Armenia’s Iveta Mukuchyan set us on fire with a seriously hot performance of “LoveWave”, whilst Sergey Lazarev showed why Russia is the favourite to win the entire contest. Unsurprisingly, both countries made it to the final once again, along with eight other countries. But that meant eight had to go home. Malta’s Ira Losco, who gave us pregnancy diva realness and for the first time in their history, the Czech Republic have made it to the Eurovision grand final thanks to Gabriela Guncikova.
Unfortunately, that meant we had to say goodbye to eight countries in the process, including – for the first times ever – Greece and Bosnia & Herzegovina failing to qualify. If you missed the results, then where were you? Thankfully, we have all the qualifiers for semi-final one below.
Semi-Final One Qualifiers:
- Azerbaijan: Samra with “Miracle”
- Russia: Sergey Lazarev with “You Are the Only One”
- Netherlands: Douwe Bob with “Slow Down”
- Hungary: Freddie with “Pioneer”
- Croatia: Nina Kraljic with “Lighthouse”
- Austria: Zoë with “Loin d’ici”
- Armenia: Iveta Mukuchyan with “LoveWave”
- Czech Republic: Gabriela Guncikova with “I Stand”
- Cyprus: Minus One with “Alter Ego”
- Malta: Ira Losco with “Walk on Water”
Did not qualify
(Acts listed in performance order)
- Finland: Sandhja with “Sing It Away”
- Greece: Argo with “Utopian Land”
- Moldova: Lidia Isac with “Falling Stars”
- San Marino: Serhat with “I Didn’t Know”
- Estonia: Jüri Pootsmann with “Play”
- Montenegro: Highway with “Real Thing”
- Iceland: Greta Salóme with “Hear Them Calling”
- Bosnia & Herzegovina: Deen & Dalal with “Ljubav je”
During the show, we also saw snippets of the performances from three of the automatic qualifiers. France’s Amir, Spain’s Barei and the host nation Sweden’s Frans each had a minute of their songs shown, giving them more exposure than ever before in the semi finals. The full performances can also be viewed on eurovision.tv.
Make sure to check out our Youtube channel, wiwi.tv for all the news from the semi-final one winners press conference, as well as all the information on the running order draws as they take place live.
One of the best this evening was the Netherlands, after this evening it’s on top of my list. Wouldn’t mind at all if they win this year.
Without trying to be an A-hat, I just have to say this. (Mind that Estonia is my favorite, so please take this as a dark humor, not insult): – Iceland didn’t actually hear enough people calling so they went home. – The Greek Utopian Land isn’t the finals stage. – For Bosnia, love isn’t what has been shown by the televote. – Moldova really has a fallen star now. – Estonia went to play, but the voting has put them on pause. – Sanmarinese people really didn’t know how to make people vote enough. – Finland was sung away from… Read more »
I saw in my dreams next winner Eurovision 2016 win Armenia.
You will see guys. Iveta will win Eurovision 2016. Good luck.
Remember my words.
@Seddik Ghoule: You never know. Dutch fortunes might actually have made a turn after yesterday. Before this contest started, I had Douwe Bob going home 11th in this round. But what I saw on the stage was a display of professionalism which today you rarely see at the ESC. I rewarded him for that, and he wound up 6th on my scorecard last night. I think he could conceivably steal a top-10 spot on Saturday, which I would consider a major comeback for the Dutch, after the failure of Trijntje Oosterhuis last year.
Everybody Hates The Netherlands.
To be honest: might Have been The best performance of The night vocal. Not as spectacular effects as say Russia. But No one wants to see Holland win.
@stan
Icebreaker is definitely going to qualify. She doesn’t have much competition in the 2nd semis. Denmark is definitely out that song is total rubbish. How many times can they send in an all white boy cover-band? I have the feeling the votes were rigged because Denmark didn’t want the burden to host again.
Sweden is a hard ball. I like that they tried something different but the performance is so boring. Who knows.
@We love stars, flowers, pyros, copied visuals, air fans and blue and red leds
Yes, I will vote for Russia! Love the song, staging, and Sergey! 🙂
@Pollaski I would rate my qualifiers/non-qualifiers similar as you: 1. Estonia – The best, I am in a shock it didn’t qualify! 2. Croatia 3. Netherlands 4. Austria 5. Czech Republic 6. Iceland – Also a shock for NQ, I was convinced she’s gonna make it! 7. Armenia – The song grew on me tremendously last night. 8. Cyprus 9. Moldova 10. Hungary – Not the most clean pronunciation, but a great song nonetheless. __________________________________________________ 11. Russia 12. Malta 13. Azerbaijan 14. Greece 15. San Marino – Funny bad 16. Finland – Terrible 17. Bosnia & Herzegovina – Abysmal 18.… Read more »
Malta is amazing deserved to pass and considering her pregnancy, she is just perfect and yes she still slaaaays i pretend a bit more power in the final and therefore it can be declared as a winner for me.. russia amazing staging but didn’t come out vocally strong as i thought and thos backing vocals OMG. realy happy for czech republic their song is greaat even their artist. armenia is my winner of the show .. i don’t have any words to describe it .cryprus azerbaijan netherlands croatia =flawless . I expected more from hungary and austria has improved i… Read more »
I just finished watching the performances. Armenia – One of my personal favourites. Very pulsing and powerful, lots of energy and Iveta M. nailed it. Outfit is a bit trashy. Hungary – Pioneer, my other big favourite. The staging visual effects are not impressive, but the performance still managed to look stunning. The man was in the center, just how it should be in this song. Lots of connection with the camera from Freddie, message delivered, vocals were great. Last 40 seconds are chatartic. Russia – Flawless, but somehow it looked less impressive than I expected. It might be because… Read more »
Year after year it’s an ex soviet banquet both in the final and the semifinals. There are simply too many of them voting. They bring average songs, but money for a nice staging, so they always qualify and end up in the top places by neighbouring voting and people with more eyes than ears! Will any of you really vote for Russia? C’mon guys, Let’s look for something innovative or at least simple… but always a good and catchy song we can remember and make this a memmorable year at least!
Someone was singing Miracle, but it definitely wasn’t Samra. Good thing they turned the volume up for the background vocals. Samra is just tragic as a vocalist, and should quit singing after Eurovision. Her place in the music industry is like her voice: unnecessary & irrelevant
Big congratulations to Azerbaijan…for hiring the best background singers! They were great, specially during the chorus. Samra who? She should be the one hidden in the background with her mic turned off. The song should be called Disaster rather than miracle.
Congrats to Czechia, good performance & 1st time qualifier. I just hoped Estonia was in the top 10. Good luck to Netherlands, Hungary & Armenia!
Ukraine will not win. Its too divisive. Just like Revenant didnt won Oscar for best film this year. People loved this film or hated.
My rankings for SF 1 (pre-show rankings in parenthesis) 1. ESTONIA (1)- Absolute travesty this one didn’t qualify. Juri was spot on, the song was very good, the staging was excellent, and he even let his inner dork out with those card tricks. It was all amazing… you blew this one, Europe. 2. ICELAND (4)- Also shocked this didn’t qualify. It had everything- exciting intense song, charismatic singer, excellent choreography and effects. Another pity this won’t make it to Saturday. 3. CYPRUS (7)- Minus One was fantastic. They could have toned down the flashing camera tricks a bit, but overall… Read more »
After watching this 1st semifinal I think we’re starting a new era where the scenographies are making bad songs turn into good shows. Really there’s no more criteria based on the song, but now what you see over exceeds what you listen and what you feel, which is a shame.
@EugeneESCUK
I envy you a little only seeing rainbows, hearts and stars. In my case, I can’t neglect serious national issues because of glittering media show.
As I have understood russians are all over the place posting positive comments. In real Europe has a very divided audience.
For me it is also about the best song and performance. You mentioned Jamala, Ukraine. I can only agree.
I still have no idea why Iceland and Estonia did not qualify. The fact that Azerbaijan did shows something fishy is going on. I would take out Armenia and Azerbaijan and put Estonia and Iceland in their place. Azers vocals were a mess and Armenia, I did not understand one word she was saying. The song is a dull, lyrically shallow tune masked with oooooos. Samra’s vocals were so weak and the performance a joke. What the hell were those dancers wearing?
@Henry
What were the full results?? Where can i find them?
What a semi-final, probably the best semi-final 1 in years! However, I’ll take out Azerbaijan for Iceland. Greta was so robbed! And yay, the Czechs finally qualified!!!
@Miramax09 Ok i didn’t see it was Greek, i thought Russian. But did you also see the results just as i did?
@ Henry: I think its the official Greek Site, because the Letters are Greek. If this Results are not fake (which I hope), then this is the first REAL scandal of this years contest. This results seem to be the COMPLETE results of all countries. OMG, I hope this is a fake!!!
@Nick You were right! The results were there at the official Russian Eurovision wiki page, but now they are removed! Another Russian blamage..
@ EugeneESCUK
I personally don’t have any problems with Lazarev (although his song is lame), but with the 80% of russia’s population that support that country’s insane leadership. You cannot disregard politics in this wether you want or not. I think the real denial is that russians are now very nervous. Let’s see how it all goes!
@ EugeneESCUK
I personally don’t have any problems with Lazarev (although his song is lame), but with the 80% of russia’s population that support that country’s insane leadership. You cannot disregard politics in this wether you want or not. I think the real denial is that the russians are now very nervous. Let’s see how it all goes!
@MrBrightside: They will not release the scores from this round until Sunday, AFTER the Grand Final. This is (1) to keep anyone from getting an unfair advantage, (2) to keep anyone from making changes to improve their standing based on what they KNOW about their standing in the competition, and (3) to discourage the possibility of any backdoor or under-the-table deals (I’ll say the word; bribery) if a country knew where they placed in a semi and knew where more points might possibly come from in the final.
All Nordic countries in this semi are out… And it doesn’t look good for the second one either…
https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%94%CE%B9%CE%B1%CE%B3%CF%89%CE%BD%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CF%8C%CF%82_%CE%A4%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%B3%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%8D_Eurovision_2016 The results of 1st semifinal!!! Real or not? I dont know
https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%94%CE%B9%CE%B1%CE%B3%CF%89%CE%BD%CE%B9%CF%83%CE%BC%CF%8C%CF%82_%CE%A4%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%B3%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%8D_Eurovision_2016 The results of 1st semifinal Maybe they are real
My bad. Moldova gets a “NQ” (non-qualifier) as well.
Better late than never. I watched this round in the wee hours of the night in NYC, and as I am typing this, the sun is rising. Here is how I saw the first round: 9.53 Russia Just what sorcery did they conjure up for those tricks? Apart from that, Sergey is a showman, no doubt about that. 9.49 Croatia I must say that Nina sounded way better on stage than she did in her music video. Graphic stage designs, excellent, appropriate for the song. If the voters fight over who else should win, we could see Zagreb hosting next… Read more »
Very unusual (I think), that all the penultimate three songs failed. So much for second half advantage. As for Greta, I think that voters might have thought ‘oh now, not another video wall’
HUGE props to Eugene for being objective, hands down.
To wiwibloggs, please continue to keep in touch with Greta and Jüri. They are amazing performers and have an adequate number of fans. In the end, this semi final really had lots of amazing performers regardless if they had to qualify or not.
The moment when Sergey climbs the stairs on the screen (sounds so strange to even say this) and he is holding himself on top of the screen singing till he flips on the other side for that red projection connecting with the heart LOOKED PAINFUL ….. he was basically hanging, his hand was there and it just look unnecessary …. WHY all the kitsch
I am really fed up with Freddie hater wiwi gays. He was one of the best vocal performance of the night. Staging was not bad also. Freddie managed to give the message of the song perfectly. WTF do you need more to appreciate him? This year it is the most underrated song by the Wiwi.
I am very happy that Nina, Iveta, Gabriela, Douwe, Freddie and Minus One qualified. I miss Jüri. I do not understand Samra’s and Ira’s success. Greta deserved their places.
For me it was almost a perfect night.
Gabriela made it, I am so happy about this <3 And I am sad, that Iceland didn't pass, I would switch them with Azerbaijan.
I liked Netherlands, Austria, Azerbaijan and the guy from Hungary (though his song is fairly mediocre..)
I think Armenia and Russia performed well.. but I cannot for the life of me picture hearing those songs on the radio.. They’re so typically Eurovision that I doubt they will do well after the contest.
PS: getting tired of the Armenia/Azerbaijan rift.. If they cannot stop using the ESC as a platform for their political drama I honestly think they shouldn’t be allowed to compete. It’s so immature and it lacks all forms of respect.
I say it again: Armenia had the best performance tonight together with Netherlands. Sergey wasn’t really worth all hype and Iveta who no expected anything from surpassed him.
I think we are closer to Yerevan 2017 than Moscow 2017.
Still cheering for France and Frans though:)
I really feel wiwibloggs is underestimating Hungary and Belgium. Every non-ESC fan friend of mine thought yesterday that Hungary (not Russia, not Armenia) was the best. I think Belgium will slay Thursday because of the same reason: It applies to another generation whose ears were not contaminated by “contemporary” dance beats- we need a melody. A melody to sing to.
Does anybody know when EBU is going to reveal the voting scores from the first semi?
Russia performance copy-paste:
I knew Russia looked familiar…. LoL
@Globen – And what makes you think I’m making enemies? It was you who first accused Russia of plagiarism. Just because you felt like it. In many European countries, you can sue for libel.
When you will be able to speak not on the level of the student – then go back. But now – good luck.
I feel really sad for Moldova, Iceland and Bosnia and Herzegovina 🙁
The Netherlands was the only country that didn’t deserve the ticket they got. I was not a big fan of Hungary and Austria and I would have prefered to see the first three countries in the Grand Final instead of them, still though they have very good songs.
@ Void
Me caveman? Don’t think so. Maybe you russians are just good at one thing – making enemies. I let you think Sergey’s performance is trendy and maybe it is…in Siberia. 🙂 Good luck!
@Globen – You must be a caveman. Let me tell you how it came to ESC. Initially, the idea of projection belongs to Korean group W4D (you can check it out). Mans in 2015 used this idea, combining her song with David Guetta and taking the statement from the speech Beyonce (check plz). Mans = W4D + Beyonce + David Guetta. Lazarev – he got W4D idea and improved it! What’s the General Mans? Lazarev used it earlier than did Sweden. If I’m not mistaken he performed with the show on MUZ TV (screen projection)… And Yes, it’s a trend.… Read more »
@AndersP
Ha can hit those high notes but only once, his perfornance in the final will be AWESOME
Well, on Russia I have a double feeling. First the bad: They did terrible camera work! How do you ruin such number of unsuccessful angles? If they expect to win, they have to fix their mistake. Sergey was very nervous. Despite his experience. It is evident that he was very hard and his voice vibrated. Also hesitantly started the song. Is it a must to gather my thoughts! If he wants to win. I very much hope that Russia noticed their mistakes and correct them. Now for the good: the Staging is amazing! Dynamics are also impressive. Song in iTunes… Read more »
@Void Hehe trend? You must be joking. Russia uses gimmicks for its parody. Not sure that someone will copy anything from russia’s patchwork hereafter.