Eurovision 2024 semifinal 02

[yuuago]

First thought: Petra and Malin's "Tattoo" parody was fucking excellent. Hilarious, and better than the original, honestly.

Malta - Sarah Bonnici, "Loop" - Her costume looks wedgie-inducing. The song's kinda catchy; it's no "Fuego", tho'.

Albania - Besa, "Titan" - The singer's eye makeup is neat. I'm not into her dress, but the headcovering is pretty. The backup dancing is neat. I'm not into the song right now, but I can tell that this is something that will grow on me a lot.

Greece - Marina Satti, "Zari" - Ahh, no thanks. I don't like the way this is filmed, nor the costuming, nor the song itself. Greek language points, but that's it.

Switzerland - Nemo, "The Code" - Man, this song is all over the place. Dude seems really vocally talented though - that stuff he's doing wouldn't be easy. The staging's kind of weird, but it's unique, and interacting with it and moving like that and singing like that would be REALLY HARD. It's like, I don't particularly like this song (yet) but I think it's impressive on a technical level.

Czechia - Aiko, "Pedestal" - Whoa. Kinda rock, vaguely goth, very fun. I like the song, the costuming isn't my favourite but it's kinda cool, you got the pyrotechnics... And teenage me would've loved this song.

France - Slimane, "Mon Amour" - Pretty singer, pretty song. Well, it's beautiful, I have no complaints here! I'm very curious how this looks from the stage, though, considering the dude is singing directly at the cameraman most of the time. ...And then when he steps away from the standup mic - was he singing without a mic attached to him?! If so, whoa, powerful! I'm glad the audience were quiet through that so we could hear him.

Austria - Kaleen, "We will Rave" - More wedgie costuming. I'm not into it. Not into her singing either. The beat is good tho, at least when it picks up. So like, the slow parts are boring, but the fast bits kinda slap.

Denmark - Saba, "Sand" - Oh, the singer is very pretty. Lots of cheering and clapping for her; I'm guessing lots of Danes in the audience since this ESC is in Malmö. The song, hmm, I'm not sure about it right now but I have a feeling it will grow on me a lot later. (Aw, her happy smile at the end, with all the cheering...!)

Armenia - Ladaniva, "Jako" - Ooh, folksy stuff! Fun! IDK, it's bouncy, I'm easy to please. And the singer's cute. It's not a top fave, but I'm enjoying it and wouldn't mind seeing it in the final.

Latvia - Dons, "Hollow" - Weird costuming, and I'm not into the song. Though maybe the studio version is awesome? Though ah, the singer looked overcome by emotion at the end, that's sweet.

Spain - Nebulossa, "Zorra" - Whoo, fun dance beat! Haa, I'm not super into this, but the audience obviously loves it. It's fun, at least. Not a winner, but I could see it becoming a cult classic.

San Marino - Megara, "11:11" - Whoo, pink goths! Lol wow, this act is certainly unique, at least. The song's fast and rock and intense; the stage act is cool too. Very energetic and fun!

Georgia - Nutsa Buzaladze, "Firefighter" - Fun sound, fun energy. The costuming is cool. Whoo, pyrotechnics! And a dance break. Well, it's got a little bit of everything, eh? :D

Belgium - Mustii, "Before the Party's Over" - Well, the glitter gloves are cool, but I don't know about this one - it starts off pretty slow and takes ages to pick up. When it does pick up, it's cool, though. I wonder how the studio version sounds?

Estonia - 5miinust x Puuluup, "(Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi" - Wow, Estonia really is here just doing its own thing, eh. This song is weird, but it's kind of cool. Going to have to look up the context later. Love the kantele solo. The dancing's fun. To the final, please!

Italy - Angelina Mango, "La Noia" - Ehhh I'm not into this. Some parts of the song are cool and dancy, but the slow parts are meh. And the costuming and whatnot isn't for me. Ah, well, Italy doesn't need to worry about my metaphorical vote.

Israel - Eden Golan, "Hurricane" - I'm surprised Israel didn't sit it out this year. The dancing in the background is good; the song's unremarkable, standard ESC ballad. Singer's eyeliner is great. Not much to say here.

Norway - Gåte, "Ulveham" - Looks like they're taking a page out of Go_A's book, vibes-wise. Love it tho. Native language points. And metal!!!

Netherlands - Joost Klein, "Europapa" - Hoo boy. This one looks like it's going for silly ESC vibes a la Finland; self-referential also (referring to ESC, past acts, etc). I found Finland's act better, but I can't deny that this is at least bouncy and fun. Lots of cheering for him - many Dutchies in the audience, maybe?

Anyway, it was a fun semifinal! My top 10: Czechia, Armenia, Albania, San Marino, Georgia, Estonia, Norway, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark. (I was gonna put France on this list, but well, they get through automatically so.)

Petra's little song about ESC was fun - man, next time Sweden should just send her for their entry, hahaha. I mean, she's not half bad a singer, after all! "Greece has got honey, Norway's got money, Denmark has... well, something." LOL
... also OMG. Moomins, leekspin, and surprise Käärijä!!!

Ahh, they did the "open the stage to reveal the singers in the green room" again, that was nice.

Through to the final:
Latvia
Austria
Netherlands
Norway
Isreal
Greece
Estonia
Switzerland
Georgia
Armenia

I'm surprised by some of these choices - like, Latvia? But I'm glad that Norway and Estonia made it! And I'm glad Switzerland made it through because like, it was impressive skill even if I was mixed about the song. Disappointed about Greece, though, I really didn't like that one.

The final interval act - "Diggi loo diggi ley" by the Herreys - it's fun. I think I've heard part of this somewhere? But not the whole song. It's catchy; gonna have to look it up later.

Looking forward to the final!