Semi Final 1 Some "not so" big surprises.
Posted 26/May 2010 at 00:39 by Patrik Hübinette. Topics: Semi final one 1. First semi.
I am not the least bit surprised on the outcome of tonights semi final. I think we tend to underestimate the popularity of certain songs in the eastern block just in general.
So.. I am not at all surprised Russia and Belarus reached the final. Honestly. The only big surprise was that Bosnia went on to the final. Because I thought the performance was quite poor. And the choreography less than top notch. And the song was not at all exciting.
Here is a quick run through on my impression of each performance.
Moldova. I really liked this song even before I saw the performance. And the performance was quite good. An excellent first song to open the ESC. Of course it would go through to the final.
Russia. This song was a lot better than I thought it would be. And I thought that I probably had underestimated it. And of course I was right. A lot of people would get it.. even if I didn't necessarily understand it.
Estonia. I didn't expect this song to reach the final from the get go. Not that the song was bad. It just didn't stick out at all. It wasn't exciting. Performance wise.. It was adequate. But the song didn't lead to anything.. And I think that frustrates the listeners.
Slovakia. I liked this song. Warm.. Friendly.. But I think in essence too slow. Not enough people voted for it. And the singer looked nervous and uncomfortable. A shame it didn't make the final.
Finland. I would have liked to see this song make the final. Alas. It did stick out and was different enough.. And the song was performed well. I guess not the right venue for this kind of song? Plus.. The other Nordic country and western countries that were in the same semi didn't relate to the song. Shame..
Latvia. This song was a big big disappointment for me. Listening to the studio version and watching the video. I thought it would make it and be top 10. After watching the live performance.. And hearing the false notes.. The singer couldn't quite hit the high notes. And that is what made this song fail.
Serbia. Another song I thought really had nothing to offer in my taste but I knew would still make it through to the final. Charismatic singer.. Looks like a Japanese Anime figure. :-)
Bosnia and Herzegovina. I really had no expectations and had none delivered. The biggest surprise of the evening was that it made it through to the final. The song really didn't do anything for me.. And I thought it wouldn't qualify. Sure.. Maybe it was neighbour voting.. It still made it to the final.
Poland. I really liked the guys voice.. And performance.. But I didn't think it would qualify.. the song didn't lead anywhere.. And the background singers I think ruined it a little for them.
Belgium. I had higher expectations for this guys vocal performance. He didn't quite hit the high notes live. And I think this will be his downfall in the final. Even if the song is good.
Malta. I had a feeling it would be between this ballade or Portugal to qualify.. Malta.. Portugal. Which one would go through and which one wouldn't? I bet on Portugal. And I was right.. Because I wasn't sure this would qualify from the beginning. The reason is this.. This is almost the same ballade Malta has sent year after year.. Just a different singer this time.. And slightly different performance. I think people got bored.
Albania. Knew it would pass.. Well deserved qualifier for the final. The song was different, fast paced. And the vocal performance flawless.. Great job Albania!
Greece. I have to admit.. That I did NOT like this song the first time I heard it. But it is a song that grows on you. And by the time the big performance came. I was looking forward to it and already liking it.. And of course it held high standard, vocally and performance wise. So well deserved finalist.
Portugal. The song.. I thought was the stronger ballade out of all the ballades in the first semi... Her vocal performance was exquisite. And the song different.. Happy this went through to the final and wasn't overshadowed by Malta.
F.Y.R. Macedonia. This song was better than Bosnias in my opinion. But I really felt no connection with it. Am not surprised it didn't make it through. Vocally only disappointing when certain consonants distorted the sound in the singing.
Belarus. What can you say? The costumes were interesting.. Vocal performances.. Ok from the guys.. But one of the women were off key, sometimes so bad that it caused interference... And brought them down. I do however think that the song was good enough to reach the final. But now that we have already seen the butterfly wings.. What is going to surprise us in the final??
Iceland. Much much better than anticipated.. The vocals were spot on. Everything was actually interesting.. Melody was comfortable to listen to.. Happy it made it through to the final.
So.. I am not at all surprised Russia and Belarus reached the final. Honestly. The only big surprise was that Bosnia went on to the final. Because I thought the performance was quite poor. And the choreography less than top notch. And the song was not at all exciting.
Here is a quick run through on my impression of each performance.
Moldova. I really liked this song even before I saw the performance. And the performance was quite good. An excellent first song to open the ESC. Of course it would go through to the final.
Russia. This song was a lot better than I thought it would be. And I thought that I probably had underestimated it. And of course I was right. A lot of people would get it.. even if I didn't necessarily understand it.
Estonia. I didn't expect this song to reach the final from the get go. Not that the song was bad. It just didn't stick out at all. It wasn't exciting. Performance wise.. It was adequate. But the song didn't lead to anything.. And I think that frustrates the listeners.
Slovakia. I liked this song. Warm.. Friendly.. But I think in essence too slow. Not enough people voted for it. And the singer looked nervous and uncomfortable. A shame it didn't make the final.
Finland. I would have liked to see this song make the final. Alas. It did stick out and was different enough.. And the song was performed well. I guess not the right venue for this kind of song? Plus.. The other Nordic country and western countries that were in the same semi didn't relate to the song. Shame..
Latvia. This song was a big big disappointment for me. Listening to the studio version and watching the video. I thought it would make it and be top 10. After watching the live performance.. And hearing the false notes.. The singer couldn't quite hit the high notes. And that is what made this song fail.
Serbia. Another song I thought really had nothing to offer in my taste but I knew would still make it through to the final. Charismatic singer.. Looks like a Japanese Anime figure. :-)
Bosnia and Herzegovina. I really had no expectations and had none delivered. The biggest surprise of the evening was that it made it through to the final. The song really didn't do anything for me.. And I thought it wouldn't qualify. Sure.. Maybe it was neighbour voting.. It still made it to the final.
Poland. I really liked the guys voice.. And performance.. But I didn't think it would qualify.. the song didn't lead anywhere.. And the background singers I think ruined it a little for them.
Belgium. I had higher expectations for this guys vocal performance. He didn't quite hit the high notes live. And I think this will be his downfall in the final. Even if the song is good.
Malta. I had a feeling it would be between this ballade or Portugal to qualify.. Malta.. Portugal. Which one would go through and which one wouldn't? I bet on Portugal. And I was right.. Because I wasn't sure this would qualify from the beginning. The reason is this.. This is almost the same ballade Malta has sent year after year.. Just a different singer this time.. And slightly different performance. I think people got bored.
Albania. Knew it would pass.. Well deserved qualifier for the final. The song was different, fast paced. And the vocal performance flawless.. Great job Albania!
Greece. I have to admit.. That I did NOT like this song the first time I heard it. But it is a song that grows on you. And by the time the big performance came. I was looking forward to it and already liking it.. And of course it held high standard, vocally and performance wise. So well deserved finalist.
Portugal. The song.. I thought was the stronger ballade out of all the ballades in the first semi... Her vocal performance was exquisite. And the song different.. Happy this went through to the final and wasn't overshadowed by Malta.
F.Y.R. Macedonia. This song was better than Bosnias in my opinion. But I really felt no connection with it. Am not surprised it didn't make it through. Vocally only disappointing when certain consonants distorted the sound in the singing.
Belarus. What can you say? The costumes were interesting.. Vocal performances.. Ok from the guys.. But one of the women were off key, sometimes so bad that it caused interference... And brought them down. I do however think that the song was good enough to reach the final. But now that we have already seen the butterfly wings.. What is going to surprise us in the final??
Iceland. Much much better than anticipated.. The vocals were spot on. Everything was actually interesting.. Melody was comfortable to listen to.. Happy it made it through to the final.
