The rehearsals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 are scheduled to start in a matter of days and this year’s Eurovision artists are hard at work perfecting their performances for the live shows. You’ll have seen the videos or heard the songs (you can find them all here) and I am sure you all have your own personal favourites.

I’ve been taking a look at all the songs in this years contest and providing some brief thoughts. If you agree or disagree, why not add your comments at the bottom of the page.

Today in part 3, we’re looking at the first half of Semi-Final 2 (plus 1 of the songs already qualified for the Grand Final).

		Lithuania		Monika & Vaidas – This Time				Score
				A very strong entry from Lithuania this year. “This Time” is a very traditional Eurovision duet but with a more contemporary twist to it. From the video, and other live performances I have seen of this song though, I don’t feel the chemistry between Monika and Vaidas is quite there though – probably because they were both solo artists who were forced together for the final. If they can get us to believe that they are a couple on the night, and look at each other a bit more while performing, this should do well.

		Ireland		Molly Sterling – Playing with Numbers				Score
				Unfortunately I think this is another year Ireland is not going to do very well. Although it is a competent song with a good singer, in my opinion, it is lacking something to make it stand out. Molly has the voice to stand out on the night, however the song does not. And the fact that it is in the dreaded #2 spot in the semi, will already count against it. I doubt it will qualify for the final, but hopefully Ireland can pull some magic in the staging and performance to prove me wrong.

		San Marino		Anita Simoncini & Michele Perniola – Chain of Lights				Score
				I really want to like this song. It seems to have a lot going for it….performers from the Junior contest as well as a seasoned Eurovision composer in Ralph Siegel, and I probably do “like” it, but I definitely don’t love it and feel there is a lot of room for improvement. I find the heavy strings from the orchestra at the beginning distracting for what should be a gentle opening to the song, and feel Anita repeating Michele’s vocals in that whispered voice at about 2:25 into the song really unnecessary. But these are issues that can easily be fixed and hopefully the stage performance will come across a lot better.

		Montenegro		Knez – Adio				Score
				I am a big fan of the ethnic ballad, and no-one writes them quite like Željko Joksimović. This song has the great soft opening with the gradual build up to the wonderful key and tempo change. I love everything about it. I just wish it was Željko performing it again this year. What will work heavily in Montenegro’s favour is that no other country is doing anything this traditional and it should therefore stand out. I think that not only will this sail through to the final, but it will fare very well on the 23rd too.

		Malta		Amber – Warrior				Score
				This is a bit of a departure for Malta following their upbeat entries from the last few years. It is a good song and Amber sings it very well live. Is it distinct enough though? There are a lot of entries this year filling the same space and Malta is going to need to come up with something to make people take notice if they want their place in the final, although I think their position in the semi should work in their favour.

		Norway		Mørland & Debrah Scarlett – A Monster Like Me				Score
				This song is the one that has slowly creeped up my favourites list and is now firmly perched in the top 5 or 6. The song seems to like it is too slow, yet it really keeps your interest going throughout. Add to that the perfect harmonising from the performers, despite having such contrasting voices. It is one of the few songs this year I look for when playing the cd in the car and I am nearing my destination. This will no doubt make it to the final, and with a good position on the night, should do extremely well.

		Portugal		Leonor Andrade – Há Um Mar Que Nos Separa				Score
				When I first saw this performance I thought I was going to really enjoy it. It had a good start and I quite like Leonor’s look and voice. But the song is just missing something for me, although I don’t know what that something is. Hopefully the version given to us on the night will change a bit from this current version. Something with a little more variety in the performance. And Leonor will have to make sure she nails the key-change in her performance.

		Czech Republic		Marta Jandová & Václav Noid Bárta – Hope never dies				Score
				This is the kind of Eurovision duet that the Scandinavians have done so well for a number of years, but with a Czech influence from Václav’s gruff masculine vocals that Eastern Europe tends to prefer. They are excellent performers live and work very well together. I think this should go down well on the night with the right staging and performance. But it is a strong semi-final, so I simply cannot predict whether this will make it though. I hope so…

		Israel		Nadav Guedj – Golden Boy				Score
				Israel regularly comes up with one of my favourites every year and this year is no exception. In a contest filled with slower ballad-style songs, Israel has sent something modern and upbeat. The switch from the slow ethnic ballad start to the song to the uptempo Bruno Mars style R&B with a Middle-Eastern flavour added in should really make people take notice. It should make it through to the semi’s without any problems. Despite only being 16, Nadav seems to be a very confident performer and I really look forward to the live performance.

		Spain		Edurne – Amanecer				Score
				Spain definitely won the award for the most anticipation thanks to the buildup from first announcing the performer as Edurne (who has been one of my favourite Spanish artists for years) to their slow leaks of studio clips and bits of information about the song and video. And they didn’t disappoint. Edurne will take to the stage singing a very confident power ballad. Amanecer means dusk, so expect at least one beautiful sunset to appear on the stage during their 3 minutes. Edurne is an extremely competent performer with an amazing voice, so I am sure she will do Spain proud on the night.