Mu$ic i$ the Door: Eurovision 2011: First Semi-Final Recap!!

Eurovision 2011: First Semi-Final Recap!!

10 May, 2011 2:48 PM

Published by MDS

WATCH THE FIRST SEMI-FINAL HERE!

19 acts will battle for Europe's vote and the chance of making it to the grand finale, where 25 acts will compete for the ultimate prize! Only 10 acts will advance, while 9 will be sent packing. Who will make it? Who will be cut?

Comments and ratings after the JUMP ...

We start the show with Anke Engelke, Judith Rakers and Stefan Raab, our hosts of the night, warming up and presenting themselves! 43 countries will compete, matching 2008 record. The Big Five are already qualified for the final! Italy is back for the first time in 14 years! Wow! Anke is really fun, well, after all she's a comedian! 43 countries divided in two semi-finals, only 10 advancing from each. Lines will be opened in minutes. Every country has a jury that awards points, plus the televoting, which combined, award points. "Voting is so easy that even a woman can explain it" says Stefan, "In fact it is so easy that even a man can understand it" says Anke. You can't vote for your own country. Eurovision begins now!

Magdalena Tul

"Jestem" - 9/10 - Poor Magdalena is given the first place. That can't be good. Magfalena's voice is on fire as always, and the stage is also! I really like the retro vibe this song has and the hot dancing! Wow! Big notes at the end! That was an stellar performance! What a great way to start the show!

Stella Mwangi

"Haba Haba" - 6,5/10 - Yeah, her vocals still suck. If I wanted bad singing, I'd watch Idol, which I do. This are supposed to be professionals. Well, Stella lacks vocal power. The song is good and creates a happy feeling on me but I'd have given it to a better singer. I don't see this song advancing now. But still fun and entertaining!

Aurela Gaçe

"Feel the Passion" - 9/10 - I really like this song. It's wierd. And I love wierd things! But I don't see this song winning, it's too wierd for the rest of the audience. She's delivering some amazing vocals and the chorus is incredible! Wow! That was really great! Aurela is amazing live! I still hope Europe gives her a chance, cause this is really cool!

Emmy

"Boom Boom" - 6/10 - That glove is really good. And that's probably it. The song is extremely cheesy and Emmy's voice doesn't sound any better than in the record. Fun filling? Yeah, of course, cause this ain't advancing from this round. I admit that is probably the most dynamic act on stage yet, she moves as well as the dancers, so I give her points for that. And the fireworks at the end were great. The rest, just meh.

Yüksek Sadakat

"Live It Up" - 8/10 - This sounds better live. It's exciting actually! WOW! The contortionist behinf them! That's sick good! This could actually classify, not like the songs we've been seeing till now. That ending was great! First song that has potential! Let's hope things turn better from now on!

More time with our presenters. Anke and Stefan sing a german folk song and then we see the acts performing it! And we are back!

Nina

"Čaroban" - 10/10 - This is probably one of my faves, if not my favourite song. I love this retro 60s vibe and Nina's soulish voice is awesome, plus I'm glad she's performing in serbian. They look tiny on that stage! Yeah, it's confirmed, I'm in love with Nina. This is so good! The dancing, the outfits, the voice, the song! Eurovision is going to Serbia next year ...

Alexey Vorobyov

"Get You" - 5,5/10 - I've already stated that I don't like this song and his voice, so nothing that he does will make me change my opinion. Yeah, I hate him more if possible. His trying to gain all the cute votes he can. I still have the Bieber vibe from him and you all know how much I hate him. Provocative dancing, a little wink here, a little smile there, a backflip! Flirting with the camera and dancing as much as possible to make up for his horrible vocal and song. Yeah, this is making it to the final, unfortunately, well, at least his better than the fetus.

Anna Rossinelli

"In Love for a While" - 10/10 - My other fave and how couldn't she not be my fave? She's got a great jazzy husky voice, two great musicians besides her and a fabulous song. Plus she's beautiful! Amazing vocals all over that performance! If Europe doesn't vote for this, I'll question this contest integrity, cause this is the best I've seen and that I probably will.

Eldrine

"One More Day" - 8/10 - Wow! She definitely has some powerful vocals! This is actually more goth rock that it was in the music video and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. This is really good, though the ~~scary~~ crazy shouts from the guy in black where a bit unnecesary. Still, this was really entertaining.

Paradise Oskar

"Da Da Dam" - 9/10 - Haha! We remember Lordi, who won back in 2006, Anke sings a part of their song! Hilarious. I really dig this guy's voice. It's really soft and sweet. He doesn't sound so good live but he still has the goods there. Plus the song is really well writen. This could actually be the winner, sweet songs always have a great chance of doing so.

Glen Vella

"One Life" - 5/10 - What an incredibly bad song! This sounds even worse live! His voice is good but the song is horrid. I still can't belive that this is their entry. And that convined with the horrible dancing and his wierd faces? Worst performance of the night. No way this is advancing.

Senit

"Stand By" - 8/10 - This is a really nice song and the smoke on the stage make it feel really ethereal. Senit has a great voice but it's a bit boring and I fear that voters won't vote for her. If you want to compete with a jazzy entry, make a fun and faster song like Switzerland did, not a lame sleepy song. I still really like it but I know the rest won't.

Daria

"Celebrate" - 5,5/10 - A clear example of a song that sounds better recorded. I knew since I heard the video that this will be bad. And Daria is proving that. I actually liked the song at first cause her voice is good, in theory, but she's sounding so off tune here! The dress changing thing was great, the first dress was better still. Wow! Another one? How did she do that?! The whole performance? Not so much ...

Sigurjón's Friends

"Coming Home" - 9,5/10 - I'm so loving this song! Their voices are amazing and blend together so good! They also have a great tone and phrasing, which make this pleasant song even more pleasant. This is great stuff! I really hope they make it to the finals, and they will, cause there's so much history behind that song. Oh, what was that kiss? They definitely need to record an album together! Loved it!

Some chat with acts that have already performed. Stella is talking, she loves the green trees, she once performed for Nelson Mandela, she says Eurovision is crazy. And we are back!

Kati Wolf

"What About My Dreams?" - 10/10 - Definitely one of my favourites, huge voice and great song. Plus she always looks amazing! Oh, I was expecting loads of dancers but she's alone on stage, with two backing singers. I talked too soon, here they come! Cool movements there! Still my favourite song! Kati has no problem performing live, X Factor was live, and she nailed it every time, as she's doing now. I'd love to see her winning! And I believe it's possible!

Homens da Luta

"A luta é alegria" - 2/10 - It's even shocking that this is an Eurovision entry. They can't sing, period. Worst performance ever! Fun? Yeah, entertaining because it was disgustingly bad! Glad the pain is over!

Evelina Sašenko

"C'est ma vie" - 8/10 - This is a great song. Really emotional and with great vocals. But it's boring and sleepy. She nails every note and she's got a nice jazzy tone. But the song doesn't impress me. Yeah, it's amazingly written but her performance lacks dynamism, it needs some more movement. It's a bit flat for me.

Ell and Nikki

"Running Scared" - 8/10 - I admit I wasn't a fan either of this song or of their voices. But this is so much better live! The intro is amazing and they got all sort of pimp features! The firework cascade was amazing! Plus there was a lot of sexuality going on between those too! Their vocals sound better too, I can see them winning now ...

Loukas Giorkas feat. Stereo Mike

"Watch My Dance" - 7,5/10 - I know Loukas has great vocals but I still don't like this song, and I know it's the language, I'm sorry but it feels so outdated for me. It's not even musical. I don't know, I just don't dig this at all. He'll be a hundred times better in English. This may advance, in fact, it will advance. I just don't like it.

15 minutes until the voting is closed. We watch a recap of all the 19 performances one more. What a great night! Who was your favourite? I've to say it were Nina, Anna and Kati, though I gave some other 10s. Anke is hilarious, I love her! I want to watch a show or movie with her! Anny recommendations? Only 10 will advance. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1! Votation is closed!

A guests will perform, a drumline, Cold Steel. This is really cool! Someone should use them in a song!Well, enough from this, bring me another guest now! That was definiterly too long!

We get a look at the Big Five now. Spain, France, Italy, UK and Germany. Wow! Lena's applauses were loud! Judith Rakers walks around the green rooms. And ends in Serbian's table. Yay Nina!! She's really confident she'll make it, and yes, she will.

It's time to get serious! Anke will start opening the envelopes! Finalists announced in random order: