Eurovision Song Contest: 1st Semi-Final (show)

So, the first semi-final is over; it was rather poorly presented, compared to last year's high-tech spectacle from Sweden. That was to be expected, I suppose. Also, as a person who has to write something intersting and witty about it, I protest: There weren't enough really bad moments to make the contest fun to describe. Then again, that's my problem. Let's get on with the show!

Salvador Sobral (Portugal)

The show opened with a mediocre song from a local artist called Monatik:

The three presenters of the show were all young men - and at least one was rather attractive. They needed to loosen up though. They seemed not able to completely control their nerves.

The first competing song was from Sweden. As expected, it was competently performed by Robin and his dancers. Somehow, I couldn't shake the impression that I was watching a poor man's Justin Timberlake.

Then came the song from Georgia. Tamara is a lady with a big voice, styled after Shirley Bassey, with a song that gave out a James Bond title-song vibe. It sounded a bit anachronistic though.

Then it was Australia's turn. Isaiah had an excellent stage presence and generally sang well, even though he momentarily lost control while doing his falsetto.

Lindita from Albania gave a rather good performance, although her nerves occasionally got the better of her. The song was bad though, and her dress was even worse.

Australia's and Albania's videos were not available at the time I wrote this.

One of my favorites before the contest was Blanche from  Belgium. I think the performance could have been better. The singer looked to be too stressed out, especially during the first half of the song.

Then came Montenegro. If I were to vote on looks alone, Slavko would go to the final, but the song was so-so and the performance bordered on kitch, so...

Then came another one of the songs that I like, the one from Finland. Norma John gave an honest and heartfelt performance of an unusual (for Eurovision) song.

The next one was Dihaj from Azerbaijan. Her attempt to capture Adele's magic was not entirely unsuccessful - the performance worked.

Then came the favorite of this semi-final, which is also my favorite, as well as one of the two favorites to win the contest. Salvador from Portugal was ill, and arrived at Kiev at the last moment. I feared that his performance would suffer, but it didn't. He gave a very sensitive and at times idiosynchratic interpretation of a jazzy song with classical overtones. The song and the performance would be better served in the intimacy of a small club, rather than this huge space. Therefore, he did well when he chose to sing on a small platform a breath way from the audience, rather than on the main stage.

Greece came next. Demy is a beautiful girl with a good voice, but the song was standard Eurovision fare - not bad, but not good either. The live video is not available to upload.

Then it was Kasia's turn from Poland. What I said before about Greece's entry also applies to this, although this is a better song.

The Moldova song is not one of my favorites. Sunstroke Project were fun to watch however, and the song was catchy enough. A song definitely influenced by the sound of the 80s.

Then came Svala from Iceland. A fair voice, but a bad costume choice. The song is generic, while the performance was inoffensive.

Martina, representing the Czech Republic, was next. I actually liked the song, as well as the performance, which brought me memories of Celine Dion and Laura Branigan. Unfortunately the live video is not available.

After that, it was Cyprus' turn. Hovig gave it his all and the song felt better than it actually is.

Artsvik representing Armenia offered an Ethnic Pop song. It's a song liked by many, and the performance did it justice. The choreography could've been better though.

Slovenia with Omar Naber probably presented what was the least interesting song of the semi-final. Old-fashioned, uninspired, and not even bad enough to be fun.

Finally, it was Latvia's turn. The song and Triana Park's performance were not uninteresting. If it wasn't for the singer's terrible hairdo... Unfortunately, this video isn't available either.

Before telling you which ten countries proceded to the final, here are my predictions from yesterday: The 10 countries out of 18 that will make it to the final may be: Portugal, Belgium, Finland, Australia, Greece, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Armenia, Moldova, and Poland. Countries that I hope will make it to the final, but don't really expect to, are Montenegro, Cyprus and the Czech Republic.

Well, I was 9/10 right! The only one of my guesses that didn't make it was unfortunately one of my favorites, Finland. I was glad, however, that the tenth country was Cyprus. After all, I spent my childhood there and I have very fond memories of it. So, the ten countries going through to the final are: Portugal, Belgium, Australia, Greece, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Sweden, Armenia, Moldova, and Poland. Good luck to them all!