When you are in the press center and you finally get to see how the whole song looks and sounds, exciting things in other words and I will give my verdict on the songs and of course guess which 10 songs will make it to the final of the 15 that are fighting for this honor to qualify from semi final 1.

I won’t reveal how the show starts, it’s always nice to have something to look forward to, but what I think about the songs to share will of course be known.

Melody 1 – Norway –

Here we get a cool use of laser light and the whole stage is used, so this looks fatter than it did in the Norwegian final. I like that more colours come in towards the end, but perhaps I would have liked the song to have stood out even more compared to the Norwegian final, the upgrade was not as big as I might have hoped, but god forbid it looks great. And she sings wonderfully and delivers the goods to almost a thousand. This girl is on the hunt for the throne, but must be careful not to overheat.

Melody 2 – Malta –

This is supposed to be a happy song, but I feel like they can’t quite get this party going. There is something underlyingly tame in the whole performance, they try and try, but even glitter sweaters do not manage to save this. But, here at least we get to participate in a colourful party, that’s something. And vocally, it’s perfectly fine without impressing in any way.

Melody 3 – Serbia –

We are sailing into a more gloomy landscape and not even with our Serbian friends have they made very big changes from the national final. I think this is cool, but I’m afraid many people find this more weird than cool. I guess I also find the song a little too introspective and then it’s a little too late when the song takes off towards the end. We give plus points for gloomy vocals in a song like this.

Melody 4 – Latvia –

If we were meant to get an arena feeling now, I’m afraid I missed that feeling. The whole song becomes too introspective and messy for me to manage to make this stick. A melancholic undertone comes in that tempts a little, but I guess I end up saying no thank you in the end. Vocally on the level I would say.

Melody 5 – Portugal –

Red is really the overall tone here and they have thrown out the furniture from the national final and chosen to use the stage to an even greater extent. Here I really feel that someone is at the height in terms of energy in the performance in relation to the energy level in the song. This looks and sounds fierce, so thanks to our Portuguese friends for raising the temperature in the hall properly on a cold May evening. It is also vocally stable.

Melody 6 – Ireland –

We go back where the performance doesn’t quite manage to match the energy level in the song. Sparkling one-piece notwithstanding, there is unfortunately not much else that sparkles in this contribution, until then it all becomes a bit too forgettable in my opinion and not even a little pyro can really help this song. It’s a shame, really, as this is a nice song, lets relatively good vocals pull it up.

Melody 7 – Croatia –

The craziest song of the year has taken the stage and those expecting madness get an overdose of it here. Overdose is rarely a good thing and for many people this will probably be too much of a good thing. I think the whole performance will be too messy and it will be more stupid than crazy what we get served and that clothes are removed during the performance is not a new thing, but down to the panties is a given. Vocally, it’s within.

Melody 8 – Switzerland –

Finally there is a ballad and we can see that someone has spent money on a well-directed stage show. This is simply fun to look at and even if, on the whole, not very many colors are used, it is a great visual experience. And it doesn’t hurt that they are delivered on the vocal level either. And what a release for the ear canals this will be after many noisy tunes.

Melody 9 – Israel –

Here the song starts with a clever use of a light box before the song takes off and becomes more dance-friendly. Reacts a little to the intense use of choristers on tape and the presentation of five dancers without a microphone. For me, this is almost more Skal Vi Danse than ESC and unfortunately does get too messy in the end. Yes, the lady can sing, but this turns out to be a bit too much screaming and not enough wool in the end.

Melody 10 – Moldova –

Finally comes the ethno song that has to be with years that makes most of us think about what we see as the bedrock of ESC songs. Here we get large doses of both music, clothes and hairstyles. Throw in a short person who plays the flute and all the boxes in the ethno-form are basically filled in and thus get a pass and more with me. Intense vocals also draw attention.

Melody 11 – Sweden –

For those who have seen the Swedish final, the ESC show will feel a little scaled down. But, for the majority who are seeing this for the first time, I think this will be simply magnificent. This is so classy and artistic and unique that it almost looks like the other entries haven’t done their job. This song still oozes winning. I am bewitched by the song and by the artist and she sings impeccably.

Melody 12 – Azerbaijan –

The challenge for everyone who performs on an ESC stage is to bring out the mood of the song in the performance on stage. I actually think that the twins from the country that organized the final when Loreen won get it quite well. I still think the song is a bit too boring to get me completely, but if you’re going to bet on a surprise in the first semi-final, this is possibly the best card to bet on. We get 3 cozy minutes served in a perfectly good way vocally as well.

Melody 13 – Czech Republic –

Back when color TV was relatively new, it was said that pink was a pleasant color to use on costumes. Whether our Czech friends are aware of this is unknown, but as a group of sextuplets, they have put on a great show that emphasizes the song’s content, without you fully understanding what they are singing about. In other words, this is a nice thing. Vocally okay, but the song gets a little too messy for me to fall for it completely.

Melody 14 – The Netherlands –

We roll on to the one big, really dramatic quarrel ballad this year. And once again our Dutch friends manage to perform such a ballad and make it all a truly watchable moment for us watching. You can literally feel the intensity of the song coming out in the interaction between the two on stage. Another nice thing, in other words. Vocally, I feel this is within.

Melody 15 – Finland –

Those who thought this would be a heated affair on stage can relax, it will be. There is a lot of energy here and actually more than what we saw in the national final. This fellow has certainly not opted out of the match, here it is Finnish so that will do and more. It actually borders on raucous at times, but he’s still within vocal range in my opinion.

Then I have to guess and this year it is actually very difficult to decide, so I think that these ten countries will go to the final after seeing the so-called jury test:

Norway

Portugal

Switzerland

Israel

Moldova

Sweden

Azerbaijan

Czech Republic

The Netherlands

Finland

At the first dress rehearsal, we got to see the entire performance of the three countries that can also vote in this semi-final and I have to have an opinion about them too.

France –

The next time you look in the dictionary it will be behind the word delicious – see La Zarra. This is so fiercely good and delicious that I am afraid that if I write more, there will be an endless series of superlatives so that there will be too much of the good stuff. The aesthetics from the video have been carried over with elegance to the stage and it works just fine, you ask me, are we finally going to get a winning song in French soon?

Germany –

The hard rock song of the year and for a closet hard rocker like me, this works like just beating it. This is exactly how rough and tough such songs should sound and I love the mix between rough vocals and the slightly toned down vocals in parts of the song. Nice to have something that blows out the earwax in between.

Italy –

I am a well-married man and shouldn’t fall in love with anyone else, but with Marco the man I happily make an exception and in fact I think my husband would understand that. Because this is and will be my absolute favorite this year and it is sung with such intensity that I just have to like it. What a song and what a man, I just love songs in Italian.