Kyiv 2017 - second semi-final

Wheee ... !! :-D

Live from Kyiv ... ! :-D

This is the semi where Norway is competing so I will be able to vote tonight. Sorry that I missed the chance to vote for Portugal on Tuesday, but luckily I will have the chance to do that on Saturday. ;-) Tonight I really don't know who to vote for ... there isn't really one single song that I really like tonight. But I have to send off a few votes ... a token effort. Maybe Estonia ... ?

Nice suits on the guys tonight. And now they're playing us some Eurovision classics, Ukrainian folk music style. Awesome.

I really like the show so far, they've done a great job. Of course they've had an awful lot of help, but still. :-)

Ahahaha this is soo cool ... !! :-D

Info on how to vote. I think I probably have that figured out.

The show is on ... !!!

Serbia - In Too Deep. Another pretty young woman in a white dress. And singing a song that is pretty to listen to but not at all memorable. Like the three from Tuesday night, in other words. It's impossible for me to guess who will get through tonight because literally nothing stands out ... but this is not an impressive effort from the Serbians. Alas. Her voice isn't sounding very good tonight either.

Austria - Running on Air. Ooh ... he has his own sparkly crescent moon. The night's best prop. :-) But like Tijana, not a very good singer. A good presentation though. But a boring song that there's no reason to remember.

Macedonia - Dance Alone. Now this is a catchier entry than the other two. And Jana certainly isn't wearing a long white dress. ;-) The presentation is ... kind of cool, but a little seizure-inducing. I don't know. It's catchy, but a bit repetitive. Still the best so far.

Malta - Breathlessly. Another Faniello sibling! Oh look, she's wearing a long white dress. Is no one watching the other countries rehearse?? This song is quite pretty really, but it takes such a long time to get started ... and when it does it doesn't really go anywhere. Too bland. But pretty.

But now, Romania! Who will Yodel It! :-D Say what you want, but this is a really original entry in this lineup. I take back what I said earlier, there is one song that does actually stand out. :-D I've read some really negative reviews of this entry but I think it's very cool that the Romanians are trying something new like this. Far too few contestants are doing that this year. Way to go, Romania!! Not sure how it will be received but I think people will like it. It's fun ... ! and there's far too little of that this year, in the lineup at least. They've really got the arena going, and that tends to "come through the screen". Go Romania!! :-D

The Netherlands - Lights and Shadows. Ooh, sparkly ... !! Fortunately not three white dresses. ;-) I quite like this song, although I couldn't hum it if my life depended on it ... its back story is quite touching and I think they perform it well. It's a pretty song. But it's not catchy and it's not memorable. But pretty.

A stopover in the green room.

Hungary - Origo. Some gypsy music, and a fiddle. We'll see. This song has an interesting rhythm, and the singer has a good voice ... better than most of the others so far. And I love that the song has Hungarian lyrics. The melody is kind of flat, a little repetitive, but it's interesting. I like it. We'll see.

Denmark - Where I Am. A red dress!! :-D A red dress on a pretty good singer, with a good stage presence, and a song that yet again is pretty to listen to, has a pretty good beat, but isn't memorable.

Ireland - Dying to Try. Wow. The Irish singer is a boy, but he sounds like a girl. Kind of spooky. And there's the hot air balloon. Color-wise it's pretty cool, with the red and white balloon and the black and white background. It's visually appeaing. And at least there aren't any Celtic knots ... ! :-D A very bland song, IMO.

San Marino - Spirit of the Night. Yay, Valentina ... ! I'm almost starting to feel like it isn't really Eurovision without her. :-D But she's had better entries in the past ... Crisalide especially, I love that song. This song ... I don't know, it's upbeat and fast and that makes it stand out a little bit from most of the other songs tonight. But it's not very original and it gets a little enervating. Like they're trying too hard. And the presentation feels kind of oldfashioned. But good luck to them.

Croatia - My Friend. I wish they'd skip that quote at the beginning. But I guess not. It's interesting that someone who is supposedly so homophobic comes off as so ... well, gay, for lack of a better word. Not that there's anything wrong with that. This two voices thing is a weird gimmick, I don't know that it will appeal to people. I like the presentation, but the song ... the song I actually like less every time I hear it. Kind of hoping I won't have to watch this again on Saturday.

Norway - Grab the Moment. Don't just seize the moment! Seizing is for wimps! GRAB it! :-D OK, so this is my country. I'm not super proud to be represented by this, but everything else we had to choose from was worse. Quite a lot of it was much worse, actually. We're at least making this look pretty cool, if nothing else. And the mask is working, at least. Or maybe not? No, that was the other guy. Also seems like there are some problems with the picture ... but hopefully that's just on our national broadcaster's part. This song is fine to listen to, but bland and not particularly memorable. But nothing much else is tonight either, so I don't know.

Switzerland - Apollo. A yellow dress! Yay! One point to Switzerland for wearing yellow. :-D I like the song too but it's like soo many other songs tonight, pretty to listen to but nothing to remember. People may remember that dress though. :-)

Another visit to the green room.

Belarus - Story of My Life. Another white dress!! But this time accompanied by ... a lot of other white things that kind of distract from it. They're in a boat! He's got a guitar with lace on it. And they're singing in Belarusian, I like that. This song has a good vibe, it's charming. But may end up being too much of a good thing. But at least they're daring to be a little different. Dancing on the boat ... :-)

Bulgaria - Beautiful Mess. One of this year's favorites. I don't really see that, to be honest. I think it's a relatively interesting entry - the presentation is quite striking - but I don't think the song in itself is memorable at all. I'll be extremely confused if this ends up winning ... ! :-D But not at all bad, just not particularly good either, IMO.

Lithuania - Rain of Revolution. Not sure what to say about this. I think they're thinking that it's quite different and out there, but it isn't really. It's a little bit catchy in certain sections, and the presentation's flashy, but IMHO there isn't a lot to it. I'll be surprised if this goes anywhere.

Estonia - Verona. Now here's a song that there is something to. A slow start, but once it gets going ... ! OK, she's wearing a white dress, but I forgive her. This song has a striking melodic line that raises it head and shoulders above the other entries tonight. Estonia gets my vote.

Israel - I Feel Alive. Speaking of a seizure-inducing presentation ... o_O Ouch, his voice does not sound good at all. Worst singer of the night, closing the show? Well, the song has a pretty good beat, but I'll have forgotten it in five minutes from now. A very good looking singer though. ;-)

Now it's time to vote ... ! I am less enthusiastic than I would normally be.

First runthrough ...

I voted five times for Estonia and twice for Romania. I can't in good conscience vote for anything else in this lineup.

Verka is back to entertain us ... !! :-D

Aww, chatting with fans in the arena. :-)

Second runthrough ... but my civic duty is done ...

Voting's almost over ... !

"A brilliant and diverse array of performances" ahahahahaha ... !!!

And the interval entertaintment is ... contemporary dance. OK, absolutely not my thing, but what the hey, I'll watch it. :-) Apache Crew, what a bizarre name for a Ukrainian dance troupe ... !

A last pit stop in the green room ...

OMG Jana's boyfriend is proposing to her ... !!! A Eurovision baby AND a Eurovision wedding!! :-D Now I almost regret not voting for Macedonia ... ! :-D If they got through to the final that would really be the icing on the cake. Wow. :-D

Do I dare any guesses ... ? Hardly. As long as Estonia and Romania get through I honestly don't care about any of this other crap.

Oh, talking to France ... and Germany and Ukraine. No instant classics anywhere there either.

OK, so Estonia will definitely get through.
Romania I'm hopeful for more than optimistic maybe?
Also really hoping for Macedonia now. ;-)
Bulgaria
Hungary
Maybe Norway?

Hell, I don't know, everything except Estonia is no good. I would have a hard time picking ten finalists from this lineup.

The results are in and approved ... !

The last ten finalists are ...

Bulgaria. Yep.
Belarus.
Croatia. Damnit.
Hungary. Yep yep.
Denmark. Huh. Well, why not, they weren't any worse than anyone else.
Israel.
Romania!! YES!! :-D
Norway. OK, not surprising, we definitely weren't any worse than anyone else. ;-)

But come on, Estonia ... !!!

The Netherlands.
Austria! WHAT!

Estonia didn't make it! WTF!! I haz confuse ... !

Crap.

Oh well, at least Romania made it. But I haz disappoint. Boo, Europe!! >:-(

Happy people on stage, but no happy Estonians :-(

Still, all in all a good show. I have high hopes for the show on Saturday. :-)