This is a blog entry and represents only writer Morten Thomassen’s own views.

The result from semi-final 1 is clear and I got 8 out of 10 correct, maybe I have to admit that I possibly bet more with my heart when it comes to Iceland and possibly didn’t quite see how good the performance of Portugal and Slovenia were and that I overestimated how much support Poland got .

But, new final and new opportunities and in this semi-final the biggest wish is that our contribution from Gåte makes it to the final and I see little reason not to believe that it will happen.

Like the previous show, it opens with a bang so there is little doubt that the world championship title as ESC organizer is still in safe Swedish hands.

Melody 1 – Malta –

They should have, this semi-final also starts with a bang and that with a lady who can both sing and dance at the same time to a passing grade. But, the song is probably one that goes up to a lot of the dozen and I think the dance break is simply too long. And the charm button is not turned on, unfortunately.

Melody 2 – Albania –

Super gorgeous lady with super vocals singing a suitably bland ballad, does this sound like something this country has aired before? So certainly and luckily the lady is dead, she manages to raise a fairly boring and sometimes messy song a few notches until it finally becomes quite acceptable.

Melody 3 – Greece –

Usually I don’t care what the singers are wearing, but the skirt our Greek friend is wearing is just plain bad in my opinion. Add that the song is messed up and simply gives me a headache and I simply can’t find anything particularly positive here, the point I give is given for the slight ethnic touch it has.

Melody 4 – Switzerland –

Love the variety here and we will undoubtedly be served something very powerful vocally and the show I would call innovative. And in the middle of all this, the person on stage also appears charming. But, the root is also very messy and I guess I can’t quite get familiar with it.

Melody 5 – Czech Republic –

It is very possible that some people are meant to fall for this kind of music, but for me this just comes across as noisy and bland. She should have much better vocals now than in the national final and that’s probably the most positive thing I can squeeze out of me about this song and I’ll let that count for a bit.

Quickly jumps out of the scoring and warns that the first break will make many Norwegians need some paper towels, it’s simply touching.

Final 1 – France –

It doesn’t get a more French heartfelt and intense ballad than this and maybe a little predictable, but I’m just slowly drooling when it’s done as outstandingly well as here. It is simply a power demonstration of dimensions, both vocally and at the level of empathy. Jweg is swept off the pitch given.

Melody 6 – Austria –

When you’re invited to a rave party, you expect things to go really well. The song does that to some extent, but the rest of what happens on stage is really dumb stuff if you ask me. The vocals are tame and the dancing is mostly pretty tame as well, butt-shaking doesn’t work.

Melody 7 – Denmark –

As in the Danish final, I think the voice is strained and it doesn’t fit well in a song as powerful as this one. Despite its power, it’s also pretty boring and there’s probably a little too little going on in the song for me to think that far too many people will actually fall for it and give it points, unfortunately. Fortunately, the vocals pick up towards the end.

Melody 8 – Armenia –

We are served an ethnically energetic song and this should be something I should like. But, I feel that the energy in the song doesn’t quite come across among the people who are on stage, they somehow don’t quite have the fire that it felt like they had in the preview video. Vocally, I’m probably not very impressed either, perfectly fine and nothing more than that.

Melody 9 – Latvia –

Karen wants him to perform his song in a very strong and powerful way and then I almost don’t know what to say about this. It has tendencies towards a Bond feeling in it or perhaps more of a song that they decided not to use for such a film. But, I now like the melancholy of it and let it count a lot, even if the song is a bit boring.

Final 2 – Spain –

As a young person in the 80s, I fall like a fly for this type of music and can’t help but love it, but sometimes the person you fall for is not quite who you thought they were. Vocally, this is quite a crisis, although it was probably worse in the national final. However, this lady has a lot of charm for the public and I let that count the most.

Melody 10 – San Marino –

Finally, this mini-putt state has found someone who can actually act on TV and has figured out how to appear there. Lots of delicious energy in a fierce performance where you also have control over the vocals. The fact that it’s a Halloween theme shouldn’t scare many people, this is simply very cool.

Tune 11 – Georgia –

When you have a catchy title for your song, it would have been very mean if the performance didn’t have something catchy about it. You have, but here you have possibly taken a little too much cod liver oil to put it bluntly, it becomes a bit of an overdose and then the vocals become a bit screechy at times and a bit tiring to listen to.

Melody 12 – Belgium –

WE are served an intense song and then it is gratifying that the artist who performs the song possesses the necessary intensity needed for this to be delivered in a credible manner. This song is actually growing on me and I can live with the song title being repeated many times towards the end.

Melody 13 – Estonia –

I’ve never taken anyone for some kind of drug, but I’ve changed my mind so radically about this song that you’d almost think I’d tried a little. I just love the fierce intensity and delicious craziness of the performance that just makes me happy. Well-grown guys can really do that too when they want to.

Final 3 – Italy –

Usually love the contributions from this country, but sometimes you have to let your feelings cool down a bit. The song is a bit cool, but also rather fussy that I can’t quite take it in. It’s possible that the song doesn’t feel Italian enough for me to really embrace it, a little strained vocals at times too.

Melody 14 – Israel –

Lovely song that opens a bit weak vocally, but fortunately in that area it picks up quickly. The performance comes across as powerful and strong, although I feel that the song itself is not very original, but when the performance is as good as it is here, it doesn’t matter so much.

Melody 15 – Norway –

First plus points are given to the fact that we see Gunhild’s face much better now. With LED screens on both the wall and the floor, the energy in the song is evoked in an even better way and this is a performance that could power up to several households. Vocally, you are simply swept off the track, I don’t get rid of my enigma the first time I touch it.

Melody 16 – The Netherlands –

It is very possible that there is a story with meaning behind this, but I’m afraid that is overshadowed by the fact that what happens on stage appears very silly and frivolous in a way. Decent vocals on a song that feels like a rip-off of this type of song that you’ve heard before.

Last time I guessed 8 correct, so I guess I’ll have as a kind of goal to do better this time and then the question is whether this list does the trick.

Greece

Switzerland

Armenia

San Marino

Georgia

Belgium

Estonia

Israel

Norway

The Netherlands