After the success of Sweden's Mans Zelmerlow in 2015, (one of the presenters this year), the contest comes live from the Globe Arena in Stockholm and in the midst of Eurovision week, I am here to try and make sense of one of the most famous music competitions in history.
I write this on Wednesday, one night after the first semi-final and one night before the second with the quality of music high on each. After watching the first instalment yesterday evening, a couple of contenders showed their class, but there were of course a couple of shock exits.
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| Greta Salome misses out on Saturday's grand final. |
Of the ten successes however, the one that stood out the most was Sergey Lazarev of Russia. For those of you not accustomed to the unique world of Eurovision, Russia sending Sergey is like the UK sending Adele. He is one of the country's biggest stars, and his performance certainly tried to match his status as he completed a complicated performance. Impressive it was, but my instant reaction was that he'd copied last year's winner. The obvious likeness is the worst piece of copying since Cascada went all Loreen on us in 2013. It's a fantastic song, but I feel the complete lack of originality in the performance will ultimately cost him.
(Of course, I may be completely wrong. Who knows!)
Of the other qualifiers, I was impressed by Austria's Zoe, who can't do much worse than last year's Austrian 'nil points'. Zoe has an air about her that suggests she still can't quite believe she's there; an infectious personality and a delight to watch. The song is jumpy and catchy and may be the dark horse heading to Saturday's Grand Final. Also, my personal favourite, Cyprus' Minus One, with their rocky tune. I don't think they performed it as well as they could, so hopefully they can step it up a gear come Saturday night.
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| I've been whistling to 'Loin d'Ici' all day long... I really think Austria's Zoe could secure a second victory in three years... |
Eurovision stalwart Ira Losco of Malta also made it through along with Samra from Azerbaijan, Bob Douwe of the Netherlands, Armenia, Croatia, the simply delectable Freddie from Hungary and a first final appearance for the Czech Republic thanks to Gabriela Guncikova!
Tomorrow is the second semi-final, in my opinion the weaker of the two. It includes Eurovision big shots of days gone by, Ireland, represented by Nicky Byrne of Westlife fame. The line up is kicked off by Justs of Latvia; a man I met backstage at the London Eurovision Party and mistook for Estonia's Juri Pootsman. An embarrassing mistake I'm not likely to make again as Juri fell at the first hurdle last night. The second semi-final also includes Ukraine, which has shot up the odds table in recent weeks, (for some odd reason) as well as Laura Tesoro representing Belgium, which I like. There's also a second appearance for Australia, although they are not granted a straight passage to the final unlike last year. Dami Im represents the Australians, and are likely to get through tomorrow.
10 more qualifiers will join the 10 who won through on Tuesday along with France, Spain, Italy, Germany, UK and last year's winners Sweden in the grand final on Saturday.
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| Joe and Jake have been drawn in the second half of the show on Saturday. |
Representing the UK this year are young guns Joe and Jake, which some of you with very good memories may remember from talent show, 'The Voice'. Their song, 'You're Not Alone' got through a rare public vote back in January and it's a song that has increased in popularity in Europe in the past weeks. With a favourable second half draw to boot, one feels this may be our best chance in a decade of victory. However, barring any inspired, game-changing staging, I feel the song doesn't have enough about it to pull off a shock win. The two lads are really soaking up the experience though and are so cheery and down-to-Earth. Jake even donned a pair of sparkly hot pants backstage in London. A pair of guys, having the time of their life and a laugh along the way. What could be better?
Early favourite Amir is representing France with a good song called 'J'ai Cherche' but his popularity has wained since rehearsals have started, with die hard Eurovisionistas reporting poor rehearsals. None of the other "big 5" have a genuine contender, although I do quite like 'Say Yay!' by Barei of Spain.
One country is missing from this preview and that is the powerhouse of Sweden. After their eight-week extravaganza to select a song for this year's contest in their home country, the result was a small young man called Frans, with a bitter song called 'If I Were Sorry'. I met Frans in London and he was pleasant enough, even if he came across a bit like a spoilt teenager. I can't see this song being massively popular, but Sweden being Sweden, it is likely to do well. Given that the running order is also selected (not drawn out of a hat), it is going to be in a good position, (I.e. not first or last).
So with three days to go until the big, glitzy final, the excitement grows. I'm not going to predict a winner, because I'll more than likely be wrong, but Russia will certainly be up there along with Sweden. If Ukraine get through tomorrow, they'll be round abouts and hopefully Amir can improve on his practice runs.
I of course will be supporting Joe and Jake! Come on the UK!
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