We have our 25 finalists!
Needless to say the semi finals ended up being rather divisive and we ended up with some rather *ahem* skewed results... but maybe that's a topic for another day ! Although I made a top 40 ranking, now that we have seen all the songs on the actual stage and seen how they look and sing, my views and feelings have changed just a little.
A few songs have move down the list drastically The Finnish entry felt very laboured to me and nowhere near as exiting as the national final. I have had a bit of a rollercoaster with Azerbaijan as the song (second half mainly) has grown on me but I find the staging rather pedestrian and rather distanced from the song's lyrics - which probably means it's too deep for my tiny brain to fully compute. Sheldon's song gets too shouty for me at the end and I much prefer it when he's giving light and shade. Poland's staging and use of visuals is a bit too much 'kitchen sink/desperate to be noticed.
On the positive side Iceland's song has been my ear worm for the last few days. I feel comfortable and at ease watching them and I still love all the clever angles. Armenia's song is very cleverly staged. Rosa Linn has a decent voice and a personality that really does work down the camera. How she dealt with the almost staging malfunction has to be applauded. The song that absolutely blew the room during the semis was Moldova. Although many were sad of the lack of staging the Moldova tourist board graphics (THEY REALLY ARE!) make for a great backdrop mirroring the folklore/rock 'n' roll lyric. Their passion is infections and the brothers look cool in their matching suits!
As this is a list of my faves, one thing NOT taking into account in this list is the running order. If I did I would probably rank everything ever so slightly different. I think Czechia have a memorable spot opening the show but Portugal have been planted in a bit of a blind spot. The run of slower songs near the end (Sweden, Australia, UK, Poland) could say this has given them a boost; others may say being next to each other will ultimately benefit whoever does the better job OR even cancel the whole lot out. The lack of up-tempo songs, especially in the second half, may well benefit those songs with earworms that get in your head or memorable staging.
Soon we will know who is the best
In the Eurovision Song Contest !
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