#now to watch the press conference and draw for which half they'll perform in

[eurovision-del]

After a really strong show, the first semi final has wrapped up, so here’s my thoughts on the acts!

Qualifiers:

Norway: I was sort of expecting this, despite my personal feelings on the song, so I’m happy enough to see it go through. It’s the sort of camp staging that I think a lot of people watch Eurovision for, and that’s fair enough.

Israel: This really surprised me, I was not expecting Israel to qualify, but I guess someone was impressed by her high notes. I’m certainly interested to see how the results break down when we eventually get them, I have a feeling it might have been juries who pushed this one through. Eden is at least a brilliant performer so I can sort of understand it.

Russia: The first of my favourites to make it, and I’m so glad it did! I do honestly prefer the Russian National Final staging over the Eurovison staging, but Manizha is such a great performer, and she killed it tonight! Can’t wait to see her do the same again on Saturday!

Azerbaijan: I didn’t think both this and Israel would get through, I thought at least one would be lost in the sea of solo female bangers, but apparently there was room in the final for both. Personally, I’m not at all happy, I’ve said my opinions on the song before, and the staging and performance did not sell me, I found it lackluster.

Malta: This was never in doubt, and I’m glad to see it qualify, Destiny deserves that final! It’s not my favourite song, but if Destiny manages to do the same again or better on Saturday, I won’t complain if it does win!

Lithuania: So glad to see them go through, one of my favourites this year! I’d love to see them crack the top 10 in the final!

Cyprus: Still not a fan of the song, but of my personal non-qualifiers, Cyprus is the one I’m most glad to see qualify. The staging was brilliant and Elena nailed that performance! I’m super impressed by how she can keep singing while contorting her body like that.

Sweden: I never thought for a moment that this wouldn’t qualify. Tusse gave a solid performance, and while the song isn’t my thing, I fully expected it to do very well with juries, which I’m sure it did, and will likely do again on Saturday.

Belgium: I’m very glad to see them go through, I was worried the staging might be too dark, but I’m glad people seemed to respond to it!

Ukraine: I actually relaxed a little by the end of the results, I was sure Go_A were going to qualify, and when they hadn’t been announced earlier, I knew they had to be announced last. The performance Go_A gave was too good not to make the final! And well done to them for keeping Ukraine’s qualification record in tact, it’s well deserved!

Non-Qualifiers:

Australia: I was actually really impressed with Montaigne’s performance, it was a lot better than I was expecting! That said, I thought her being unable to perform live might hurt her, and I think it did. It’s impossible to know what could have happened, her song was always borderline in this tough semi, but I really feel for her right now.

Croatia: My big disappointment. I would swap this out for either of Israel or Azerbaijan in a heartbeat, I struggle to understand why they qualified and this didn’t. Were the outfits too much? I really enjoyed the whole performance and I’m gutted we won’t get to see this again.

Ireland: I really enjoyed watching the staging for this one, but wasn’t too surprised to see it not qualify. Lesley’s voice isn’t the strongest so if the performance she gave yesterday was similar to this, I imagine she wouldn’t get too many jury points, and in such a strong semi it was always going to be an uphill battle for this to qualify.

North Macedonia: I enjoyed Vasil’s performance, I thought the staging was effective if a little cheesy (so at least it fit the song!) but this was never going to qualify out of this semi. Vasil can at least be proud that he gave a great performance and got to showcase his song to millions.

Romania: This was also a big disappointment for me, but not in terms of results. I was not thrilled at all with Roxen’s outfit, it didn’t suit the song at all, and her vocal wasn’t the best. It’s a shame, because she can really sing. This is a strong case of poorly conceived staging killing a songs chances. I don’t mind not seeing it miss out on the final, I’ll always have the studio version to listen to.

Slovenia: Like Vasil, Anna’s chances of qualifying were next to none. She also gave a really solid performance, it was great to hear her perform, and she should also be proud of herself.

I only got 5 out of my ideal qualifiers (Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belgium, and Malta), and while I had accepted that most of the rest wouldn’t qualify, it was heartbreaking to see Croatia miss out. Still, I can be thankful that my three clear favourites from this semi went through! Hopefully I’ll be a little luckier on Thursday...