#performer: Intars Busulis

[eurovisionsongaday]

I guess someone had to talk last place, but did it have to be this song? Oh well.

[whenitsdarkweilluminate]

Moscow 2009 – Semi-Final 2

Host: Russia Slogan: [none] Participants: 42 Voting method: 12-point system (50/50 system - combined; televoting only for the semi-finals) Format: 2 Semi-Finals / Grand Final = the top 10 of semi 1 & 2 + the Big 4 + host General Overview: So Semi-Final 2 opens with a Russian folk band playing an instrumental medley of Eurovision classics. Namely “Volare”, “Waterloo”, “Ding A Dong”, “Diva”, and “Believe”. This segment also includes Russian kick-dancing, a giant Russian doll, and dancing polar bears (amongst other things). How quaint. The interval act, meanwhile, features more lively Russian folk dancing. It's enjoyable enough. SF2 definitely contains a stronger set of qualifiers than SF1. There's so many obvious picks in this one. The running order is lopsided, though. The first half is heavy on the ballads and novelty songs, and it includes most of the DNQ's. While the second half queues 7 qualifiers in a row, many of which are the big favourites. Spain reverted to a back-up jury for this semi because the broadcast was delayed there. The results portion features more foolishness from the hosts. At one point they attempt to activate the button by blowing on it together (gross). The male presenter (Andrey) is creepy too, with how he keeps grabbing Natalia. She doesn't look pleased.

✓ Croatia: Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea - Lijepa Tena Croatia are the jury wildcard pick of SF2, and I believe the juries saved the right song on both occasions this year. “Lijepa Tena” emits a romantic atmosphere, thanks to the nostalgic, daydream-y instrumentation. It illustrates the image of the Mediterranean seaside. Conversely, the bursting vocal moments add a hint of tragedy. The intensity is compelling too. The lyrics, meanwhile, praise a lover's beauty and graciousness. Although it implies a religious context (ie. “you're turning water into wine”). Staging-wise, there's an elegance to the bodies and fabric swaying against the wind machine. And Igor exudes comfortable stage presence. × Ireland: Sinéad Mulvey and Black Daisy - Et Cetera Ireland sends a pop-punk song! Which is a refreshing choice considering their previous entries in this decade. The electric guitar rhythm and the attitude are very 2000s. It's reminiscent of Avril Lavigne's style. Indeed, “Et Cetera” emanates angst-y teenage energy. The story told in the lyrics is exactly that – it reads like high school dating drama. Although, “Et Cetera” lacks an individual personality. Still, the guitar rhythm is invigorating, the “et cetera” hook is sufficient, and the chorus is a release of anxiety. × Latvia: Intars Busulis - Probka Ummmmmm. The Baltic countries sure love to submit confusingly weird entries. The lead singer's body language is intense, jittery, and agitated. He moves around like he's losing his sanity. Which matches the lyrical content, where he desperately needs to escape a traffic jam. The shouting and the rock instrumentation enhances that stressful mood. But the singer's performance is honestly unsettling and disturbing to watch. It's like he's about to violently lash out. Furthermore, all the shouting and the stammering in the chorus are obnoxious. Throw in some tempo accelerations, and “Probka” is aggressively unpleasantly to listen to. The song ultimately placed last in SF2, and became the first of 6 consecutive DNQs for Latvia. × Serbia: Marko Kon and Milaan - Cipela Interesting fact: Each of Serbia's three DNQs were one position away from qualifying. Including this one, which placed 10th in the televote, but the juries denied it from advancing. “Cipela” is one the better joke entries this year – although that isn't saying much. Only because the chorus hook and the accordion/percussion rhythm are serviceable. The ridiculous staging is the most memorable aspect, though. The general choreography is goofy but amusing. It includes fake shoe shining and a girl crossing her arms and pouting multiple times. Marko's aesthetic also stands out, thanks to his afro and yellow jacket. And the screens display pixelated caricatures. The song's premise, meanwhile, is intended to be comical – Marko travels the world to chase a girl that rejects him for being poor. But the performance is too “try-hard” to fully land. Also Marko's casual vocal in the verses is a no. × Poland: Lidia Kopania - I Don't Wanna Leave Poland's pained ballad is too dreary and depressing for me. The song just draaaags on and on. It fails to be emotionally impactful because of that. I'm over it before the key change hits. As for the lyrics, my interpretation is that Lidia is leaving home for the first time. She won't sever that familial connection completely, but she needs to take this step to progress and to “find herself”. But this message can be delivered in a more empowering way (see Cyprus), instead of this bawling, whiny tone. The ballet/ribbon dancing on stage is neat though. And Lidia is a decent vocalist. ✓ Norway: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale (winner review in Grand Final post) × Cyprus: Christina Metaxa - Firefly The Cypriot entry carefully builds anticipation across a prolonged journey, but the eventual climax is underwhelming. The final minute of floating euphoria requires a more “epic” release. Christina's shaky vocal undermines the destination. Otherwise, “Firefly” is a cute song with an inspirational message delivered in a heartfelt tone. It feels genuinely encouraging. The lyrics are centred around this firefly symbolism, where Christina describes facing the fear of the unknown, overcoming the nerves, and partaking on life's journey. The song's structure embodies that progression well. The first half is nervous and uncertain, while the second half is when she “goes for it”. There's also fairytale-esque twinkling at the start to establish the youthful context. The white light boxes are a cool prop too. × Slovakia: Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková - Leť tmou Slovakia returns after a 9-year absence, but their comeback entry is too stylistically dated for modern Eurovision. The song is an orchestral ballad, and the staging channels a classical aesthetic, including formal attire. The escalating pre-chorus is intriguing, though, in how the duo impatiently repeats each other. Throughout the song, the instrumentation and the vocals shift between calm reflection and intense despair. Nela holds long notes at the end too. The lyrics, meanwhile, are written as a conversation between Kamil and Nela. The pair wishes to restart their former relationship, because their lives are currently filled with “darkness”. But there's fears and uncertainties standing in the way. I appreciate the songwriting and the ebb/flow structure on “Leť tmou”. But the competition is fierce in this semi-final. ✓ Denmark: Brinck - Believe Again The Danish entry was co-written by Ronan Keating, and his influence on “Believe Again” is obvious. It sounds exactly like a Ronan Keating song, right down to the vocal texture and the instrumental. Both have a country flair. The band dresses appropriately for the genre too. So the chorus is the M.V.P. of “Believe Again”. It conveys such a bittersweet yet uplifting vibe. The sentiment resonates with me. The melody is strong. And the elongated “I-I-I-I” hook is an effective gear shift into said chorus. The verses also contain a decent hook (ie. “but someTHING... is missING”). And lyrically, “Believe Again” is an introspective song, where Brinck comes to accept that his relationship is over. He adopts a positive outlook and focuses on moving on. It's comforting, but some other entries stand out more. × Slovenia: Quartissimo feat. Martina - Love Symphony The first of two symphonic songs on the card tonight, but Slovenia's attempt fell short of qualifying. “Love Symphony” is one of the rare Eurovision entries to contain barely any vocals, alongside “Nocturne” and “DJ Take Me Away”. Incidentally, the entire first minute is instrumental. Singer Martina spends most of the performance hidden as a silhouette behind a curtain, later revealing herself towards the end. Her sections are brief, and her voice is implied to originate from a mysterious source. The instrumentation mixes an array of classical strings with an overpowering dance beat. It's like a force of nature. While it is a cohesive and complex composition, the instrumental sections are too long and repetitive; although there is a slow down divergence in the bridge. Martina is ultimately too inconsequential. × Hungary: Zoli Ádok - Dance with Me LMAO this is horrendous and cringe-worthy. The most glaring annoyance is Zoli's sexy overconfidence, which is a huge turn off. Furthermore, the staging resembles an aerobics instruction video. Zoli's vocals are awful, if it can even be considered “singing”. He basically talks the words. The disco groove is cheap-sounding. The lyrics are generic. And the ticking beat foundation doesn't salvage it much. “In The Disco” did it better. ✓ Azerbaijan: AySel and Arash - Always Now for 7 qualifiers in a row. Most of which are heavy hitters, including this one. “Always” is a thunderous “Ethnic pop” entry, with a chorus melody that is catchy AF. Arash built his music career in Sweden after all. That hook is so instant, effortless and irresistible. No wonder Azerbaijan placed 3rd. The resounding emphasis during the “always...” parts is particularly effective. As is AySel's ensuing solo responses. Furthermore, the duet displays chemistry and giddy choreography. The percussion rhythm and the stringed instrument supply the “Ethnic” aspect. The flow is dance-able. And the song maintains robust momentum for its entirety. The opening with Arash's traditional vocal is a good transition too. This is probably the song Azerbaijan should have won with instead of “Running Scared”, but “Fairytale” was insurmountable. ✓ Greece: Sakis Rouvas - This Is Our Night WOW! Sakis walked so Måns could run. The staging is impressive, between the meticulously timed choreo and the interactions with the rectangular platform contraption. The synchronized arm movements create a strong first impression. Later, Sakis glides back and forth across the platform like a treadmill. And at the end, the structure opens up like a stapler, with Sakis towering above. The song is certainly suited for the staging with all the jump-shouts (ie. “this is our night... FLY!”). They're forceful hooks too. The production, meanwhile, is a darker, colder strain of dance/pop. The verses emit ominous yet anticipatory bubbling synths, which I love. But the chorus melody lacks smoothness. It's too choppy. Still, Sakis serves sexy charisma once again, and his vocals are an improvement from 2004. Oh, and this was written by Dimitris Kontopoulos. ✓ Lithuania: Sasha Son - Love Lithuania are the only SF2 qualifier that I don't care for. “Love” is a piano ballad, where Sasha Son reflects on his personal experiences with being a child star. Namely the price of fame and the sacrifices made. His voice is decent and there's a melancholic tone, but he literally says the word “love” 54 times in the song (in the full English version – the final portion was switched to Russian for Moscow). The chorus becomes confusingly worded because of it. Sasha Son is also dressed like the early 20th century, and he later holds a flame in his hand. This entry is just too eccentric for me. ✓ Moldova: Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din Moldova “Hora din Moldova” is so rambunctious and chaotic. The song continually jumps into manic flurries of brass instruments, accompanied by a bonkers choreography routine. It represents a folksy Moldovan dance party. There's an outdoor festival drinking vibe to it. The verses offer a necessary respite, though. And the traditional outfits complete the image. Meanwhile, Nelly and the backing dancers serve uninhibited, high-spirited fun, which allows this an enjoyable experience. It feels organic. “Hora din Moldova” is a fairly straightforward song but it makes me smile!  ✓ Albania: Kejsi Tola - Carry Me in Your Dreams Albania continues to deliver! Wikipedia claims “Carry Me” contains elements of electronic, disco, folk, Schlager, French pop and “psychedelic turbo-folk”. I can't confirm that entire list, but the instrumentation is definitely slick and multi-faceted. The song is predominantly driven by a thumping bass dance beat, which is a banger. The opening, however, incorporates a fierce stop/start section of drums and strings, which is later repeated after the bridge. And the bridge itself diverges into an “Ethnic pop” direction. The staging, meanwhile, is inspired by the circus. It involves dancing mimes, a pink ballerina outfit on Kejsi, and a “faceless” person completely concealed in teal. It's a memorable aesthetic and the choreography is engaging. Furthermore, the chorus vocal melody captures the wistful sentiment expressed in the lyrics. ✓ Ukraine: Svetlana Loboda - Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl) The staging is elaborate on this one too. “Be My Valentine!” is a bold and attention-holding entry. Perhaps Ukraine wanted to place in the top 2 for a third year. The set-up involves a set of spinning, human-sized hamster wheels inside cog-shaped structures. Svetlana seductively dances inside the middle one. She serves sexy confidence with a forward stance throughout the performance. Accompanying her are three backing dancers wearing skimpy Roman warrior outfits. At one point, they physically rotate Svetlana, which is a fierce visual. They also tug her drum platform to the center of the stage. As for the song, “Be My Valentine!” has an in-your-face approach. There's harsh electro-synths in the chorus, like a revving motor. While the verses follow a commanding flow, featuring horns, strutting percussion, excessive rhyming, and some silly “bom”s. It flows cohesively enough, and “Be My Valentine!” balances fierce and campy well, but it's a lot to take in.  ✓ Estonia: Urban Symphony - Rändajad “Rändajad” paints such an ominous, chilly and desolate atmosphere. It's vivid and breathtaking. This is established by the symphonic strings, the booming bass, the dark lighting on stage, and the vocal tone. The lyrics describe nomads endlessly wandering the desert. There's a risky escape path in front of them, but it's invisible to the nomads. It's a bleak metaphorical image. Furthermore, the chorus melody employs a careful succession of Estonian phonetics. The strings are atmospheric, especially in the bridge. The smoke machine also enters to enhance the aura. And the instrumental includes some subtle details. Fun fact: this is Estonia's first qualification since the semi-finals were instated. × Netherlands: The Toppers - Shine *Face palm* This is just embarrassing. “Shine” is such a cheesy and campy peace song. The glittery outfits are dated and cringe. The tone is overly wholesome. The rickety beat doesn't belong. And the group harmonies are a mess. It's too many layered vocals at once and it becomes a wall of noise. The lady with the headphones and turntable is amusing though. This entry is very 2000s ESC, and not in a good way. My Ranking: 01. Norway: Alexander Rybak - Fairytale ✓ 02. Estonia: Urban Symphony - Rändajad ✓ 03. Azerbaijan: AySel and Arash - Always ✓ 04. Albania: Kejsi Tola - Carry Me in Your Dreams ✓ 05. Moldova: Nelly Ciobanu - Hora din Moldova ✓ 06. Ukraine: Svetlana Loboda - Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl) ✓ 07. Denmark: Brinck - Believe Again ✓ 08. Croatia: Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea - Lijepa Tena ✓ 09. Greece: Sakis Rouvas - This Is Our Night ✓ 10. Ireland: Sinéad Mulvey and Black Daisy - Et Cetera 11. Cyprus: Christina Metaxa - Firefly 12. Slovenia: Quartissimo feat. Martina - Love Symphony 13. Slovakia: Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Pocisková - Leť tmou 14. Serbia: Marko Kon and Milaan - Cipela 15. Lithuania: Sasha Son - Love ✓ 16. Poland: Lidia Kopania - I Don't Wanna Leave 17. Hungary: Zoli Ádok - Dance with Me 18. Netherlands: The Toppers - Shine 19. Latvia: Intars Busulis - Probka 9/10 is a first!

[visariga-blog]

Event: Līgosim Krastmalā 2017

Location: 11. novembra krastmala (Vecrīga) Length of event: 19:00 - 4:30 Frequency of event: Once per year

Līgo, Līgo!

Happy solstice! While in the United States and much of the world the longest day of the year comes and goes with little fanfare, in Latvia and much of eastern and northern Europe mid-summer is still one of the most important dates on the calendar. Although technically the shortest night goes from June 21-22, in Latvia it's observed on the night of June 23-24 as the festival of Līgo (June 23) and Jāņi (24). I don't think it's an overstatement to say that this night is at least as important as Christmas for most of the country, with the festival often being called “the most Latvian holiday.”

Traditionally, Latvians go out to the countryside, build bonfires to dance around, sing songs, grill food over open fires, jump over campfires, make flower crowns (girls) or oak wreaths (boys), and do a host of other traditions and rituals. Many Latvians still go out to the countryside for this event each year, around 30% according to a recent study published. Līga and I went out with friends in the last two years far away from Rīga, and although we were looking forward to doing the same this year, we decided it was probably best to stick around in Rīga with our wedding coming up in just a few days. Staying in the city to celebrate such a countryside-related holiday is considered sacrilegious by many Latvians, but I also saw this as an opportunity to see how Rīga celebrates this important night.

The day before Līgo, we decided to check out the “Zāļu tirgu” (green market) that had been set up in Doma laukums (Dome Square). These types of markets happen here in the square every few months for different holidays, and feature artisans, craftsmen, artists, farmers, florists, and other merchants from throughout the entire country. As always, there was singing and dancing on a main stage right in the middle of the event.

One of the favorite traditions for Līgo is the making of flower crowns for girls and women and oak wreaths for boys and men. Traditionally, only unmarried girls are supposed to wear the crowns, but that's a technicality that's overlooked by almost everyone.

Uh oh... There was a guy selling reprints of vintage maps. Maps are like an electromagnet to me, so I had absolutely no hope. I left with a very cool reprint of an old map of Rīga showing all of the traditional manor territories we usually write about in our different posts. I justified it by telling myself it would be useful when writing about those places. 

We also found Līga's aunt who was taking part in the market, selling very cool silk scarves.

The next day, festivities began on the road along the Daugava's coast at 7:00 PM. We didn't get there until a bit after that, but we hadn't missed much by the time we arrived. As we walked toward the event area, I took a picture of Līga wearing the flower crown she had just bought in the almost empty central market with the train bridge and national library in the background. As you can see, the normally bustling 11. novembra krastmala between Akmens tilts (stone bridge) and Vanšu tilts (suspension bridge) was completely closed to traffic.

As we walked into the event area, we were impressed by just how expansive the festivities were. The first stage we came across had a folk band playing music designed for dancing to, and the crowd in front of it was being taught how to dance together to each song. This provided a perfect opportunity for people new to Latvian folk culture to dip their toes into singing and dancing for the first time.

There were different food and drink stands set up all throughout the krastmala, as well as picnic tables as far as the eye could see. The biggest shock of the night for me was just how cheap beer was going for. 500 ml of Mežpils (a very good Latvian beer) was just €2.50, virtually unheard of in any of the bars in Vecrīga. Although the event was designed to be affordable for ordinary people, I feel like they easily could have charged at least €4.00.

In the very middle of the event was a massive festival-sized stage where Intars Busulis and Labvēlīgais Tips would be performing later in the evening. A sitting area facing the stage had been set up for people wanting to enjoy the music in a more relaxed setting.

Further on down the krastmala were some different games set up for children, including a large memory flipping game, tic tac toe, and bowling. 

At the far end of the event was another outdoor stage with more folk musicians and space for dancing. This stage shut down a bit earlier in the night, but up until about 22:00 or so quite a few people were enjoying the music and dancing along.

My favorite thing by far about the event was how even though tasty food was for sale all throughout the area (especially traditional shaslik meat cooked on a skewer over hot coals), there were many fire pits which were completely open for people to use by bringing their own meat, vegetables, or whatever they wanted to cook. Many other such events would have discouraged or outright banned people from bringing their own outside food with so many vendors here, so I thought it was very cool that the organizers were promoting the spirit of Līgo and encouraging people to do it themselves as they would in the countryside.

Intars Busulis and his “Abonementa orķestris” (subscription orchestra) started at 21.00 and played an impressive nearly three hours straight, with just two short breaks. The show was a mix of his own songs and a few traditional Līgo songs thrown in here and there. He tried his best to get the audience to sing along with him, but there weren't enough people who knew the words (or willing to sing) for it to be audible. I at least sang along to all the words of “Nākamā pietura Depo” although I'm pretty sure I was the only person who did so.

In one large tent at the very far end of the event near Vanšu tilts and the castle, nearly a thousand people were packed in sitting around tables and standing, singing and dancing along to different Latvian songs with lyrics on projector screens at the front. The screens were too small to be useful for most of the people in the tent, but so many people already knew all the words to most of the songs that it didn't particularly matter.

At 22.30, just as the sun was going down, Intars Busulis paused the show for a few minutes so that the large bonfires could be lit. There were two large stacks of logs, one on each side of the stage. Men had been pouring lighter fluid over the logs for the twenty minutes before they lit them, so I think that most of the crowd were expecting the logs to go up in an impressive blinding flash as soon as they were lit. Thankfully, they had been designed in a more safety-conscious way as you can see in the video. The announcers reminded the crowd over the loudspeaker that the fires would stay lit until the first light of the morning shone over the krastmala, per Latvian tradition.

As Busulis and his orchestra continued, we finally decided to start standing in line for some chicken shashlik. Līga elected to get some fries as a side, while I went for the more traditional sautéed cabbage. All of the picnic tables were full as far as we could see, so we sat on the grass in true Līgo fashion.

After dinner we went back to the dancing area we walked by first, which by now was completely full with a mix of people from all walks of lives and corners of the Earth. We stayed for a few minutes but weren't quite in the mood for folk dancing, so we headed back to the main stage where Labvēlīgais Tips was getting ready to perform at midnight.

Labvēlīgais Tips played a respectable two-hour set that included virtually all of their hits, although I was a bit disappointed that they didn't play my two favorites Desmetais Tramvajs and Koka Klucis Konstantīns. Līga and I were glad though that they ended with their new song Frāzes, which we've been overplaying lately.

We left at 2:00 at the end of LT's set. Although there were still two and a half hours to go until daylight, we were quite tired and still had a lot of wedding planning to do at that point. When we left, the Jāņi fires were still burning strong.

Overall, I was quite impressed by Līgo on the krastmala. Considering that Līgo/Jāņi is a festival that is so heavily associated with the countryside, I had very low expectations for what would be achievable by this kind of event. What the city was able to pull off was a perfect mix of countryside traditions and modern convenience. I find it difficult to imagine that virtually anyone who came down to the event aside from those with horrible attitudes could have had a bad time. Although it wasn't enough to convince me that Līgo/Jāņi shouldn't be celebrated in the countryside away from the loud and busy city, I would highly recommend checking it out next year if you can't make it out of Rīga on the 23rd for whatever reason.

A Few Final Thoughts:

Līgo is also Līga's name day. Daudz laimes vārda dienā, Līga!

According to the city government, there were 100,000 people who attended the event, making it the largest known collective celebration of Līgo/Jāņi ever. According to Līga and my very informal and unscientific observations, a bit less than half of the attendees seemed to be tourists or foreigners who live in the city. Despite this, virtually the entire event and all of the music was in Latvian.

This event could serve as the perfect rorschach test for one's views on globalism. On one hand you could look at this event as a corruption of Latvian tradition being watered down by all of the modern influences and showiness, while on the other hand you could say that it's a successful evolution of tradition for the 21st century. You could argue that the foreigners and tourists had no idea what they were really celebrating and were just there to generically party, or you could argue that Latvian tradition was being successfully dispersed and promoted in a way that no amount of money could buy.

There was a separate event taking place on Dzeguškalns in Dzirciems which was a far more traditional Līgo/Jaņi that Līga and I were planning on checking out at some point, but we were having so much fun on the krastmala that we had no motivation to make it over there.

It's always amazing just how bright it is all night this time of year. Līga took this picture just a few days before at MIDNIGHT from her family's home in Jelgava just 45 km southwest.

Līgo, Līgo!

[phkdigest]

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[eurovisionsongaday]

A first for this run through of Eurovision! A Latvian song in the semis that’s not necessarily my jam, although props for combining the A part and B part and making an interesting musical piece from it!

[visariga-blog]

Supernova 2017: Live and In Person

By now, it's perfectly clear to anyone who's been reading this blog for a while that I'm an unabashed, unapologetic fan of Supernova, Latvia's yearly contest show that selects the country's entry into the Eurovision song contest. Created in 2015 in order to end six straight years of Latvia failing to qualify for the Eurovision “grand final,” the show's winners so far have found success on the continental stage with a 6th place finish in 2015 and a 15th place finish in 2016. 2017's winner will be chosen out of eight semifinalists that were selected from two quarterfinal rounds that were broadcast on February 5th and February 12th.

This year, it was time to take my fandom to the next level. Instead of simply writing another blog post about this year's competition, I set my mind on getting into the live studio audience for one of the show's four broadcasts. Thankfully one of my high school students who is connected with Latvia's music community showed me how to acquire tickets, and suddenly I found myself with two passes to the February 12th quarterfinal episode. So yeah, that's me you see in the grey shirt in the top right of the first photo.

Līga doesn't quite share my level of enthusiasm for cheesy TV song contests, plus she was probably worried that I would do something stupid to get on TV (a perfectly justified fear on her part). Luckily, her sister Vita agreed to go with me, who you can see with purple hair to my right in that first picture. Since she was coming from Jelgava, we agreed to meet at Centrala Stacija (Central Station) at 20:00 in order to make it to the studio for 20:30 when doors were supposed to open. I was excited to finally have an excuse to take the mysterious #20 trolleybus for the first time in my life.

We were joined by only six other passengers, all of who were headed precisely where we were. The journey took just over ten minutes, bringing us across Salu tilts (Island Bridge) to the towering LTV headquarters on Zaķusala (Rabbit Island).

Built between 1979 and 1986, the 22-story building stands impressively in the middle of the Daugava and is visible from much of Rīga's southern and central regions. I was excited to finally have a reason to visit the city's 17th tallest structure I had admired so much from afar, and now we were just in front of it. Unfortunately, my sub-standard phone camera wasn't able to take an acceptable picture of the building at night, so here's one I took during the day a few years ago for you to get an idea of what it looks like:

We followed a group of fans to the main entrance in the back. Inside, fans and contestants alike sat in funky chairs and sofas chatting and, of course, watching LTV as we all waited for the doors to the studio to open. A Russian-speaking journalist enthusiastically buzzed around asking audience members about their favorite participants, although I didn't recognize the logo on his microphone. A few people were also enjoying drinks and food from a fancy-looking café just next to the studio entrance.

At just about 20:50, thirty minutes before the show was to begin, the doors opened and people began to file upstairs to the studio. Some men just outside the studio checked our bags and took our tickets just as they would at a concert or festival, and then we were able to walk right on in.

I have to give Vita a lot of credit for not immediately bailing on me as soon as we walked in, as I probably seemed a bit too overly enthusiastic. This was my first time inside a TV studio, let alone for a show that I actually regularly watched, so it was a bit overwhelming at first. About ten minutes before the broadcast began, Rīgas Bebrs (beaver), Latvia's Eurovision mascot, came onstage and politely told us to stand in place while the show was live and to cheer enthusiastically after each song. While this may seem like a no-brainer, Latvian audiences have a reputation for being overly polite and quiet.

Although we were simply trying to find the spot with the best view, as it turned out we stood in the perfect position behind the judges to be quite visible on TV every time they commented after a song. This week the celebrity jury included Prāta Vētra drummer Kaspars Roga, former Eurovision contestant Intars Busulis, DJ Rudd from Latvijas Radio 5, and songwriter Guntars Račs.

Unfortunately, I was under the incorrect impression that we were not allowed to take photos or videos while the broadcast was in progress, so I don't have any cool behind-the-scenes pictures of the performances themselves. That might be all for the better though, because I wasn't there to watch the performances through a small screen and there's no way my phone camera would have captured anything revelatory.

The night was kicked off by Katrina Lukin's upbeat ballad Silhouette, which was pleasant but not memorable enough to make it to the next round. This was followed by poor Markus Riva's third consecutive attempt to make it to the final round, “Dynamite.” Markus Riva is a complete mystery to me: he is massively popular in Latvia and had by far the most enthusiastic fanbase in the studio, but he consistently fails to make it to the final round in a vote-by-SMS popularity contest. Līga was telling me that there's a saying in Latvian going around on Facebook along the lines of “on a scale from one to Markus Riva, how persistent are you?” At least that's something to show for all that effort...

After a commercial break during which we were entertained by Rigas Bebrs' attempt at creating poetry, Toms Kalderauskis and his group continued with the Imagine Dragons-esque anthem, “We Won't Back Down,” before things got weird with Up's Kill Bill-inspired “One By One” in which she stood still for three minutes threatening to kill people as interpretive dancers pranced sensually across the stage. Although the performance went over like a lead balloon with the audience and judges, I thought it was one of the more memorable songs from this year. In fact, I was a bit disappointed by 2017 in general that there really wasn't anything as over-the-top ridiculous as Electrofolk's corny “Miracle Drums” or refreshingly different like Catalepsia's pop metal “Damnation” from 2016 aside from last week's off-the-wall Bjork meets the xx “Escape” by Crime Sea. While there were much higher highs and lower lows in 2016, this year there was mostly a sea of pleasant but forgettable cuts, such as Miks Galanovskis' funky “Runaway” which led us into the second commercial break.

After being taught how to create paper fans by the beaver, the contest continued with the Russian-language “Taju ot Lubvi” by The HiQ, an epic, saxophone-tinged Indie folk song that wasn't quite able to make it to the next round. Then the completely previously unknown Santa Daņeļeviča proceeded to blow the audience's socks off with her amazing pipes, becoming the first musician of the night to make it to the semi-finals. The video doesn't quite capture just how powerful and impressive her voice was in person; it permeated every corner of the room. I wasn't surprised to learn later that she made it to the second round, and I fully expect to see her in the finals.

Next up were Laura Lo and graduate from the school I teach at in Jelgava Chris Oak with the cutesy "Little Weird,” a performance that wasn't quite enough to qualify for round two. After a commercial break in which the ever-instructive beaver taught us how to make an actually-sort-of-nice-looking elephant mask from a cardboard box, we were back to the final three songs, all of which qualified for the semi-finals. I don't know what it is about going at the end, but last year's first place “Heartbeat” by Justs was also the final song of his round. Maybe since it's at the end it's easy for voters to remember? Maybe the producers save the best for last? Anyway, up first were Supernova veterans MyRadiantU who bounced back from last year's final four performance “We Will Be Stars” with the indie pop rocker “All I Know.”

Next up was 16-year-old student The Ludvig's slinky electro ballad “I'm In Love With You.” The judges and audience alike were impressed by the teenager's voice, and I'm sure that regardless of how he does in the competition that this isn't the last we'll be hearing from him.

Unfortunately we had to leave the studio before the final song, so we missed Triana Park's colorful pop banger “Line.” The band is pretty popular and has a well-established fanbase, so it wasn't much of a surprise that they made it to the second round. I didn't think it particularly stood out among the other songs this week though, so I will be surprised if it goes much further than the semi-finals.

And that was it for us! Luckily public transit was still fully running when we left (around 11:45) and it was no problem getting home. I tried taking one last picture of the view from the island of the night skyline, but of course my phone camera was not up to the task.

All in all, watching Supernova live and in person was a fantastic experience that I will definitely do again next year. Maybe next time I can even convince Līga to go with me! In the meantime, you can catch the semi-finals next Sunday at 21:25 (I know it's a weird starting time) either on LTV1 or as a live webcast here. Alone with the four songs chosen at the episode Vita and I went to, another four from last week will compete as well: Mīks Dukurs with “Spiritual Priest,” Lauris Valters with “Magic Years,” Franco Franco with “Up,” and  Linda Leen with “Who's In Charge?” Take care!