After having listened to all entries, my personal favourites so far are Russia, Australia, Ireland and France (yes, France). Russia are odds-on favourites to win.
Ireland?! The others I'll generally agree with but bloody hell Ireland are bland this year
Anyway, I'm not gonna go through every single song, because...effort, but I'll mention a few of my notable ones from across both semi finals and the default qualifiers:
Poland - Possibly one of the biggest shocks of the national finals was Michal Szpak winning. Margaret was hotly tipped to win with
Cool Me Down, and in fact Poland shot up the odds to be as high as second favourite at one point. As soon as Michal won though, the odds dropped back down like a stone. A shame, because as much as it's a bit 'Rihanna Paint by Numbers' it's an incredibly catchy song that would've done amazingly well. Instead, we're left with this borefest instead!
Russia - At first I liked this, now I simply tolerate it. The more I listen to it, the more the cheesyness annoys me. Russia are literally throwing everything at the staging of this, and while it's set to look very great technically, I can't help but think it's going to look a little too much style over substance. It's the current favourite at the moment, and although I see a top 5 finish for it, I think they may get pipped to the post.
Iceland - Now I'm not gonna lie this one has been stuck in my head massively since I heard it and initially was one of my favourites. The staging should be interesting providing she gets it right, but first rehearsal wasn't great and the performance came across a little cheesy. The strength of the other entries means I'm doubting a top four position for this one now - although I'd love to be proved wrong thanks to the odds I got for it
UK - Meh. Not a fan if I'm honest. Not our worst, but it's very forgettable. Middle of the bottom half of the table I reckon.
Latvia - Another one which was initially really high up in the odds. On first listen this one is decent, but can't help but think it's just a tad too slow tempo wise. It does sound great live though, so who knows!
Spain - One of the automatic final entries and I'm officially obsessed with this song - and I'd say it's probably one of my favourites out of the lot. I'd love it to do well in the finals, and it sounds great with the tweaks they've made with the composition since the national finals.
France - So they seem to have final got the right idea, and those stubborn folk have stuck some English in their song. I've struggled to like the French entries in the past, but this is seriously
seriously catchy. Currently 2nd in the odds, but I can see this running away as the winner in all honesty.
Australia - Dami can certainly sing, and I'm sure it'll do well and sail through to the final with ease, but I'd say will most likely finish 6th or 7th.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9J7O5BGqPDk
Malta - I've not been listening to this one much until the last week or so, and although I don't think this will win I reckon a top 10 finish is completely possible for this one. It's a tad repetitive in the chorus, but overall it sounds fantastic, and it's rounding off the semi final in last place which keeps it memorable - provided no one falls asleep during
Bosnia & Herzegovina's track.
A special mention goes to
San Marino and good old Serhat. Now this started as a really slow ballad, but San Mairno quickly realised they needed to spice it up. So, in comes the 70's disco beat (stick with the song) the camp it up. And yes, I've complained about Russia's cheesyness, but I swear San Marino have done it all just for the lolz, rather than for any serious attempt at doing well. Sadly, we can't vote for them as they're in Semi Final One, but god damn it Europe, vote for Serhat!
So for me, go Spain, France, Malta and Iceland! Realistically though, it's a very tough one to call this year, I genuinely have no idea what the top 5 is going to look like.
Eurovision Chat
On a sidenote, we'll be in Slack as per usual for both semi finals, so if you're not signed up, go head over to our
TowersStreet Slack page for full instructions. There's apps available for Slack for mobile and for PC, or you can just use your web browser if you'd rather too. There's people in there constantly, so feel free to pop in before Tuesday's first final if you want to get used to things first.
Semi Final One will be broadcast on BBC Four at 20:00 on Tuesday 10th May. The running order is over on
Youtube.
Semi Final Two will be broadcast on BBC Four at 20:00 on Thursday 12th May. Running order over on
Youtube
