything at the final was with Jedward who came in with experience of staging their songs for TV shows and even then 'Waterline' should have done better in 2012 than it ended up doing. I think this will come close to qualifying if they get the camera angles right but I see no world in which this makes it to Saturday.
Cyprus
As with Lithuania, this is another "I told you so" moment. The number of people that haven't given this song a chance is beyond me and now finally, everybody is waking up the idea that this is a Eurovision classic in waiting. And all that needed to happen was people saw the staging. I mean seriously, to all of you people who have changed their mind on Cyprus, how did you think they were going to stage it? She was going to be a classic diva, there would be tons of dancing and there would be fire coming out of every pyro machine that the Cypriots could afford, it was never rocket science! Anyway, I am sure this will come in the top 10 on Saturday and I am looking forward to being wowed by the performance and having the chance to vote for it (so glad that the British get to vote in this Semi Final).
Qualifiers (in no particular order)
Azerbaijan
Albania
Czech Republic
Lithuania
Israel
Estonia
Finland
Cyprus
Austria
Bulgaria
In picking these ten acts, I considered the different people who will watch the Semi and I thought about why people would pick up the phone to vote for those acts. The only change is Belgium being replaced by Albania. Now that we get a sense of the staging, I can sense the kind of people who will vote for Eugent, who will appreciate the song being in Albanian and who will warm to the soft, building rock that is nowhere to be found in any of the remaining songs in this Semi. Belgium could make it back onto this list, but they need to bring something extraordinary at the next rehearsal because at the moment, I don't see who votes for this song on a Tuesday night.
To this I offer a disclaimer that not only are Belgium proportionally my least favourite Eurovision country of all time (see: http://internationalisteurovisionblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/every-eurovision-journey-has-beginning.html) but I also thought that Blanche would be a shock non-qualifier before she finished fourth. I also didn't rate 'What's the Pressure' or 'Rhythm Inside' so I could very easily be wrong on this one.
Thanks for reading everybody! Don't forget to subscribe to read content as it comes in and let me know who you think will qualify in the comments below.
Azerbaijan
I remember the days when Azerbaijani entries used to compete for the win. This staging demonstrates to me that the delegation have gotten bored and have started trying to resort to the generic staging. What is going on with those six weird pyramids? What does any of it have to do with crossing your heart? I would be surprised if this didn't qualify but this will do close to nothing on the Saturday night and could compete with their worst placing of 22nd in 2014!
Iceland
I feel really bad about the general state of affairs here. Iceland are one of my favourite countries at Eurovision and Ari seems like a nice enough bloke but I hope he seizes his moment on Tuesday because even with a flawless performance, the staging is too simple and boring and consequently, this is going nowhere near Saturday night.
Albania
I have liked this song ever since I heard it. Albania have an up and down history with Eurovision but when they get it right, they get it very right. Eugent is the best entry that Albania have had in a while and his lovable charisma plus simple rock staging is making me hopefully believe that Albania could go somewhere with this (by which I mean placing in the top half on Saturday).
Belgium
I always talked about this song with a caveat. Everybody I have showed this song to has loved it, but the problem was always going to be the staging. Nobody knows what the song is about and consequently, it has no identity. What's even worse is that it doesn't seem like anybody on the Belgian team this year has any idea on the identity of this song including Sennek. Despite it being top 5 in the bookies for a while, it's beginning to look like not only are the Belgians in trouble but that they could feasibly not make Saturday night. I thought that of all the favourites in the top half of this semi, there might be a shock and this could definitely be it.
Czech Republic
I feel really bad for Mikolas. He has done everything right and the staging for this looks like it's going to be excellent, but he has ended up in hospital. As we eagerly await news on his situation, it only leaves me to say that if he can recover to do his stunning array of flips, that the Czechs are guarenteed not only their best ever Eurovision result but a top 10 finish! If he doesn't, the Czechs will have to replan his movements and that could lead to some tricky final rehearsals in the lead up to Tuesday and then Saturday.
Lithuania
I felt like an idiot when I said in my initial predictions that this would place in the top 10 in the final only to learn that many people think this song is boring and cheesy. Well, you've all been proven wrong because she has nailed this staging. In a semi final with so many brash identities, this is a song that speaks to the heart, can be left to interpretation with strong live vocals and now excellent staging. The Lithuanians have worked the stage to perfection and I am back to believing that she could place in the top 10 on Saturday night!
Israel
Being the favourite in the lead up to the final is becoming a bit of a curse. Netta came into this rehearsal with all the expectation on her and it didn't deliver. In order to win Eurovision, this song has to come out of the blocks with energy everywhere. There needs to be quick lights, dancing, lots of switching of the camera angles and instead, they brought waving cats on screens. On top of that, we are beginning to realise that the sassy attitude that Netta brings to 'Toy' is not at all representative of her personality as a person and consequently everything is all over the shop. The part where she is still favourite in the betting odds to win the contest astounds me. It will qualify for the final but I wouldn't say that this will place top 10 in its current state.
Belarus
To anybody who thought this would go anywhere... really guys? This act has annoyed me since everybody was swooning over it during the national final. The delegation have turned up with staging completely different to the national final but which is so ridiculous that it had the entire press centre applauding. I feel so bad for Belarus because they wasted the momentum that NAVIBAND won them last year and at this point, the best they can do is try to leave Lisbon with their dignity intact and regroup for next year. A car-crash start, a car-crash national final and finally a car-crash end product.
Estonia
I mean... this does what it says on the tin. There's a pretty dress, she sings it flawlessly, it is unique, she is beautiful. There are some people (mainly jurors) who will be very impressed by this. I can't see the televoters warming to it at all. It's difficult to judge how this will be perceived by the Estonian broadcaster. This year was a success if they were attempting to improve on the last two years of non-qualification. However, if this is their attempt at bringing the contest back to Tallinn, it's not happening for them this year and maybe in that regard it will be a failure. This will probably come top 10 on the Saturday night which for Estonia is definitely not a bad result.
Bulgaria
The Eurovision dark horses of the last few years have brought a dark vibe to Semi Final one. The key to this will be seeing how dark the vibe on stage comes across. I loved the dark vibe that Azerbaijan brought to the contest last year but I only saw that in play once I had the chance to see the camera angles that the broadcaster had chosen. If the camera angles capture the emotions and feelings of the five singers and the song then this will do well on the Saturday as well. If they haven't then I'm nervous about this qualifying and could potentially be another shock.
FYR Macedonia
A song that the Eurofans loved and a lot of people don't understand. The Macedonians needed to nail the staging to stand a chance of qualifying and they haven't. It's a shame because Eye Cue seem like a nice enough band that had the opportunity to make some headway in the contest (and become the first Macedonian act to qualify since 2012). As was the case in the previous years though, they haven't learnt their lessons on staging and consequently are probably sticking around in the semi!
Croatia
Everybody seems to be saying the Franka did well. I am ready to believe that however I still don't think the song is strong enough for the Croatians to qualify, especially in a semi where people have their act and take it right to the limits.
Austria
And speaking of taking things right to the limits, the Austrians are through in my eyes. Whilst I haven't seen the full staging, everything I know about it is extremely impressive and once they rehearse it properly, this will do excellently for Austria. Another staging masterclass from the Austrians!
Greece
My issue with this is simple. Yianna talks about how Greek the staging and the song is and how representative of Greece her act is. That might be true, but this is a European song contest and you can't vote for your own country. She will get 12 points off Cyprus without a doubt but I otherwise struggle to see what about this act will want to make people at home pick up the phone and vote for it. For people who think that fully representing your country is what people in Europe want, Scooch was arguably the most British act we have ever sent to Eurovision and nobody got it because nobody understood the wit, sarcasm or double entendres. I don't get this act and I would like people who do get this act to explain why this is one of the ten best songs in this semi because I don't see it.
Finland
First of all, I will say that Saara was always going to have a lot of expectation on her. A Eurofan favourite who gets selected as the Finnish entry and then releases three songs that didn't quite meet expectations. Then she performs all three in the Finnish national final and the staging didn't quite meet expectations. There's a part of me that thinks that the hype around Saara is so much that nothing will ever quite be good enough. Nevertheless, I actually think that the team has nailed the staging and that once it's rehearsed will look fantastic for a TV audience will being suitably bonkers and representative of Saara's personality as an artist.
Armenia
Sorry to say it, but as with Croatia, the song is not strong enough for him to stand there and just sing it. The wind machine does nothing, what on earth is the stone circle doing there and where is his charisma or appeal to a TV audience? Sorry Armenia, but I think this is failing to qualify. If it does, it will be only the second time that Armenia has failed to qualify for Saturday.
Switzerland
I have never connected into this. She is angry, she has no chemistry with her bandmate at all, she struts all over the place thinking she is looking really badass when in reality, she looks like she is getting swallowed by the stage and the occasion. Maybe the camera angles paint a different picture that will make the verdict on this closer than it looks but at the moment, I am pretty certain this isn't qualifying.
Ireland
I'm a classic Eurovision fan who loves to stick on a good Irish Eurovision ballad every now and again. Johnny Logan is going to be somewhere crying into a pillow as he watches the legacy that he built for Ireland at the contest get tarnished for yet another year. The song is almost there but not, he is a performer is almost there but not and the staging is almost there but not. Whilst I struggle to believe that this was the best song that Ireland had the possibility to send, I also think that they have no clue how to stage their entries. This is further evidenced by the fact that the last time they did anything at the final was with Jedward who came in with experience of staging their songs for TV shows and even then 'Waterline' should have done better in 2012 than it ended up doing. I think this will come close to qualifying if they get the camera angles right but I see no world in which this makes it to Saturday.
Cyprus
As with Lithuania, this is another "I told you so" moment. The number of people that haven't given this song a chance is beyond me and now finally, everybody is waking up the idea that this is a Eurovision classic in waiting. And all that needed to happen was people saw the staging. I mean seriously, to all of you people who have changed their mind on Cyprus, how did you think they were going to stage it? She was going to be a classic diva, there would be tons of dancing and there would be fire coming out of every pyro machine that the Cypriots could afford, it was never rocket science! Anyway, I am sure this will come in the top 10 on Saturday and I am looking forward to being wowed by the performance and having the chance to vote for it (so glad that the British get to vote in this Semi Final).
Qualifiers (in no particular order)
Azerbaijan
Albania
Czech Republic
Lithuania
Israel
Estonia
Finland
Cyprus
Austria
Bulgaria
In picking these ten acts, I considered the different people who will watch the Semi and I thought about why people would pick up the phone to vote for those acts. The only change is Belgium being replaced by Albania. Now that we get a sense of the staging, I can sense the kind of people who will vote for Eugent, who will appreciate the song being in Albanian and who will warm to the soft, building rock that is nowhere to be found in any of the remaining songs in this Semi. Belgium could make it back onto this list, but they need to bring something extraordinary at the next rehearsal because at the moment, I don't see who votes for this song on a Tuesday night.
To this I offer a disclaimer that not only are Belgium proportionally my least favourite Eurovision country of all time (see: http://internationalisteurovisionblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/every-eurovision-journey-has-beginning.html) but I also thought that Blanche would be a shock non-qualifier before she finished fourth. I also didn't rate 'What's the Pressure' or 'Rhythm Inside' so I could very easily be wrong on this one.
Thanks for reading everybody! Don't forget to subscribe to read content as it comes in and let me know who you think will qualify in the comments below.
Comments
Post a Comment