Thursday, May 21, 2015

ESC 2015 - 2nd semi-final

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Good evening, welcome to the second semi-final, tonight we'll have an excellent show. Seventeen acts tonight, watching RTP 1 and the crap commentators they have, live from the valse capital: Vienna.
We have the usual introduction of the second semi-final, Conchita Wurst on the Green Room, check, the competition is exciting, who will succeed, the artists? Where are they?
There they are.
Suddenly I see a Gay Pride flag there.
Anyway, onto the songs:
Let the Eurovision Song Contest begin!
LITHUANIA: BUNGEE JUMPING! An American-style song with near-perfect English accents. Eurovision, make some noise!
IRELAND: The country responsible for winning so many contests, with Johnny Logan being the Niki Lauda of the ESC. Apiculture, Playing with Numbers, a 16-year old girl and a perfect emulation of the Johnny Logan style, with a very modern twist. Nice visual effects.
SAN MARINO:  A newcomer, who went to the first time on the final last year, presents their song with a trip to the Vienna Opera Ball and a song in English. The song is quite impressive for a country that small, and the female singer initially reminded me of Poula Fisch from The Fast Show. On my favorites list.
MONTENEGRO:  Fishing and cooking. Tradition, emition and faith in Montenegrin. Very nice on all angles.
MALTA: A kiss, a small airplane and an experiense of jumping in the middle of the sky, the commentator calls the song "Wurrior" (Wurrier?), she really likes chocolate and yet another breathtaking song. It has been a constant string of songs which started with Malta, almost makes us feel jealous at the other countries. Lots of fire, helps the aesthetic.
RTP 1 went to an ad break, but thanks to the official website, I can see the Green Room action with Conchita Wurst. Green is the color of hope, they hope to get a drink or a relaxing chat with the host of the Green Room. The San Marinese duo is the younges duo ever in ESC history, praises the flawless nature of the song. She's so bad with numbers, talks with the Irish presenters and the social networks are full of ESC comments. "Don't forget to vote for your favorites".
NORWAY: An idyllic lake, a duet that didn't know until the ESC and yet another super-production. A few lights, that's OK, fits in with the tone of the song. Another song to listen in sad moments.
PORTUGAL: Climbing, that's fine, she likes challenges. I've already taken knowledge of the song before, and it looks way better in contrast with previous songs. The visual effects are well-made, escalating an OK song into a super-production. Pretty much the same way as most of the songs in this semi-final.
CZECH REPUBLIC: Walking on a bridge in the middle of a mountain, that's nice. Prague is famous for being used on movies. Yet another super-production, I have way too many favorites now.
ISRAEL: A weird outfit and a weird cable car. Yet another super-production, easily confused with All I Need.
Wait a minute...
Turns out that this song breaks this huge string of super-productions (six in a row). Not that good.
LATVIA: An artistic experience, a mixture of Russian and African cultures. Sounds like something that Antena 3 should play.
AZERBAIJAN: A reference to a fire festival (Light Your Fire!, 2012 slogan) and an eclipse. Yet another fantastic super-production who did better than the 2011 effort which nearly ripped-off Adele at a different tone. Very well, Azerbaijan!
ICELAND: A fairy on the stage, and the song has a good title. Iceland presents yet another audiovisual super-production that Portugal hasn't still emulated properly.
Time now for our second trip to the Green Room, and probably the first one RTP 1 aired tonight. She talked with the contestants of Iceland and Portugal. The Portuguese contestant is gorgeous, she says.
SWEDEN: Another point-topper, an experience with ice and astronaut suits, an optimistic and inspiring song. An inspiring super-production.
SWITZERLAND: One of the founding ESC nations, the first host and the first winner, with an ice hockey experience. The super-productions just keep coming! With so many favorites of mine, it's hard to keep track of which countries will be on the final.
CYPRUS: Another lake experience, another song to listen to when I feel sad. Can Aphrodite help with this ballad?
SLOVENIA: Lots of horses, another song that you can listen to when you're sad which eventually goes up-tempo shortly afterwards.
POLAND: A cake (Latvian contestants from 2014, you're not alone). Wonderful Austrian bakery. A song that expresses equality and is twenty times better than last year's effort. A song that's equal to everybody.
And now a look at the songs again.
A quick look at ESC history from an Austrian point of view, again. A kiss that was copied by Denmark in 1957, the idea of "many dresses", sophisticated costumes, a reference to Arnold Schwarznegger, bad moments, the typewriter and the cat are all Austrian, and a sign that Austria has made millions of connections to the contest at an overall scale.
During RTP 1's second break, we got to see a look at some voting mishaps, then an interview with the British contestants, the award-winning Italian trio and the German contestant.
And now the countries that have qualified:
-Lithuania
-Poland
-Slovenia
-Sweden
-Norway
-Montenegro
-Cyprus
-Azerbaijan
-Latvia
-Israel
Well, that's the end of the second semi-final. I was ashamed of San Marino, they did not qualify. See you on Saturday.

3 comments:

  1. My favorites this semi final are(in no order): Lithuania, Ireland, Malta, Portugal, Latvia, Iceland, Sweden, Slovenia and Poland.

    See you on Saturday too.

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    Replies
    1. Not watching Eurovision tonight, but I watched AmpDan's stream all day.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4BGI0-pZn4

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