Eurovision 2021 – Rotterdam

ESC2021 – And then some! The Live on Tape Shows, Ep. 1 – the Semi-Finalists

Hello Dear Readers,

Well, with all the uncertainty of the pandemic looming still, this year the EBU required that every participating country submit a “Live on Tape” recording of their entry in the event they could not travel to Rotterdam. Australia was the only country to use it this year, but they still had all 39 ready to go. So, they’re doing an extra celebration by showing all the songs’ recordings. Just a way to make Eurovision last a little bit longer. Tonight are the songs that failed to qualify. Tomorrow are the finalists.

Ireland and the United Kingdom have demanded their tapes back and will not be participating. I would say it’s because they’re being poor sports. It’s utterly ridiculous. Just a complete lack of sportsmanship and good humor. Why were they even allowed to withdraw their videos? I hope RTÉ and the BBC were penalized with fines. This is supposed to be a friendly celebration and they’re too big of brats to participate. It’s a shame because, despite their results, both songs had tons of fans and the shows will forever be incomplete without their participation.

Anyway, the Live on Tape had specific rules. All the normal ones for participating on stage at Eurovision, plus broadcasters only had 60 minutes to record three iterations of the performance. Then they submit the entire 60 minutes of footage to the EBU indicating the iteration (1, 2, or 3) that they would like used in competition. These are those chosen recordings.

On to the show!

I’m not the biggest fan of Krista Siegfrids. I enjoyed her song (Marry Me – Finland 2013) but not quite sure how or why she has become such a fixture of ESC media. I’m not mad about it, but just kind of miffed.

We start with Slovenia! Which was my favorite song from this year. I’m actually surprised they still went with her alone on stage for this pre-recorded video. She sounds great – I wish she had performed like this in Rotterdam. The result of being able to perform three times, I guess.

This is the same video of Australia on Tuesday night. Not much new comments to add. Still really like the camera effects and that she sounds decent. The whole thing does have a 90s television show dream sequence vibe, but I think that’s what they what they were going for.

It is kind of weird to listen to these songs in this context without an audience; it’s kinda empty. And the little applause they add in before each song just makes it so much worse.

So, North Macedonia was incredibly impressive at the semi-final. Very fortunate for them to not have to use this back-up video. Everything about Vasil’s performance is “meh” – just lacks the vibrancy and passion from the semi-final performance.

So, Croatia must have recorded its video immediately after Albina won Dora. I’m assuming she sounds like this and she and the dancers look like this because they’re tired from the competition. It’s also this is the national final staging, which just isn’t as good as the staging they went with in Rotterdam.

While Roxen sounds a bit lifeless, this staging (which is an adaptation of the music video) is 1000 times better than what Romania had in Rotterdam. Why didn’t they do this at the semi-final?!

I really like all this backstage footage. And how they’re showing the preparations ahead of each song as a postcard. I think it highlights just how much hard work and dedication went to into each performance.

Back to the songs.

Estonia basically the same thing used for the music video, only he sounds marginally less bad than in that clip. I don’t know what happened to him over the past 12 months, maybe he didn’t like this song, but last year’s entry was just better and better performed.

Vincent Bueno is immensely talented, but this video from Austria is not the best showcase of his voice. Like North Macedonia, he brought a whole new level of passion and excellence to his semi-final performance that we did not have in this recording.

Poland is showing that they should have sent their video, like Romania. This is such a better staging and performance than what we got in Rotterdam. And such a better use of the screens and LEDs in general. Where was this?!

This is such a toned down and lazy performance for Georgia – and that is difficult given how toned down and lazy this song is. I wonder what inspired him to turn it up a notch in Rotterdam.

Speaking of toning things down, Latvia comes with a cooled down version of The Moon is Rising. She sounds vocally better than in Rotterdam, but still not great. It almost sounds like a remix; that’s how different the feel is for this.

I see Denmark also recorded there’s immediately after its national final. I wonder which of the three recordings this is; he still looks a bit stiff like he did at the semi-final, but the dancing and attitude are just lively as they were during DMGP. I wonder if they’re just tired.

Oh, and here is the fan recap. It was a big hit and a lot of fun last year, so they brought it back. I wish we could actually hear those who submitted singing as opposed to just seeing them emotionally mouthing words. And some kooky dancing, that’s fun! And some lipsyncing 🙄

Anyway, that was a tight 53 minutes! Well done Krista for keeping this thing moving and not wasting time with bad jokes. I guess this is why she was chosen to host? Though, she did seem quite nervous the whole time. Good show! Looking forward to tomorrow night.

May 28, 2021 | Categories: Eurovision 2021 - Rotterdam, Live Commentary on the Night | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Eurovision 2021 Grand Final Live Notes

HAPPY EUROVISION, DEAR READERS!

Here we are, FINALLY, after two long, hard, difficult years, the we will be crowning a new Eurovision champion TONIGHT! Thirty-nine songs entered the competition, six automatically qualified and thirteen were left behind in the semis. That leaves us with the 26 entries competing to hoist the trophy.

As a reminder, my predicted top ten is:

Bulgaria, France, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Russia, San Marino, Switzerland, and Ukraine

And my predicted bottom ten is:

Albania, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden

Heading into the show, I think Italy will win. But, to be honest, I am hoping that another country outperforms them and wins (Switzerland, France, Malta, etc.) We shall see!!

Okay – here we go!

Opening Act: WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY would they sing any song that’s not a Eurovision song?! And why Venus of all things? On the plus side, I think that was the fastest parade of nations we’ve had.

Cyprus: Not exactly a strong start to the song, but the chorus is strong. The verses are weak, but most don’t remember those, so it’s not a problem, I guess. A solid opener but still not a great song.

Albania: The benefit of going second, small condolence as you know you’re not winning without divine intervention, is that you can outperform the preceding entry and make folks forget it. Albania is doing that here. What a stunning performance, even better than Thursday.

Israel: In order to get into the Top Ten, Israel needed a perfect performance. This is not that. And she did not her whistle notes at the end – sadly, I foresee a bottom ten finish.

Belgium: I still quite like this song, but not sure it has chance of making a lasting impression. It would normally get some of the alt votes but Italy will surely vacuum those up. Overall, I think it’s a bit forgettable, especially coming ahead of Russia.

Russia: That giant dress is so amazing. They are having an amazingly fun time! This charmingly diverse ensemble has done a great job. Definitely still expect this to finish Top Ten.

Malta: The first big favorite of the night. After ruling the betting odds for nearly two months, it dropped to as low as fourth (it’s third heading into tonight). She sounds kind of off tonight. She even miffed the big note. I think Malta just eliminated itself; extinguishing its dwindling chances.

Portugal: I didn’t even notice the change dimensions during the black and white portion of the song. Very well performed; still not going to get close to the Top Ten, but maybe it will scrape higher than 16th.

Serbia: Wow! I am not the biggest fan of this song, but I do think it’s alright. This, though, totally elevated it! Such a fantastic performance. Definitely, I think, it will go higher than I initially predicted.

United Kingdom: He already sounds better than he did on Thursday. He’s found some energy! With that said, I do not understand this staging – the outfits, the giant trumpets, the BBC just doesn’t want to do well, I guess.

Greece: Very good! Definitely performed better tonight than I have ever seen this, even compared to the studio version. This might get into the Top Ten.

Switzerland: He sounds flawless. The song hits heavy! But his outfit and this goofy choreography may be the difference between winning and third place.

Iceland: It’s hard to give his s proper judgment. It’s LITERALLY the same performance from Thursday. They should have made them record multiple finished versions during rehearsals to avoid this situation. It’s patently unfair. With that said, it’s still a great song that’s cheesy and endearing and adorable. Definitely Top Ten.

Spain: WOW! That a capella opening was stunning. He sounded perfect and it was powerful. If he sounded this good last night, then Spain could be the biggest shock to finish Top Ten. What a gr- never mind he botched those big notes, badly. And there was that weird pause afterwards. If he hit those notes during the jury show, then this could be Top Ten, otherwise, low teens.

Moldova: That big note still sounds so weird when it’s doubled like that. And the whisper is weird. I think she was going for sexy but it came off as creepy – at least to me. Mostly forgettable, I think.

Germany: Still think this is a god-awful song, but it’s fun and very well staged. His articulation is much better than it was Tuesday. Good lord – if you didn’t know how to define smug, just show someone this clip. At least the dancing is a lot of fun. But hey – at least Jendrik is super cute, before someone invariably punches him in the face.

Finland: Now for the opposite of Gen Z smugness, Gen Z self-righteousness! Wait…those aren’t opposites… Anyway, Finland is at an advantage coming after Germany. Though, no one has ever won from 16th position and this will not change that. Top Ten, very likely.

Bulgaria: Like the UK, benefits from a well-placed advert break. This song has been dropping in the betting odds since the semi-final. I have no idea why. This could very much win! I feel bad for letting myself not give it its proper due. We might see the sixth winner from the 17th position tonight.

Lithuania: As my friend said, this just looks cheap coming after the sincerity of Bulgaria and the folk-realness of Ukraine. Otherwise, a very satisfactory song performed very satisfactorily.

Ukraine: I think Go_A has felt the pressure of skyrocketing up the odds since Tuesday night. They seemed a bit off their game. It may still finish Top Ten, but it lost its outside chance at victory.

France: Wow! She is so captivating. She is another one who is stepping up their game after their semi-final performance; and hers was already probably the best of the auto-qualifiers. Wow, so far, this and Bulgaria have both been the most victory quality performances thus far.

Azerbaijan: Like Lithuania, feels a bit cheap given it’s surrounding competitors. But a very adequate performance of a very adequate song.

Norway: I think he performed this as well as he could. With Spain and Serbia overachieving, I think this may be bumped out of the Top Ten. The staging is so freaking distracting, though. But his vocals get better each time he performs it.

The Netherlands: Still an incredibly self-indulgent staging of a song aimed at over 1 billion humans worldwide. People think this will get zero in the televote, but I think the African diaspora (and white guilt) are a lot bigger than folks think. With that said, I still think it’s gonna end up in the bottom ten.

Italy: Let’s see if Italy can unseat France, who I’m saying is the current frontrunner. That was really, really good. The diversity that makes Eurovision so awesome also makes it so difficult to make predictions. How do we compare ZITTI E BUONI to Voilà? They’re so different; they’re both incredibly strong entries, and they both had stunning performances.

Sweden: He sounded 1000x better than he did on Tuesday. This may finish Top Ten, yet.

San Marino: Woo! That was SO MUCH better than Thursday night. Definitely finishing Top Ten. That was everything it was supposed to be.

Wow, wow, wow! This turned out a lot better than I thought it was going to given the semi-finals. It’s going to be SO DIFFICULT to guess. I think there are three real contenders to win. But first, who do I think will finish Top Ten?

Bulgaria, France, Finland, Iceland Italy, Malta, Russia, San Marino, Ukraine. If Spain hit those big notes last night, then Spain. If not, then Sweden gets the final spot.

So, who were my favorite from TONIGHT?

1. Bulgaria

2. France

3. Albania

4. Switzerland

5. Russia

6. San Marino

7. Norway

8. Spain

9. Sweden

10. Greece

With all that said: who do I think will win?

Well, after weeks of saying that Italy was going to win. I think it is time to change ships – I am guessing that our winner will be:

FRANCE

I think that Barbara won the jury vote and did enough to garner televotes to overcome any remaining deficit. The only thing is the French will be more than a bit insufferable next year – being the first country to have both, the ESC and Junior ESC championships concurrently.

The voting window is TOO long. Just a few years ago, it was a tight 15 minutes. That’s all we really need. Maybe twenty minutes. All of these extra things can be disbursed through the semi-finals. But hey!! They showed me during the tribute to the fans. Very happy to be the token non-white person shown (and yes, it was right after they said that the audience was “colorful”).

I know I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. It is patently unfair to the entries do have performances during the voting window. They can do the nice little videos and stuff. But this thing with the previous winners – which is lovely – should be happening AFTER the voting has closed. How are people supposed to be thinking about who to vote for if all of this music is happening? It’s so very aggravating and needlessly extends the show.

Friendly reminder: the broadcasters win the Contest with a song. The performing artists are just one piece of that. Also, Duncan Laurence should be AFTER the voting window has closed. Also, we should be celebrating Arcade, not having him do 30 seconds of it because he has to.

FINALLY we have the end of the voting window. Thankfully, we’re going straight into the Jury Votes. Be sure to refresh every so often with my updated comments.

The Jury Votes!

Reminder – these are revealed in an order to make the voting as exciting as possible.

Israel – as tradition, we start with last year’s host. An unsurprising assortment of points. Our first 12 goes to…. Switzerland!

Poland – San Marino! Their FIRST ever televised 12! Good for them!

San Marino – France! Not much to Italy…intriguing!

Albania – another 12 to Switzerland! Either he is running away with the jury vote or he will stop getting them soon.

Malta – hmmm no points for the UK! And 12 to Albania? What an unpredictable scorecard

Estonia – 12 more for Switzerland

North Macedonia – 12 to Serbia, to surprise there

Azerbaijan – 12 to Russia – no surprise there

Norway – OOHHH only 2 points for Iceland! TWELVE TO MALTA!! Golly

Spain – France! No surprise there; maybe a little hurt from Portugal

Austria – Oh – Iceland! I can’t think of a time Austria would have ever given 12 to them before, maybe 2002?

United Kingdom – saving Spain from nul’s-ville. 12 to France – not a surprise – the Big Five sticks together and Ireland wasn’t around

Italy – ONLY 3 to France. 12 to Lithuania! Zero to San Marino

Slovenia – 12 to Italy! No shocker there Couldn’t find Serbia on the board to see what they received

Greece – gee golly wow, 12 to Cyprus. Who would have guessed that?

Latvia – Only 6 to Lithuania and 1 to Russia — 12 to Switzerland!

Ireland – Oh my goodness. A complete BLANK to the UK. The only country more friendly to the Brits than Ireland is Australia. We’ll see how that goes….

Moldova – Bulgaria gets it’s first 12, but notice that it has been creeping up throughout the night

Serbia – 12 to France! I‘m calling it now – France is gonna win the juries

Bulgaria – gives its 12 to Moldova, somewhat interesting

Cyprus – And, of course, 12 back to Greece, which the audience was saying already, haha

Belgium – No points to the Netherlands? Intriguing! 12 to Switzerland

22 countries down, it’s a two-horse race between France and Switzerland

Germany – 12 to France, looking like she may runaway with it

Australia – 12 points to Malta! So, the UK is gonna get zero from the juries, which it does not deserve at all

Finland – 12 to Switzerland

Portugal – 12 to Bulgaria, a payback to Spain

Ukraine – 12 to Italy! WOOHOO first time Ukraine has blanked Russia – even after all the attacks and invasion

Iceland – …you wouldn’t be running out of time if the voting window wasn’t almost an hour 12 to Switzerland. NO POINTS TO NORWAY!

Romania – 12 to Malta, and Je Me Casse stays relevant!

Croatia – 12 to Italy! Interesting

Czech Republic – 12 to Portugal! Interesting

Georgia – uh oh, is his shirt too political? 12 to Italy! Not to surprising, Georgia voting is one of the hardest to predict

Lithuania – 12 to Ukraine! Its first 12 of the night, yes?

Denmark – Only 2 to Sweden, 3 to Norway – 12 to Switzerland! Okay then, Switzerland is going to win the jury vote (I think the math has determined it so)

Russia – 12 to Moldova! Not a shock but not expected

France – OH! Only 7 to Switzerland? 12 to Greece?! Huh?! That was VERY unexpected

Sweden – Yay Carola! 2 points to Norway. And 12 goes to Malta!

Switzerland – Douze points à la France!

the Netherlands – our final jury 12 goes to… France! Narrowing the gap to Switzerland

Iceland 198

Italy 206

Malta with 208

France with 248

Switzerland with 267

These totals seem big but VERY surmountable with the televote. Let’s see what happens.

Remember, the televote is revealed in the reverse order of the jury standings

First up is the United Kingdom: WHOA — zero points? That’s insane

Germany: Another zero! I guess the top vote getters just sucked them all up?

Spain: Another zero?! What is happening?!

The Netherlands: ZERO AGAIN!

Norway: 60 points! less than it deserves but yay for them

Serbia: 82 points. Huh, I would have thought higher

Albania: 35 points

Azerbaijan: I missed this.

San Marino: 13 points?!

Sweden: 63 points

Cyprus: 44 points

Moldova: 62 points

Gonna be a huge point dump for the top five

Lithuania: 165 points

Belgium: 3 points

Israel: 20 points

This is madness

Finland: 230sh points, didn’t catch the precise number

Ten songs left.

Greece: 79 points – twelve of which come from Cyprus

Ukraine: 267 points! No surprise there – but there is still a MASSIVE number of points left

Russia: 100 points? Much lower than I would have guessed

Portugal: I did not notice Portugal was top ten with the juries 27 points from the televote. Not surprising

Bulgaria: 30 points! Wowza Ouch 😦

Iceland: 180 points, rather low, I think

Italy: 318 points — that might be enough to win

Three countries left….

Malta: 47 points?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

France: 251 points! Oh, not enough!

Switzerland: needs 258 points to win…. it gets………. 165 points

ITALY WINS!

Yeah, I changed my mind at the very end, but I’ve been predicting Italy for ages, before the betting odds and before tonight, so I’m taking this as a win. Come back in the next few days for a recap and unpacking of the insanity that was this year’s Contest.

May 22, 2021 | Categories: Eurovision 2021 - Rotterdam, Live Commentary on the Night | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ESC 2021 – Preparing for the Grand Final and Final Predictions

Official Eurovision 2021 logo

Official 2021 Eurovision Logo

Hello Dear Readers!

Here we are. FINALLY after two years, we have reached the Grand Final of the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. Sure it’s with a reduced capacity audience, at least one act in quarantine, the first(?) time in history the previous winning artist cannot present the trophy to the new champion, frequent technical issues, the further deterioration of the Contest with the addition of piped in backing vocals, and perhaps one of the worst-dressed collective of persons to date BUT IT IS HERE! And golly! It’s one of the most volatile and unpredictable years we’ve had in a long time. No fewer than four songs have occupied the top of the betting odds: Switzerland, Malta, France, and Italy, and eleven additional ones have occupied the top ten of the betting odds at some point: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Lithuania, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden, and Ukraine.

Be sure to check out the ESC 2021 Notes that provide a brief history, rules overview, and descriptions of the songs. They have been updated for the Grand Final. Also be sure to get the 2021 Country Profiles which have also been updated. In a hurry – get the 2021 Country Profiles with just Grand Final participants.

Before we get into expectations for the Grand Final and predictions, let’s look at the last performances for us to watch, the second semi-final’s auto-qualifiers: France, UK, and Spain.

France: France is not known for its staging abilities, but this is tasteful and understated, perfect for this song. If only her outfit was a bit better. I also think that, perhaps, she should have a beret – but that might have cheapened it a bit, haha. It’s so cool – it’s just her vocally, and a piano and bass. And the camerawork at the end – where it gets unsteady and zooms in and out uneasily – ahh, [chef’s kiss] Just great! However, given it’s spot in the running order, sandwiched between Ukraine and Azerbaijan does it no favors.

The UK: The positives… he seems to be having a good time. The outfits aren’t terrible. The choreography fits him and the entry well. Ohh, this is the proper amount of pyro for a song called “Embers!” The negatives… he sounds flat – both tonally and emotionally. Maybe he’s just nervous or out of practice, but he will need to turn it WAY up if he hopes to change British fortunes.

Spain: Opening a capella is a very nice touch. And he looks GOOD! Upon watching the full thing, the big note is not so bad. The staging is a bit meh and the fan reaction was very muted. I would like to say that this will overachieve expectations, but give the track record of mellow male ballads this year (North Macedonia, Austria, and Georgia), I am inclined to say that this will do poorly on Saturday.

So, now that we’ve seen the staging, performances, and expectations of the 26 entries, let’s see what we can expect from tomorrow.

flag map of belgium

First, the running order was announced:

  1. Cyprus

  2. Albania

  3. Israel

  4. Belgium

  5. Russia

  6. Malta

  7. Portugal

  8. Serbia

  9. United Kingdom

  10. Greece

  11. Switzerland

  12. Iceland

  13. Spain

  14. Moldova

  15. Germany

  16. Finland

  17. Bulgaria

  18. Lithuania

  19. Ukraine

  20. France

  21. Azerbaijan

  22. Norway

  23. The Netherlands

  24. Italy

  25. Sweden

  26. San Marino

Some notes about the running order.

  • Austrian flag mapFour of the past six champions (the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Austria) came from the first half of the show.

  • In that time, two songs in 11th position have won (Portugal and Austria); however, across the whole of the televoting era (from 1998-) the best position to be in would be 17th. Switzerland and Bulgaria are 11th and 17th in the running order, respectively.

  • As a reminder, the producers have determined the running order since 2013 – so we very much have to consider that as a factor, too.

So, what inferences can we draw?

  • Cypriot flag mapCyprus is out of the running. Songs performing first finished between 3rd and 8th in their respective semi-final (except 2013 when France started the show) and none have finished higher than 10th in the Final (Belgium 2016).

  • Malta is also on precarious ground; not since 2003 has a song won from before 10th position. Not sure if this is the result of lower than expected semi-final results or an attempt to prevent Malta from hosting as the islands lack the infrastructure to do so. Don’t count Malta out, though, it’s still third in the betting odds.

  • Sammarinese flag mapFrance and San Marino both have cause to be upset. France historically gets poor running order placement; being sandwiched between the viral insanity of Ukraine and the sexy fun-time of Azerbaijan will wash “Voilà” away. Meanwhile, San Marino is bringing, arguably, the biggest artist to the Contest since Cliff Richard and Lulu (remember, Céline Dion, ABBA, Olivia Newton-John, and Julio Iglesias all competed before they were famous; Englebert Humperdink, Bonnie Tyler, Patricia Kaas, and Anouk – after their popularity; Cascada is arguably not as big as Flo Rida) and got put last – a position no one has won from since 1989.

  • Everyone knows that no one has ever won from the second position (this year, that’s Albania) but no one has ever won from position 16, either (this year, that’s Finland).Finnish flag map

  • It’s also a bit shocking how late Italy is performing. For being top of the betting odds, one would think it would be a bit higher in the running order, perhaps switching positions with Lithuania or Ukraine.

With all that said, and thinking of the performances from Tuesday and Thursday, how have my predictions shifted and changed?

Well, as you will remember, my previous guess for the Top Ten ahead of this week was: Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Russia, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland. I am now guessing that the Top Ten will be comprised of:

Bulgaria, France, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Russia, San Marino, Switzerland, and Ukraine

Seeing the running order and the performances, I no longer think Cyprus or Sweden have what it takes to climb into the Top Ten in this highly competitive year. Meanwhile, Ukraine has shown that it is very popular and makes a huge impact on first listen. I think Finland and Greece both could challenge this group, this is my final prediction.

How about on the other end? Sadly, someone has to come last – which countries do I think will finish 17-26? I hate predicting things in the negative, but someone has to fall in the bottom ten.

Albania, Belgium, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden

Ultimately, I do not think this is necessarily the result of low quality as much as it is the result that points will be at a premium as the top entries will be taking more than their fair share.

So, after all this, which countries do I think can actually win?

Bulgaria, Italy, Malta, and Switzerland

Bulgaria flag map

Ultimately, I do not think France, Iceland, Norway, Russia, San Marino, or Ukraine have enough combined strength from the juries and televote to win.

Bulgaria showed its strength last night. It’s a ever-building composition provides a captivating aural story while the understated presentation couples well with the song. Unfortunately, the first 90 seconds drag on and many viewers (including jurors) may check out by the time the song actually gets going.Italy flag map

Italy has the most charismatic performers that bring the electricity. The song also has no real peers that will seriously contend to peel votes away. However, these kinds of rock songs thrive off of lots of medium points from juries and televoters, which may not be enough to push this victory.

Maltese flag mapMalta brings the best female vocalist who brings the poise that comes with having already won a song contest (Junior 2015). It has spent the most time at the top of the betting odds and offers a catchy empowerment entry with a slick dance routine. Though, the styling of the show (Destiny’s outfit and the dancers’ costumes) are heinous and Europe has shown that it’s not too crazy about supporting bigger people or people of color.Swiss flag map

Switzerland opened as number one on the betting odds and brings a lot of goodwill from last year. Gjon is the best male vocalist and this entry is utterly captivating, even for those who do not like it. Not to mention it is in the golden spot for winners. But the staging, particularly the choreography, is awful. And with all the uptempo dance numbers, it’s not clear if its impression can persist all the way to the end of the show.

With all that said, who do I think can rise victorious?

EO logo with Italian flagI am still very much inclined to think Italy, though, I am much less confident than I was – even compared to just yesterday. Ultimately, it is still in a decent running order position and it is the most distinct song this year. Plus, Italy, more so than any of the other favorites, always seems to overperform where one would anticipate it finishing (2017 notwithstanding). Might this change after watching the 26 performances tomorrow evening? Sure! But right now, I think Italy is going to emerge as victor.

Be sure to join us tomorrow for live notes of the Grand Final. OOOHHHHH I cannot wait! It’s going to be a lovely show.

May 21, 2021 | Categories: Eurovision 2021 - Rotterdam | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ESC 2021 – Second Semi-Final Live Notes

Official Eurovision 2021 logo

Hello Dear Readers!

Here we are – the Second Semi-Final! Seventeen songs enter, only ten progress on to Saturday’s Grand Final. As exciting as the First Semi-Final was, there weren’t too many surprises outside how good North Macedonia was, how bad Romania was, and the fact that Sweden almost certainly made it through exclusively on the back of the juries. And even these were not too surprising. Tonight, we have another pre-recorded performance (Iceland is in quarantine after one of its performers tested positive for COVID) along with an absent Duncan Laurence (after he tested positive earlier today). AVROTROS is struggling hard. Not only has it been poorly managing Corona protocols, but there have been countless technical issues, from in-ear problems during Monday’s jury show, to a broken camera Tuesday night ahead of Ireland’s performance. Last night’s show apparently went fine. Here’s to hoping there aren’t anymore problems – pandemic or technical.

So, who do I think will be qualifying? Well, my pre-show predictions are:

  • Sure things: Switzerland, San Marino, Iceland, Bulgaria

  • Confident: Finland, Greece

  • Wild Guess: Denmark, Czech Republic, Albania, Moldova

I really think Denmark will make it through. My pre-show predictions were 8 out of 10 on Tuesday. So, we’ll see how my predictions look after the performances and whether I decide to make any changes. One last thing, don’t forget, in addition to our competing countries, we also have France, Spain, and the UK voting tonight. Thanks for joining me and here we go! Here are the Write-ups and Country Profiles for those who want them!

 

Opening Act: This was quite nice; very captivating! Both the music and the choreography. And the hosts seem to be marginally better dressed tonight.

Let the songs begin!

San Marino: Flo Rida made it to Rotterdam – I never doubted that he would 🙂 Love the clip from 2011 for San Marino’s postcard. WHAT IS SHE WEARING?! Oh, it comes off to reveal and almost as awful outfit. This staging is a HOT MESS! So many lights and graphics. I’m just confused about what I am supposed to be watching and feeling. I think this could have qualified without Flo Rida, but definitely would not be a Top Ten contender. He adds a lot. And Senhit is depending heavily on those backing vocalists.

Estonia: Good idea to have a prominent female backing vocalist, it actually strengthens the story of the song. It’s a mutual hating. Another act with a heavy reliance on backing vocalists and the music video. Unlike SM, though, Estonia is not starting from a position of strength. He needs a perfect staging and performance…. and everything about this just feels like he’s phoning it.

Czech Republic: Oh, no, is Benny sick? Or is this soft opening meant to contribute to the drama? He sounds weird, but he still has a lot of charisma but thank God for his backing vocalist. As a Black guy, Benny Cristo doesn’t get to be mediocre. I think we just saw Czech Republic fall flat and may have earned a last place finish.

Greece: FINALLY a good outfit.  I don’t quite understand the dancers with only half their bodies showing. Very slick staging – yay for green screen technology! And, again, yay for backing singers! Stefania’s age is definitely showing in terms of how she’s not really commanding the stage or showing off any kind of vocal power. But this was fun enough to easily qualify, I think.

Austria: Wow! This staging and performance are elevating this song well beyond its quality. The camerawork, lights, and outfit are working perfectly together. And he sounds great! You can tell that he’s an experienced pop star. Even his face visuals are good. Definitely the best one we’ve had thus far.

Poland: Knowing that Denmark is up later tonight, Rafał is throwing down the 80s gauntlet. Hmmm….he’s hardly singing – and when he does, ehhh… Thank God for backing vocalists, some of whom are dancing, too! I think this might be last place tonight.

Not a fan of this glorification of Fire Saga but whatever. This is what happens when a parody movie gets an Oscar nomination for a surprisingly awesome song. Good for Molly Sanden, though.

Moldova: Oh, are these vocals why Moldova has been dropping in the betting odds? As much as I like soulless hot male dancers, I think the ice cream dancers would have been a better investment and show. I am liking the unexpectedly 80s backing screen. Ooh, here comes the big note…and she miffed it – made more obvious by the in-tune backing vocalist. Also, she looked like she was in pain there. I don’t know – maybe enough to qualify.

Iceland: So fun! And very well-performed. Cleared the very low hurdle to become the best entry tonight. Oh! the late pyro is a nice touch, haha

Serbia: They look hot! Even in those awful outfits. Still not a big fan of the song, but definitely a very good performance and staging. Definitely qualifying. Also relied heavily on backing vocals but much less obviously so.

Georgia: He’s singing about mountain and rivers…but we’re in space. The lyrics on him is a cool effect. Definitely an adequately performed song. Still kind of a boring song that’s anti-climatic. But, given how weak things have been thus far, this may actually qualify.

Albania: Another random outfit. In a normal year, an easy contender for Barbara Dex; this year, there’s much stronger competition. They’re relying on people not knowing Albanian. They are staging this as if it’s a sexy song; it’s a song about heartbreak and feeling misery and regret. It’s an okay song with a memorable (yet irrelevant) staging.

Portugal: The black and white is a nice touch. Another adequately performed song. Very classy in its design. The guitar was a bit much, but this was a strong enough package to qualify, I think.

Bulgaria: The deceptively simple staging is perfect for this song. She’s singing quite well (for the most part). I don’t think she needs the voice double. I understand it’s to bolster the sound, but I think it kinda distracts. The big ending may be enough to not just get it to qualify, but to win.

Finland: I have little to say about this. It’s effective for what it’s trying to be – which is a second rate Linkin Park rip off. I think it’s easily qualifying and will likely finish Top Ten.

Latvia: I had my doubts about her ability to vocally pull off this song live. And I was right to doubt her ability. The screen does not make sense. This is just a bunch of various audio and visual elements squeezed together haphazardly. I cannot see this qualifying, sadly.

Switzerland: Another entry, another horrendous outfit. What is this choreography he’s doing? What is this camerawork? What is happening? His vocals are perfect, at least. Definitely an entry to listen to but not watch as this staging is horrid.

Denmark: Impressive they could recreate DMGP’s staging on this huge stage. He seems a bit nervous; not nearly as loose and fun as in the national final. But still a very good performance. See Poland, this is how you brig the 80s back!

Wow, that was… a semi-final. Definitely not one of the strongest ones we’ve seen in Eurovision history. 😦

So, who is qualifying? Well…

San Marino, Greece, Austria, Iceland, Serbia, Portugal, Bulgaria, Finland, Switzerland, Denmark

Replacing Czech Republic, Albania, and Moldova from my pre-show predictions with Serbia, Portugal, and Austria. We’ll see if this was wise.

My favorites from TONIGHT?

  1. Austria

  2. Iceland

  3. Bulgaria

  4. Greece

  5. Denmark

  6. Georgia

  7. Portugal

  8. Switzerland

  9. Serbia

  10. San Marino

Man, this was not an easy semi-final to predict or rank from. Let’s hope that, no matter wo qualifies, everyone steps up their game on Saturday. Otherwise, all of the folks from tonight will be stomped by Tuesday’s qualifiers and the auto-qualifiers.

The auto-qualifiers!

France: Sounds great and the camera work is really cool. Another bad outfit, but otherwise it might be a legit contender.

UK: Huh, not a lot of energy. He’s gonna need to bring a lot more in order to do well on Saturday.

Spain: Oh no, you can’t pump up the crowd and then botch the note 😦

 

Our Qualifers!

Albania – not surprising, very memorable (0/1)

Serbia (1/2)

Bulgaria (2/3)

Moldova (2/4) – she apparently did enough to qualify

Portugal (3/5)

Iceland (4/6)

San Marino (5/7) – Only its third ever qualification!

Switzerland (6/8)

Greece (7/9)

Finland (8/10)

Well here we go. Sadly, Denmark did not qualify 😦 Somewhat surprised Moldova was strong enough to make it. But, honestly, aside from San Marino, Bulgaria, Switzerland, and Finland – it was pretty wide open for the remaining six spots. Hmmm, need to process. But we have our finalists:

Albania, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Check back tomorrow for further debriefing and final predictions ahead of the Grand Final!

May 20, 2021 | Categories: Eurovision 2021 - Rotterdam, Live Commentary on the Night | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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