Olá! It’s that time of year again. The first jury rehearsal has been done and dusted, and now it’s time to bite the bullet and try and deduct who’s going to be getting a flight home tomorrow.
Neither of the team saw the TV feed and are making their predictions based on rehearsal footage and word from reliable sources on the ground. Will that affect their accuracy in picking our ten qualifiers? Let’s find out…
The first of five shows reviewing the songs competing in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we have Ann Squires of ESC Armchair joining us as our first special guest judge as we look at the songs in the first half of Semi-final 1.
We also take time to pay tribute to both Katie Boyle and Lys Assia after their recent passing.
National final season is back! The team discuss the outcome of Festivali i Këngës 56 and all the internally selected artists so far, as well as the branding and stage design for Lisbon 2018. We also have a new head-to-head competition between the team members, and we try something a little different involving some Eurovision hot takes.
Здравствуйте! This is it, it’s the big finale. The final jury rehearsal is done, half of the final scores are now decided. So now, it is time for the team to sit down and lay down their cards for what they think the final outcome will be…
Здравствуйте! It’s that time of year again. The first jury rehearsal has been done and dusted, and now it’s time to bite the bullet and try and deduct who’s going to be getting a flight home tomorrow.
Kylie was in the press centre watching the show through the TV screens, while John was in the arena watching the show live. Will that cause a difference in opinion? Let’s find out…
The first of five shows reviewing the songs competing in the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest. This week, we have Ross Barber-Smith of Bridge The Atlantic joining us as our first special guest judge as we look at the songs in the first half of Semi-final 1.
After a week-long absence, the team are back alongside special guest Elliot from The Euro Trip to discuss the final two weeks of the national final season, and take a look back at some of the best national final songs that will not be in Kyiv this year.
It’s our first National Final episode for the 2017 season! We discuss Albania’s selection and give an update of all the chosen artists so far as well as news updates, plus we answer listener’s questions.
Hej! The jury rehearsal for the second semi-final has come and gone, Kylie was there to witness it while Nicolas and Sara had to rely on videos and blogs from home. Will that show a difference in opinions and predictions between the three of us? Let’s find out…
Before we start, let’s have some quick comments about the first semi results:
Kylie: I don’t want to talk about it. At least my friends were happy, but, yeah… At least I wasn’t the only one in that press centre who was upset.
Nicolas: My god, for a split second I thought Malta wasn’t going to qualify, but then my heart was broken as Iceland was not announced last. But in general, I was very happy and, let’s not forget, for once I’m in the lead on ESC Pulse! I had 9 qualifiers right compared to Kylie and Sara’s 8! But.. I doubt I’ll keep that title after semi 2…
Sara: Iceland should’ve qualified! Go Austriaaaa!!!!! Just reminding people, by the way, that my predictions are based on a big load of statistics! So don’t blame me if I’m wrong!
Also, as there won’t be a podcast for predicting semi 2 (as we have quite a sick baby with us right now…) both Nicolas and I will actually try and predict the exact placing of every country on here instead!
Latvia
Justs – “Heartbeat”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. Talk about a jury performance! I just hope my heart doesn’t get broken again after Tuesday…
Nicolas: Yes. Though I’m not too fond of the song, there’s no denying he hits all the notes plus he’s very passionate. Should sail through! Will be 4th.
Sara: Yes. I don’t think this will do as well as people say it will. The staging is weak and boring and he’s pretty boring as a performer too… 6th.
Poland
Michał Szpak – “Color Of Your Life”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. He kind of fluffed up the jury performance but I’ve always thought of this as more of a televote song, and I think it can get through on that basis.
Nicolas: Yes. Like Kylie said, televoting will save him, though I secretly hope he misses out. Will be 9th.
Sara: Yes. I think the juries will really like this, as long as he doesn’t make any mistakes and there are a lot of Polish people around Europe, so who knows. 4th!
Switzerland
Rykka – “The Last Of Our Kind”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: No. It’s just so weak compared to the two songs before and the one after it, and don’t get me started on her clown wig hair…
Nicolas: No. WHY did she decide to go for the curly hair? Anyway, it’s not like straight hair would’ve saved this. I think this year might have the interesting result of having the same last places in the semis as last year: Finland and Switzerland. 18th.
Sara: No. Just curling her hair is already putting her down five places. Bad decisions all around! 18th.
Israel
Hovi Star – “Made Of Stars”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. Dark horse alert! I’m so sorry Nicolas for dismissing you in the review, you were right! The staging just looks so lovely and it’s very well sung, and it has THE pyro curtain of the year.
Nicolas: Yes. HAH, Kylie! At least I like that you aren’t trying to talk your way out of it. I had the feeling from the moment the final version got released that that would just wow everyone. The pyro rain will however not seem as impressive to viewers, I feel, because of Switzerland using it literally 3 minutes before. I do feel it’s one of tose that would do better in the final than in the semi, partly because of the draw. 8th.
Sara: No. I think it comes too early in the draw and too close to Poland to really have an impact. There’s nothing about this song that stands out (besides his sparkly clothes!!!). The backdrop has been done a million times before in this competition. 12th.
Belarus
IVAN – “Help You Fly”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: No. I dunno, I just feel that between Israel and Serbia, this seems a bit trying too hard. I’m not confident about that statement though.
Nicolas: No. I really want this to qualify and I think that if someone like Mr Zelmerlöw (I don’t feel like going to copy the weird ‘a’, okay?!) had performed this with this staging, it’d be a definite top 10, but IVAN is still just as charisma-free as an overused toilet brush (or as Rykka’s hair, for that matter). Televoters will save this from the very bottom though. 13th.
Sara: No. He’s just too weird as a person and it will put people off. It’s a cool performance but I don’t see anybody voting for this. 13th
Serbia
Sanja Vučić ZAA – “Goodbye (Shelter)”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. Juries will love it and it’s not too dark or uncomfortable for the public to appreciate in my opinion.
Nicolas: Yes. If I were more daring, I’d say it’s top 5 in the final, but I need to see the performance first. But from what I’ve seen, it’s a perfect staging and her voice is outstanding. Great job, Serbia! 2nd in the semi!
Sara: Yes. I think this a really strong entry and a really good performance. She sounds spot on all the time and she’s a very likeable person. 5th.
Ireland
Nicky Byrne – “Sunlight”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: No. Being between two Balkan vocal powerhouses is very bad news for them. It just feels like a bit of fluff between two very substantial pieces of work. And yes, the fact that they’ve got a red backdrop for a song called freaking SUNLIGHT still makes me irrationally irritated.
Nicolas: No. I don’t think he’s chanceless just based on songs, as it’s very much in the vein of what Denmark would’ve sent between 2008 and 2011, but Nicky just can’t make it work. 15th.
Sara: No. This is just weak… Ireland doesn’t know how to stage their entries anymore. It’s so boring and the song lacks that certain je-ne-sais-quoi. 14th.
F.Y.R. Macedonia
Kaliopi – “Dona”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. I’m not 100% confident about this, but I’ve got a feeling that she might’ve done just enough to make it.
Nicolas: No. Though like Kylie said, not 100% sure either. I feel like this will narrowly miss out. In 2012 they only barely qualified with a much stronger song, so I feel like they might just miss out this time around. 11th.
Sara: No. It doesn’t appeal to juries nor televoting. Just too old-fashioned and her voice is something that you need to get used to and first time listeners won’t get the chance to do that and won’t enjoy it. But since they have a few friends in this semi they will get 11th anyway!
Lithuania
Donny Montell – “I’ve Been Waiting For This Night”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: No. I don’t know why, but today I got a hunch that this is going to fall short. I know they’ve got plenty of support in this semi, but something just doesn’t feel right here.
Nicolas: Yes. It won’t be as high as I first thought as I think the staging really fails to grab people’s attention. But Lithuania literally has all of its friends so I think it’ll manage to make it, though very narrowly! 10th.
Sara: Yes. I think this is the only song of its kind in this semi: a single male singing a real uptempo dance track. He’s a seasoned performer and I think if the camera shots are right he could impress quite a few viewers. 8th.
Australia
Dami Im – “Sound Of Silence”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. Unfortunately…
Nicolas: Yes. No reason why this wouldn’t qualify. 3rd
Sara: Yes. She’s obviously one of the best singers in the competition this year and I feel like her performance will look really cool on screen (even though I haven’t seen it yet). 2nd.
Slovenia
ManuElla – “Blue And Red”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: No. I don’t get the random acrobat and its running order position doesn’t really help.
Nicolas: No. This is the ultimate pee break material. 17th.
Sara: No. This song is too weak. Europeans don’t usually like country/pop songs like this. There’s a reason why Taylor Swift only really became popular in Europe after her change of style. And coming between Australia and Bulgaria will make her forgettable. 17th.
Bulgaria
Poli Genova – “If Love Was A Crime”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. It’s a really good pop song and people will appreciate that, it’s really enjoyable in my opinion
Nicolas: Yes. It should make it easily, but somehow I’m scared that if we have an Iceland 2.0 in this semi, it might be this… But loyal listeners will know that that’s just the pessimist in me talking, though I won’t let that part of me overrule the reasonable side of me! 5th.
Sara: Yes. I think a lot of the casual viewers will really like this song and relate to it. It’s extremely catchy and everybody will be singing it all night whether they know Bulgarian or not. 3rd.
Denmark
Lighthouse X – “Soldiers Of Love”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: No. If they couldn’t qualify with the same schtick last year, what reason is there for them to do it this year?
Nicolas: No. Middle of the road things used to make it in Eurovision, but what statistics about this new voting system taught me is that the middle of the road songs are the ones that suffer the most from this. Juries might have this as qualifying, but televoters will forget about this completely. 14th
Sara: Yes. Just because I have faith in my Danish men, just like I had faith in them in DMGP! You’ll all see! 10th.
Ukraine
Jamala – “1944”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. It stands out in its semi and will be well-liked enough on both sides of the coin that they will be safely through.
Nicolas: Yes. I know that back in February I said this might be the shock failure of this year, but no way that this is going to happen. I’m even thinking this will win the semi. 1st!
Sara: Yes. It’s Ukraine. 1st.
Norway
Agnete – “Icebreaker”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: No. You have no idea how much it pains me to say it about my beloved Norway, so I’m just going to leave it at that and go cry…
Nicolas: Yes. I think people are being too harsh here. The song was seen as a definite qualifier at first and just because the box went away people now think this won’t qualify? Show a bit more faith in the actual song! She sings it really well and I think she’ll still sail through! 6th
Sara: Yes. I think the song appeals to teenage girls (I’m.. sorry, Kylie?) and you either love it or hate it. 9th.
Georgia
Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz – “Midnight Gold”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. Another one that I’m not 100% confident on, but I’ve got a hunch that this might be exciting enough for people to appreciate and it MIGHT just sneak through, although I’m not entirely sure how much of that is my own personal wish…
Nicolas: No. As much as I want this to qualify, I can’t see the niche that this song appeals to pick up the phone to vote enough for this to qualify. And juries will sink it, I feel. 12th.
Sara: No. I think this song only appeals to a very small group of people and those people wouldn’t vote in Eurovision anyway. 16th.
Albania
Eneda Tarifa – “Fairytale”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: No. She really belts it out but it just does nothing and you will forget it by the time Belgium’s postcard comes on.
Nicolas: No. Again, if I were braver, I’d predict this as a shock qualifier, but I’m going to go safe and say that it’ll be completely forgotten between crazy Georgia and fun Belgium. 16th.
Sara: No. The song is lacklustre, lacks any type of real melody. People will be impressed by her voice but will forget her 30 seconds after the song’s over.
Belgium
Laura Tesoro – “What’s The Pressure”. Image courtesy of EBU.
Kylie: Yes. Not much to say other than that it’s the semi-final closer that we all needed.
Nicolas: Yes. For once I’ll show faith in Belgium! I just feel like there’s too many things going for it to go really wrong in the semi. It’ll fail to do that well in the final, but the fact that it’s the only real fun song in this semi, with good choreography, making people want to dance, makes me quietly confident. 7th.
Sara: Yes. This is a funky song that people will enjoy. She’s really cute and super likeable. 7th.
Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy the show, and if you agree/disagree with us, or want to make fun of us after the show for our incorrect predictions, hit us with a comment!
