The numbers in this year’s song contest are really hit or miss, and most of the misses are in the first semi-final. I would have bet Belarus would not have gotten out of the semis if it weren’t for the fact that it is in this semi. Here are my picks, in the order they appear on the show tomorrow night:
Moldova
Slovakia
Finland
Serbia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belgium
Albania
Greece
Belarus
Iceland
The first semifinal is the weaker of the two and harder to call. Without a strong group of songs to qualify on merit, songs that qualify may be more influenced by neighborly and diaspora voting. At least that’s the logic I’ve got going for some of the picks.
Jen’s Semifinal 1 picks, in order of appearance:
Moldova
Russia
Slovakia
Finland
Serbia
Belgium
Albania
Greece
Belarus
Iceland
Here is Kristina, the Slovakian representative at Eurovision, with “Horehronie”:
So New Age! There’s nothing wrong with this song, per se, but it never really goes anywhere. It’s all mood and no substance. Compare it to “Water“, Bulgaria’s 2007 entry and a song that occupies the same space as “Horehronie.” There’s progression there. You feel it building as it goes along, whereas “Horehronie” just lies there. I didn’t hate it, but I won’t remember it either.
Slovakia has come back to Eurovision after 11 years away. Perhaps they’ve watched all the Czech entries, and thought, “There is no way we could possibly do worse than that.”
Indeed, Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková’s “Let’ Tmou” is no worse than anything the Czech Republic has done so far. In fact, it’s not bad, in an Elnur and Samir meets Vlad and Nico sort of way:
These popera entries tend to do decently at Eurovision. They never win, of course, but if Slovakia is looking to improve on its past results, they may be on to something here. I wouldn’t bump it in my vehicle, but a lot of people eat this sort of thing up. Namely, the Slovakian audience.