Eurovision 2022: Semi Final ONE (20:00 BST)

[Marina Salty]

There's a document circulating on the internet now with the results.
If it's true Albania was 11th overall (4th with the televote and 16th with the juries).

 

[Penelope]

I imagine it probably isn't. 4th with the televote is almost certainly enough to qualify on the current system.

 

[Penelope]

I suspect this is what Caracola would have ended up like after a gap year in Peru and a Cornelia Jakobs glow up.

Amazing comeback post

 

[Lume]

Amen!

 

[Diddy]

I was going to say UGH but at least we have the Semi 2 bloodbath coming up, but looking at the list, there is a lot of shit there too

 

[Lume]

Semi 1 was such a turd. Semi 2 is going to be bloodbath.

 

[Diddy]

A bloodbath with turds floating in it

 

[Lume]

No

 

[VoR]

Really concerning set of qualifiers. The juries are pushing us back into the MOR 90s. Why would somebody at Lum!x's level even bother to enter in the future?

 

[Diddy]

Really concerning set of qualifiers. The juries are pushing us back into the MOR 90s. Why would somebody at Lum!x's level even bother to enter in the future?

Austria is definitely the biggest loss for me
They got rid of total shitpile Bulgaria though at least.

 

[VoR]

Some HOT STATS

Albania: First NQ since 2017, breaking a 3-year streak.
Latvia: 4th NQ in a row, now not seen a final since 2016, the longest active run of failure in the Contest.
Lithuania: 2nd Qualifier in a row.
Switzerland: 3rd Qualifier in a row, their best run since the semi system was introduced.
Slovenia: Second consecutive NQ, last seen in the finals in 2019.
Ukraine: 12th consecutive qualifier since the two-semi system. They maintain their perfect streak of qualifications, though they did not participate in 2015 or 2019.
Bulgaria: First NQ since 2013, breaking a 4 year streak, although they did not participate in 2019 (or 2014 & 2015).
Netherlands: 6th consecutive qualifier (inc. one hosting job). Last NQ'd in 2015.
Moldova: 2nd Qualifier in a row. Zdob și Zdub are, I believe, the first act to qualify three times in three different decades.
Portugal: 2nd qualifier in a row. They need one more to match their longest ever unbroken streak, which they achieved from 2008-2010.
Croatia: 3rd consecutive NQ. Last seen in the finals in 2017.
Denmark: Second consecutive NQ, their worst run since 2015-2016.
Austria: Third consecutive NQ, last seen in the final in 2018 (where they won the jury vote)
Iceland: Third qualifier in a row.
Greece: Third qualifier in a row.
Norway: Fifth qualifier in a row.
Armenia: First qualifier since 2017, breaking their worst run of luck in their history with the Contest (They NQ'd in 2018, 2019 and withdrew in 2021)

 

[ButterTart]

Really concerning set of qualifiers. The juries are pushing us back into the MOR 90s. Why would somebody at Lum!x's level even bother to enter in the future?

It was quite a duff set of countries, though. The REAL MUZIK horrors of Switzerland, Italy, France and Portugal all voting in the same heat... I suppose the results were always going to skew towards the tedious.

 

[win_the_game]

Really concerning set of qualifiers. The juries are pushing us back into the MOR 90s. Why would somebody at Lum!x's level even bother to enter in the future?

Austria would probably have qualified with a competent vocalist.

I’m amazed someone at his level thought it was a good idea to appear on stage with a vocalist with no professional singing or performing experience.

 

[lolly]

Sorry, Austria was 'at a level'?

How on earth would anyone watching be expected to know that?

 

[RS]

Moldova: 2nd Qualifier in a row. Zdob și Zdub are, I believe, the first act to qualify three times in three different decades.

According to the commentator yesterday they’re the only act that have competed in three different decades, aside from Carola.

 

[dmlaw]

Austria would probably have qualified with a competent vocalist.

I’m amazed someone at his level thought it was a good idea to appear on stage with a vocalist with no professional singing or performing experience.

Absolutely this. I have a deep emotional connection with the Austrian song, but it is exactly the sort of thing that the juries are meant to weed out. She did just miss the odd note. She sang the entire thing like she was in a Chinese karaoke bar and couldn't hear the backing track over the drunks.

 

[VoR]

Sorry, Austria was 'at a level'?

How on earth would anyone watching be expected to know that?

I mean he’s had major chart hits in virtually every country in Europe (including the UK).

 

[VoR]

And recently too, not years ago.

 

[rhythmbandit]

I mean he’s had major chart hits in virtually every country in Europe (including the UK).

I know, I mean he's almost on the same level as Darude and DJ Bobo.

 

[VoR]

I know, I mean he's almost on the same level as Darude and DJ Bobo.

See above. They were has beens at the time of their ESC entries. I think Lumix might still have a song in the UK charts right now.

 

[D5K]

Absolutely this. I have a deep emotional connection with the Austrian song, but it is exactly the sort of thing that the juries are meant to weed out. She did just miss the odd note. She sang the entire thing like she was in a Chinese karaoke bar and couldn't hear the backing track over the drunks.

And it seemed to take her completely by surprise when the song actually ended.

 

[lolly]

I mean he’s had major chart hits in virtually every country in Europe (including the UK).

I bet most of the audience didn't know it. And it means nothing to the majority of the audience if you put a performance in front of them that was one of the worst of the night.

 

[VoR]

 

[Beverley]

I guess Norway is a performance for the television, because in the arena both the perf and reaction felt very muted.

Albania always seem to struggle with the staging of their songs. I felt like the tone of the National Final perf had been the way to go instead of the beer n bikini feel of what we got.

Greece, for me, was the most impressive performance of the night.

 

[Beverley]

Also, was it us being in the arena or were the production values (sun of doom aside) really quite a step down in terms of creativity?

 

[Kratz]

Also, was it us being in the arena or were the production values (sun of doom aside) really quite a step down in terms of creativity?

I think so. It felt quite, old? Like a Eurovision from a decade ago or earlier. Certainly compared to Rotterdam.

 

[Marina Salty]

Also, was it us being in the arena or were the production values (sun of doom aside) really quite a step down in terms of creativity?

I thought the camerawork was problematic throughout with the worst of it going on during Ronela.
But even the "good" camerawork, later on, was not really ok, sometimes it was shaky, sometimes the cuts were harsh, sometimes it looked like the camera moves weren't smooth and as if the picture was lagging. And the lights were a little too bright on a couple of occasions.

 

[OutSynk]

I guess Norway is a performance for the television, because in the arena both the perf and reaction felt very muted.

Audience seemed dead throughout. Why didn’t you make more noise bb?

 

[Beverley]

Audience seemed dead throughout. Why didn’t you make more noise bb?

Could you have been anything but comatose for most of that semi?

 

[Soldi]

I suspect Amanda won’t come close but Greece felt much more like a winner than Ukraine did tbh.

 

[Soldi]

Rewatched the Albanian perf this morning. It was… a mess

 

[Marina Salty]

Rewatched the Albanian perf this morning. It was… a mess

Everything about it was better in FiK, they should have kept everything as it was.

 

[Penelope]

Some HOT STATS

Albania: First NQ since 2017, breaking a 3-year streak.
Latvia: 4th NQ in a row, now not seen a final since 2016, the longest active run of failure in the Contest.
Lithuania: 2nd Qualifier in a row.
Switzerland: 3rd Qualifier in a row, their best run since the semi system was introduced.
Slovenia: Second consecutive NQ, last seen in the finals in 2019.
Ukraine: 12th consecutive qualifier since the two-semi system. They maintain their perfect streak of qualifications, though they did not participate in 2015 or 2019.
Bulgaria: First NQ since 2013, breaking a 4 year streak, although they did not participate in 2019 (or 2014 & 2015).
Netherlands: 6th consecutive qualifier (inc. one hosting job). Last NQ'd in 2015.
Moldova: 2nd Qualifier in a row. Zdob și Zdub are, I believe, the first act to qualify three times in three different decades.
Portugal: 2nd qualifier in a row. They need one more to match their longest ever unbroken streak, which they achieved from 2008-2010.
Croatia: 3rd consecutive NQ. Last seen in the finals in 2017.
Denmark: Second consecutive NQ, their worst run since 2015-2016.
Austria: Third consecutive NQ, last seen in the final in 2018 (where they won the jury vote)
Iceland: Third qualifier in a row.
Greece: Third qualifier in a row.
Norway: Fifth qualifier in a row.
Armenia: First qualifier since 2017, breaking their worst run of luck in their history with the Contest (They NQ'd in 2018, 2019 and withdrew in 2021)

A good streak for Iceland, considering they'd been out four years in a row before Hatari and this one was probably the most on-the-cusp entry since their return to the finals

 

[Bypass]

To be fair amidst that particular group of songs, upon watching Iceland my inclination was "yep that´s sneaking through".

 

[OutSynk]

Rewatching this right now and God the Ukrainian singer can get it so hard.

 

[OutSynk]

Mika aggressively kissing Laura on the cheek and her saying SO HOT in response has to be the cringiest moment of the night and there were many.

 

[ButterTart]

Also, was it us being in the arena or were the production values (sun of doom aside) really quite a step down in terms of creativity?

Yeah, the staging was really uninspired for a lot of the performances.

 

[lolly]

I think I'd need to watch it again to decide if the production was that flat, rather than it only being a batch of largely poor songs.

And let's face it, life is too short even at half my age.

 

[Penelope]

Have had a few comments today about the camerawork and production values feeling like they were a real step down from the last few years. Still, all that effort had to go into the Diodato performance I imagine

 

[win_the_game]

I think the stage design doesn't really lend itself to good camera work. The water feature and the ramps leading to the stage probably limit what the camera crew can do so they're more reliant on a limited number of shots from skycam and camera dollies.