In this live blog we keep you updated about all there is to know about the jury show of Semi-final 1! Keep on checking, because we will keep you posted every step of the way.
Note:
- The jury show has a live audience, but can also be seen as the second dress rehearsal. This dress rehearsal is NOT broadcast live.
- During the jury show all national juries cast their votes. These votes count for 50%. The votes of the public after tomorrow’s live show also count for 50%. The total amount of points will decide whether a country proceeds to the Grand Final. Only the first 10 contestants will proceed to the Grand Final, which means that in Semi-final 1 seven countries will have to pack their bags already. 🙁
Live blog
The end of the jury show of Semi-final 1! 😉
23:30 – The qualifiers are being asked to come on stage, and the final out-throw is being stated. This takes crazy long though.
23:27 – A recap of all the qualifiers of the Grand Final, which is fictional for now.
23:22 – The fictional qualifier sequence makes me want to say: “Laura Pausini, you know where you are, right? Another cringeworthy sequence featuring Laura Pausini.
23:21 – Another preview of upcoming Thursday’s show, but it feels like this was a safe to not make the long silence, because of production troubles, too awkward.
23:20 – Another akward long silence with some audible mumbling of the presenters, but nothing happening.
23:15 – We get to see Mahmood & Blanco perform live. “Personally” I find this song overrated. The performance feels lackluster, may it be that this time around they both sing well. The high-pitched chorus of this song does nothing for me “personally”.
23:14 – An error occurs. After France’s performance nothing happens, and then the introduction video of Italy’s Mahmood & Blanco starts all of a sudden.
23:11 – There is a live performance by France’s Alvan & Ahez of their song “Fulenn”. I still do not know what to think of this mix between Ukraine’s Go_A (2021) and Belgium’s Urban Trad (2003).
23:08 – Now there seems to be something going wrong during this rehearsal. Alessandro Cattelan presents a performance of France and Italy, but nothing seems to happen… And now, we are back!
23:07 – We get a preview of what is going to happen during the 2nd Semi-final on Thursday May 12th 2022.
23:05 – Laura Pausini interviews Mahmood & Blanco, who represent the host nation, Italy. Blanco & Mahmood do not look very invested, like during their press conferences and their appearance at the opening ceremony of this year’s contest. Very lackluster. We also get to see a snippet of their performance.
23:03 – Mika interviews France’s Alvan & Ahez. This rehearsed dialogue is #cringe. We get to see a snippet of France’s song “Fulenn”, which honestly looks pretty impressive.
23:00 – There is Malena, the winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. I know, Malena is a child, but could this be anymore rehearsed? You get to see a video of how she won the junior version of the contest, and we get to see a little bit about Armenia, where this year the Junior Eurovision Contest will be held.
22:58 – Now a video about all gimmick-y things in Eurovision, especially props, use of the LED screens, and all other sort of gimmicks; remember Australia’s performance of 2019?
22:53 – Mika presents Diodato, who was chosen as Italy’s representative for 2020, but that contest got cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Diodato had the chance to sing his song in an empty arena during an alternative Eurovision program in 2020, but never with an audience. His song became one of hope during the pandemic, and now he gets the chance to sing his song anyway in a grand arena full of people. The intention is wonderful. This might just be the most touching performance of the evening! So great!
22:52 – Back to the hosts who promote this year’s DVD, CD, and so on. The countdown to stop voting is being started.
22:46 – A recap! Now I will find my 10 qualifiers! Here we go! For me it is, in random order: Albania, Ukraine, Netherlands, Moldova, Portugal, Denmark, Austria, Greece, Norway, and Armenia. Do you guys agree?
22:45 – The three hosts again. There seems to be chemistry between Mika and Laura Pausini, but Alessandro Cattelan does not seem to feel very comfortable and almost looks like the third wheel. There is a short disco segment in which Laura Pausini dances in a purple-pink frock. A really short segment featuring Laura Pausini, which makes it even bettter.
22:40 – We proceed with an Italo Disco (= disco music from Italy) interval act with DJ Benny Benassi, pianist Dardust, composer Sylvia Catasta, and English indie-pop band Sophie and the Giants. You might know DJ Benny Benassi from the smash dance hit “Satisfaction” (you know, from that provocative clip with women in bikinis using powerdrills in slow-motion, and such). Did not know Italo Disco was really a thing, but maybe that is just me…
22:38 – And we are back with the 3 hosts. Is it mean to say that I am a bit surprised about the level of English that Laura Pausini speaks? I read somewhere that she is also hot and happening in Latin America, but apparently she never had to speak English there, as we can hear very well…
22:32 – A recap of all 17 songs. I have to say that I do not really know who will be getting a lot of points from the national juries. Hard to say. I will give it a try during the next recap, which will be in a couple of minutes.
22:31 – Now the 3 hosts tell about the rules of this year’s voting again, i.e. you cannot vote for your own country. So, stop trying, I know you still try! 😉
22:28 – Armenia’s performance is so weet and lovely, ad if we have to believe singer Rosa-Linn, the song is really personal. The date on one of the sticky note walls has a date, the date that Rosa-Linn snapped. Well-sung, an original staging, really sweet, and it has the story of a modern tweenager. What is there not to like, national juries? Rosa-Linn needs some solid point, and she will get them, for sure!
22:26 – And there are presenters Alessandro Cattelan and Mika again with a lame Eurovision sketch. #cringe. Ok, the crew in the arena needed to set-up Armenia’s huge prop, so there needed to be a break.
22:22 – Norway goes full gimmick this year, but leave it to a Scandinavian country to do a gimmick just right! The alien wolves of Subwoofer bring the party in all kinds of ways, from a poppy dance song up to the creation of a full legend around Keith and Jim, the singing wolves of this duo. Their dancing itself is the cherry on top. If you want to or not, at the end of this song you just want to give that wolf a banana, or you want to feed your grandma to them. Your choice! Great performance tonight, let those points come in by buckets!
22:18 – “Die Together” of Greece’s Amanda Georgiades Tjenford is very beautiful, and it is strong yet very vulnerable at the same time. This is like Lana del Rey’s “Born to Die” or “Ride”. This is my type of music, and the performance, especially the staging, is wonderful. The voice of Amanda has reach, which fits a performance in an arena remarkably well. This is a no-brainer. Wonderful! A qualifier, no doubt about it.
22:14 – For some this song might be the ultimate toilet break, but I have to say that I love this kind of authenticity, and I also love that these sisters and their brother have been real activists this past Eurovision week. Their song is mellow, in the Icelandic language, but very unapologetically not a pop song. I dig this! Go Systur, make sure that the national juries vote for you! Must be possible for a song in the national language of the country. The harmonies are magnificent as well. 😀
22:10 – “Halo” by Austria’s DJ Lum!x feat. Pia Maria. This singer might have gone through the biggest transformation since they were announced as Austria’s contestants. Pia Maria is not necessarily known for her great singing, but this time around she sounds really good. The song gives me flashbacks to ’90’s pop and house. This is a banger if I ever heard one. Really nice. Not the best vocals, but this song needs to be in the Grand Final to bring the pop and spice. National juries should vote for this.
22:09 – We get to see a lot of the three hosts this year. Next, some other Eurovision comedy sketch. I would be good with less of this, but hey, who am I, right?!
22:06 – Mika comes with a break, and then we get a video review of yesterday’s Turquoise Carpet Opening Ceremony, which was a great event in an even greater venue. Thanks for that, Turin!
22:03 – The lady rockers of Reddi are really cool. The song starts as a ballad, and then it all of a sudden becomes a rock song. The band to me is like “The Bangles” in the ’80’s or the band “Heart”. I really love this. Colorful, great voices, lovely staging, and a lot of girlpower. yes, girls, we want more! We are Reddi…uhm…ready for it! National juries should give this performance some good points. C’mon!
21:59 – This is eastern Europe’s answer to Taylor Swift. This song could easily be on Taylor’s last two albums, i.e. “Folklore”. A very nice all-American love song about being in love with something or someone who is not really good for you, also known as a “guilty pleasure”. Mia Dimsic chose last-minute that her song will be sung in both English and Croatian. I do not know whether this is a good choice, it kind of breaks up the song, and apart from Croatians hearing Croatian there is not a whole lot of reason to do so. A strange choice. Do not know about this song, when the change of language starts, the song kind of fizzles out.
21:56 – Laura Pausini and Alessandro Cattelan are back for a short break. Probably the on-stage crews needs to put some props in place.
21:53 – Maro’s song for Portugal is so mellow and laid-back that it feels like a blanket of calm that covers you. So great and nice, and different from the hysteria that sometimes surrounds the contest. The performance is also very laid-back down to the staging. There is some clapping going on, but it almost seems hollistically. I love this! I want more! National juries should give Maro some great points for putting herself out there with an authentic and real song.
21:49 – Folklore and rock from Moldova. Yay! Get the party started! This is just uncomplicated fun, and a total bop. Hey ho, let’s go! Great lighting, fun performance.This song does not need a whole lot, it is simply amazing by itself. I love this! Come and give the train of Zdob si Zdub & Fratii Advahov some good points, national juries! The whole arena is on its feet!
21:45 – Now, the Netherlands! S10 is a hot favorite of this contest. her perform is cool and collected, which this song really deserves. The performance is plain and simple. Really strong! Her singing is solid, and when the chorus hits, it really captivates your heart. In the song S10 flirts with her past of depression and other mental issues, which comes together in a love song to her sadness. Really great, and in the Dutch language. This will get points from the national professional juries.
21:41 – It is Bulgaria’s Intelligent Music Project that is next. These rockers know how to play and bring old school rock. It is a little bit of Kiss, there is some Bryan Adams, and they flirt with Metallica. Intelligent Music Project literally heat-up the arena with pyrotechnics, an enormous light show, and rock that you either love or hate. Cool, it is; memorable, maybe.
21:39 – Back to the 3 hosts of the contest, some typical Eurovision humor again, like mixing up the countries and more of this very typical types of humor. Funny for the first 2 minutes, and then you are kind of over it.
21:37 – There is a video about how long Turin is already working on becoming the host city of the Eurovision Song Contest. Apparently since Turin was the first capital of Italy. So, that is what…*counting*…a very long time! 😉
21:36 – Laura Pausini and Mika pop-up for a break. There is some lame Eurovision humor between Mika and Laura Pausini; very typical, nothing new.
21:33 – Ukraine is said to win the contest this year. Sympathy votes? Do not know, but this is most certainly not a bad song, it is a mix of ethnic beats and rap, which is always very cool to see and hear on a Eurovision stage. The performance is slick and has the good kind of gimmicks. A winner? Not sure. A qualification for the Grand Final seems secured, and a top 10 placing in the Grand Final will not be a problem either. The visuals of the staging are also really cool.
21:28 – LPS (Last Pizza Slice) of Slovenia brings ’70’s disco to the Eurovision stage, just like Lithuania’s Monika Liu, but LPS does it in a more recognizable funky way, which the audience might appreciate more. LPS knows what disco is, and they even have a huge mirror disco ball on-stage. All by all a very nice performance by these youngsters. I believe the general age in the band is 17-19. Yes, this is enough to stick, and the band is really cute on-stage with their dapper clothing.
21:24 – Switerland’s Marius Bear has it already in his name, he is a big teddy bear. This guy really is a sweetheart, always willing to have a chat, and to really engage. His song “Boys Do Cry” is about being able to be a man, but also to show vulnerability. Really sweet and a very contemporary subject now that there is more acceptation when it comes down to asking questions concerning what gender really is. Does this very slow-paced song stick, maybe not though…
21:20 – Now the “spooky disco” song of Lithuania’s Monika Liu, as she calls it herself. Beautiful lady with a slow disco song. Really stylish, but maybe not fast-paced enough for some, this is no Jackson 5 type of disco. The enthusiasm of Monika is not the problem, but maybe this song is just too slow. Sexy and slick though, and well-sung.
21:16 – Next up is Latvia’s Citi Zeni. They bring a fun and colorful rendition of their vegan-proof song “Eat Your Salad”, which is really good, but is it enough for it to stick? Don’t know. There is most certainly enough energy among these guys to fill the whole arena. Are they going to qualify, not sure at all, but do they make the most of their time in this year’s contest, most definitely yes.
21:12 – Ronela Hajati of Albania is up first. A solid performance of her very powerful song “Sekret”. She most certainly gets the crowd on their feet. Incredible opening of the contest. She did not change a whole lot about the performance of her song, which is good and very empowering. The EBU deleted some of the pictures of her 1st rehearsal, because these pictures might have been to sexy (yes, there was crotch-grabbing) for younger audiences. Well Ronela, if Michael Jackson did it, so can you! Go for it, gurrrll! Work! 😉
21:12 – Seems like the contestants are not going to be presented San Remo-style by the presenters. There seem to just be videos. Oh well, even better, right? (In this regard, we do not want to hear Laura Pausinin talk in English all the time)
21:11 – …And so the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 begins.
21:10 – The 3 hosts explain the rules of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, i.e. that you cannot vote for your own country.
21:07 – The 3 hosts of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest are being presented: Mika, Laura Pausini, and Alessandro Cattelan. Let’s hope they are better prepared than this afternoon…
21:06 – Another dance act with all sorts of female and male dancers dressed in gold suits. This performance has a “Lion King” kind of feel.
21:04 – A female guitarist plays “Zitti e Buoni” by Maneskin, accompanied by lots of female dancers. A female singer enters the stage to sing a pop song. Lots of lighting effects going on inside this year’s arena.
21:01 – It all starts with the making of the drone LEO that is brought to live in the arena of this year’s contest, the PalaOlimpico in Turin, Italy. The drone flies over the Italian landscape during this year’s Eurovision postcards (= the introduction videos before each song). The drone also interacts with the contestants in every postcard.