Thursday, May 12, 2016

Semifinal Two 2016: Who Will Qualify

Here we go again:   My picks to make the final tonight.

Here's my first analysis of the songs and where they'll fall:

The Sure Qualifiers

  • Serbia
  • Bulgaria
  • Ukraine
The Songs Without A Chance
  • Switzerland
  • Slovenia
  • Denmark
  • Albania
The Undefined Middle
  • Latvia
  • Poland
  • Israel
  • Belarus
  • Ireland
  • Macedonia
  • Australia
  • Norway
  • Georgia
  • Belgium
So, with very little knowledge of the behind the scenes drama, here are my picks.

  • Australia
  • Belgium
  • Bulgaria
  • Latvia
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Serbia
  • Ukraine
And my request for anybody who is voting for in this semifinal, please consider voting for this song.


Jamala    "1944"   Ukraine

Jamala is the most talented performer in this year's contest and this is my favorite song in the contest.  There's nothing more I can say.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Semifinal One 2016: The aftermath



And here are the ten songs who made it through to the final on Saturday
  • Armenia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Cyprus
  • Hungary
  • Malta
  • the Netherlands
  • Russia
Seven out of ten isn't particularly bad, and after watching the final, 

I can't really say that I disagree.  After watching the show, nine out of ten of these are ones that were obvious finalists.  

The Biggest Surprise


Nina Kraljić   "Lighthouse"  Croatia

I had thought an early place in the running order combined with an over-the-top costume would prevent Croatia from qualifying.  The Croatian broadcaster hasn't always been the best at staging songs, so I'm glad to see this overcame the visual deficiency.

The Biggest Disappointment


Samra    "Miracle"   Azerbaijan

In my opinion, "Miracle" was the song that didn't deserve to qualify in the top ten.   The staging was tacky and the vocals were weak.   And the gold plated American football uniform?    Don't get me started.

The Song I Would Have Voted For


Highway   "The Real Thing"   Montenegro

Although the Czech Republic would have gotten my first vote, Montenegro came in a close second.   While the somewhat experimental hard rock was something that would have never qualified, I really responded to the music and staging.   In a semifinal of things that were polished to an inch of their life, "The Real Thing" was interesting because it was deliberately unpolished.

The Can't Miss Song


Serhat   "I Didn't Know"  San Marino

I could have gone with the Armenian or Russian entries here, but really you'll see them elsewhere.   San Marino's utter weirdness deserves to be highlighted here.   It's trying so hard to be kitschy camp and it fails.  It's worth a watch. 

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Semifinal One 2016: Who Will Qualify

Tomorrow is the first semifinal of Eurovision, and it's time for me to make my predictions on the countries that will qualify.

The Sure Qualifiers

  • Hungary
  • Armenia
  • Russia
  • Malta
The Songs Without A Chance

  • Finland
  • Moldova
  • San Marino
  • Montenegro
The Undefined Middle

  • Greece
  • Croatia
  • Netherlands
  • Czech Republic
  • Cyprus
  • Austria
  • Estonia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Iceland
  • Bosnia/Herzegovina


As opposed to previous years, I haven't been following the ins and outs of the contest as prior years, so these are more personal guesses that anything else.
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bosnia/Herzegovina
  • Czech Republic
  • Cyprus
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Malta
  • Russia

And as I do every year, I'm putting in a request.  If you are reading this and are in a country that votes in this semifinal, please consider voting for this song.



Gabriela Gunčíková   "I Stand"   Czech Republic

This is a bog standard ballad, but Gunčíková performs it perfectly.  Besides, the Czech Republic have never qualified for the final and this is a good song.