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The Spotter’s Guide To Semifinal 2 Written by on May 24, 2012 | 1 Comment

The Second Semifinal of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest is finally here, after 12 months of wondering who would and wouldn’t make the final and lead us to (possibly) a new destination is now just hours away.  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 crazy aspects, and some of the real highlights as well.  It could be a bloodbath tonight.  Let’s take a peek, shall we?

Could it be The Night?

Kurt says This Is The Night, and we think it might be too.  With his brother Kevin in tow and a flash-mob dance in the making, we were up on our feet doing that little sidewards feet move (or at least trying to.  badly).  The crowd loved it at the jury semi-final, and we think you might too.  Malta to qualify again WITHOUT Chiara?  Fingers crossed.  Keep an eye out for the overuse of pyros, but clearly for a better purpose than what Bulgaria use them for later.

 

The Turkey makes a reappearance

And we don’t mean Can Bonomo.  No, Joan from The Netherlands is still insisting on her Cowboys and Indians theme, with her feather headdress, which if you have seen the filmclip of the song or heard her talk about the actual song inspiration, makes sense.  But for the millions of viewers who only see and hear her once?   Don’t get me wrong – this is no Dustin, but there is a real worry that despite being an excellent tune, people won’t be able to see past the novelty.   If it doesn’t pass, well at least she could possibly settle for the Barbara Dex award.

Ott from Estonia is hotter

He may sing Cooler, Kuula, whatever – but the first thing that grabs the ladies of ESC Insight is that he is very easy on the eyes.  And his voice is extremely easy on the ears too.  He has such a easy-going style about him, the song is captivating, and he is so confident with his abilities that he is willing to play with the vocal arrangement on every take to get it right.  We think after last nights perfect 15 second recap, the close-up round shot of him holding the key note, the juries would have been in love.  Forget what people say about language barrier – it didnt hurt Urban Symphony in 2009 and Estonian is a very lyrical language.  They consider themselves the Singing Nation for good reason.  For the sake of the contest, we hope the televoters get it right tonight.

Tooji is coming first

He told our Terry Vision he’s coming first on Saturday, and the conviction he showed means we think he could too.  Everything about this song seems right for the 2012 contest – the upbeat nature of the music, the ethnic sounds mixed with current chart stylings and a little J-Pop thrown in, the dance routine, and the sheer fact it all seems like so much fun.  The money-shot is when Tooji has his back to the audience, an angle showing (hopefully) cheering crowd enjoying the performance.

Will Sweden be Euphoric?

It’s the big question of the contest, beyond the ‘can Loreen win’; we need to ask – will she actually qualify first?   Failing not choking on her fake snow/the cameramen not falling over on the dark stage whilst wizzing around for the close-ups/Ausben, her well-build Texan dancer not dragging her away for pulling that horrid Hammer-time move and Kate Bush tribute act, then yes, we’ll probably see her again.

 

Special mentions also goes out to: the jellybaby dancers for Ukraine, the best use of prop to make you all look all bendy with Belarus, and the interval act, which sees our last 5 winners take to the stage to sing their entries in Azerbaijani stylee and then subsquently murder the lyrics to the most famous Eurovision song of all – Waterloo.  Note to Dima Bilan – it might help to look at the teleprompter for the lyrics rather than stare at the girls down the front.  Or at least pretend to sing.

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

 

About The Author: Sharleen Wright

Sharleen Wright is the co-founder of ESC Insight and a freelance journalist and researcher. She has previously worked for numerous community radio stations in Sydney Australia, and contributed to the wider world of comedy holding production and promotions roles at both the Edinburgh Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Her written words have appeared online, as well as The List magazine, and numerous fanzines on the topics of television and specifically, Eurovision . She is currently based in Australia and undertaking research on food and event tourism. You can follow Sharleen on Twitter (@sharly77) and Facebook (facebook.com/sharleenwright).

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One response to “The Spotter’s Guide To Semifinal 2”

  1. derwood says:

    that rendition of Waterloo was pretty horrific. glad to see Malta in the final again!

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