Hungary fires up the ESC furnace again on Saturday with the first of three selection rounds of A Dal 2018 – the country’s search for a song that can keep its hot streak going, and perhaps even hit fever pitch by delivering a sensational Eurovision triumph.
The show, which kicks off at 20.30 CET, will see the first batch of ten hopefuls take to the stage in a bid to answer all the classic questions. Who can really cut it live? Who knows how to connect not just with those in the studio but with the TV audience too? Which combination of song and performer offers the best chance to attract bucket-loads of votes in Lisbon this May? Whoever emerges victorious from A Dal 2018 will be aiming to extend Hungary’s excellent run of appearances in the ESC Grand Final to eight and deliver a fourth top-ten finish since 2013.
Hosts Kriszta Rátonyi and Gábor Alfréd Fehérvári – better known to Eurovision World as Freddie, who gave us the epic ‘Pioneer’ two years ago in Stockholm – will guide us through an intriguing, wide-ranging menu of contenders:
- Ceasefire X: “Satellites”
- Fourtissimo feat. Markanera: “Kisnyuszi a kalapban”
- Viktor Király: “Budapest Girl”
- Gabi Knoll: “Nobody to die for”
- Leander Kills: “Nem szól harang”
- Living Room: “Kirakat élet”
- Noémo: “Levegőt”
So how will the qualification process work? Two rounds of voting will pinpoint which six entries will proceed to the A Dal 2018 Semi-Finals (to be held on 10th and 17th February) and which four will head home. Round One will produce five qualifiers, decided by combining scores from each judge on the professional jury* together with the votes of viewers who’ll be making their opinions heard, loud and proud, through SMS, mobile app and online voting. Round Two will see a public vote decide which of the remaining five entries will escape the trauma of rejection and become the sixth and final qualifier.
I think it’s going to be an absolute cracker! (I’m kind of hoping that Freddie will do a quick version of his brilliant song ‘Mary Joe’ as part of the interval act, but I know I’m only dreaming!) The Hungarian Grand Final on 24th February may seem a long way away but, make no mistake, the road to potential glory starts right here!
For more info (in Hungarian), take a look at https://adal.hu/
* Consisting of Károly Frenreisz, Judit Schell, Miklós Both and Misi Mező.