Lisa-Jayne Lewis
Stands out for me were Austria and Belarus. Both songs that I loved coming into the contest and were eager to see the staging and presentation of them, and neither one has disappointed. ORF are becoming known as a broadcaster who trust their artists vision. They really want to give as much artistic control to the singer and the result of that here for Nathan Trent is a realisation of his vision to be the ‘man in the moon’. The staging of this is absolutely stunning. I wish there was a ‘best use of colour’ award because the way that Austria has used tone and transition in it’s lighting and video graphics is stunning. A wee bit of tightening up of a few things and Austria have basically ‘nailed it’!
Belarus have brought all the fun and authentically Belarusian elements from their National Final performance and their quirky music video and translated them so well on to the big stage here in Kyiv, I’m so hopeful for a Belarusian qualification this year. Also I was impressed with Serbia and Bulgaria, both solo artists on stage and both showing different ways to fill a big stage well, from Serbia we are seeing something quite stripped back and understated, which is unusual for them but very contemporary and sophisticated. With Bulgaria we see a juxtaposition of edgy styling, a monochromatic colour story, and graphics mapping set against one of this year’s stand out ballads, I really like it.
I’ll let someone else talk about Romania!
Roy Delaney
Where semi one was fairly front-loaded with the goodies, our second qualification battle squeezes the biggest joys into a pretty crowded middle. The wee Bulgarian laddie has to be the best shot for the top slot, and his growing confidence didn’t smother this delicate song, and the subtle camera design gently coaxes it ahead to the chasing pack.
You’ll have heard elsewhere how well Austria’s Nathan Trent performed, oozing cheeky charm straight down the camera at your nan. If anything’s going to do a Tesoro in strong field it’s going to be him.
Hungary will surprise many, as it’s performed incredibly well and is the only thing of its ilk in this selection, while as distasteful as I find the Dutch thing, O’G3ne will caress the votes out of the juries and the more serious-minded fans.
Don’t discount the lunacy of Croatia in teasing the SMS market into activity, and likewise Romania will be loved by the folks at home, but may struggle with the jurors.
With those six fairly safe in the qualification bag, I reckon we’re looking at eight songs battling it out for the remaining four places, with only Norway, Switzerland, Macedonia and Lithuania in dire straits and in need of some serious jury love. I tell you, envelope time on Thursday is going to be brutal.
Andrew Main
Well the second Semi Final is considered the weakest but it certainly has thrown up some highlights.
First of all Nathan Trent from Austria blew me away with his performance, so confident and on point he has totally transformed Austria for a potential Top 10 Finish.
Next we had Romania which I detest as a song. By the end of the song I was clapping like a demented seal it was so amazing. Big cannons wheeled on which I fear will fire god knows what into the audience when we get to the big night.
Other highlights were a double whammy first thing in the morning from San Marino which was excellent and Croatia which was so barking mad it was amazing, think crazy game show meets kids video game.
Then to finish it all we had Bulgaria, amazing singer with a classy performance and a potential winner. Other highlights were coming from Israel, slick and polished within an inch of its life , Belarus which is sweet and catchy and The Netherlands which is perfect for harmonies.
Ewan Spence
Nobody has yet mentioned the star of the show. We’ve all seen his dazzling style, his creative costume changes, the versatility and the exciting looks into the camera. I am of course talking about Sven the Chandelier.
Eurovision has returned to a circular stage this year, with rings of lights around the base and the graphical wall behind it – but the key element is the concentric ring of lights above the performer’s playground. With cameras inside the elements for dizzying sky shots; intricate lasers, gobos, spots and floods; motorised arms to bring it to the level of the stage, Sven is the keystone of the show.
And with a lack of pyro in this year’s Contest, I’d suggest that your responsible drinking game of choice is a simple one: ‘Drink when you see Sven.’