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The Spotter’s Guide To Semifinal 1 Written by on May 22, 2012

The First Semifinal of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest is finally here, after a year’s worth of planning, months’ worth of construction, and weeks’ worth of lunacy in the Press Centre.  Even the Juries have had their chance to weigh in on the qualifiers, so now it’s your turn!  But before you tune in to tonight’s programming, we here at ESC Insight wanted to give you a brief heads-up on some of the more…interesting…staging choices that might pop up this evening.  Let’s take a peek, shall we?

The Trojan Donkey

After the unique Eurovision experience of meeting our three new hosts (who are covering both semi finals and the grand final), it’s on to the by-now traditional opener from Montenegro. Rambo Amadeus has sent a highly experimental song to the Contest, and for reasons we’re not quite sure, he’s got a Trojan Donkey as his main stage prop. Madness. But oh-so Eurovision.

The Epic Moonwalking Bagpiper

Back in 2010, Moldova’s SunStroke Project gave the world a truly priceless gift: the Epic Sax Guy.  Even though “Run Away” didn’t win in Oslo, they’ve entered the public consciousness (and racked up tens of millions of YouTube hits, to boot).  Not to be outdone, Mandinga, hailing from neighboring Romania, have a trick up their sleeve: the Epic Moonwalking Bagpipe Guy!  The opening shot of “Zaleilah” focuses on Chupi, his smooth moves, and his heart-shaped bagpipe.  No matter where they end up on the scoreboard, I think this means we all win, don’t you?

The song formerly known as The Facebook Song (Uh oh oh)

Oh, Valentina.  Valentina, Valentina, Valentina.  Great voice, awkward vehicle.  Keep your eyes peeled for Ms. Monetta’s bedazzled MacBook (no word yet on whether or not the lyrics are on the screen), the most hodgepodge group of costume choices since Homens da Luta (including a pilot, a doctor, and a cheerleader…sadly, the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker couldn’t get their visas in time), and practically the entire population of San Marino cycling through the LED screens behind the performance of “The Social Network Song”.

The Grannies

Honestly, what could anybody say about the Buranovskiye Babushki that hasn’t been said already?  You know them, you love them, you want them to adopt you and make you little Udmurt meat pies all day.  Oh, wait, that’s what they do!  Keep your sights on the giant oven spinning around in the background, if you can take your eyes off of the Natalya Pugachyova (known to many here in the Press Centre as “Gummy Granny”…you’ll soon find out why).

Take two Jedwards into the shower?

Let’s see…how many of you, when you heard that John and Edward were going to be performing a song called “Waterline” at Eurovision this year, thought to yourselves “I bet we’re going to see them drenched by the end of these three minutes”?  For those of you wondering if Jedward were not, in fact, human, but rather some sort of wax-figure-meets-android, wonder no longer!  Instead of shorting out or melting into a pile of Haribo-fueled protoplasm underneath their fountain, the Grimes brothers end their performance of “Waterline” sopping, but energized.  (And the fact that they ended up in the Greenroom wearing fuzzy, leopard-printed bathrobes has to count for something, doesn’t it?)

What are you looking forward to seeing tonight?  Leave us a comment!

About The Author: Samantha Ross

Vaguely aware of the Contest since childhood, a fanatic since 2008, and an ESC blogger since 2009, Samantha Ross made her first sojourn to Eurovision in 2011, and was quickly welcomed into the fold at ESC Insight. Over the years, she's been interviewed by BBC World News, SVT, LBC Radio, and many others. She was a semi-regular contributor to Oystermouth Radio's weekly dedicated Eurovision program, "Wales 12 Points". Furthermore, Samantha contributed to BBC Radio 2's coverage of the Copenhagen contest, and was a member of the official JuniorEurovision.tv web team in 2014 and 2015. She also worked as a member of the Bulgarian Delegation, serving as Assistant Head of Press in Kyiv and Lisbon. She is also the creator of the podcast "12 Points from America", an irreverent look at Eurovision from a US point of view. When not at Eurovision, Samantha is a regular on the Twin Cities pub quiz circuit, and has volunteered as a moderator for the local high school quiz bowl for over ten years. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but is wistfully looking for opportunities to get geographically closer to the heart of the Eurovision action. You can follow Samantha on Twitter (@escinsider).

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