EUROVISION 2019 - SEMI FINAL 2 REVIEW

After a tense few days filled with rehearsals, interviews and finally two great semis, we now have our 26 countries who will be competing in the grand final on the 18th of May. The second semi final, an arguably more predictable one, had a number of brilliant performances, which I will be talking about below, so let's get to it!

To begin with we had Armenia, who following in the footsteps of female predecessors Iveta Mukuchyan and Artsvik chose a darker staging with intense red lighting, and quick camera cuts covering every inch of the smoky stage. Vocally, it was acceptable, with higher notes being supported heavily by backing vocalists, however severe dictation issues sadly masked the lyrics of the song, putting off potential voters.

Next up was Ireland, which from start to finish sadly felt tenuous, with Sarah slipping out of time at various points and needing heavy support from backing vocalists in order to complete the chorus. It is as if singing on the night was a struggle, as the vocals were very breathy, more so then what we have seen from Sarah before. Staging wise, the bold colours and patterns inspired by the pop art movement and acting definitely stood out amongst many darker stages, but was not enough to save the vocal and confidence issues.

Moldova brought their A game on the night, recycling Kseniya Simonova for a second year to provide the backdrop for "Stay". This song has both a very strong verse chord progression and vocalist in my opinion, which is something that I believe the juries will have picked up on, but the downfall to this is the weak lyrics, which don't provide a lot of inspiration for staging. As well as this, being early on and before fan favourite most likely didn't help this song either.

The crowd went wild for Switzerland, who opted for postbox camera crops focused solely on singer Luca. Vocally Luca gave an average performance, yet it must be considered the amount of energy it takes to sing and dance, the latter being very impressive visually. Camera angles for me failed to land, some showing more of the crowd then the performers, though all in all, the production was very slick and professional, much like Cyprus' on Tuesday.

Carousel of Latvia had arguably one of the strongest vocals of the night for what is a quiet song, meaning every small vocal movement can be heard and scrutinised. The staging didn't stray far from that of their national final, the main difference being the abandonment of the black and white colouring, instead choosing gold as their main staging colour. Backing vocals in the second chorus took away from was should be an intimate song, whilst the sweeping camera angles came in from strange places, and were too fast and distracting.

Next up came Romania, whose underwater backdrop combined with early pyrotechnics, spacious staging, onscreen guitarist and backing vocalists, and interpretive dancer (another dancer other then Ester's left arm) in combination with a very "wordy" song overwhelmed the audience who probably forgot which country they were even watching. Missing just a few notes early on, Ester was vocally very strong, but was overshadowed by the spectacles occurring around her.

Love really is forever for Leonora, who pretty much copied the winning staging from the Danish national final and pasted it into Tel Aviv, giant wooden chair and all. To me this was a shock qualifier, not because the song is not good, but because it is soft and subtle, with a very long close up shot of Leonora at the beginning which, in the nicest way, may of been dull to the viewing public at home who like short and snappy average shot lengths. However, a great vocal virtually unsupported by backing vocalists may have pushed up her Jury scores.

Speaking of both love, and keeping the staging the same as in the national final, Nordic neighbours Sweden also kept a key prop in their stage show, a rectangular floodlight, shining gold light on singer John below. One of the strongest male vocals of the night for sure, paired with simple, and at sometimes unusual camera shots, this song was one of the few to be elevated by backing vocalists known as the mamas, received to a rapturous applause both in and outside of the arena I'm sure. Definitely one to look out for in the final, I'm sure John qualified with flying colours.

A simplistic staging doesn't help every act, which Austria had to learn the hard way, after opting for a single light on performer PAENDA for the first half of the song, combined with long close up shots of the singer as she sits and sings. The only change came in the chorus, when small flickering lights appeared on the LEDs, however they did nothing to elevate what is a fairly downbeat song in the first place. Over sung in some places and therefore masking key lyrics in breaths,  "Limits" sadly had little chance following powerhouse Sweden.

Croatia could be argued to be a surprise non qualifier after a strong story orientated staging showing an angel moving from Hell to Heaven, and getting his wings. A great moment cut short was the "assent" of Roko from Hell, where the camera angle made it look like he was truly soaring up, however it was cut short by a wide shot of the stage, ruining the illusion. All in all, Roko gave a cracking performance of an average song, using on stage graphics greatly to his advantage.

Once again, Lithuania replicated his national final performance on the big stage, which worked well in a budgeted Lithuanian arena, where the LED graphics perhaps could only show coloured dots rather then full definition pictures that were used by almost every other performer. A good stage was the only thing that could save a somewhat simple song from non qualification, but sadly Lithuania failed to deliver even a clique Lion graphic for a song titled "Run With The Lions"

On the opposite side for the spectrum, Michaela for Malta used graphics and she used them well, perhaps being the only entry to compete for the award of "most colourful performance" against Sarah. Clever props and camera shots lacking in wide shots gave an impression that Michaela was in a cube, which allowed for clear projections, which was refreshing for the eye. Vocally the performance was carried by backing vocalists, which was surprising for a song with less complex choreography, but nevertheless acceptable.

Sergey Lazarev joins John as one of the best male vocalists of the night, with "Scream" containing a lot of long, high notes crushed by Sergey. Staging for this was unconventional, with the many Sergey's projected on to mirror glass showing the technical capabilities of the Russian delegation, but not really correlating with the message of the song. Although for me not being as good as "You Are The Only One", this year Russia definitely lived up to the hype that had surrounded Sergey and his song once it was released.

Queen of Albania Jodina Maliqi gave an astonishing performance vocally and physically, each note creeping from her lungs flawlessly. Special mention must also be given to the backing vocalists, who really shone, but without overshadowing the main star. Staging was concerning for this, featuring very little on screen graphics, however the sheer drama emitted from the live performance of this song was enough to support it comfortably through to the final.

After alleged technical issues in their jury show, KEiiNO of Norway gave a near perfect performance, the only issue being an incorrect lyric sung by Tom in the first chorus, which was not noticeable to the casual fan, and thankfully did not throw other band members Alexandra and Fred. Staging wise, the graphics were ideal for the song, mixing both ethnic and modern elements much like the song itself. Most definitely the best received by the audience and deserving of a brilliant result in the final.

The star that shone brightest tonight was Duncan Laurence, whose ballad "Arcade" still currently sits at the tops of the bookie's odds. The Netherlands found a perfect balance between actually having staging, however making it as minimalistic as they could, without it being dull. Something they could have done without however was Valentina's IKEA lamp, coming in randomly from above for less then 10 seconds, before flying off back to San Marino. Nothing needs to be said about Duncan's vocals, other then they were pitch perfect.

North Macedonia had a job following the Netherlands with another ballad, but in a surprising turn of events to everyone, the song really struck a chord with once again very minimalistic staging, the song focusing almost solely on the lyrics and vocal performance, which were spot on. Very few people expected this to qualify, but camera shots, transitions, and a cracking group of backing vocalists, peaking at the end of the second verse, just before the chorus really resonated, and left a big impact on the contest.

To close the show, we had Azerbaijan, who put the toothpaste cap and chewing gum robots from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" to good use in their staging, which was reliant on neon and lasers, much like Latvia 2017, which had the opposite fate to Chingiz. Vocally the verses were almost entirely sung by backing vocalists, and I'm fairly convinced that the chorus was only sung by them, which is alarming for a singer who has displayed previously a good vocal. For me this just didn't land tonight, with the triangle and laser robots restricting Chingiz's movements the same way that the mirror contraption did to Lucy in 2017.

For me, this was a weaker semi final song wise, however powerhouse Eurovision countries like Sweden and Russia were strong vocally, and made sure their performances were staged well. For now, we wait until Saturday to see who will be crowned winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.