Eurovision Song Contest - Semi Final 2 (Thursday 14th May 2009)

[Corki]

And with less than 15 minutes to go until the thrills and spills of the second semi-final, it's time to get comfy and settle in for some more Eurovision 2009. Again, I will be your host for this evening's entertainment, posting my comments on the show. Tonight seems Greece and Norway, two of the favourites, battle it out to take a place in the Grand Final on Saturday.

 

And just a quick rundown on how tonight is to work. 5 countries (Russia as last year's winners, UK, France, Germany and Spain) are all guarenteed a place in the final. However, the remaining 37 countries have to battle it out for the remaining 20 places. So tonight is the second of the semi-finals. 19 countries are competing, aiming to get one of those 10 places. 9 are picked by the general public of Europe, while the 10th is chosen by a jury of musical experts.

 

So, go and grab something to drink and eat, and let's enjoy the evening's entertainment. Not long left to go now!

 

Not long to go now...

[Corki]

Time to advertise this again:

 

1) The latest "Tune or No Tune", featuring Johnny Logan's 1987 winning song, Hold Me Now for Ireland:

http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,43213.0.html

 

2) "It's A Knockout" - two threads up, splitting Eurovision somewhere roughly down the middle. And the winner of each thread will then go head-to-head to claim the title of DM's best Eurovision song.

http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,43128.0.html (1956 to 1982)

http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,43129.0.html (1983 to 2008)

 

3) And a general discussion thread covering all things Eurovision

http://forums.dragonmount.com/index.php/topic,43120.0.html

 

Once all 25 finalists have been confirmed, the Band will be hosting it's very own Eurovision Song Contest to see who we would pick as a winner, and whether we agree with what Europe has to say. Look out for that in the coming days.

[Corki]

And we're off!

 

And tonight's opening gets the thumbs up - some good culture! And choreography!

 

And where can I get a guitar/cello cross? Seriously cool! And the bears! Cool costumes!

 

Some ABBA, and Dima Billan - was it guess the Eurovision Winners on folk instruments?

 

And now it's time for the annoying hosts.  ::)

[Corki]

And now for the songs!

 

1. Croatia - Lijepa Tena performed by Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea

- nice relaxing song to start

- like his vocals --> got good control

- is Andrea going to sing anything meaningful??

- works well as a song --> thumbs up

 

2. Ireland - Et Cetera performed by Sinéad Mulvey & Black Daisy

- some girl rock

- rock didn't work on Tuesday --> ask Switzerland --> will it tonight?

- good beat

- doesn't seem that challenging

- crowd liked it

- no turkey, praise the Lord!

 

3. Latvia - Probka performed by Intars Busulis

- not doing much for me

- an interesting cacophony of sounds

- bring back the Pirates!

- at least my streaming has frozen!  ;D

- the UK commentator said it was more of a car crash than traffic jam (as it translates)

[Corki]

4. Serbia - Cipela performed by Marko Kon and Milan Nikolic

- right...it's a song about shoes supposedly...

- the singer looks like a friend of mine from uni

- does the woman do anything except sing on the floor?

- uninspiring

 

5. Poland - I Don't Wanna Leave performed by Lidia Kopania

- is it Iceland again?

- but not as a good vocalist as Johanna

- another nice, soothing ballad

- good control of the song and vocals...except the scretch at the end

- gets the thumbs up

 

6. Norway - Fairytale performed by Alexander Rybak

- supposedly one of the favourites

- good strong vocals

- nice acrobats

- I'm not convinced - think the Portuguese song of similar style was better

- supposedly got a huge cheer but my streaming froze!

[Majsju]

Croatia - Bot boring, I kept waiting for something to happen, but it was cruisecontrol from beginning to end.

 

Ireland - Oh great, Avril Lavignes mean big sister, just what Europe needs...Bleh. The Irish should stick to their folk influenced songs, not this crap.

 

Latvia - What. The. Hell? A small miracle if this gets a single point.

 

Serbia - A shame that they left the concept that has worked quite well, with some of the most emotional ballads ever in Eurovision. On the other hand, this is absolutely hilarious.

 

Poland - 80s powerballad. Meh.

 

Norway - Great song, great show. Bit shaky vocals, which is the only thing that can stop this from hitting Top 3. Norways best entry ever.

And as a fellow Scandinavian, I absolutely love hearing a halling in Eurovision :)

[Corki]

7. Cyprus - Firefly performed by Christina Metaxa

- a huge cheer --> well deserved as a good opening

- has a lovely voice

- a beautiful song --> nice and simple

- a confident performance by the 17 year old, but I think a more mature voice would make it a top class song

- a good cheer

 

8. Slovakia - Let' tmou performed by Kamil Mikulcík and Nela Pocisková

- another duet --> compliment each other well...

- ...though I might reconsider that

- singing doesn't fit the music

- ouch at her high notes!

 

9. Denmark - Believe Again performed by Brinck

- it's Ronan Keating in disguise!

- well, Ronan did have a hand in writing the song

- doesn't do anything special for me

- a bit dull and uninspiring

[Majsju]

Cyprus - Sounds like she wants to be Emmy Rossum, but does not quite have the voice for it. Good song, but not strong enough to hit a top spot.

 

Slovakia - Shrug

 

Denmark - Bryan Adams? Actually, not that bad, but it never really kicks off.

 

Slovenia - Some classic strings, melody and phrasing from Balkan, and modern(ish) beats...Strange mix that does not quite work.

[Corki]

10. Slovenia - Love Symphony performed by Quartissimo and Martina Majerle

- more light boxes

- it's a male version of Bond, the female classical-pop quartet

- get to the singing! --> finally!

- reasonable vocals --> song doesn't allow her to show them off

- most delayed entrance...ever! as she finally emerges from the light box!

 

11. Hungary - Dance With Me performed by Zoli Ádok

- ouch!

- some undressing --> how many clothes will they all have on at the end?

- just no, no, no!

- awful --> next song please!

- I'm glad my screen froze!

 

12. Azerbaijan - Always performed by AySel and Arash

- some Europop if you consider Azerbaijan Europe...

- distinct Turkish feel to it

- can see why it's an outside favourite

- good song --> both vocals work well together

- gets the thumbs up

[Majsju]

Hungary - Cool! Very modern dance for a Eurovision entry.

 

Azerbaijan - Trying to copy the etno formula Ukarina, Greece and turkey have been so successful with. Does not really work.

 

Greece - More modern dance. Ok song, but the chorus is too weak imo.

 

Lithuania - Cute little piano ballad. Feels like I have heard this before.

Ooooh, magic! ;D

 

 

[Corki]

13. Greece - This Is Our Night performed by Sakis Rouvas

- opening sounds like Ukraine 2008 (Shady Lady)

- energetic and extravagant staging

- think there are better songs

- not that powerful

- more filling (dancing etc) than substance (singing)

 

14. Lithunia - Love performed by Sasha Son

- Finally a piano!

- a ballad

- good voice --> good song

- loses shape a bit in the middle...

- ...but recovers it at the end

 

 

15. Moldova - Hora din Moldova! performed by Nelly Ciobanu

- good display of vocals at the start

- does she look like a Tavern wench? I'm not complaining though!  ;D

- elements and a feel of Ruslana

- I do like her vocals...

- ...but not convinced with the song

[Majsju]

Moldova - And here comes the etno number of the night. Sounds more klezmer/Balkan than Moldova, though I am not really sure what the folk music in Moldova sounds like...

Amazing voice for someone the size of a smurf ;D

 

Albania - Hm, I can see this songs getting quite some playtime at European clubs this summer. Nice beat, and great performance by the singer, considering that she is just 16.

Speaking of smurfs, the dancers are even shorter than Moldovas singer ;D

 

Ukraine - Ruslana meets Xtina, for some of the naughtiest numbers Eurovision has seen. Wonder how many of the older viewres that just got a heart attack?

Absolutely crazy, but still a good song. And the dancers will probably give her 90% of all votes from Europes teenage girls... ;D

 

Estonia - More etno, but now dark and suggestive rather than the dancable tunes before this one. One of my personal favourites. And not only because one of my greatest weaknesses is chicks with violins...

 

Netherlands - 40+ blokes trying to be a boyband? The hell??? Might get quite a few votes from the chuckle-factor though, very hard not to laugh.

[Majsju]

My top 10 (as in, the songs I want to see in the final, not necessarily the songs I think will make it):

 

1. Norway

2. Ukraine

3. Albania

4. Estonia

5. Moldova

6. Lithuania

7. Hungary

8. Serbia.

9. Cyprus

10. Croatia

[Corki]

16. Albania - Carry Me In Your Dreams performed by Kejsi Tola

- I feel sorry for the person who drew the short straw and the green gimp suit!

- acrobatic dancers in the background

- not a bad song --> not that special

- not as good as last year's entry, which I thought was cracking

 

17. Ukraine - Be My Valentine (Anti-Crisis Girl) performed by Svetlana Loboda

- hamster wheels...

- Ukraine knows how to put a performance on --> look at Ruslana and last year's entry

- think the clothes are better than the song

- chorus is ok...

- ...and now some drums

- too much going on in the song

 

18. Estonia - Rändajad performed by Urban Symphony

- works well

- seems to fit better together better than Slovenia's entry

- good clean vocals

- nice, simple song

 

19. The Netherlands - Shine performed by The Toppers

- lively opening

- sparkly jackets - no!

- and the role of the woman on the ned??

- think the Dutch need to have a rethink about their entries and should send a metal group perhaps? They may get somewhere...

 

And that's it as the opening presenters and that damn button are back!

[Corki]

My picks to qualify:

 

1. Cyprus

2. Poland

3. Lithunia

4. Estonia

5. Azerbaijan

6. Moldova

7. Ukraine

8. Albania

9. Ireland

10. Croatia

 

Sadly, the favourites Greece and Norway wouldn't go through in my opinion. I didn't like Norway, and Greece focused too much on the dancing rather than the singing.

[Corki]

And while the rest of Europe probably suffers the annoying hosts, the BBC is giving us some interviews. We have Chiara from Malta and some of Waldo's People from Iceland.

 

And maybe we'll get some results of who has qualified for the Final. And it is time for that annoying button.

 

1. Azerbaijan

2. Croatia

3. Ukraine

4. Lithinia

5. Albania

6. Moldova

7. Denmark

8. Estonia

9. Norway

10. Greece

[Corki]

A shame that Cyprus didn't go through, but I think a more mature voice would have done it for the country. I'm still not convinced about Norway and Greece.

 

A good smattering of Eastern Europe from that semi-final. But that evens out the Western Europe feel from Tuesday.

 

And obviously Europe isn't interested in rock music as Ireland, Switzerland and FYR Macedonia did not make it of the semi-finals.

 

And that is 7 out of 10 for me again.

 

Roll on Saturday!

[Majsju]

7/10 for me as well.

[Ludmian]

The second semi-final was much better than the first one. In the first one I couldn't care less if any of the participants would make it to the Top 10 or not. The second one was really worth seeing. The Estonian song was my personal favourite. I badly wanted to see them in the Top 10. I wanted for the Norwegian singer to make it to the final almost as badly. No, it was not because he was born in a certain other country rather than in Norway.  ;D I simply liked his performance. (His last name means "a fisherman" in Russian and Belarusian. There's really no point in me telling this, but for some reason I feel like sharing this information). Hope both Estonia and Norway show good results in the final. I wouldn't mind either of them winning. I'm quite pleased to see Ukraine, Lithuania and Azerbaijan in the final as well.