EUROVISION 2019 - SEMI FINAL 1 REVIEW

After a long wait, Eurovision 2019 is finally upon us, with the first semi final taking place on the 14th May. We kicked of the show with a performance from Netta, who of course won the competition last year, who "sang" and danced to a electronic/EDM remix of winning song toy, as with the Eurovision opening act tradition.

To kick the main show off, we had Cyprus, who as last year were very slick and energetic, displaying good use of camera angles, which had been a cause for concern during the preview clips released last week. vocally she was fairly off, especially on he chorus, however with an energetic dance orientated number this isn't really much of an issue. Overall, most definitely a deserved qualifier in my books.

A big surprise to me was Montenegro, who used the stage well by having their members distributed in different locations, before coming together in the first chorus, which I would argue was a little too early considering they would then stay there for the remainder of the song. Camera angles again worked in their favour, with the majority of their performance addressing the camera. Vocally, this was one of their better performances, however both Emel and Rizo's solo were still dodgy and lacked the confidence Tamara had. Regardless, they looked like they enjoyed it, and that's really all that should have mattered to them at this point.

Up next we had Finland, whose stage show just looked a bit disorientating, with the storyline being a woman going from dancing on a block in the middle of the stage to being submerged in water on a graphic projection, to again dancing on the block. Combined with some questionable facial expressions and leg spreading from lead singer Sebastian, it just didn't fit with the song, and seemed too slow for a supposed high energy song. Despite this, vocally the performance was on point, and was received well by the casual viewer.

I'm still so sad for Tulia,  who in my opinion are still one of the most unique acts ever sent to Eurovision. Sadly, their performance lacked the energy and fire (especially a song called "Fire Of Love") and the claim of doing something unique and special for their stage performance in a lot of interviews was underwhelming, however, surely just on the merit of vocal ability and arrangement, I would have thought this would be a clear qualifier over other entries.

Staging wise, Slovenia looked great, the Galaxy graphic coming through strong on the LEDS creating a dreamy atmosphere for the song. For me, this was a surprise qualifers, but I'm sure for you die hard Sebi fans it was a relief when called as the last qualifier, a spot normally reserved for Belgium.

We move onto Lake Malawi, and all I can say is wow. We haven't seen such an innovate staging since Georgia 2016, and combined with the bands genuine enthusiasm for Eurovision, crowd interaction, and quality vocals, it made for a spectacular 3 minutes and a well deserved qualification.

We then go to Hungary, whose heartfelt ballad failed to secure a qualification, thus ending Hungary's 0% non qualification rate. The cause of this could be attributed to the song itself, which is quite repetitive and lacks any "wow" moments, where the singer gets an opportunity to show off their vocal capacity. The colour scheme in the staging was appealing and eye catching, however without a solid song, the impact of this was lost.

Another surprise for me was Belarus, who despite having a poorly written song in my opinion really shined on stage, despite her age and experience in comparison with other competitors. Both ZENA and Tamta showed good vocal control throughout high energy dance routines, and despite not personally believing ZENA should have qualified, I am able to recognise that she gave a brilliant performance, and earned her spot in the final.

Everything about Serbia was perfect, from the vocals, the dress, to the staging, everything just fell into place the way that "Nebo" from 2012 couldn't. Despite being alone, Nevena truly filled the stage with a powerful passionate vocal. Sweeping camera transitions and fades also highlighted the intricacy of the staging, without distracting from the song itself. 

On the other hand, I find myself seeing similarities between the next act Belgium and Finland, in the way that none of the staging fitted with the song, other then perhaps the drums. A comment was made by the UK commentators that Eliot looked like he'd just been for a skydive and honestly he did. As well as this, the drummers/backing dancers, were wearing baggy, creased T-shirts with a hand doing a peace sign, which again had no connection with the song, or any sense of fashion. Jonida would be ashamed.

Georgia for sure had impactful staging, using the pyrotechnics to their full capacity, and probably burning the eyebrows off of the first row. Vocally again it was superb, but for me the song was just not accessible enough to either the casual viewer or superfan. As well as this, lack of support from neighbouring countries Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia probably also helped contribute to the fate of Georgia.

As expected, Kate Miller-Heidke stunned the audience with her death defying performance suspended on a bendy pole, delivering a stellar vocal whilst flying through space. It contained some interesting vocal variations from the studio, but nothing of demerit when you are swinging backwards and forwards whilst singing. Of course it made it through the semi's, most likely winning it's heat, and perhaps even the competition.

Hatari Of Iceland got one of the biggest cheers in the arena of the night, and had very extensive lighting and staging, which only elevated what was already a great performance. To be picky, Klemens vocal was fairly off in the chorus, however with a performance like this, it is not too much of a concern, when the focus is more on the performance aspect and costume.

The biggest shock of the night was the qualification of underdog Estonia, which I love in the studio version, however vocally when performed live on the night, it was poor, which Victor himself admits. The staging and enthusiasm also failed to have an impact on me as opposed to the national final performance, which could have been due to a lack of confidence after badly missing an important note in the first chorus of the song. The green screen effect was smooth, but was less then I was expecting after the length of time it took to perfect in rehearsals.

One question I think many of us fans are asking was how on earth Portugal didn't qualify. Everything about this for me screamed jury, which made me think that the televote was the cause of the non qualification. There have been claims that in certain countries like Spain and Franc that votes were not processed after they had been received, however I just think that this song was too experimental and out there for a casual viewer, a few of which I know didn't like this song on first watch.

Again as expected Greece sailed through the semi, with the staging replicating the avant-garde image of the music video, and  Katerine nailing the complex vocals of the song. The big bell prop was a bit restricting and unnecessary, however with the minimalistic choreography in the song, it didn't distract too much. Throwing the ball into the crowd was also a nice touch, and maintained the enthusiasm of the audience.

Ah Serhat. What a brilliant stage show you gave us! Despite evidently not being the best vocalist in the performance, and being the poor disadvantaged San Marino, they really threw everything at this, starting with a young, fresh set of backing vocalists/dancers, rather then the, ahem, older vocalists they've consistently used for many years. combine this with great staging and a charismatic and enthusiastic performer with a song that isn't unbearable, and you get a qualification. Well done to San Marino!

Overall, I believe the stage is one of the best we have had in a few years, with a large, undisturbed LED in the back, which does not distort projections as it did in 2016, hundreds of lights, which were used by Iceland, and a decent sized stage overall. Although the arena is fairly empty in comparison to previous years, wide camera shots do well to cut before there is sight of empty seats. I am unable to truly comment on the hosting skills of Erez, Bar, Assi, and Lucy, who from what I saw, of a combined total of about 4 minutes without commentary or dull interludes from the BBC, which only adds to the idea that Eurovision is a joke to the UK. Now,  all that is left to do is to wait anxiously for the pleasure, entertainment and shocks that semi final 2 will bring us!   Photos courtesy of: Andres Putting and Thomas Hanses.