The first semifinal evening is behind us. Certainly full of surprises. I predicted 9/10 to qualify for the finals, but only Iceland unexpectedly found itself among the finalists.
- Albania – Albania’s failure to qualify for the finals is undoubtedly the biggest shock of the first night. She was a clear favorite to advance to the finals, even a dark horse from the start. Considering that Ronela is very popular among the fans, I guess the jury was not very enthusiastic about her performance. I personally liked the song a lot more before the revamp. Last night’s performance was too much. Very aggressive with too much distasteful sex appeal. Probably the jury didn’t like it. Her performance in the national finals was much better, from styling to staging. But I still think Albania had to have its place in the final.
2. Latvia – they had a very sweet performance but that was not enough. Bad song.
3. Lithuania – a well-deserved passage to the finals. Monica was fantastic and has a great song. I am glad that the quality is recognized and that a minimalist performance is sometimes very enough.
4. Switzerland – although many have said from the start that Switzerland has a boring song and don’t expect any results, I knew Marcus would surely make it to the finals. His performance was very beautiful and emotional. Marcus deservedly made it to the finals.
5. Slovenia – I’m sorry but there was really no hope.
6. Ukraine – a fantastic performance. As I mentioned earlier, Ukraine has a great song, but I think it is not for the final victory. It was wonderful to see how much support there is for Ukraine, I believe there will be even more support in the final. I hope that the placement in the finals brought at least a little joy to the Ukrainian people.
7. Bulgaria – despite everything, Bulgaria had a good performance. I even thought that they could make it to the finals, but on the other hand, it’s no shock that it didn’t happen.
8. The Netherlands – an emotional and beautiful performance. Bravo, bravo!
9. Moldova – their passage to the finals is a very pleasant surprise, but the boys fully deserved it. Their performance was brilliant, they brought very positive energy, and entertained the audience. Although I am not a fan of folk music, I was very attracted to dancing. I am very happy for Moldova, they brought a different style but no less valuable.
10. Portugal – the most beautiful and emotional performance of the evening. I am completely thrilled. I hope for a very high ranking in the finals.
11. Croatia – unfortunately, again without the final. Mia has a very nice song and sang beautifully but the staging itself was very weak. I also think she would have felt much better in a different styling. I’m sorry she didn’t make it to the finals and I think she was better than Iceland for example but the votes of the audience and the jury decided.
12. Denmark – although I didn’t like the Danish song, the performance was very advanced and the girls were great. Too bad.
13. Austria – I didn’t like this song from the very beginning and I expected it not to make it to the finals. A very expected outcome.
14. Iceland – I don’t think anyone expected Iceland to make it to the finals. I still can’t recover from that shock. Although I love their song I really thought the audience and the jury wouldn’t recognize it. I wish them all the best in the final.
15. Greece – great vocal performance, but I don’t think the staging was good enough. The stage is full of collapsed chairs that were not visible. I believe that Amanda can win, but I would like the performance to be much better.
16. Norway – Give that wolf a banana. Without any flaws in performance.
17. Armenia – great performance, well-deserved passage to the finals.