Europe spoke during the first semi-final—but not all of our readers agreed with what they had to say. In the aftermath of the voting results, we asked which non-qualifier most deserved a spot in the final. More than 2,000 of our readers voted, but they struggled to reach to a consensus. Three women stayed close to the top, but in the end Hersi Matmuja grabbed victory: 624 voters thought she should have been in the final with her song ‘One Night’s Anger’.

Portugal’s Suzy finished only eight votes behind with 616 votes, or nearly 26%. It’s not surprising since Suzy fell on the left side of the scoreboard at Eurovision, just one point behind qualifier Valentina Monetta of San Marino.

569 readers, or around 24 percent who voted, believed that Estonia’s Tanja should have advanced.

A big gap opened up after that. Moldova’s Cristina, who wants to return to Eurovision, Came fourth. Belgium’s Axel Hirsoux, who’s disappointing result caused a heated debate about the Belgian national final, came fifth, while Latvia’s Aarzemnieki finished last.

Semi-final #1: Which non-qualifier should have made the final?

  1. Albania: Hersi – One Night’s Anger 26.28% (624 votes)
  2. Portugal: Suzy – Quero Ser Tua 25.95% (616 votes)
  3. Estonia: Tanja – Amazing 23.97% (569 votes)
  4. Moldova: Cristina Scarlat – Wild Soul 8.8% (209 votes)
  5. Belgium: Axel Hirsoux – Mother 7.79% (185 votes)
  6. Latvia: Aarzemnieki – Cake To Bake 7.2% (171 votes)

See the results of our poll for the second semi-final.

Photo: Eurovision.tv (EBU)

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francesca
francesca
9 years ago

Hersi is a goddess!! I will never forget her beautiful song and I will always follow her! I am from Portugal but believe me: Suzy has no voice, she is really bad and no one in my country loves her!
I am really sad that Hersi didn’t pass…

Marcelo N
9 years ago

Hersi’s song was not “for everyone”, OK… wait, were any other songs “for everyone”? Oh, come on! I just don’t believe ESC cannot dare to go two steps away from painly generic and safe. This song make have been darker back on I Kenges, but gimme a bloody break if people “could not understand it”! This was not “Suus” (that was harsher AND dark). One Night’s Anger went through a lot, having everything changed from the language to part of its atmosphere (except it didn’t lose that anachronic guitar solo). I loved this song at the end of last year… Read more »

Alex
Alex
9 years ago

Probably the biggest reason Hersi missed the final is simple: she performed right after the commercial break. It’s also probably the driving factor behind why Suzy missed. Yes, Austria performed after commercial break in second semifinal, but I have a feeling people would’ve voted for it regardless of how much of the performance they’d seen. Albania’s entry doesn’t have quite the same effect if you just see the ending.

Deven O'Kearney
9 years ago

Hi guys

You know what, when the last country was being announced in the first semi final, I said to myself ”You know what, Iceland has failed to qualify. Oh Well.” But then when Iceland was announced I was a bit shocked that Moldova and Estonia did not get through.

Natik Jasminum
Natik Jasminum
9 years ago

I was dreaming of winning a million…huh, i’m not lucky!……

……..same here………………………………………………..:-(

Reglect
Reglect
9 years ago

Well, i don’t like the song, but Hersi’s voice is of the best this year.
Think the song is too dark for Eurovision.
Anyway, i wanted Estonia instead of Iceland or Azerbaijan.
Although Dilara is so beautiful, and the melody of the song is amazing, she wasn’t at her best live. And i can’t hear anything she is singing. And i am hoping that next year Azerbaijan is coming with something different instead of a ballad 🙂

Thiefo
9 years ago

I love Hersi and her song was one of my favourites, but her staging wasn’t memorable I think. I don’t know, it felt awkward to see her in that platform just standing there 😛

Just being honest
Just being honest
9 years ago

Hersi’s song was a real gem. Perhaps it was the presentation of the song that was lacking? I personally thought that the classical & rock elements of the song was not conveyed effectively on stage. The song is a fusion of both genres so I was expecting something like Macedonia 2012 – starting off in a classy manner then going all hardcore rock with a band. Apart from the tatoo, Hersi pretty much stayed on one spot. Would’ve been better if she actually followed that guitarist on stage.

Joanna
Joanna
9 years ago

Greetings from Australia! Of all the ones that didn’t get in, I was so sorry Albania was left off. Every time I replay all the songs, it is one of 4 that stay in my head (the others are Romania, Sweden and Norway). Really disappointed she didn’t make the cut. It is however a slightly complicated melody and not one that everyone might find easy to sing but personally I liked it all the more for that.

Miksi
9 years ago

Albania,Portugal and Moldova should have passed instead of Iceland,Armenia and Azerbaijan imo 🙂

Digi
Digi
9 years ago

Suzy is deserved for GF Eurovision 2014 & Iceland no deserved. For Albania (Shqiq Language is better) 😉

CookyMonzta
CookyMonzta
9 years ago

Hersi would surely have made the final if she and her team had left the song the way it was (namely, as “Zemërimi I Një Natë”). By going English (not very convincing wordplay, I think), and tinkering with the music, in an attempt to make it pop-friendly–or, in this case, ESC-friendly–they sacrificed too much of its traditional sound, and sacrificed too much of what made the original song unique, and it ultimately cost her enough points to deny her a place in the final.

Leaf
Leaf
9 years ago

Suzy was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G live !!!!!
Next year I am gonna stop reading all the rehearsal reviews since they all made a big fuss about how some countries had amazing staging and camera work and in the end watching stuff on TV they kinda fell flat ……

Suzy was bashed about her bad vocal performance in almost every single site that went on these rehearsals and delivered more than anyone ever expected … Plus, I think she was the spunk the final night was missing, fell asleep in the sea of ballads and gimmicky boy band performances.

Alex
Alex
9 years ago

I wholeheartedly agree with this result. Where was the jury on this one? Her voice is totally angelic…