David, our Eurovision virgin, continues his series of firsts in Malmö. Last night he experienced shock and awe as some deserving songs crashed out—and as Georgia’s Sophie and Nodi cast a spell on him.
Wow – Georgia!
Everything I heard said the best acts, the ones that were beyond sublime, were all in the Tuesday semi. And it sure seemed that way Thursday night. And then Georgia came out. I was expecting another mediocre song and wow. Absolutely beautiful. Totally enthralling. And even better because it was totally unexpected. They could well win. It’s now a top 5 fighting it out for first.
And it’s not Eurovision without a travesty. The drama of Eurovision requires that we have someone robbed of a deserved win. And last night Israel was the one to pay the price. Israel should have been in 5th place at worst. And yet they didn’t make the top 10. And San Marino, while not as good as Israel (sorry William), was definitely much better than some of the turkeys (Hungary & Armenia – was Europe on crack last night?).
So how was the show? There was no opening similar to Loreen on Tuesday. We did get the three singers taking us through previous Eurovision winners, but that was a repeat of Tuesday. So ok but nothing great from 8:00 – 9:00.
I sat in the stands this time. A very good seat. The view on average is better there. On the floor at times it is incredible (Loreen walked down the stairs 10? from me walking directly toward me). But other times on the floor you can barely see the back of the performer. But the intensity, the vibe, the emersion, that is all much much greater on the floor. The people on the floor are 1,000% into the show. While up in the seats there were three girls of around 20 who spent the show talking to each other and texting people – I don’t think they ever watched the show. And it makes for a different experience.
San Marino was a good song. Very nice to watch. Valentina has a beautiful voice. If it had been in the Tuesday semi-final I could understand it not qualifying, although it was as good as some. But not making it out of Thursday’s semi – that makes no sense. It was good.
Azerbaijan was really really good. Everyone ignores them because they’re off in a forgotten edge of Europe and outside of oil company executives no one hears anything about them the rest of the year. But they send extraordinary acts year after year. They may become as big a musical powerhouse as Sweden for Eurovision. And last night they delivered again. Farid delivered an incredible song with emotional intensity. I think his staging hurt him some. It was clever, but really too clever and it made you focus on the staging at times rather than the staging adding to the song. I don’t think he is in the can win category, but I think he misses that by a whisker.
Finland was great. It’s a great song, well staged. And Krista appears to be having the time of her life performing it. Not quite in the top category, but damn close and very enjoyable. And as she is going on to the final, it will be interesting to see if Turkey broadcasts it. If her public persona is genuine, then she is clearly having more fun participating than anyone else.
Iceland – oh wow. For most of the song Eythor stands there and delivers. No staging, no effects, just his voice and his projection. And he delivers. And then his has background singers toward the end but it’s subtle and just adds to what he’s doing. It may be the only reason I don’t put him in the very top is I prefer female vocalists. Wonderful number.
Israel – beautiful song powerfully delivered. She drew everyone in and carried them through the song. Not the best of the evening but damn good (and deserving to go on).
Norway was good but I don’t think it lived up to its hype. Margaret sang beautifully. But she didn’t pull me in. It was watching a great performance, not being sucked into a great performance. However, that’s being in the arena. Watching on TV I don’t know if that’s as big an issue as it’s really hard to pull someone in via a TV screen. So really good, but not awesome.
Georgia – oh wow, oh wow, oh wow.
Romania – Some people say Cezar is the greatest Eurovision act ever. Some people say he is so bad, his participation will destroy Eurovision. I’m pretty sure one of the two groups is right, but even now the next day I don’t know which. His performance is almost a primal act of nature. I think his act will be talked about and remembered longer than any other. I’m glad to see he made the final. And I’m hopeful that in a month or two I’ll finally decide what I think of it – and needing that time means it is a great work of art (I guess).
The rest ranged from cute (Switzerland) to mediocre (Latvia, Macedonia, & Bulgaria) to atrocious (Malta, Greece, Armenia, Hungary, & Albania).
Tuesday’s semi was a sublime experience. Watching from the floor with the rabid fans, not a stinker in the group of songs delivered, and very good voting results. Last night was not as good. But I think it takes the marginal entries and the bad votes to make the good parts better. Knowing each act can be awful has you wondering what you’re going to see as each starts. The pain of watching Albania made the joy of watching Georgia even greater. Seeing a vote where Israel is voted out and Armenia is voted in means that Saturday night we have no idea how the vote will go.
And I left very very happy. I got to ask a question of the Georgia delegation at the follow on press conference and that led to my talking with a number of the people from their team after. They were all so happy making the final and when I said that I thought they had the best chance to win, it led to a fun conversation. They gave me a Georgia flag and I was waving it the whole way back to my hotel. And I’ll be waving it Saturday night.
It was a wonderful evening.
Photo: Sander Hesterman (EBU)
You can read our song reviews on the Wiwi Jury page. Then read the lyrics to this year’s entries on our contestants page. And then vote for your favourite contestants in our various polls.
@ David – No, that’s why Georgia passed. Most Eurovision voters are not knowledgeable, they only watch because it’s on the telly and vote on a whim – that’s why there are upsets sometimes and people are “surprised” that the “favourites” (who might under-perform on the night) don’t go through.
Georgia was terrible, sorry. No chemistry, a very bland performance, and Sophie’s vocals were very, very flawed. They also had trouble holding the notes for as long as they were supposed to.
Worst Eurovision ever…funeral..
I think there were a few songs not singed well, in the second semi-final one of them was Georgia… But the song itselfs is very good and I hope they sing it much better in the grand final. I only did’nt liked that Hungary and Ireland qualified because of East European voting and Iceland because of Scandinavian voting. Countries like Israel, and maybe also San Marino or Switzerland deserved to go to the final. The first final was very good voted by my opinion: Cyprus didn’t sing well and Serbia was awefull. Before the contest I had put them into… Read more »
I went and watched Cezar on YouTube (breaking my rule of I only watch the live shows). He is amazing. I think he might surprise everyone – it’s different, incredibly powerful, and he has an awesome voice and presence.
I don’t know who my favorite will be by the end of the night, but it could be him.
My dear Valentina… There is nothing to be said, is there?
I feel sorry for Israel, too. She has a powerful voice, and the song is good, but there is something about her look that puts off people. It could be the horrible dress or the glasses, or both. I don´t know. I love Georgia, too, but yesterday I had the impression that they screamed a lot on stage. Maybe it was just the “internet effect”. Farid´s staging was good, indeed, but you are right, I kept my eyes fixed on the dancer (or whatever he is called) in the box, rather than watch or listen to the ong. And Romania,… Read more »
I think Georgia were not good
@Bogdan – Question for you. Are most voters knowledgeable ESC voters? Or are most like me where they tune in once a year and it’s all new? Doesn’t mean Georgia will win, but are those issues problems in the voting?
And I do think they had chemistry.
I agree all the way about Georgia! The semis show that you can’t trust the odds this year, Georgia have been underrated…I can really see this. I met Nodi last night, he is lovely!
Georgia’s “Waterfall” is a good song, but pales in comparison with what the SAME songwriters came up with last year, the incredible “Quédate Conmigo”. Many have even noticed it is a copy of Pastora Soler’s song (exact same structure) with more shine and glitter, performed by a duo lacking chemistry, and that’s why it’s not a fan favourite – but it might very well work with “Eurovision virgins” 😉