Today, May 5th 2022, the second part of the contestants of Semi-final 1 and part of Semi-final 2 rehearsed for the second time. These countries were: Iceland, Norway, Armenia, Finland, Israel, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Malta, and San Marino.
Next to this, the Big 5 took the stage for their first rehearsal. The first rehearsals could not be watched by the press, the only thing that happened is that the EBU released pictures of these first rehearsals.
Iceland
Systur – Með Hækkandi Sól
Pro: Very authentic, and very Icelandic, without any apologies.
Con: Might be too folkloristic for some, like youngsters; hard to say how these groups will evaluate this song and performance.
Norway
Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf a Banana
Pro: Colorful, crazy, and the good king of gimmicky, because the song is a real banger.
Con: It is pretty out there, with a whole backstory surrounding it, and anonymous performers.
Armenia
Rosa-Linn – Snap
Pro: Very authentic and sung from the heart. Great staging.
Con: For the longest of time there is no live audience involved in this song, because the staging is closed to the audience until the end.
Finland
The Rasmus – Jezebel
Pro: This is Finnish quality rock at its best. The Finnish know how to do good rock.
Con: Rock from Finland…again?
Israel
Michael Ben-David – I.M
Pro: What a voice? Such sass! Powerful message.
Con: Might be too sass and fierceness for some people to enjoy.
Serbia
Konstrakta – In Corpore Sano
Pro: Catchy tune and the rhythmic clapping.
Con: If I do not speak Serbian, and I do not know the backstory of this song, this song is really a weird concoction of all sorts of everything.
Azerbaijan
Nadir Rustamli – Fade to Black
Pro: The very powerful voice of Nadir that slams against the walls of the arena. Mesmerizing.
Con: At some point the song becomes really raw, and because of that the ballad-likability is almost gone.
Georgia
Circus Mircus – Lock Me In
Pro: Reminds us of the early Dandy Warhols music. Funky and memorable.
Con: The act might be too weird, and has a high “Carlie and the Chocolate Factory remake” vibe.
Malta
Emma Muscat – I Am What I Am
Pro: Nice American-style feel-good song.
Con: There is already “I.M” I this year’s contest, and now “I Am What I Am”. Too many motivational songs?
San Marino
Achille Lauro – Stripper
Pro: It is Achille Lauro, one of the biggest stars in Italian-speaking countries.
Con: It is Achille Lauro, he does what he wants, quite unpredictable, and all over the place.
Conclusion
What do we think? Well, there are a couple of songs that are really growing on us, like Armenia, the concept of the staging is really atmospheric, and the song reminds us of the last two albums of Taylor Swift. There is Subwoolfer of Norway, which is undoubtedly a real banger, if there ever was one. We also saw and listened to The Rasmus, a band that brings modern rock to a grand audience with their participation in this year’s song contest. We believe that the favorites that were pointed-out by the bookmakers have shifted for us. Some songs sound better now that we can see them staged, others just fizzle out somehow…
What do you think?
We would like to read what you think? Which contestants are your favorites? Let us know in the comments below!
Eurovision Song Contest 2022
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest will take place on the 10th, 12th, and 14th of May 2022 in Turin, Italy.