Photobucket

WATCH THE SECOND SEMI-FINAL HERE!

A total of 41 acts have flown to Baku, Azerbaijan, joining Sabina Babayeva, the host's entry. 18 acts will battle for Europe's vote tonight and the chance of making it to the grand finale, where 26 acts will compete for the ultimate prize! Only 10 acts will advance, while 8 will be sent packing. Who will make it? Who will be taking a plane back home?

Recap after the JUMP ...

Serbia
Željko Joksimović - "Nije ljubav stvar"
7,5/10

I'd normally hate this entry but this song has something quite captivating. I don't know what it is but I found Željko's entry actually interesting. I was expecting another cheesy ballad so I was surprised to actually like this. I don't want it to win but a place in the final would be nice. The instrumentation is really nice. Could this be the time Željko actually wins? 


Macedonia
Kaliopi - "Crno i belo"
7/10

Well, this is actually better than I expected. Macedonia has always done a lousy job when picking their song, so I found this as a nice unexpected surprise. Kalipoi has a great voice though I hope the song has stayed the cute ballad it looked like cause when it turned into a rock song things started to go wrong. Her voice actually sounded better, cause she added a nice rasp to it but I didn't find the song as enjoyable.


Netherlands
Joan Franka - "You and Me"
9/10

The Netherlands hasn't made it to the final since 2004, always placing in the last few positions of their semi final. I'm thinking this will be the year the Netherlands breaks that trend. Joan's got the most unique voice and her song is outstanding. Another plus is her gorgeous outfit, that alone would get my vote. Haha. The stage also looks really cute, probably the best it has looked so far, the problem with it is that's too big, it's hard to fill it.


Malta
Kurt Calleja - "This Is the Night"
2/10

Is it just me or this guy has the most annoying smile ever? I want to punch his face so hard now. Haha. Typical cheesy Eurovision song and that's why people are probably going to vote for him. "Cute" guy with a trashy song and some awful dance moves? Killing formula. I think this is even worse live.


Belarus
Litesound - "We Are the Heroes"
1/10

Wow. Way to bomb, right? Come back Anastasia, everything is forgiven. This guys can hardly harmonize, not commenting on how ugly they look cause it will probably be a little too much. Seriously, who thought this would be a good idea? I think that if they had better looks, a better song and sang in key, they could actually be good. Of coure, that would mean a completley different group.


Portugal
Filipa Sousa - "Vida minha"
4/10

Way better than their last trainwreck and with that I really mean, way, way better. However, this doesn't stand a chance of winning, not even of making it to the final. I guess Portugal really doesn't want to host, cause I know they've better, Aurea for instance. Filipa is a decent singer at what she does, jazz, but this is too boring for the general public.


Ukraine
Gaitana - "Be My Guest"
8/10

Finally a good song! Gaitana is quite great indeed, her outfit may be all over the place but her voice's got lots of power. I never expected a soul singer from Ukraine but that's exactly what they brought us.  Definitely one of my faves, she does sound much better live, who would've thought that?


Bulgaria
Sofi Marinova - "Love Unlimited"
6/10

The song was a good idea initaly and I did like the studio version of it. However it just doesn't work live. Sofi seems to be doing random sounds instead of, you know, singing. On the plus side, she looks like Nicole Scherzinger, though I'm not sure that's a plus. I still think that'll be enough for her, there are worse acts in this semi.


Slovenia
Eva Boto - "Verjamem"
7,5/10

Why are they all dressed like brides? First Gaitana, now all the girls on this stage. I really like this but I think I like the backing singers more than the actual artist. Eva's got a great set of pipes but the other girls really brought it in that performance. And seriously, change that dress for the final.


Croatia
Nina Badrić - "Nebo"
8/10

Nina's got a great song but she looks a little dead to me. However, she does sound better than in the music vide, maybe it's beacuse the staging for this performance is perfectly suitable. I'm getting tired of ballads by now though, I really need a showstopper soon. The song got exponentially better towards the end, great job.


Sweden
Loreen - "Euphoria"
10/10

That's what I was talking about! Loreen is the showstopper this show needed. She's definitely the fan favourite and I will be more than shocked if she doesn't win. The performance was epic and the song itself is too. The dancing really added a lot to it and though some parts were a bit wierd, I really enjoyed that. She better win this or I'll be extremely angry.


Georgia
Anri Jokhadze - "I'm a Joker"
1/10

Eldrine was a pleasant surprise last year but unfortunately, Georgia's done a terrible mistake by picking Anri. As the song says, he is a joker and that's proved by his song, which is a joke.


Turkey
Can Bonomo - "Love Me Back"
1/10

Another entry I'd like to punch. Why do they have to look like complete idiots? Is it so hard not to? Awful singing, I think he's even worse than that Belarus band. The song is tragic, not a nice meoldy nor a good sound. Oh look, it's a ship! God, cut them off, I feel ashamed for them ...


Estonia
Ott Lepland - "Kuula"
8/10

Ott was the Estonian Idol S3 winner. As many would remember, fellow EI contestant, Getter Jaani represented the country last year, making it to the final but only placing 24th. "Kuula" is a bit sleepy but Ott's crysral clear vocals are center stage which gives him an edge over other contestants. It reminds me to Albania's entry, given that it's main focus are Ott's vocals. I hope this gets through, it's nice enough.


Slovakia
Max Jason Mai - "Don't Close Your Eyes"
2/10

Don't know how to feel about this. He wants to be a metal artist yet fails  tragically at it. I don't know who looks worse, the singer with the horrid long hair of his musics. I'm done commenting, that was too much to handle.


Norway
Tooji - "Stay"
3/10

Eric Saade is back! This time, he's representing Norway, I didn't know that was possible. This song is similar to Loreen's only difference is hers is much better and less femenine. That's hard cause she's a women and Tooji is a guy. But what's wrong with his femenine dancing? The song is awfuly cheesy too. I did not enjoy that.


Bosnia and Herzegovina
MayaSar - "Korake ti znam"
8/10

MayaSar does a fabulous job in this performance and she looks really gorgeous while singing it.  The song isn't the most exciting I've heard but it's got a beautiful melody and that's enough for me. The piano was a good touch too, she'll sail to the final.


Lithuania
Donny Montell - "Love Is Blind"
1/10

This is such a boring song. It should be titled "Love is Deaf", at least I wouldn't have to listen to this awfulness. I also think they guy has stage fright, that's the only reason someone would cover his eyes while performing or he's trying to mock blind people. He's an awful dancer too, he should just quit his artistic carrer for good.


Results

In no particular order:
  1. Lithuania (Gross)
  2. Bosnia and Herzegovina
  3. Serbia
  4. Ukranie
  5.  Sweden
  6. Macedonia
  7. Norway
  8. Estonia
  9. Malta (I'm puking)
  10. Turkey (Disgusting)

Share this :