Semi 1: 11 Belarus

I was trying to watch the Belarusian final but gave up after two songs. I had found a really bad link with poor sound quality and I felt life was too short to be wasted on watching performances where audio and video were not in sync.

I came back for the winner's reprise - now on a much better quality link - and thought the chosen song was a nice little ditty and not much more.

How your perception of one single song can change. The close-to-compulsory face-lift it has gone through since the national final is remarkable and - given all these medium paced and sometimes frankly dull entries in this year's contest - it finally stands out like something with temper, bite and bit of excitement surrounding it.

The lavish video clip helps, of course. If the live performance turns out to be either too over the top or flat and lifeless, its chances might fade very quickly. But if they manage to find the right balance between drama and kitsch - and hit the right notes at the right time - Belarus could possibly be looking at their second top ten finish ever.

Qualifier:
Absolutely. It comes as a relief at this point in the running order - after the Hungarian harmony overdose preceding it - and will surely make it through with quite a margin.

Grade: 3/5



Uzari & Maimuna - Time (Belarus 2015)