The bookies’ top 10 favorites to win the second semi-final remain the same as when we last checked in. Norway, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Greece, and San Marino haven’t budged from the top five spots!

I can definitely see Norway in first place. Margaret Berger’s “I Feed You My Love” is extremely popular among Eurovision fans (although I can’t say I agree). Its mature, modern feel may also appeal to the juries.

Second semi-final oddsGeorgia is a typical Disney…err, I mean Eurovision…power ballad wonderfully sung by Nodi and Sophie. It will probably fare well with the public and juries alike a la Denmark 2010. Azerbaijan is another dynamic power ballad, although Farid needs to work on his live performance before Malmö to live up to the bookies’ expectations. San Marino deserves a top 5 finish: Valentina’s song and performance are absolutely amazing!

Greece in the top 5 to win? Uhh, no. I do believe it will qualify, but I don’t think it stands a chance at winning the semi-final. The only way that’s possible is if the Greek diaspora throughout Europe has doubled in size. Maybe a lot of Greeks have left the country after the financial crisis?

The bookies have put Armenia in 6th place. That’s laughable, and I feel sorry for anyone wasting money on the Dorians. Are they thinking Armenia is going to be the next Hard Rock Hallelujah?

Malta’s another iffy one–I’d put it down as a borderline qualifier. I really don’t have a clue how well it will do. Israel will probably make it because of the juries, so I agree with the bookies there. Romania and Finland are much more questionable. The problem with Romania is that it has a huge bunch of lovers AND haters! The haters can’t really do anything, but I think Cezar’s growing fan-base may push Romania to the final. Romania’s fate largely lies in the hands of the jury members. I strongly dislike the Finnish entry, but I can understand if it qualifies. 10th place is a good spot to put it in, I guess.

According to the betting odds, these counties will fail to qualify: Hungary, Iceland, Switzerland, Albania, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Macedonia. Hungary remains right below the qualification line in 11th place, while Macedonia is stuck in dead last–ouch! Bulgaria and Latvia have switched places since our last update, and the rest remains the same.

In my opinion, Iceland has a better chance of qualifying than Hungary does. While both are nice (albeit boring) songs, I think Iceland will fare better with the juries. Just like Malta, I’m not really sure about what Switzerland will do. I definitely agree that Albania and Latvia will fail to qualify–the public will find them annoying, and the juries will deem them weak and without substance.

As for Bulgaria, I’m not really sure. I think the bookies are underrating it, but I’m not sure if it’ll qualify myself. Elitsa and Stoyan had a very high placing in Helsinki six years ago, but people seem to think “Samo Shampioni” is weaker than “Water” was. Also, 2007 didn’t have a jury voting, so that could be a factor as well. I’d say Bulgaria can be anywhere from 7th-12th place in the semi. Elitsa and Stoyan do have a huge fan base, but will that be enough? In any case, Bulgaria doesn’t stand a chance of winning this semi.

Ah, poor Macedonia in last place. Sorry, but you guys screwed yourselves up when you replaced “Imperija” with “Pred Da Se Razdeni”. Lozano’s parts of the song are fine and well-done, but Esma’s parts ruin the whole thing. Also, if Esma performs in Malmo like she did at Eurovision in Concert, then they are doomed to fail. How drunk was she there? Her performance there was 10x worse than my local high school’s talent show.

 

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redarrow
10 years ago

12 points to malta

MOON-FLOWER
10 years ago

MALTA & AZERBAIJAN

redarrow
10 years ago

malta malta malta

nikki
10 years ago

Azerbaijan land of fireeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

MOON-FLOWER
10 years ago

A
Z
E
R
B
A
I
J
A
N

Samo
10 years ago

Hopefully the juries will give all their douze puan to San Marino to cancel out the lack of neighbourly voting. VALENTINA ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!! <3

redarrow
10 years ago

malta my favriout 12 points for malta nice video to 🙂

Bahar
Bahar
10 years ago

It is just music contest guys 🙂 Enjoy Eurovision 🙂 everyone has their own taste

Mark
Mark
10 years ago

<3 See the video and see what it's all about…. you will sure like it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsL5MU5bRWw

Mark
Mark
10 years ago

Malta’s song is very positive and the singer is great… I don’t know why it’s strange seeing that rating… 😉 Gianluca is a lovely doctor from MALTA, the heart of the Mediterranean and his lifestyle is very inspiring when you see his volountery work and singing for youth groups… xx Gd day Europe … hope you’re fine 😉 all the best

Penny
Penny
10 years ago

FYR Macedonia is by no means underrated, Esma’s section even if she can sing in tune is jarring and hard on the ears. Bulgaria’s is equally unpleasant to listen to so I doubt it will qualify. Israel I think have a strong chance of qualifying on the basis of the Jury scoring it highly, it will struggle in the televote. Romania are terrible but I can see Cezar qualifying in one of the bottom places, but he won’t make the Top 10 in the Final if he should qualify. Norway easily favourites to win, and I see little trouble for… Read more »

Sokratis
Sokratis
10 years ago

Bulgaria, Switzerland and FYRM will all easily qualify. Armenia is only so high due to the quality of their previous years, and deserves dead last. If theres a betting pool for that Ill stake it all there.

Greece can easily win the semi, depending on the juries. I seem to remember Watch My Dance or Opa was well liked by Juries, one was at least, so I dont know. I think biggest shock could be Georgia not qualifying.

Alexander
Alexander
10 years ago

@Alex @Z24 I’m glad you guys like the Bulgarian entry. I agree that it is underrated and that it really deserves to do well.
🙂

Z24
Z24
10 years ago

I hate the hate Bulgaria’s getting. So what if they changed the song? It was all for the better and it tied on the first place! Elitsa & Stoyan are amazing, it’s an upbeat number sandwiched between two slow and forgettable songs (refering more to Malta than Iceland). They’re in my top 5, the song’s great; a totally different thing from Water, and they’ll get the stadium on their feet (well, they’re already 2,000 standing, so that’s easy). I hope they don’t overdo it with a lot of changes (apparently, the guy with Elitsa at Eurovision in concert is going… Read more »

Alex
Alex
10 years ago

Esma just didn’t hear when she was coming in at Amsterdam; she’ll do fine when she hits the big stage. Also, Pred Da Se Razdeni is way better than Imperija, and easily the most underrated song of this contest. The problem with Imperija for me was that the song didn’t make proper use of Esma’s singing style, while the new song does. I personally think she does an amazing job. Yes, it’s an acquired taste, but so was “Water” from 2007, and that didn’t stop Bulgaria at all. Which brings me to Bulgaria this year – we can expect an… Read more »