With the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Azerbaijan already promised a place in the finals due to four of them funding the contest and Azerbaijan being last years winners, the contest has only twenty places left in the final. Therefore ten countries can progress to the finals from each semi final.
Broadcasted on Tuesday 22nd May at 8pm, the contest had begun. Below is the order of the entries and my brief opinion of them.
1. Montenegro: This was a bad start to the Eurovision, besides my first thought being, at least wash your hair before embarking on one of the biggest performances of anyone's career but the song was not memorable and the performance was dreadfully boring.
| Iceland |
3. Greece: The woman in this did not stand out from any other generic female, and the dress appeared as though they could not afford the rest of the dress. The song was alright but nothing special.
4. Latvia: I agree with the commentator on this one, the collection of women appeared as though they were the Latvian Loose Women. The blonde lead was extremely tall and the other backing singers seemed to be hiding in her shadow.
5. Albania: The voice on this woman was incredible and her hair was something to behold. There seemed to be more structured noises than actual lyrics but her voice is very well trained and she defiantly had something about her.
6. Romania: The range of instruments led me to believe that this performance was going to be fantastic. However they did not use the instruments to the best use they faded away into the background. The singer was wearing a swimsuit underneath her dress and the performance was sub par.
7. Switzerland: I loved this performance. It was a rock song and it was performed really well and there was a good stage presence. The vocals were good and it was a very promising entry.
| Finland |
9. Finland: The Finnish entry was good vocally and the dress was defiantly something to remember due to the wind machine wafting it about as she sang. Took a little bit of the focus off her but it's still good.
10. Israel: For some, this entry was very entertaining. I did like the large clock at the beginning and it was a memorable performance. The main guy was defiantly a little bit gay judging from the home made earring but the song was alright.
11. San Marino: The social network song...based on Facebook...it was an odd entry and I was left feeling a bit disheartened by it.
12. Cyprus: The song was catchy during the chorus but the women were dressed in very pale clothing and the performance wasn't that good choreographically.
13. Denmark: This is my favourite entry so far. The lead singer is talented as are the musicians. There is a good range of instruments, even a xylophone solo! The drummer showed a great amount of enthusiasm and the song was really well written and performed.
| Russia |
14. Russia: There has been a lot of talk about this act and from the beginning I thought it was a bit overrated. The faster paced bit is catchy and the women are adorable but I don't see the appeal personally...and why is the oven rotating throughout the performance?? This will be a shoe in for the finals thanks to the hype it is already getting in the media.
15. Hungary: This was another good entry. There was a good chorus, a few tuning issues at the start but they were stamped out as the band got into the performance some more. A good entry.
16. Austria: This entry made me laugh so much! I know in their language it probably came across more normal but it just seemed so rude...as did the choreography. It all linked to being done up the bottom and the light up pants did not help their case! So funny to watch though!
| Austria |
17. Moldova: This act was also one of my favourite acts of the night. The lead singer looked like Colin Farrel and the trumpets were a great addition to the act. An image that revolves in my mind is 'lampshade fish' due to the attire of the females. Great performance!
18. Ireland: Represented by Jedward once again with their song 'waterline'. They are wearing a shiny silver suit of armour with flat hair. The song was alright and stuck in my mind, I liked the use of water fountains and the ending where Jedward are just stood in a water fountain drenched...a good ending to the show.
The finalists of Eurovision 2012 from this heat are as follows:
| Jedward: Ireland |
2. Greece
3. Russia
4. Moldova
5. Hungary
6. Denmark
7. Cyprus
8. Romania
9. Albania
10. Iceland
Congratulations to all the finalists, however I am disappointed that Switzerland did not get in, they were so good! And Austria...was entertaining how can that not have progressed!
I look forward to the next semifinal which will be broadcast Thursday 24th May at 8pm on BBC3.eurovi
Victoria V.L Walker
