Second Eurovision Semi

So to all the hardcore fans whom are you voting for?

This in some ways seems to be a stronger semi though a lot of the songs seem harder to put a score too. Here goes though:

1. Iceland – Great opener – modern Icelandic europop and one of the stories in this semi is the duel going on between Iceland and Sweden which are the first two songs. (8/10)

2. Sweden – Remember Charlotte Nilsson and `Take me to your heaven`? Well she’s back as Charlotte Pirelli – great lyrics – well-crafted and great production. To my ears in a different class to Iceland. (10/10)

3. Turkey – Turkish chug-along rock that plods along pleasantly (6/10)

4. Ukraine – An interesting melange of R `n` B funk and pop that seems to work (8/10)

5. Lithuania – A candidate for an Andrew Lloyd-Webber musical – semi-operatic. I can’t work out what i think of this but will give it (7/10) as i think it has some sort of mass appeal.

6. Albania – Mundane song that would have seemed exciting a few years ago. Will get lost (1/10)

7. Switzerland – old-fashioned ballad that could have been sang in the 80s that turns to a kind of disco beat after one minute. Polished performance on the CD might lift it to the top ten. (7/10)

8. Czech Republic – A kind of Kylie C-side (she even sounds like her) that is difficult to quantify but will have some sort of appeal (5/10)

9. Belarus – Old-fashioned NRG song that could be a b-side on an Almighty album. Unfortunately I fear the competition from Sweden/Iceland and the placing their entry will be lost. (5/10)

10. Latvia – The right kind of trashy europop that will get some points on gimmicks alone. Trouble is you have to do this in a top-notch fashion to really win. It doesn’t compete properly with Sweden/Iceland.  (6/10)

11. Croatia – a kind of turbo-pop for the older generation – very charming and well-crafted – a sort of old-fashioned high quality drinking song. Seems to have a big nod to Eastern European jewry at the finish. Lovely (8/10)

12. Bulgaria – The most interesting song of this semi – an experimental mix of Bulgarian trance rave and reggae! (9/10)

13. Denmark – Well made Scandinavian MOR – you know what the Eurovision detractors get accused of – a type of wave your arms in the air be happy country based prozac! (8/10)

14. Georgia – Similar to last years entry – more wave your arms in the air and be happy music though this time with a smarter Eastern European twist (8/10)

15. Hungary – Remember the time when there were a slew of Eurovision songs that started out as minor magic then after one minute became a bland affair? Well this song’s detractors say this. rather mediocre to my ears (5/10)

16. Malta – A strange song that is sort of contemporary – not sure about it myself. (6/10)

17. Cyprus – Greek Cypriot pop that I can’t rate very well though i’m sure it has some appeal. (7/10)

18. Macedonia – typical Macedonian fayre – well-made but in a kind of ticks all the right boxes way (6/10)

19. Portugal – Some say this is a dreary affair though undoubtedly it’s a good finisher. I can’t find a correct rating for it as it has its moments and is well-crafted as a whole. (7/10)