Personal reviews and reflections - Semi 2

[FilipFromSweden]

Semi final 2 - Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden
Well, I did not find this thread where semi final 2 was the subject so I made it.

I have so much to say about this semi final.

Latvia started the show pretty good, not a good song but a good opening entry. It feelt like he was talking 50 % of the performance.

San Marino was next out and I actually expected something more from Valentina, but theres nothing wrong with the song.

F.Y.R Macedonia sounds pretty good in the beginning, but when Ezma enters the stage and is trying to eat it up it gets pretty funny

Azerbaijan was next out and I performed a 2013 version of Dima Bilans '' Never Ever Let You Go ''. Pretty good song but the guy in the cage was the best! Lady in red looked pretty good too

Finland was next out and OMG Krista did the best performance from Finland ever! I loved the performance and there was a lot of energy on the stage. I Krista!

Malta comes with a boring song..

And then its BULGARIA that I think was one of the best performances that night. I really liked it and Elitsa is so cute and I think that they did an amazing job on the stage.

Iceland is next and its a cute, beautiful and a pretty good song, I hope Eybor will do good on Saturday.

Greece is next and shows that they don't want to win again.

Israels song is beautiful and its really good, although her dress looks weird.

Armenias song is cheesy and the singers english is bad, still I think its catchy.

Hungary makes me fall in love, the song reminds me how it feels to be in love. I think he did a good job on stage and his guitarist this is one of the songs that I want to win on Saturday! I think this has my vote on Saturday.

Norway is up next and I actually expected more from Margaret Berger, I think that her performance is to cold for Europe. But its still good.

Albania has a song that is '' meh '' but I like the guitarr and the sleasy old man!

Georgia is pretty good, but they could have been better, reminds me of Ell/Nikki but from Georgia.

Switzerland has sent Switzerlands Ell/Nikki + an old man. I like the song, but its far away from winning. I still really like it and it surprised me, good job!

Romania with Cezar starts his weird show that I actually like, I just think that some parts are bad but overall its good! I think he deserved a place in the final.



Out of all I think that this was the best semi final ever, it feels like there was a bit more Eurovision spirit in this show and I think SVT pulled out another amazing show. Petra was amazing too!

However, im pretty dissapointed in the result. They announced the three worst songs last and dear jury & televoters. Are you telling me you prefer Armenias cheesy rock song over Israels ballad?Maltas boring everyday song over San Marino? And that horrible greek song over Bulgarias champions?

Good job SVT and Petra Mede!

 

[aletem]

Right,

The introduction was great! Their name was Urban something. I liked it, it was fun!

Latvia - It was a good opening, despite people not liking the song. I really liked how he interacted with the audience! It gave me Sibel (2006) vibe in Athens. The performance was unique, unfortunately it wasn't appreciated.
San Marino - There were some really nice camera shots, up until the second part where you barely see her (there were flags and heads of other people). As a choreography it was pretty nice and defined (if I can say that). Her first dress (or black cover, whatever it was), wasn't good. Also being at #2 didn't help her and others may have overshadowed her, even though she sang great!
Macedonia - I disagree with most of you who say that Esma didn't sound good. She does sound good, but her voice is very distinct (I think that's a proper way of saying that) and not something you would hear on a Eurovision song. Her dress was great and her entrance even greater! Vlatko sang very well and looked at the camera often. It really came down to whether you like the song or not.
Azerbaijan - Very slick and unique choreography! He really sold it and overshadowed the other 3 a bit. His singing was very good too. As a song, I wasn't really keen on it, but I think he deserved it!
Finland - The ever happy woman that was everywhere in Malmo!! She did a good job singing and selling her song. Perhaps it was too jammed with stuff around, but it was entertaining. It had a Katy Perry-vibe. I liked the performance!
Malta - It's a neat song, which had a nice concept. I found it very forgettable (I remembered that they sat on a bench), especially after all the previous acts and the acts that came after it.
Bulgaria - Very energetic performance and I was actually surprised. It was intense as well, and especially stood out after Malta. I think she was off during some parts though and I feel as she got too engaged in the song. nevertheless, I was surprised that it didn't go through.
Iceland - Nice background and they should thank SVT for that! It wasn't charismatic or appealing, but he sang well. It didn't stood after Bulgaria IMHO!
Greece - Buuuut, this did stood out after Iceland! Agathonas was amazing!!!! The boys delivered an energetic performance which deservedly placed them in the final. It came across pretty good!
Israel - She sang this as it was her last time singing. I enjoyed it!! I think it stood out as a ballad, but I guess I was wrong. :/
Armenia - It was very cool and it created a nice atmosphere. An atmosphere that was well contained, but not condensed! It is good that there will be some rock in the final and Dorians deserved it IMO.
Hungary - He wasn't really singing or selling it. It was a great surprise that they announced them as a qualifier. It had no enthusiasm, no perspective and no connection what so ever! How it got through, we have yet to find out.
Norway - Basically the same MGP performance. Nothing new to it! It was very cold and distant. She wasn't singing at its best (wasn't she a bit off tune?), but being a favourite placed her high. Didn't enjoy it and I won't enjoy it in the final. It's not convincing at all!
Albania - The staging was awesome. The pyro, the smoke, the drums, the guitars, it was great! The problem was that it was too Albanian to qualify and it was sang on Albanian (Dorians sang on English). Perhaps it was too heavy to be grasped by people. They did perform it great and it seemed as a qualifier, but then I remembered what happened to Aurela Gace!
Georgia - This was nicely performed. Very familiar staging, nothing original (makes me wonder how the juries ended up voting for this). Near the end was a bit off, but overall was nice.
Switzerland - It seemed kinda bland and static on stage. It was decent and almost convincing. Grandpa surely added a flavour to the song. Did you knew that he and Esma knew each other before the contest?? They sang great and as a performance it was good, but dull at the same time.
Romania - This was crazy from all aspects and funny in the wrong way! Yet he made it! Juries placed Georgia 8th last year, so it's no surprising that they placed him high. I don't really know what to say about this honestly!!

Petra was good as the first time! I love Lynda Woodruff. Postcards were great too. Anything else, NO!

 

[Altairandy]

Oh, ****. What in final doing Malta & Armenia. And where is San Marino & Israel :twisted:
Final will be without Balkans (except Greece), but with full Nordic block & allmost full ex-USSR

 

[cegs5]

Opening was nice, very cleve and artistic

Latvia as a good opener, fun enough and not serious contendor, so It was good to see them in the first spot.
San Marino, I was so disapointed, I had high expectations but even Social Media was way better performance.
FYR Macedonia, Lozano looked so nervous and Esma shouting loudly was annoying... I went for a peace of cheese
Azerbaijan, that bisexual performing was good enough to forget his vocal limitations, nice staging but song just meh...
Finland, Krista was good but It's still not the best Finnish performance ever...Lordi can't be beaten so easily
Malta, nice song and cool performance
Bulgaria, as expected Elitsa destoyed the song screaming and being out of tune all the time.
Iceland, I was so surprised I didn't fell to sleep but I did enjoy his performance...It was supported by the Finnish commentators
Greece, funny and catchy
Israel, better than I expected...but I couldn't stand the whole song so I checked my Facebook meanwhile
Armenia, It was OK
Hungary, beautiful song but the singer seems not to care so much about the audience
Norway, I think she was 100% focus, people says she was ill...we'll see on saturday
Albania, I did like it a lot and enjoyed the solo guitar
Georgia, I went to toilet for a dump...I can't tolerate a single second of this song
Switzerland, BORING AS HELL...I just decided to focus in the handsome guitarist
Romania, It was entertaning, weird but a camp Dracula had to make it to the Final of course! I need circus in ESC

Petra...meh! Linda was cool...postcards are nothing special, audience much lively than lame Baku's, interval act was good for a break in the toilet

 

[LalehForWD]

Agnes was amazing!!!

 

[CommanderKeen]

Latvia - Good opener, nice energy, but sounded very outdated. This was never going to qualify and it didn't.

San Marino - One of my favorites beforehand. The performance wasn't great though. It wasn't bad, but I never felt any emotional connection. I can see why this failed to qualify.

FYR Macedonia - With Esma who made a boring song worse, this wasn't ever going to qualify.

Azerbaijan - A godo example of how to elevate an average song with a great staging idea.

Finland - Not one of my favorites and a little overrated, but I can see why some would like this. I don't expect a very good result for them on Saturday though.

Malta - Liked it. An honest song and an honest performance.

Bulgaria - I liked it better than I thought I would have, but it never really had a chance.

Iceland - A little boring, but not much to fault here really.

Greece - It's not a quality song, but it's undeniable fun.

Israel - This song never did much for me, so I don't mind it not qualifying.

Armenia - Boring song, but there seems to be an audience for it. Same category as Lithuania, imo.

Hungary - Another bore. Kind of surprised it got through. It's not horrible though and I actually like listening to the studio version in a soothing kind of way. I just wouldn't have thought he audience or jury would go for this after just one listen.

Norway - Not pitch perfect, but good enough.

Albania - I liked this better than Armenia's rock song. Can't say I will miss it on Saturday though.

Georgia - I just don't like it. It's a well crafted song, but it just doesn't connect with me.

Switzerland - The staging was so static, it just deadened the song. Could have been a borderline qualifier with better staging.

Romania - I thought it would be hilariously bad, but when I watched it I thought: "oh god, people are going to vote for this and it will go through". Turns out I was right. Well, at least there will be something to laugh at on Saturday. Yes, ESF needs some camp too!

 

[A-lister]

AWFUL qualifiers... no need to say much more.

Israel was robbed the most... Armenia has the worst song this year.

The juries need to be kicked out.

 

[cegs5]

AWFUL qualifiers... no need to say much more.

Israel was robbed the most... Armenia has the worst song this year.

The juries need to be kicked out.

Well, during the years without juries people had the same reaction like you clamouring for a jury...so?
How can you blame jury If you haven't seen the official results yet?

 

[A-lister]

Well, during the years without juries people had the same reaction like you clamouring for a jury...so?
How can you blame jury If you haven't seen the official results yet?

Because they have 50% say and can make it or break it for an entry... so even if the audience may not agree, they still have the power to save worthy entries... that's what their "expertise" is suppose to be here for... but since they don't they're useless and take away from the peoples' power.

 

[cegs5]

Because they have 50% say and can make it or break it for an entry... so even if the audience may not agree, they still have the power to save worthy entries... that's what their "expertise" is suppose to be here for... but since they don't they're useless and take away from the peoples' power.

But it seems that you are very egocentric thinking that only the songs that you consider worthy entries should qualify otherwise the jury is pointless. We have to admit that no all our faves can make ii always.

 

[A-lister]

But it seems that you are very egocentric thinking that only the songs that you consider worthy entries should qualify otherwise the jury is pointless. We have to admit that no all our faves can make ii always.

Oh so you think Armenia & Romania are more worthy qualifiers than Israel? Or a faux ballad like the Georgian one over a real one?

Yes, of course I speak on behalf of my taste, but also on behalf of a love for this contest and a rational mind...

 

[GRE]

Do we have any video of the results moments,without comments?

 

[Terence]

AWFUL qualifiers... no need to say much more.

Israel was robbed the most... Armenia has the worst song this year.

The juries need to be kicked out.

Armenia could've gone through on televote alone - with France, Germany, Greece, Georgia all voting in the semifinal)

I'll replicate what I said elsewhere... of course it hurt not to see San Marino qualify but the performance was nerve-wrecking so in a way, she shot herself in the foot. Armenia I still hate, but the performance was strong.

Hungary was a surprise to many, but during the performance I felt that this would go through. Don't know why. Everybody in my room hated it but it has its own weird charm!

 

[wittgenstein]

I wonder what people outside of sweden think of Lynda Woodruff?

 

[QwaarJet]

AWFUL qualifiers... no need to say much more.

Israel was robbed the most... Armenia has the worst song this year.

The juries need to be kicked out.

I'd love to see your reaction if it was actually the televoters that screwed the results up.

Anyway, this was probably the worst semi-final I've ever seen. Not just the results, but the quality of songs, the hosting by Petra, the skits and the opening/interval acts.

 

[doctormalisimo]

Latvia - Gave an energetic performance - called the "Latvian Jedward" by the BBC commentators. Slaughtered by the draw.

San Marino - awkward camera staging may have cost her a final place, and a bad draw.

Macedonia - complete madness of a performance. Someone on Twitter described this as "the best battle on The Voice ever".

Azerbaijan - the cool staging really distracted from the dull song. Definitely one of my winners for the night based on performance alone.

Finland - wtf did I just watch :shock:. She set women's rights back a couple of decades. That lesbian kiss at the end seemed like a vote winner.

Malta - cute, smiley performance. Vocally not great, but he more than made up for that with his charm and huggabelness.

Bulgaria - speechless....

Iceland - another winner of the night for me. Solid vocals, lovely song. Not really much more to it than that - probably the most deserved qualification of the night.

Greece - was as crazy and fun as you'd expect. Feel good entry of the night. Of course Greece were never going to not qualify, no matter what they sent...

Israel - the shock of the night for me. I thought she had it in the bag after the performance (just like Montenegro on Tuesday). might have been killed by the language, or even by the dress.

Armenia - the most underrated song of the night. Fine performance, nothing went wrong, deserved to qualify.

Hungary - I'm surprised the viewers at home got this. ByeAlex didnt really ooze charm on stage, but the song was cute enough to capture the hearts of Europe.

Norway - fine performance from my last placer in this semi, derserved qualification, even if I hate it

Albania - I guess Europe doesn't like flaming guitars - who knew?

Georgia - Ell & Nikki gave a good performance. A performance like that for them in the final could help bring the Eurovision back to their native Azerbaijan.

Switzerland - killed by the staging. A bit of movement on the stage and they could have qualified. Shame.

Romania - this was certainly memorable. Love it or hate it, there's no denying that you want to see this again in the final.

 

[FilipFromSweden]

Oh so you think Armenia & Romania are more worthy qualifiers than Israel? Or a faux ballad like the Georgian one over a real one?

Yes, of course I speak on behalf of my taste, but also on behalf of a love for this contest and a rational mind...

Please, jury does not just like pure clean beautiful ballads/songs.

 

[FilipFromSweden]

I'd love to see your reaction if it was actually the televoters that screwed the results up.

Anyway, this was probably the worst semi-final I've ever seen. Not just the results, but the quality of songs, the hosting by Petra, the skits and the opening/interval acts.

You hate Sweden don't you?

 

[Andreea]

[my reviews about the countries from 2nd semifinal that reach the final ]

AZERBAIDJIAN: the best from semifinal 2: good song, great voice, charismatic artists, a very interesting stage performance (simple and effective).

NORWAY:the singer doesn’t have a technical voice, but it’s a beautiful voice. Unfortunately, the interpretation was unsecure and lacked energy. Yet, the song is very good, dramatic,have good lyrics.

ROMANIA: a memorable performance from scenography to choreography. The song is mediocre, but the act was flawless.

GEORGIA: I like the song but I think the singer was under tone quite often, had problems with modulation. Also, the stage performance was mediocre.

GREECE: I cannot say I like the song, but it was a good performance. The singers sang flawlessly and gave the feeling of safety and lightness. They deserve to be in the final.

ISLAND: I think there were too many emotions on stage, but the song is beautiful .

FINLAND: the singer had some problems with the intonation, but the song was funny and explosive. The lesbian kiss was a little bit too much …

MALTA just cute.

ARMENIA: the song reminds me of the 90s

HUNGARY: cute song, the singer is charismatic but needs to work his voice.

 

[cegs5]

I wonder what people outside of sweden think of Lynda Woodruff?

At least my British friend love her...