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It’s understandable if you didn’t feel like dragging yourself out of bed at 5AM this morning (even earlier in the Western states) to watch the second semi-final of Eurovision. We won’t call you unpatriotic—we get that it’s a Friday and it’s been a long week. But no excuses for Sunday morning, OK? Here are the highlights…
Jess got through to the grand final
Well, of course she did. Things got a bit tense when five countries were announced ahead of us, but Jessica Mauboy (and the rest of the country) was relieved when she became one of the 10 performers to receive enough votes to qualify for Sunday’s grand final.
Hungary rocked hard
There’s always at least one country that turns their nose up at pure pop and melodramatic ballads, and brings the rock to Eurovision. And boy did Hungary bring the rock—screeched vocals and all. But they weren’t too cool for a key change.
Denmark sent Vikings
Speaking of key changes, Denmark’s Viking crew had the first one for the semi-final. And lots of hair. And fake snow.
We met the Swedish JT…
With his slick moves and Bee Gees-meets-Justin Timberlake track, Benjamin Ingrosso was a standout who sailed straight through to the grand final. Because Sweden could do Eurovision in their sleep.
…and a previous winner from Norway returned
Super smiley Alexander Ryback, who triumphed with “Fairytale” in 2009, was back to tell us “That’s How You Write a Song” and play some pretend musical instruments. He got out his actual fiddle later on.
Ukraine played with fire
Contact lens-wearing Mélovin took a leaf out of Lady Gaga’s book with his novel use of a piano as coffin and liberal pyrotechnics.
We got a sneak peek of the French, Italian and German entries
As part of the Eurovision “Big Five” (the countries that contribute the most money to the contest), these countries go straight through to the grand final, but this morning, we heard a preview of their songs. Keep an eye out for Germany’s Ed Sheeran look- and soundalike, Michael Schulte.
There were scene stealers…
That Russian dancer who looked like he was performing the Heimlich manoeuvre on himself. The panpipe guy from Serbia who looked like your grandfather but went off like he was at a rave. The four female hosts who perfected speaking in unision. Eurovision is the gift that keeps on giving.
…and inventive ways to get around the six people on stage rule
Jess didn’t need anyone else cluttering up the stage while she performed, but in between Romania’s creepy masked mannequins and San Marino’s tiny robots, some countries thought outside the box to fill up the space. (Interestingly, neither of those two songs made it through. Conclude from that what you will.)
Not everything was fun…
Sorry, Montenegro and Georgia, but your funeral dirges were real downers. On the upside, neither made the grand final.
…but the grand final looks set to be huge
The voters got it right, sending the best 10 entries through. Set the alarm and tune in from 5AM on Sunday morning on SBS.
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