Cyprus
Silia Kapsis – Liar
A heavy, not to say quite bombastic EDM track, with the bassy bounce from reggaeton as its beating heart. And yet also, and that’s quite clever, a hint of Cypriot and Greek pop. And towards the end also some cutting synths from dubstep. There’s plenty going on in it Liar, also in the fine choreography around the 17-year-old singer Silia Kapsis. An excellent, if not very daring, mid-range player.
7.2
Serbia
Teya Dora – Ramonda
A song in black tones about the desperate, hopeless feeling of grief (Teya Dora lost her father) or war – the Ramonda is a rock plant that in Serbia is the official symbol of the commemoration of Armistice Day, or the end of the First World War, as the poppy is in Anglo-Saxon countries. Where have you gone, Ramonda, Teya Dora sings sadly, with a slightly over-emphasized moan, and although there are nice accelerations in the melody, it all goes a bit too slowly and unnoticeably uphill.
5.8
Lithuania
Silvester Belt – Lukteach
If a Eurovision Song Contest is a kind of night in the club then it is Lukteach van Silvester Calls the song that should put everyone in a techno frenzy at 3 am. Belt has been around all his life en route to the Eurovision Song Contest; he participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2010 with Pi-pa-po and has now seen every Lithuanian talent show. Lukteach means ‘wait a minute’, but we don’t have to wait too long in this song before it starts. Thin voice, yes.
6.7
Ireland
Bambi Thug – Doomsday Blue
Effective electroshock therapy, that is the first thing the Irish entry reminds us of. Doomsday Blue is optimized for the TikTok attention span, with a new impulse every time. Knowing the Eurovision Song Contest a little, it will be a lot about the fact that Bambie Thug is a non-binary candidate. With a very good voice. Anyone who is not convinced at first hearing can listen to the ‘intimate’ version of the song on YouTube without risking an epileptic attack.
8.3
Ukraine
alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – Teresa & Maria
What a nice duo, you immediately think, and that is of course due to the contrast: slender singer, sturdy rapper. This is continued in the song, a surprisingly smooth combination of Black Sea regional-style singing and rap, held together by a pleasant mid-tempo kick drum beat (one like Carly Rae Jepsen’s monster hit Call Me Maybe for example). And for those who always grab the armrests during rap at the Eurovision Song Contest: Alyona Alyona, star in her own country, brings it to an excellent end. High among bookmakers, and don’t start talking about favoritism: Ukraine has often been doing well since long before the invasion.
7.3
Poland
LUNA – TheTower
In TheTower part-time yoga teacher Aleksandra Katarzyna Wielgomas, Luna for short, goes in search of the rainbow and the pot of gold – in vain of course. Fortunately, she manages to build a tower with which she wants to give humanity a helping hand, or something like that. Of TheTower she comes across well, although expectations are not fully met after a convincing start. Solid and catchy pop song, a bit flat, eighties atmosphere, mid-range. Does her voice hold up?
6.7
Croatia
Baby Lasagna – Rim Tim Tagi Dim
An electronic Rammstein riff, but ultra-light, pushes Rim Tim Tagi Dim certainly towards the final, and then perhaps even to the Eurovision victory? Baby Lasagna, the stage name of Marko Purišić, was at the top of the bookmakers for a long time. Logically, because Croatia’s entry may not be very tasteful this year, but it is catchy. Headbanging in peasant costume seems to be the gimmick, illustrating a story about a village boy who moves to the big city. A sympathetic rocking techno and folklore track, with a meditative outro reminiscent of Joost’s.
7.8
Iceland
Hera Björk – Scared of Heights
Hera Björk is a veteran of the Eurovision stage. In 2010 she competed for Iceland Je ne sais quoi (19th place in Oslo). And she was a backing singer for other Icelandic acts three times. During the first listening session, someone already called the song a form of company party pop. Warm-up to a long evening with the opening move: I feel it coming! After which the beat soon joins in and Hera desperately clings to the chorus in which love and fear of heights are inimitably linked.
4.2
Slovenia
Raiven – Veronica
In a daring song with names, Slovenian star Raiven tells the story of Veronika Deseniška, a mythical figure from the country’s history. She fell into a Romeo and Juliet-like state and was accused of witchcraft by her evil father-in-law. That was in the 15th century. Raiven goes off the rails here and there in her ode to this historical power woman, but feminism is always plus 1 and her background as an opera singer comes in handy.
6.9
Finland
Windows95Man – No Rules!
We may have Donny Ronny as Joost Klein’s art director, but the Finns have apparently managed to get their own genius. A denim egg, semi-bare buttocks, fireworks: everything happens on stage to shift the focus from the fun game anthem No Rules!. Whether the audience goes along with the anarchist mindset will have to be seen with the risky high final chorus. Pure is pure, false is simply false.
6.5
Moldavia
Natalia Barbu – In the Middle
This is not Natalia Barbu’s first Eurovision Song Contest, in 2007 she already achieved a respectable tenth place in the final. This year she performs the pulsating cry from the heart In the Middle quite statically, with violin. Boring to watch, not very exciting musically, but vocally very strong. Here the visual spectacle gives way to vocal acrobatics. That is also possible sometimes.
6.7
Azerbaijan
Fahree feat. İlkin Dövlətov – Özünlə separate
The Azerbaijani singer Fahree has a special, trained voice with a strong guttural sound. And together with his own second, third and fourth voices and the invocations of the hired mugham singer İlkin Dövlətov, the song Özünlə takes on an almost ecclesiastical expressiveness. It is incomprehensible that this elegant and well-crafted song is doing so poorly at the betting offices.
7.4
Australia
Electric Fields – One Milkali
In essence this is a fairly standard EDM song, but the bouncing didgeridoo and rather inimitable lyrics make it seem interesting. Electric Fields sings about planets, atoms and the golden ratio, and all of that should make us realize that we are one together. Hence the use of various indigenous Australian languages such as Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara. Unfortunately, the text is really too vague to get the message across properly (‘I may be dreaming, but the atoms are awake. Spill the tea on reality, and the 0.618’). Musically speaking, it remains One Milkali Even with didgeridoo it is very interchangeable.
5.3
Portugal
Iolanda – Grito
An entry where you know it will be performed by a very skilled singer, who sings about important matters, assisted by good dancers and a costume designer with a vision. But yeah, it just doesn’t work out. That halfway through you catch yourself on your phone, reading the packaging of the nuts or looking up on Wikipedia whether Portuguese is related to Russian (no).
5.2
Luxembourg
TALI – Fighter
Participating in the Eurovision Song Contest had become too expensive, but after 31 (!) years, Luxembourg is again pulling its pockets. The comeback is made with a rather meaningless pop song in French and English around the extremely safe Eurovision Song Contest theme ‘trial and error’. No, Luxembourg does not have to worry about the possible organization of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025.
5.5
Very last
The Netherlands will only take part in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday. Joost Klein is then the sixteenth and very last turn in Malmö, dressed in a blue suit with gigantic shoulder pads and in the company of a keyboard player dressed as a blue-and-yellow bird. Ten countries from each semi-final will qualify for the final, next Saturday, May 11.
