Malmö 2013 - first semi-final

It begins ... !!! :-o

WONDERFUL opening tonight. Love it.

As I said in my video, this year's lineup is very weak and just entirely underwhelming. I haz disappoint. It's extremely hard to call it this year, IMO, because there are no standout songs, in either direction. But what can you do, this is what we've got. Oy vey. This semi is the weakest of the two as well.

Austria. Average song with nondescript title. Good singer. Nice to listen to but nothing you remember. Nothing special, but then what is this year. Could go either way for Austria.

Estonia. I like that they're singing in Estonian. Other than that, nothing much. Average song. OK singer, but nothing very special. A good example of the weakness of the lineup this year. No hook, nothing. Nothing wrong with the song, but nothing to it either. :-(

Slovenia. Theoretically one of my favorites tonight. I like the song a lot ... but mainly the studio version. Hannah's not a very good singer, I don't know if it's because she's nervous or what, but this isn't good. She doesn't look nervous. :-) At least she has a better outfit tonight than in their national final. The song is catchy, at least while you're listening. But her performance isn't good. May not do as well as I'd hoped.

What's the deal with all these Americans, though?? Screw 'em. >:-(

Croatia. Oh, this song is pretty. I like this entry. And I like their outfits tonight! :-D It may be a little too weird to do very well, but on the other hand it's not very weird, just a little. Maybe just enough to make it memorable. Original in this context, and good singers. If I could vote in this semi I would seriously consider voting for Croatia. I like this song more every time I hear it.

Denmark. In a weak lineup, this is one of the strongest entries. Another pretty girl, but her voice has more character than most of the others'. The song is beautiful, very melodious. Catchy too. She definitely has the arena on her side. :-) A good performance, carried off very well, rather arty, but not too much so. The highlight of the show so far, without a doubt. Good luck to the Danes, they'll go far this year. :-)

Aw, I love all the butterflies ... !! :-)

Russia. They have one of the best singers this year. I just hope they've changed her outfit. Yes! She's so pretty. And this looks so much better than that black granny dress they had her wear in the video. This is a powerful ballad, beautifully performed. I like it a lot. They'll get through. A strong entry, in context. It's not necessarily memorable but at least it's very beautiful while you're listening. :-)

Ukraine. Another pretty girl, another pretty voice. Bizarro entrance. Very striking performance though, beautiful. They'll score extra for this presentation, the audience will remember this. The song is beautiful too, not as melodious as the Russian song but quite lovely to listen to. We'll be seeing this again too on Saturday. :-)

The Netherlands. One of my favorites tonight, because it's pretty much the only entry that really stands out. Her voice really has character, and the song is melodious in a rather unusual way. It's a little more demanding than your usual ESC entry. The lyrics too are unusual. Wow, she's really getting the arena going. Good for her. The presentation is wonderful too, I love it. I so hope they will make it ... !! Wish I could vote for them.

Montenegro. Oh, those wacky Montenegrins ... !! Count on them to stand out, if nothing else. :-) This is SO not my type of music, and the first time I heard this I hated it, but it's actually kind of grown on me. And I really dig that they're introducing a new genre to the contest. Plus that they're singing in their own language. Good for them. I kind of almost like this. I wouldn't be surprised if they manage to get to the final for the first time ever this year. At least it's different enough to be remembered.

Lithuania. Cute singer, but he's not a very good, well, singer. So, cute performer, I guess. Another bland entry with a nondescript title. OK to listen to, nothing wrong with it, kind of catchy, but meh, bland. Nothing you can call memorable in any way.

Belarus. I've been curious about how they would present this. I see that they've gone for ... totally tacky. Oh well, it is Belarus. What did I expect? :-) I actually like this, it's really catchy, but it sounds so familiar ... ?? The opening especially sounds almost exactly like some other song, I just can't remember which right now. But yeah, catchy. Indeed.

If aliens are tuning in to some earth frequency in order to see what humans spend their time on and to try to understand our civilization, I hope they watch this.

Moldova. Another entry that I really like and have listened to a number of times, although I couldn't hum it to save my life. Not too keen on her burning dress though, I had hoped they'd ditched that idea. Obviously not. Oh, this song is so pretty. I love the melody of it. She's hardly a great singer but this song is just so beautiful. Pretty good presentation. And they've really done something with the dress, it actually is much better than in their national final. Hm. She's really not bad. And the dress, whoah! OK. A more memorable entry than one might have thought. I like this. Good luck to them. :-)

Ireland. Yay - the Irish entry doesn't completely suck!! That's really all I ask of them at this point. But in fact it's better than not sucky, it's really not half bad. He's not a great singer either but totally acceptable. And I like it that he wrote his own song. The presentation's a little too overtly Irish to my taste, but they must think it's nice. The song's not very memorable but it's not at all bad while you're listening to it.

Cyprus. Singing in Greek, I'm so happy. But ouch, that dress ... !! Tackier than Belarus, I'd hardly thought it possible. But she's pretty and the song is melodious and quite sweet ... too bad about her singing voice. Ouch again. Ouchie!! Sorry, Cyprus, don't think we'll be seeing this again.

Belgium. Their singer is looking creepy tonight. Nothing special about this entry in any way, except the title. The song is kind of catchy, again, in context, and his voice is a little unusual, which may work in their favor. But I don't remember him looking anywhere near as creepy before. Roberto, what have they done to you??

Serbia. Oy vey, still with the costumes ... ! Better than in their national final, but still with the costumes. The choreography is much better though, it makes much more sense of it. I hope the costume thing won't ruin their chances. I love that they're singing in Serbian, but it can make the presentation confusing for non-Serbian speakers. But I like the song a lot and I really hope it gets through. A good choice for last song of the night.

That's it. Now the first runthrough of the 16 entries ... and then a fun little bit about ESC history. Actually rather well done. Fun. Another runthrough.

Done! The voting's over. Not that that matters in my case anyway. But now it's only a matter of time. :-) Ooh, and now, the interval entertainment. Really looking forward to that this year.

Ooh, northern lights and snow, and strange creatures dancing ethereally. Exactly what everyone in Norway was so happy to see that we didn't do in 2010. :-D But the music is quite pretty. And who doesn't love the northern lights.

Should I make some guesses? Yeah ... even though it's incredibly hard to call it this year, and especially tonight, with everything being so even. I'll give it a try. Let's see.

I'm pretty sure that the following will make it through:
Denmark
Russia
Ukraine
Montenegro
Belarus
Serbia

Also really hoping for Moldova and the Netherlands. Fingers crossed for them.

But the thing is that there's no one entry here that "deserves" to get through, or not get through, more than any other. So what does it matter? Actually, there's not a single song here I can say I would be upset to see in the final. It's all pretty much the same tonight. o_O

Ahahaha, Lynda Woodruff. Why can't Cyprus ever win??

And now a look at the Big Five and our gracious host. I love the British song but dread seeing Bonnie Tyler on stage. :-( And how tacky is it to show her giant house and wall of gold records ... ?? Sheesh.

OK, here we go. Which are the ten finalists?? Let's hear it ... !!

Moldova!! Yes!!! :-D
Lithuania. Huh.
Ireland. Aw. That's so nice for them. They actually really deserve it this year ... since they haven't sent total garbage, I mean. Good for them.
Estonia.
Belarus. Yup.
Denmark. Of course.
Russia. Again, of course.
Belgium! The weirdo! Guess he didn't creep everyone out. :-D
Ukraine. Yup.
The Netherlands!! YAY!!!

OK, six out of eight isn't so bad. :-)

A good show even thought the entries weren't great. Looking forward to Thursday!!! :-)