Preview of the first semi-final
HAPPY EUROVISION WEEK!
It’s finally here! Long anticipated by many, we’re one day away from the first semi-final.
Rehearsals began in Basel on what was our bank holiday weekend in the UK. In the first week there were technical rehearsals of the staging, lighting etc., with the use of stand-ins in place of the performers – who knew! Following that it was the turn of all the semi-finalists to do their rehearsals on stage in person over recent days. All culminating before the welcome ceremony on Sunday afternoon, on the turquoise carpet no less. If you missed the action, you can catch up via the link below…
From today it’s dress rehearsals and then we’re into the live action on Tuesday night.
This year the rehearsals have been held in private. For many years the eyes and the ears of fans (and others) were all over this stage of the preparations. Some comments were helpful and insightful, some bitchy and snipey. So, in a move to contain the coverage at this sensitive time for the performers, initially the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) released a review of each rehearsal, accompanied by three pictures.
What was hilarious is that some of the fan websites were critiquing the performances based on three photographs and a write up! Oh, the desperation to have something to say! I will have plenty to say once I’ve seen the semi-final on Tuesday.
That said, if you would like to preview all the performances the EBU have now posted lots of content and rehearsal footage via the ESC socials, webpage and YouTube. When I do my recaps on Wednesday and Friday I will have the full semi-final performances in my round-up.
With that in mind, here are my thoughts on the first crop of songs – what I think based on what I’m hearing and feeling (remember, I’ve not seen any performance footage yet). As always, there’s a smorgasbord of musical styles, tilting to styles of music we are already familiar with, and some, not so much.
As I have said to you in the past, a Eurovision winner is a song you have never heard before that you already know…
We start this semi-final with two up-tempo songs…
01 Iceland Róa – Væb
A bit of a bop to get us started. Brothers Hálfdán and Matthías Matthíasson are serving youthful energy and galactic silver style. Sung with gusto, interspersed with Celtic fiddles as well as chants of “Hey” to get us involved – and a key change. Even though it’s sung in Icelandic, there’s enough of a hook in terms of melody and rhythm. Good start…
02 Poland Gaya – Justyna Steczkowska
More fiddling with the Polish song. Confident vocals with a thumping tempo and some nice harmonies. Maintains the vibe in the opening of this semi-final. I like it (btw, I like a lot of the songs this year!)…
03 Slovenia How Much Time Do We Have Left – Klemen Slakonja
Oh gosh, early doors introspection from Slovenia! There are a few song titles this year asking the more philosophical questions of life (we’ll get to the UK later), and this is one of them. How Much Time Do We Have Left is a nice change of pace from the first two songs. I like the timbre of the vocals and the melody. The song feels like a little hug. I hope it doesn’t get forgotten in the running order, but it might. The lyrics are heartbreaking, and the storytelling of the song resonates if you listen to the song. It makes me want to have a little euro-weep. Scratch that, it makes me want to have what Oprah Winfrey calls the ‘ugly cry’. If the professional juries were voting I’d be more confident of it getting through, but they only contribute to the Grand Final. Fingers crossed, but it might be a bit of a buzz kill…
04 Estonia Espresso Macchiato – Tommy Cash
One of the early faves in the betting odds. It has drifted recently, but for me this is one of the first songs that hooked me in this year, and one of the best. There a quite a few songs this year that flip between major and minor keys, or changes of tempo and language. This is one of them. I love it. It’s a bonkers earworm. Clearly riding on Sabrina Carpenter’s fabulous Espresso from last year. Tommy sees that, and raises it to Macchiato level. I would say this is sailing through to the Grand Final. Hopefully Tommy’s signature style and luscious locks won’t be a hindrance…
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As with last year, all of the automatic qualifiers (the ‘Big 6’) perform in the semi-finals. First up is…
Spain Esa Diva – Melody
Pretty much in the oeuvre of Spain when they go all hi-energy dance vibes on us. Singer Melody is serving us sass, with a catchy song including familiar flamenco flourishes. You can also hear a bit of Loreen’s Tattoo on Melody’s vocal stylings (Melody’s melody, if you like!). I am sure that she will be styled in some kind of gem stoned body suit with a bevvy of male backing dancers? If I was a betting man…
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05 Ukraine Bird of Pray – Ziferblat
A delightful groovy song (baby). Shades of Sweet Dreams My LA Ex in the guitar riffs. And for some reason I’m getting Jesus Christ Superstar in the backing vocals. The groove is a departure from what Ukraine would ordinarily send. It will do well, for reasons we would rather not have to take account of in the Eurovision bubble, but also because it’s a good pop song…
06 Sweden Bara Bada Bastu – KAJ
Now then. Is this the ESC2025 winner in waiting? Well, it’s been number one in Sweden for the past 11 weeks, since it won the Swedish selection process, Melodifestivalen. It’s been favourite in the bookies betting odds since before it won Melodifestivalen (remembering that odds are based on where punters are putting their money).
Interesting to note that this is the first time since 1998 that Sweden will be singing in Swedish and not English. As of 1999 participating countries could sing in any language, prior to that it was only in their domestic tongue. Singing in Swedish doesn’t seem to have diminished the songs popularity. Why? Because it’s joyous, fun, a bit giddy and an earworm of a song – something we can all sing along with even though we don’t understand Swedish (us non-Swedes!).
It goes off script from what Swedeen would usually send – perfectly crated mainstream pop. This is perfectly crafted, but with the musical stylings of dansband in the mix it feels fresh and fun. And the song is one that, once you’ve got the hook, it’s easy to sing along with.
Oh, and – what’s that you say? Why is this blog post titled Finns can only get better? Well, that’s because the group KAJ are Finnish, so the Finns are doubling-up this year. KAJ seem on for the win and deffo top three in the Grand Final. It’ll be interesting to see what the professional juries make of it. See what you think…
07 Portugal Deslocado – NAPA
Mid-tempo guitar vibes from Portugal. Nice melody, with shades of The Beatles and Elton John to my ear. If it gets to the Grand Final, I am sure it will be popular with the professional juries. The first Portuguese song to catch my ear in quite a few years…
08 Norway Lighter – Kyle Alessandro
An up-tempo pop song that you have heard before. It breaks down the tempo over the bridge. It’s OK, if a bit generic. Performance will be key. I hope they tweak the national final staging, I’m guessing they won’t. Maybe one to refill the snacks and beverage to…
09 Belgium Strobe Lights – Red Sebastian
He’s not just any Sebastian, he’s Red Sebastian. 😀
This is a europop banger. Over the recent past, Belgium has a habit of sending heavily inspired retro sounding songs (think Gustaph in Liverpool in 2023 with the 90s-tastic Because of You). Red Seb is giving us techno vibes on a plate, allowing those of us of a certain age to enter the Eurovision Tardis. File this under “this sounds a bit like 2Unlimited’s ‘No Limits’”. We have at least one of these songs every year. Consistently in the top ten betting odds, sure to make the final…
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And so to the second of the ’Big 6’…
Italy Volevo essere un duro – Lucio Corsi
Aah, another song that is a hug in the form of a song. Very much in the oeuvre of what Italy send to the ESC, and a style with which they consistently do well.
BTW, songs representing Italy @ ESC ordinarily have a route though the San Remo Music Festival. Each year the winner is invited to represent Italy. As with other countries over the years, some performers decline the opportunity to represent their country (which happened in Germany a few years back). And so it was this year that the winner of San Remo, singer Olli, declined to take the invitation. Unsurprisingly, when offered to runner-up, Lucio Corsi, the invitation was accepted – like you would!
For me it’s adjacent to the vibe of Portugal, but I like that too. I’m sure the professional juries will lap it up. And be sure to not judge a book by its cover, right…
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10 Azerbaijan Run With U – Mamagama
Ooh yeah. We’re back in the groove again. Love it. Deffo vibes from Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, and playing with falsetto on the vocal is effective. A few years back Azerbaijan hit the ground running when they debuted at ESC2008. A run of good results – and winning ESC2011 – has tailed off in recent years. Let’s see if they can reach their first Grand Final since 2022…
11 San Marino Tutta L’Italia – Gabry Ponte
Keeping the good vibes coming, this song is adjacent to Sweden’s Bara Bada Bastu, in that there’s more chanting for us to get involved with, and more ‘speaking-singing’. Accordions in the mix on this one? It’s catchy, and I’d like to see it get though. It might get cancelled out by Sweden. Good job San Marino, it’s been hit and miss in the past. More of a hit for me this year…
12 Albania Zjerm – Shkodra Elektronike
I often like the musical stylings of Albania, so it’s no surprise that I like this song. Very much staying in their lane. I love the orchestration and the lyrical hook of ‘Aman, miserere, Aman, miserere’, and the interplay of the female and male vocalists. It’s another song overlapping with another song – Poland this time. Looking at the ESC history books, Albania get through every other year, so if that’s the case, they should get though this year…
13 The Netherlands C’est La Vie – Claude
Don’t be fooled by the balladeering at the start of the song. Forty-four seconds in it’s * boom * – a pop banger! This is so going through and a possible top five finish in the Grand Final. Deffo top ten. A brilliant year for The Netherlands, for sure…
14 Croatia Poison Cake – Marko Bošnjak
There are often highs @ ESC, followed by lows. In other words, success or relative failure. The UK had it between 2022 and 2023, for example. Sam Ryder finished in second place in 2022, followed by Mae Muller in 25th place in 2023. France finished in second place in 2021, and then 24th in 2022. Etc, etc.
Last year Croatia were runners-up with the rather shouty (and Käärijä adjacent) Rim Tim Tagi Dim. Good result, almost won. This year they offer us Poison Cake. Feel good vibes all around, erm!? I feel they may well feel the lows rather than the highs this year. It’s not a terrible song – I like the nursery rhyme vocal interludes – but it’s not as catchy as Marko was last year…
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Back with the ‘Big 6’, it’s the turn of our hosts…
Switzerland Voyage – Zoë Më
Another song in the form of a hug. Ethereal melodies and breathless vocals give the song a certain coquettish-ness. It’s a lovely break from a run of uptempo bangers. Let’s see where it sits in the Grand Final. Well done, Switzerland – the host country has done good.
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15 Cyprus Shh – Theo Eva
The last song of this semi-final, and all talk is that this performance – like Bambi Thug last year – has had a bit of a ‘glow up’ since the national final (thanks Brian!). Ooh, the intrigue!
We’ve heard this song in previous contests, and in other songs. This time we are absolutely channelling the brilliant Insomnia by Faithless. Love it just for that. On the one hand this is generic recycled pop, but by this stage in the semi, we will all be warmed-up (possibly imbibed!) and ready to rave it up 2005 stylee. Yes, it really is twenty years ago since Insomnia was released – strewth!
Going though for sure…
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So, that’s my take on the first semi-final songs. It’s a good year, right? Even if there’s something familiar, there’s always something new. I don’t do predictions anymore, but as I type, my favourite songs – nothing to do with the competitive aspect – are…
Azerbaijan
Estonia
Sweden
The Netherlands
San Remo
Let’s see how they all translate when they take to the stage on Tuesday evening.
How about you? Is your favourite song in this semi? Have we heard the winner yet?
As I said earlier in this post, there is plenty of official coverage over the eurovision.tv socials and webpage to keep you updated on what’s occurring in Basel (pronounced Baa-zel, btw).
I will be back on Tuesday to assist with snack and beverage selection. Click back then.
Ci vediamo allora!
😀
xx