Live Coverage of the Jury Final

The Jury Final is about to start. 50% of the results will be decided tonight but most people will never get a chance to see the performances. ESC United is going to keep you updated on the performances, opening & interval acts and everything else that is happening. Just keep updating the article on a regular basis and scroll down. Again, all juries will watch the show tonight AND vote so tonight’s performances are just as important as those on Saturday night. Tonight’s show starts at 21:00 CET.

———

The Show opens with a choir dressed all in black standing Stage Center. They’re singing a  new produced classical piece by Swedish writer Avicii along with Benny & Bjoern from ABBA. A bridge is lowered  and slowly all 26 acts walk down to the main Stage with the country flags. The entire opening has an epic feel to it and is pure goosebumps. The host Petra Mede is wearing a pink which looks like something straight from the Meryl Streep collection.

 

1. FRANCE: Amandine Bourgeois – L’enfer et moi

Amandine is wearing a black dress that has a Beyonce feel to it. She is an incredible live singer and doesn’t miss a note. It doesn’t seem like a good opening song to us considering SVT wanted every song to shine. It’s difficult to comment on its chances but it seems that France is going to need a lot of help from the juries.

 

2. LITHUANIA: Andrius Pojavis – Something

For some, this was a shocker to make it to the finals, but in retrospect, there is a nice change-up to follow France.   A mid-tempo toe-tapper.  As in the semi-finals, Andrius is once again static on stage.  However, during the first chorus, he sticks his tongue to the camera, and there’s laughter from the press center.   A good performance that once again, shows how much Andrius loves to perform.  It’s hard to tell where this will end up in the end.

 

3. MOLDOVA: Aliona Moon – O Mie

Aliona gives a great and emotional performance.  The audience in the arena erupts when she raises up and the dress projects the lightning and fire imagery.  We thought the high note in the final chorus sounded good, although we’re not sure if her voice may have cracked at one point.  Had this been in the second half, this would probably have scored higher.  But then again, with it being one of the few standout ballads in the early part of the show, Aliona may stand out.

 

4. FINLAND: Krista Siegfrids – Marry Me

Krista is a big ball of energy and gave 100%. The first thing that stood out to me was her makeup which seemed a bit off making her look older than her age (a lot older) but other than that everything else looked great. The early draw may be a disadvantage but surrounded by two less noisy songs will probably be a big plus. With most of the favorites performing later in the draw this may actually do well.

 

5. SPAIN: ESDM – Contigo hasta el final

We’re not sure if it is just how Raquel sings, but her voice sounded a bit weak, like she might have been holding back.  The first note sounded very off as well.  Visually though, Raquel looked stunning in her yellow dress.  We fear this may place last, given the midtempo song and the lack of friendly countries there to vote for them (especially since Portugal pulled out).

 

6. BELGIUM: Roberto Bellarosa – Love kills

The comeback kid really seems to be enjoying himself this time around.  During the semi-final, he seemed very nervous, but today, he is very relaxed and just really enjoying to be there.  He performs the song well, and the staging is great with the choreography from the backup dancers and the strong backup vocals.  For a song that many assumed would never qualify, this could give Belgium a respectable showing in the final, one that may increase interest in Eurovision.

 

7. ESTONIA: Birgit – Et uus saaks alguse

Those who don’t know, Birgit is expecting and the extra glow pregnant woman have just adds to her already existing beauty. She once again outdid herself and her vocals were spot on. A lot of people say that her song is genuine and authentic unlike some other songs that are manufactured and catered to the Eurovision audience with no soul. This may do well with the juries.

 

8. BELARUS: Alyona – Solayoh

We actually had a feeling that this could have been the first number of the night.  However, at eight place, this is a good placement, given Alyona is placed between a ballad and a mid-tempo song.  The performance is a nice by-the-numbers Eurovision performance that televoters should enjoy.  She sounds better than she did in the Semi-Final.

 

9. MALTA – Gianluca – Tomorrow

A side story.  Last night, Maltese fans waited outside the press center for Gianluca.  They loudly sang “Tomorrow” and when Gianluca came out, they immediately started cheering, and lifted him in the air and celebrated.  A cute performance with a lot of appeal.  This should appeal to jury members.  Also, a great backdrop that looks great on TV.

 

10. RUSSIA – Dina Garipova- What if

It appears that Dina struggled with the first few notes but recovered immediately and once again delivered a performance giving everyone goose bumps. Though it seems she didn’t hit the last note as she went falsetto so she was either trying to cover it up or decided to switch up the ending which I don’t think was the case as it’s all well rehearsed. Nevertheless a solid performance.

 

11. GERMANY – Cascada – Glorious

Cascada is wearing the same peach colored dress she used during the rehearsals. There were no flaws, she sounded great with lots of energy and radiated charisma but several people in the press center find the performance too boring and unremarkable so there is the consent the juries may not fancy “Glorious”. But it is expected that the televoters will put this in the Top 10.

12. ARMENIA – Dorians – Lonely Planet

The surprise addition to the finals.  We heard there were boos in the arena when they were announced.  However, they are here in the finals, and Gor is doing a good job with the vocal runs and melisma.  It takes a look of vocal control to be able to do this well.  It’s difficult to follow Cascada and come before the Netherlands.  For this reason, although Armenia returns to the final for the first time since 2010, they may not replicate the Top 10 finishes they previously had.

 

They moved the break to after Armenia.  But we are treated to Lynda Woodruff introducing us to the capital of Sweden, Stockholm!

 

13. THE NETHERLANDS – Anouk – Birds

Anouk sounded great and actually managed to connect with the viewers as she kept looking into the camera a bit more. Several people worried that her eyes were closed too much during the Semis so those should be very pleased. It received a big applause from the press center but everyone is worried that going right after the commercial break may be a disadvantage.

 

14. ROMANIA – Cezar – It’s my life

Those who love this song will be pleased with the performance, whether or not this will be appreciated by the juries remains to be seen. Nothing major to report, it was as expected so we just have to wait and see how this will pan out.

 

15. UNITED KINGDOM – Bonnie Tyler – Believe in me

Bonnie looks great in black, it shows that she’s a veteran on stage. While she butchers a few notes, it didn’t really matter cause it just felt like being at a concert. This went big in the hall and press center and apparently is slowly becoming a dark horse.

 

16. SWEDEN – Robin Stjernberg –  You

A huge applause from the press center.  Robin sounded really good and it sort of overshadowed the UK.   The high note sounded good and the staging, although similar to that of Melodifestivalen, was done well (particularly the pyro).  However, a host country’s entry, this seemed to be missing the “X-factor” that was present in Azerbaijan last year, and in Germany the year before.  Still, we expect a good showing for Robin in the final.

 

17. HUNGARY – ByeAlex – Kedvesem

Once again, one of the best backdrops of the show.  Continues to be entertaining to watch.  Kedvesem has to be one of the most infectious songs in this year’s Eurovision.  The vocals sound good, and the song is a clap-a-long feel-good song.  For such a   mid-tempo song without any real big finale at the end, we can see this doing rather well with televoters.

 

18. DENMARK – Emmelie de Forest – Only Teardrops

A solid vocal performance from Emmelie with a few bad notes but nothing unforgivable. It is such a visual feast and will score really high with the televoters. A lot of people see this as the winner but it’s difficult to predict if the juries will share that sentiment.  Still, this looks like a winning performance.

 

19. ICELAND- Eythor Ingi – Eg a lif

A shaky start by Eythor who took a few seconds to overcome the bad notes but was flawless afterwards. It’s hard to say if the juries will subtract points for that but it was visually once again breathtaking. Unfortunately he is followed by another big ballad so they may cancel each other out.

 

20. AZERBAIJAN – Farid – Hold Me

The buzz regarding Azerbaijan’s performance is well-deserved.  It is a captivating and breathtaking performance.  Although some may call out the performance for hiding a subpar song, others will say the song is catapulted to a new level with the staging.  Like Denmark, a favorite to win.  Denmark may be cursing the fact that it may have just been upstaged so quickly.  However, we will wait and see what the jury members and televoters say.

 

21. GREECE – Koza Mostra feat. Agathonas Iakovidis – Alcohol is free

Full of energy, the guys had the time of their life and it showed. It doesn’t scream jury favorite but they surprised us before so you’ll never know what’s going to happen. This was popular in the press center.

 

22. UKRAINE – Zlata Ognevich – Gravity

Zlata has one of the best voices in the competition and is not afraid to show it in this performance.  You can tell she is giving it 110%.  Again, another strong contender for the win.  We could be back in Ukraine for the ten year anniversary of Ruslana’s win.

 

23. ITALY – Marco Mengoni – L’essenziale

Marco’s voice is one of a kind and he demands the Stage. In his suit, mustache & haircut he almost looks like he escaped from a silent movies from the 20’s. He was in a zone while singing which may appeal to some viewers but there is a concern that he didn’t connect with the camera (meaning viewers) and it’s important to have that in order for folks to pick up the phone and vote. In addition, for some reason he kept grabbing his crotch which was slightly distracting.

 

24. NORWAY- Margaret Berger – I feed you my love

Big improvement from the Semis. Margaret appeared much more relaxed and focused. In addition, while this is a dark piece she still managed to have fun onstage and it translated well on camera. Vocally it was spot on and the press center loved it.

 

25. GEORGIA – Sophie and Nodi – Waterfall

The duo sound better and better each time through.   And the staging, like Denmark, screams winning entry.  Nodi still gives some weird looks on his face as he goes for the long notes.  Still, this is going to be eaten up by jury members and televoters alike. We just fear that as many Spanish fans here have noted, the song will be punished for being somewhat familiar to “Quedate Conmigo.”

 

26. IRELAND – Ryan Dolan – Only Love Survives

Solid performance, it’s not an easy task to follow so many favorites but Ryan wasn’t too intimidated. Granted, the first part his facial expressions were slightly strange as he was in pain but as soon as he got to the chorus it was smooth sailing.

——

We have the recaps next.

——

Petra then introduces Loreen, who is singing her new song, “We Got the Power.”  This is visually similar to Russia 2009 with Loreen standing in the center stage with white (with grey feathers spread out on her shoulders) and her face on the screen.  The song “We Got the Power” starts off a guitar- and bass-driven track and progresses into a dance song with a military drum backbeat.

She then progresses into “My Heart is Refusing Me.”  This is very visually stunning.

Afterwards, she hits the middle eight of “Euphoria.”   She is now wearing a robe that covers a good distance.  She walks to the front stage and rises up on the lift with the robe  going all the way down to the floor.

——

We get another recap

——

And voting has closed.  This is where the fun part starts.

——

And now a skit about the Swedish.  Meh, in the words of Randy Jackson, “It was aiight…”

——

We go right into a song-and-dance number from Petra.  It name checks all things one finds in Sweden from Ikea, to the moose, to the love of recycling, to gay marriage.  In the words of Susan Powter, “Stop the insanity!”

And somehow they add Carola in probably the only bit of the performance…

——

The Eurovision history bit continues, by giving shoutouts to the big names who’ve been in Eurovision.

——

Eric Saade is introduced.  He’s in the green room.  It’s empty of course because it’s just a rehearsal and only the volunteers and staff are present.

——

The cameras go back and Sarah Dawn Finer (not Lynda Woodruff) greets us on the front stage to do a nice rendition of “The Winner Takes It All”

——

The votes begin.  But during Albania’s reveal of the “votes,” Petra interrupts him to note there are some technical difficulties.  It looks like Jon Ola Sand is taking care of all the vote announcements.  The staff in the green room are having fun acting excited for getting 12 points.  A lot of awkward pauses in between but the audience in the arena, half of whom already left after the performances, are good sports and applauding the staff.

After three countries,  Petra comes back and says, “We have received from 20 countries…yes we have!” The audience and press center erupt in laughter.

There is some awkward moments and Petra cuts things short.  And we’re done!