Eurovision Analysis Pt 2: Semi-Finals 1
The first flight of semi-finalists performed on Tuesday, May 22. I'll go through each entry and show you the preview video and the live performance video. Then I'll discuss why I think they either made it to the finals or didn't.
The first entry is Rambo Amadeus from Montenegro performing "Euro Neuro", a very odd little thing. In the preview video, there's a goat. And Rambo is...rapping? I'm pretty sure? It's not good. In the live performance, there is no goat. There is a cardboard cutout of a goat, though. The rap is just as bad as in the live performance. I am not surprised this didn't make it to the shortlist. Sorry, Montenegro.
Next up is Greta Salome and Jonsi from Iceland singing "Never Forget." We like this one: it was on our shortlist. In the preview video clips of the singers are interspersed with a neat little story of longing. There's a lot of ice and snow, white on black or grey, abandoned buildings, etc. And the main girl singer plays violin! Lucas says "This one SOUNDS like a winner." The only problem is that, near the end, there's this incredibly long pause that is just WAY TOO LONG. In the live performance, the singing is just as good. The girl singing is playing violin, too! There is no little story interspersed, it's just kind of the singers in formal wear standing there singing. Usually this would be a death sentence but it really works for this song, for some reason. Them just standing there with their background of mountains... nice. There isn't a huge pause here! And I like her dress. Lucas notes that there is a lot of drama in this song, in a good way, and says this probably has his vote for winner.
Greece gave us Eleftheria Eleftheriou singing "Aphrodisiac". When we first saw the preview video, we joked that it's just some chick in a mall singing, because that's probably all that Greece could afford. There's not too much awesome in this one. It's kind of a catchy song, but not quite catchy enough for me. In the live performance, there is no mall, which makes them seem a little more legit to me. The dancers are spasming a bit more in the live show, which is weirding me out. I'm not surprised it made it to the finals, but I don't think it'll do well there.
Anmary from Latvia sings "Beautiful Song", which is very catchy, which is why it was on our shortlist. In the preview video I didn't really like her but I liked the song and have ended up singing snatches of it over and over again. The video features her and her friends just kind of walking around, which made us question what they would do in the live show. The answer: walk around. It is way more boring in the live show. I still like the song, I still think it's catchy, but they really should have presented something with more flair if they wanted people to take notice of it.
Oh, Albania. You give us Rona Nishliu singing "Suus", but all I know it as is "Chaaaaalk" because that's what it sounds like she screams. The preview video is really bizarre and a little creepy, what with little boys drawing on walls with chalk and the singer standing in a box wailing and...yeah. Very strange. The stage show has significantly less creepy stuff, but as a consequence is more boring, because it's just the singing standing and wailing. She is not even in a box. I'm not sure how this made it to the finals, to be honest. She's got a fine enough voice, but the song is just too odd, and the show didn't have any flair, really. I guess we'll see how she stands up in the finals.
Mandinga from Romania taunts us with "Zaleilah", at least at the beginning of the preview video. There is a drumline! And a nerdy bagpiper! This is promising! And then...and then. It's all Mandinga jumping around being sexy dancing. Very disappointing. The song is mediocre, not too catchy but not terrible. With the live show -- hey! There's the bagpiper! And a little band! And of course Mandinga with her ridiculously long legs, but her band is really what I'm focusing on. They are adorable and clearly having fun. Oh and there is fire yay! It's not Eurovision without fire. I feel a lot better about these guys making the finals after watching the live show. Good job them. Also it looks like her mike broke or wasn't working or something, so that's pretty impressive right there.
Switzerland gave us Sinplus singing "Unbreakable", which is stupid catchy to me. These guys were on our shortlist for two reasons: 1) the song is good and 2) office worker cyborgs! It was a good solid music video, they sing really well with just the hint of that cute little accent, and the story told in the video was neato. I am super sad they didn't make the finals. Alas, in the live show they have no cyborgs. I think the singing was a bit weaker in the live show, unfortunately, and while they gave a good concert, they didn't do a great stage show, which is really what Eurovision is about. So I'm a big fan of the singer and the band and the song, but once again I think the lack of flair in the stage show kept them from moving on. There is some fire, though!
Iris was singing "Would You?" for Belgium and the preview video was what we call a basic "stand-and-sing". The label is on the tin. It's not a fantastic song. She's a fine enough singer and she had a cute dress on, but there was nothing to grab us here. In the live show I didn't like her dress as well: otherwise the performance was about the same. Not surprised she didn't make it on. There seemed to be a lot of "girl singer stands and sings" this year so you'd really have to standout among that pack, and she didn't quite do that.
Now, I know I just was all down on stand-and-sing girls, and here's Finland giving us Pernilla Karlsson with "Nar jag blundar", which is basically a stand-and-sing. I know. But the thing that made this different in the preview video was the dancer, who at least gave you something interesting to look at during the song. Also I'm a huge fan of Varttina, and this singer reminded me of them a lot. I don't regret putting them on my shortlist. Alas, in the live show they dropped the dancer, which made it stand out less. I really think it's super hard to win as just someone standing around singing, so sorry, Finland, as much as I love this song, the show just doesn't stand up to the competition.
I really really wanted Izabo from Israel, singing "Time", to go on. I super love their preview video. It has everything Eurovision should have -- weird instrumentation, clowns, super lazy acrobats -- fantastic! It hit the shortlist hard. But their stage show had none of that awesome stuff! No clowns, no acrobats...a little bit of fire, but that's almost standard issue for Eurovision. The background images of weird clocks was pretty cool. I guess the keyboardist was kind of lazy, but she was no acrobat. The spark of fun it had in the video wasn't there in the live performance, which is probably why it didn't go on. Poor Izabo.
I can't tell you how much I dislike San Marino's entry, Valentina Monetta singing "The Social Network Song". I can't even tell you why. It's a song about the Internet and the preview video is like her singing on her Facebook profile? It is very odd and not a very good song to boot. I was really curious to see how this would translate into the live show. It didn't. Well, the lameness did. The background dancers are people of various professions accessing the Internet through a variety of different devices. I'm not kidding. This was not great and there should be no surprise it didn't make it through.
Ivi Adamou from Cyprus singing "La La Love" was kind of catchy, but to be honest I was distracted from the song by the wackadoo Snow White-themed preview video. I couldn't really tell what the video had to do with the song. I liked them both, I just wasn't sure if I liked them both *together*. The Snow White theme is gone for the live show, replaced by the singer and some friends dancing around. The dancing and outfits were not awesome, but it did give a chance for the song to come out without too much distraction, which is what I think helped this one get into the semis. It's the kind of song that, the more I listen to it, the catchier it is.
Denmark's Soluna Samay is pretty cute, and "Should've Known Better" is really catchy. It's one of the few Eurovision songs that actually sounds like a *real* song, if that makes sense. It's the kind of thing that might actually get more widespread radio play. The preview video is her winning the contest to make it to Eurovision, which is kind of meta, but at least it tells you exactly what you're going to get from the performance: a girl in a weird hat jamming with her band. And lo and behold, that is exactly what you get in the live show! I'm not surprised this made it to the semis, and I'm pleased.
Oh, Russia. I don't even know what to say. Buranovskiye Babushki are just that - a bunch of babushki, a half dozen Russian grandmas all bundled up on stage, telling the world that this is a "Party for Everybody." Really the only difference between the preview video and the live performance is that in the live performance THEY BAKE BREAD ON STAGE. Their sheer cuteness and the amazingness that Russia actually was represented by grandmas is probably what made this one on. I mean, come on. Look at that little one, the one we kept calling "the littlest babushka." She is *adorable*. It's like she doesn't even know why she's there, she's just singing with her friends. <3
Hungary presents Compact Disco with "Sound of Our Hearts". It's not a terrible song, but not unique or catchy enough to grab me. In the preview video it appears that the singer is playing both a rich guy and a poor guy, and it parallels their days, and (SPOILER) they pass in the end. It's an interesting video, if nothing else. (Side note: in the video the singer looks like the boss from The IT Crowd and it kind of makes me giggle.) The live show is just a stand and sing, nothing spectacular. I'm not surprised it got through to the next level but was not super moved either way. Very "standard" fare, I'm afraid.
Austria just went for broke and put up Trackshittaz (no kidding, that is the name of the group) "singing" (quotation marks used ironically) "Woki mit deim Popo", which Wikipedia tells me is translated to "Shake Your Bottom." This is the worst song I think I've ever seen in Eurovision. The preview video is just two guys rapping with some sexxxy pole dancers in glow in the dark outfits shaking their bums. The live show was just more of the same. Highly unimpressed. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever actually made it through the entire song, either version. It's just that bad. If I had to choose I would watch "The Social Network Song" five times instead of going through this song once.
I love Moldova and what they do in Eurovision. Last year they bamboozled us with a dazzling display of unicycles and funny hats and a song that, in retrospect, was not actually that good, so I was suspicious of them this year. But Pasha Parfeny singing "Lautar" is actually super awesome. I love the old skool ska vibe that is going on, and the club scene in the preview video is fantastic. This was actually really high on my list of favorites this year. The live showwas also really fun -- the dancing! The cute ska singer! The outfits! I'm a big fan of this one, obviously.
Jedward, Jedward, Jedward. They are so super annoying, and yet their music is so super catchy! Ireland almost had to put them up again, and as much as I loved last year's entry, "Waterline" is better. It's really catchy, really really catchy. The preview video is kind of a fun compilation of the boys practicing, performing, being generally crazy. After the preview show I was giving them a really high chance of winning. After seeing the live show I gave them an even higher chance. Their outfits were amazingly insane, and they had a water feature. A water feature!! Their trademark quiffs were gone, which made me a little sad, but I do actually like the new hair better. Jedward is kind of amazing, and I think they made a really strong showing here.