We witnessed the first semi-final of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest yesterday. We saw 10 countries qualify after a very good and smooth running show. So who are these qualifiers?
I think our team’s reaction video is best to watch for that. You can really get a good taste of how tense this reveal was and which were the most shocking. Most of the “favourites” went through and there were a few surprises too. After the semi-final ended, they had a press conference in which they drew in which half they are performing in the final. So here is the entire list of countries with performance and which half they drew:
🇬🇷 Katerine Duska – Better Love (1st half)
🇧🇾 Zena – Like it (2nd half)
🇷🇸 Nevena Bozoviç – Kruna (2nd half)
🇨🇾 Tamta – Replay (1st half)
🇪🇪 Victor Crone – Storm (2nd half)
🇨🇿 Lake Malawi – Friend of a Friend (1st half)
🇦🇺 Kate Miller-Heidke – Zero Gravity (2nd half)
🇮🇸 Hatari – Hatrid mun Sigra (2nd half)
🇸🇲 Serhat – Say Na Na Na ( 1st half)
🇸🇮 Zala Kralj & Gašper Šantl – Sebi
The most interesting thing is that a lot of the 2nd half slots for the final are now gone. We already entered tonight with a 12/8 (60%/40%) ratio for 1st/2nd half. Both halfs got drawn 5 times which means the 2nd semi-final has a ratio of 7/3 (70%/30%) left to choose from.
Let’s look at some songs of tonight that could potentially open or close the show on Saturday. I think San Marino and Czech Republic would be great candidates to open the show, the latter being more likely than the former in my opinion. They are up tempo songs that really get you into the vibes of Eurovision. For showclosers, I think Estonia or Belarus have the best shot of ending the show. Iceland would be a bit of weird ending to some because of their “craziness”. Australia is also a rather unique song and usually the directors don’t like to end with that.
Probably the biggest talking point of the night is the qualification of San Marino. They break a 4 year non-qualification streak and qualify for the second time out of 10 participations. The press center and the entire audience went wild when they announced the microstate’s qualification. Also, Iceland break their streak of 4 years of non-qualifications. Talking about streaks, Hungary lose on their 8-year streak of making it to the final.
Let’s end on giving a little review on the entire show. The post-cards looked amazing and probably a few of the best in recent years. They kind of make you feel like you are looking at an energetic traveling ad. I definitely took notice of some spots that I would love to visit because of these postcards. The flow of the show was also really good in my opinion. The Israeli broadcaster definitely likes to keep a good pace. The hosts didn’t really bother with a lot of corny jokes and were very much to the point. If they can keep this vibe and pace up throughout all of the other shows than they would leave a really good impression with me.
Do #YOU agree with all the qualifiers? Were there any shocks and which changes would #YOU have made? Let us know below in the comments, or on our forum!
Mandy
May 15, 2019 at 22:35
Let’s talk about the reports of televoting problems against Portugal?
https://eurovoix.com/2019/05/15/portugal-reports-of-televoting-problems-from-viewers-across-europe/