I got to watch the Second Semi-final of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest after the fact, albeit a bit earlier than the first. Watch the full Eurovision 2015 SF2 on Youtube, and also check out the International Sign Language version, which is a new addition to the contest this year.
© Andres Putting (EBU)To start things off, let’s find out how Europe (and Australia!) voted on the songs that are part of Semi-final 2. Here are the second semi-final results in their running order (the ones marked in bold qualified to the final):
- Lithuania — Qualified to the Final
- Ireland
- San Marino
- Montenegro — QF
- Malta
- Norway — QF
- Portugal
- Czech Republic
- Israel — QF
- Latvia — QF
- Azerbaijan — QF
- Iceland 😮
- Sweden — QF
- Switzerland
- Cyprus — QF
- Slovenia — QF
- Poland — QF
Thanks to the votes from all across Europe (and Australia!) Sweden, Slovenia, Poland, Norway, Montenegro, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel, Cyprus, and Azerbaijan are all through to the finals on Saturday (Sunday morning in Australia, and where I live). Now that I’ve watched the full second semi-finals show (thanks to Youtube), here is how I rank the qualifiers going into the final:
© Andres Putting (EBU)
1. Latvia
Aminata Savadogo – Love Injected
Ladies and gentlemen we have a contender for the Eurovision trophy right here. She hit all the right notes in her performance. The bright red gown with shear parts showing her ink is a great look on screen.
© Andres Putting (EBU)2. Israel
Nadav Guedj – Golden Boy
Israel! Israel! Israel! So happy for Israel that they finally got through after a few years of drought. Nadav sounded great and on point for most of the song. Except for his sounding a bit winded during the chorus. Good thing the backing vocals do an excellent job supporting him. Nadav and his backing dancers and vocalists were going the f*** off, singing and dancing for their lives. And it paid off. See Europe (and Australia) there is still a place for fun, upbeat, party songs in Eurovision.
© Andres Putting (EBU)3. Norway
Mørland & Debrah Scarlett – A Monster Like Me
I still hoped that they would recreate their music video with their staging, but they kept it simple, with just the lighting as the extent of their visuals. They should probably add some smoke for added dramatic effect. This is still Top 5, even Top 3, material for me.
© Andres Putting (EBU)4. Azerbaijan
Elnur Huseynov – Hour Of The Wolf
The contemporary dancing is great, but it’s distracting from the whole performance, where Elnur should have been the focus. If they have time to tweak this before the final, I would suggest to keep the lighting low on the dancers, and move Elnur up front more.
© Andres Putting (EBU)5. Sweden
Måns Zelmerlöw – Heroes
There was no question in anyone’s mind that this would qualify. The viewers would have been blown away by the projected animation and Måns interacting with his little gnome friends. He seemed very unsure during the first verse (he forgot the choreography?) but he got better as the song went on. I still think he performed better during the Melodifestivalen final, but all eyes will be on him this Saturday as one of the hot favorites.
© Andres Putting (EBU)6. Montenegro
Knez – Adio
Well what do you know, I’m liking this song now. And after that performance, it’ll probably be a guilty pleasure. The visual aspect is magical, like being transported to the Balkans. (I’ve never been there so I’m not sure if that’s an accurate representation of the area, but I would love to go.)
© Andres Putting (EBU)7. Slovenia
Maraaya – Here For You
This fell flat for me. Not a lot of movement save for the epic air violinist. I don’t understand the camera switching to shots of Raay snapping along. The staging they had during the national selection was more effective since it was in a smaller setting. This needs a bit of pyro love.
© Andres Putting (EBU)8. Cyprus
John Karayiannis – One Thing I Should Have Done
The staging improved this performance a hundred fold. Its starting in black and white, then subtly turning to color with all of the lights, and the graphics exploding during the bridge — all great. It’s simple but full of impact.
© Andres Putting (EBU)9. Poland
Monika Kuszyńska – In The Name Of Love
She isn’t hitting the notes as much as I would have liked. The background vocals are overpowering her voice. It’s still a charming ballad, and that seems to resonate with the European and Australian viewers, especially her message of hope amidst adversity.
© Andres Putting (EBU)10. Lithuania
Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumila – This Time
Super cheesy, plus I’m growing tired of this song. The kiss is probably the thing that most people will be talking about. What kinda surprised me actually is that during the rehearsals the backing vocalists didn’t go for the same-sex kiss, but during the SF they did! I’m all for the message of equal rights all around, but this is the weakest song for me among this semi’s qualifiers.
From the non-qualifiers, I’m sad for Iceland. She sounded sick, and that was not her best performance. I hope that wasn’t bad karma for kicking out the dancers. What also killed her chances was performing between Azerbaijan and Sweden, two Eurovision favorites.
Who was your favorite in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015? Sound off in the comments below.