Eurovision Song Contest 2018: 1st Semi-Final (show)

So, the first semi-final is over; it was an OK show, perhaps slightly better than last year's, but still a long way away from the show in Sweden, a couple of years ago. My predictions went well, I got 8/10, plus one that I wasn't sure would get in but I was hoping for, did. So, there was just one unexpected entry for me!

Let's examine the show's winners and losers. Let's begin with the show itself. Four presenters were rather a lot - and the fact that they were all women was somehow puzzling. They weren't bad - they weren't great either. The attempt at humor with the people answering the voters' calls didn't work. What did work was the presentation of Portugal - it appears to be a beautiful country and they did a good job of highlighting the fact, as well as the gimmick of having last years' participants all take turns to sing last year's winning song, in the fashion of We Are The World and Do They Know It's Christmas. It was good.

The big winner was the song from Cyprus: Eleni Foureira was explosive, the choreography was very good, so the song sailed through to the final and moved up to #1 on the oddsmakers chart.

... Which means that Israel should be grouped among the losers. Even though it made it to the final, the song's quirkiness needed more intimate surroundings to fully shine. The big stadium performance failed to impress as much as it should - and the song moved from #1 to #3 on the oddsmakers chart. Hopefully, they can come up with something better for the final, because I really like it.

I would venture to include another song that went through to the final among the relative losers: the Czech entry. Mikolas Josef hurt himself doing a backward flip during the rehearsal, which made his performance in the semi-final rather underwhelming. My partner flat out didn't like it. I do believe that he will do something more impressive in the final.

The two big losers of the evening, however, were Belgium and Greece. Let's begin with Belgium: Sennek's performance was not bad, but her voice's very endearing hue somehow failed to register. Also, it seems that it was a mistake to leave her alone on stage. The voters seem to appreciate a choreography or two. Thus, the song was left out of the final, against all predictions.

The same happened, more or less, to the Greek song. Having Yianna Terzi alone on stage wasn't a good idea. Also, the song's ethnic feel and the use of the Greek language eventually worked against it. It, too, was left out of the final, where it was expected to be.

Finally, among the losers, was the song from Belarus. It was by no means a sure bet for the top 10, but it stood a fighting chance. However, the young singer's obvious nervousness on stage hindered the song from connecting with the voters. As a result, it was left out of the final.

Let's return to the winners. Albania was certainly a big one. Before the show, it was rated 17th out of 19 participants, which meant that its chances to enter the top 10 that would lead the song to the final were practically non-existent. But, like a good Cinderella story, the song was the big surprise of the evening and made it to the final. I think that the fact that it was the only rock song of the evening helped - and the energetic performance also helped.

Another big winner was Lithuania. It was expected to make the final and did, but the atmospheric performance was very favorably thought of and Lithuania, like Cyprus, moved up the oddsmakers chart, currently sitting at #5.

Estonia was also among the winners. La Forza is among the favorites and rightfully so. The impressive performance verified the song's status as one to watch in the final. The song grew on me and I think that it will grow on the voters as well.

My favorite surprise was Ireland's entry to the final. I actually shouted "Yes!!!" when it was announced. The oddsmakers weren't very hopeful, but I really liked this tender gay-themed ballad and yesterday I said that I wished that it would make the final. The live performance was as good as the video - and the voters vindicated me. The song is now in the final and, who knows, maybe it will keep surprising the oddsmakers...

The other three countries that made it to the final are neither winners and certainly not losers. What they did is solidify their position with good performances. They are, Finland:

... Bulgaria (dedicated to my friend Alan):

... and Austria:

Of the other songs that didn't make it to the final, there were a couple of performances that weren't bad. The songs, however, were too derivative. There was Croatia:

... and Azerbaijan:

Finally, for today, this is a short video with the reactions of the 10 participants that went through to the final: