After dipping my nose into the first semi it is time to move on and see what the sixteen songs of the second semi are like. Will it be an equally hard battle to conquer one of the ten available spots in the final on a Thursday night?
These are my personal opinions as well as my highly personal pick of ten finalists.
01. DENMARK Reiley / Breaking My Heart
A logical choice to open the second semi. Almost shockingly contemporary and chart-friendly for being a Danish entry, it will possibly suffer from being designed for radio and streaming and subsequently not really including a lot of build-up or dynamic - it goes on and then it ends. Another question mark is if Reiley - who is otherwise charming and likeable - will be able to keep this interesting for three minutes.
A logical choice to open the second semi. Almost shockingly contemporary and chart-friendly for being a Danish entry, it will possibly suffer from being designed for radio and streaming and subsequently not really including a lot of build-up or dynamic - it goes on and then it ends. Another question mark is if Reiley - who is otherwise charming and likeable - will be able to keep this interesting for three minutes.
Grade: 3/5
02. ARMENIA Brunette / Future Lover
Starts in a quirky and almost absent-minded way, almost as if the performer was talking to herself rather than singing on a stage, before turning into a full-blown orchestral drama ending in an intense chorus in Armenian. A peculiar choice for the number two slot but an original, high-quality song that maybe wants to be a bit more special than it really is.
Grade: 3/5
03. ROMANIA Theodor Andrei / D.G.T (Off And On)
Where do I begin? This songs has a few little hooky things going on but altogether it doesn't feel complete or fully finished. Someone would have needed to clean this track up and give it some overall polish. Also don't get me started on the visual choices made for the national final. I'm thinking maybe Romania should try internal selection for a year or two and see if they could come up with something better.
Grade: 1/5
04. ESTONIA Alika / Bridges
Another very dramatic ballad by another skilled performer: just what you'd expect from a modern day Big Eurosong but with a certain freshness. Perhaps not unforgettable but should easily impress enough viewers to make it through.
Grade: 3/5
05. BELGIUM Gustaph / Because Of You
I must admit I got this entirely wrong on a first listen and discarded it as a bit of jokey nonsense when it's in fact a rather fabulous throwback to 90's club culture. Pure joy and excellent vocals. Given Gustaph is also the first really happy pill of the evening, I doubt very much the viewers would make the same mistake as I did.
Grade: 3/5
06. CYPRUS Andrew Lambrou / Break A Broken Heart
In a really puzzling move, Cyprus hired a singer/songwriter all the way from Australia to do the job for them. But they wouldn't let him write his own song and set him up with one of those typical anonymous "written-for-Eurovision" kind of ditties. Not bad but oddly forgettable. Will need a firestorm of a performance in order to hit home.
Grade: 2/5
07. ICELAND Diljá / Power
I like a lot of things here: I like Diljá, I like her raw energy on stage and her attitude towards performing, I like some of the ideas in this arrangement. And yet - oddly enough - the final package does very little for me. I feel nothing when listening to it and often forget it exists. Strange.
Grade: 2/5
08. GREECE Victor Vernicos / What They Say
A really talented teen who wrote, recorded and produced his own entry. Very impressive but I can't help thinking it would have been better to let Victor wait a year or two before getting shipped off to the big time. The song is a bit clunky but in a charming way and seeing this youngster in action is touching but will it be enough?
Grade: 2/5
09. POLAND Blanka / Solo
This reminds me of any of the Real Housewives installments where one of the participants gets bored and thinks you can do a pop career as a hobby on the side without really making any sort of effort. "Solo" is your average fun and stupid beach ditty - nothing wrong with that - but Blanka's performance was almost breathtakingly lazy with zero investment. Will be a classic for years to come but if there's any justice in the world, this will crash and burn.
Grade: 1/5
10. SLOVENIA Joker Out / Carpe Diem
After a number of wobblier efforts, Slovenia's boy band will have Europe eating out of their hands. This is funny, catchy and engaging and again we get proof how singing in your own language is an easy way of making your song stand out as more personable. Slovenia's best chance of a top ten finish in many years.
Grade: 3/5
11. GEORGIA Iru / Echo
This year's art installation is bursting full of eccentric ideas and an abundance of oddities, all performed in fine voice and with a great deal of conviction. Is it good? Hard to say, but I think it is. Does it stand out? Indeed it does.
Grade: 3/5
12. SAN MARINO Piqued Jacks / Like An Animal
Last year they gave us an Italian star, this time they settled for a local Italian rock band that has received a lot of beating from the certain demographic of fans who seem to enjoy giving things a beating a way lot more than actually liking anything. There is a trashy charm to this but it never really goes anywhere and unfortunately ends up in an unnecessarily shouty finish.
Grade: 2/5
13. AUSTRIA Teya & Salena / Who The Hell Is Edgar?
The winner of the second semi in a number of ways. What could have been "only" a bit of comic relief suddenly finds itself standing out in many ways as a - yes, funny - uptempo stomper that is also clever and catchy. If they can only build a stage show to match the energy of the track, this is bound to do very well. Especially as almost all of the major favourites have been drawn to sing in the first semi.
Grade: 4/5
14. ALBANIA Albina & Familija Kelmendi / Duje
Could you do the ESC without having a dramatic family stand on stage, giving a rousing ode to avoiding divorce at any cost? Yes, you certainly could. While the message feels oddly conservative on a show like this, the song in itself is quite okay. "Scenes From A Marriage" if Bergman had been a pop composer from Tirana instead. Hardly a points magnet but enjoyable in its own way.
Grade: 2/5
15. LITHUANIA Monika Linkytė / Stay
This is that one song that could seem a bit basic and plain when you just hear the studio version but live Monika and her backing vocalists turn this into a living, breathing thing that keeps growing and pulling you in. Not a potential winner or anything but could certainly end up doing a lot better than people expect it to.
Grade: 3/5
16. AUSTRALIA Voyager / Promise
My first impression was that they had crammed too many things into one song and wanted to much, in a Saara Aalto meets Montaigne sort of way, but then I warmed to the whole thing. Engaging and entertaining. Should qualify with ease even though it will find itself wrestling with Germany for the rock vote in the final.
Grade: 3/5
So, if I was the only juror who could pick ten finalists all by myself based only on the studio versions and preview presentations, my choices would be (in order of appearance): Denmark, Armenia, Estonia, Belgium, Greece, Slovenia, Georgia, Austria, Lithuania and Australia.
My preferences can still change before the live shows - as history has shown - but what ten songs would you pick and what six would you leave in the semi?
