By Karl Fradgley – Cork Man, Eurovision Fan, Front Row Tickets.
Last Tuesday night 10 countries qualified for this Saturday’s Eurovision Grand Final.
Tonight 18 more countries go to battle including our very own Nicky Byrne.
The heat is very much on here in beautiful Stockholm as we build up to tonight’s show.
What to expect …..
SVT as ever, have put together a fantastically slick production. Petra and Mans make a good presenting team and any sound and technical issues will be well and truly ironed out by now.
The scene is set for a memorable evening and Irish fingers are crossed for a return to the final after two disappointing results.
So who is performing ……?
Another 18 countries vying for 10 slots in the final. Arguably this is the weaker of the two semis but in Eurovision you can never really predict how things will go.
Check out the songs from semi two in the video below.
Latvia – Is first up. “Heartbeat” is written by last year’s Latvian sensation Aminata. Ireland gave her douze points! Retro vibe here with a funky base beat. This is a fan favourite and should qualify with ease.
Poland – Are pinning their hopes on old-fashioned, cruise ship crooning. Michal Szpak sings “Colour of your Life”. Despite his impressive vocal it is very, very dated. Oi Poland … 1992 just called and wants its song back!
Switzerland – “The Last Of Our Kind” is actually quite good. A modern sound that is well produced. The problem is the singer. Rykka is not good live. I feel this song would do well if it was sung by someone else. Another non-qualifier.
Israel – We move onto the first wow moment of the night. “Made of Stars” is a beautiful ballad, beautifully sung by Hovi Star. The staging is going down well and this could well see Israel in the top 10 for a second year in a row.
Belarus – Well they can’t say they didn’t try with big technical staging for this one. Holographic wolves, holographic nakedness too … Ivan sings “Help You Fly” but all the visuals are here to disguise the fact that its a dud of a song.
Serbia – “Goodbye” performed by Sanja Vucic ZAA is going to crush all the stuff that has gone before it. Her vocal is on point and her message is a strong one. The song is about the domestic abuse of women and how they are strong and will survive and it will resonate east to west. A wonderful entry from Serbia. Congratulations.
Ireland – Our Nicky will give it his best shot. Predictions are 50/50 on him qualifying. The song is good and his delivery is punchy and Nicky has been working the press circuit like a true pro all week. I have a feeling we will sneak in but only just.
FYR Macedonia – Kaliopi is back! A Eurovision diva down to the bones she is adored by Eurovision fans all over and in 2012 achieved FYROM’s best ever placing at Eurovision – 12th. “Dona” is unfortunately not going to reach the same heights …. in fact I fear an embarrassing non qualification for this one. The song is OK … but it doesn’t stand up to the other female performed ballads this year.
Lithuania – “Waiting For This Night” is in a similar style to Ireland – guitar driven pop song. It’s pleasant but the singer’s hairdresser should be arrested! A spiral permed, bleached blond, asymmetrically fringed atrocity!
€10 he will do a backflip too!
Australia – Back for another go, Australia are represented by Dami Im and her song “Sound Of Silence”. Think Sia. Think Lady Gaga – this is very contemporary, radio friendly and has already been a big hit in Australia. A lot of fans think this can win.
Slovenia – Manuella …. or as I like to call her Taylor Thrift, is singing a country ditty about the colours blue and red. She loves those colours a lot it would seem “… cause blue is blue and red is red …” etc. Genius lyrics aside – this is a major contender for last place! Big fat zero.
Bulgaria – Typically sends rubbish to Eurovision but they seem to have struck pop gold this year. Poli Genova is a well established artist and tv host and her song “If Love Was a Crime” is well produced and very current. The staging that I have seen though has the potential to be a car crash on camera. It remains to be seen if her light-up knee pads will help or hinder as she tries to get Bulgaria to the final for the first time since 2007.
Denmark – And the award for the most Eurovisiony song of the year goes to Denmark. “Soldiers Of Love” could not be more Eurovision by numbers. it’s all very meh. Denmark have a habit of winning Eurovision when it is held in Sweden but they ain’t going to continue that trend this year.
Ukraine – Jamala sings ‘1944″. Ok so I may be a little biased as this is my favourite song this year but …… Ukraine have literally lifted the bar to a whole new level. I feel this will win this semi-final and is for sure a contender for title on Saturday. I do appreciate it is a bit weird. it’s dark and sparse and will not be everyone’s cup of tea but in amongst all the visual stunts and costume changes, the stirring emotions and storytelling behind this entry could well win the day.
Norway – “Icebreaker” is two songs stuck together – one good one and one bad one. In mathematical terms if you add one good song and one bad song together, you get two average songs – in one … it’s all a bit confusing right? Well so is this song! Touch and go for Norway to qualify I reckon. I will leave you to figure out which is the good song and which is the bad one.
Georgia – “Midnight Gold” is a sort of retro, punk rock thingy. An interesting entry, it will be remembered. Personally I like it and Georgia should be commended for always trying something a bit different at Eurovision.
Albania – Is a tricky one. Eneda Tarifa has a wonderful voice and the original Albanian version of this song is great. Someone ruined it by making it middle of the road, all silly English lyrics and no substance. It was a big mistake and I think they have shot their chances of qualifying in the foot.
Belgium – Closes the semi-finals in fabulous style. “What’s The Pressure” is a disco floor filler sung by rising popstar Laura Tesoro. She is playing the “girl next door with super funky friends” role excellently and I reckon Belgium could be looking at a second top ten finish in a row. You go girl.
So who will qualify …. ?
As with semi one there are some obvious qualifiers and some obvious fails.
Ukraine, Belgium, Australia and Serbia are all dead certs. Latvia and Israel look set to make it too.
That leaves four slots with six or so entries slugging it out. I reckon Bulgaria is good enough to make it and that Lithuania is also in.
I am thinking a surprise will be on the cards and Poland could qualify ,which leaves Ireland in a battle with Norway, Georgia and Denmark. It is hard to bet against Norway or Denmark but we do have the UK and Australia voting in this semi and Nicky’s star power may be enough to sneak him through in 10th place.
Either way it is going to be a very close call.
Littlewoods Ireland
