WH
Agreed. Out of the 2nd semi, I'm a fan of the Bulgarian entry and there seems to be a lot of buzz about him, but apart from him that's it.
The staging is not great but I think it serves us very well:
Whataday
Founding member
Standard has been truly awful so far... if the 2nd semi is anywhere near as bad then the UK might have a chance this year, only song I've even remotely liked is Australia's. Graphics seem very amateurish too and the staging is not blowing me away. So far, not impressed.
Agreed. Out of the 2nd semi, I'm a fan of the Bulgarian entry and there seems to be a lot of buzz about him, but apart from him that's it.
The staging is not great but I think it serves us very well:
DV
Well that was fun, but boy did it have Christer Bjorkman writ large over it. Gave every entry it's chance and covered the turkeys well. Looking at the credits list I wonder if, metaphorically, there was anyone left in Stockholm's SVT HQ.
LE
Lester
Founding member
The atmosphere seemed dead in the hall. I don't know if it was sound issues but it lacked the energy of previous contests. Kinda reminded me of the semis in Norway when the hall was half empty because of the volcanic ash cloud or infact the Brit Awards. One word: echoey. The array of songs were pretty dull which can't have helped.
TT
I watched the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 First Semi-Final on BBC Four, and I can now reveal who's through to Saturday's Grand Final and who's already knocked out:
My desired qualifiers: Australia , Finland, Portugal , Greece , Poland , Czech Republic, Cyprus , Slovenia, plus two (and no more) of Sweden , Belgium , Azerbaijan .
Actual qualifiers (in order of announcement): Moldova, Azerbaijan , Greece , Sweden , Portugal , Poland , Armenia, Australia , Cyprus , Belgium .
Bold entries represent the actual qualifiers that match my preferences.
OUT: Georgia, Albania, Montenegro, Finland, Iceland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Latvia.
Anyway well done to the ten countries which qualified for Saturday night's Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Grand Final, and commiserations to the eight countries which were eliminated this evening, but will nonetheless vote Saturday evening.
My points of view about who's through and who's out are available here:
http://nemesis-nick.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/eurovision-song-contest-2017-first-semi.html#ESC2017_SF1_results
My desired qualifiers: Australia , Finland, Portugal , Greece , Poland , Czech Republic, Cyprus , Slovenia, plus two (and no more) of Sweden , Belgium , Azerbaijan .
Actual qualifiers (in order of announcement): Moldova, Azerbaijan , Greece , Sweden , Portugal , Poland , Armenia, Australia , Cyprus , Belgium .
Bold entries represent the actual qualifiers that match my preferences.
OUT: Georgia, Albania, Montenegro, Finland, Iceland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Latvia.
Anyway well done to the ten countries which qualified for Saturday night's Eurovision Song Contest 2017 Grand Final, and commiserations to the eight countries which were eliminated this evening, but will nonetheless vote Saturday evening.
My points of view about who's through and who's out are available here:
http://nemesis-nick.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/eurovision-song-contest-2017-first-semi.html#ESC2017_SF1_results
DE
Welcome back TT đ€
It was a shame Slovenia and Czech Republic didn't qualify. Both good songs nicely sung in my opinion. Belgium is one of those tracks that's great as recorded but, as I feared, sounded weak live. However it's very popular across Europe (as are the Greek and Cypriot entries) so I'm not surprised they all went through.
Production wise: a few too many 'fades to black' for me and LOTS of zooms. Some great overheads moving down and up through the lighting rig. One thing that really stuck out for me was how hardly any songs had any staging gimmicks this year. In recent years we've had trampolines, giant hamster wheels, see saws, projecting blocks from walls etc. Last night: five treadmills, a piano on fire and a guy up a stepladder wearing a horses head (of course). Everything else was just singers singing. (I expect I've forgotten something else but you get my point)
It was a shame Slovenia and Czech Republic didn't qualify. Both good songs nicely sung in my opinion. Belgium is one of those tracks that's great as recorded but, as I feared, sounded weak live. However it's very popular across Europe (as are the Greek and Cypriot entries) so I'm not surprised they all went through.
Production wise: a few too many 'fades to black' for me and LOTS of zooms. Some great overheads moving down and up through the lighting rig. One thing that really stuck out for me was how hardly any songs had any staging gimmicks this year. In recent years we've had trampolines, giant hamster wheels, see saws, projecting blocks from walls etc. Last night: five treadmills, a piano on fire and a guy up a stepladder wearing a horses head (of course). Everything else was just singers singing. (I expect I've forgotten something else but you get my point)
RK
I think I've established that I'm a novice here but the multiple qualifying rounds to me seems a bit redundant when the same song is performed. Don't viewers get bored seeing the same performance?
Edit : Side note I'm glad I didn't let my BetterNet subscription lapse.
Edit : Side note I'm glad I didn't let my BetterNet subscription lapse.
Last edited by Rkolsen on 10 May 2017 6:00am
DE
No, the whole idea behind the ESC is you are supposed to vote for the song not the performer, the country or the staging. It's been one country-one song ever since the second contest. (In the first contest each singer sang two songs - only seven countries took part).
In many countries there are national selection programmes, some one offs, some multiple-episode series. The song that ultimately wins a show like Melodifestivalen (Swedens selection show) may be performed in a heat, a run off and the final, plus the reprise before going on to Eurovision semi and then final itself. On top of that they're promoted in many countries so that the song becomes more widely known and therefore resonates with the televoters!
In many countries there are national selection programmes, some one offs, some multiple-episode series. The song that ultimately wins a show like Melodifestivalen (Swedens selection show) may be performed in a heat, a run off and the final, plus the reprise before going on to Eurovision semi and then final itself. On top of that they're promoted in many countries so that the song becomes more widely known and therefore resonates with the televoters!
RO
They're favourite to win...only because of the gorilla.
The Italian effort for this year is very catchy and innovative 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj6tVGKzfhU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj6tVGKzfhU
They're favourite to win...only because of the gorilla.
GO
They're favourite to win...only because of the gorilla.
...and the song.
I think the overall quality of the songs last night was poor but semi 2 promises to be a bloodbath with a number of very strong entries.
The Italian effort for this year is very catchy and innovative
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj6tVGKzfhU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj6tVGKzfhU
They're favourite to win...only because of the gorilla.
...and the song.
I think the overall quality of the songs last night was poor but semi 2 promises to be a bloodbath with a number of very strong entries.