20:42 - We arrive in the hall, which is ridiculously empty... but all around Europe juries are collecting themselves to these very images.
21:04 - 4 minute delay, but here we go!
21:08 - Stefan does a gasping sound... why is not being revealed... they start out announcing the 10 finalists from semifinal 1 which are going to be on stage. They're zooming in on a section in the audience where the 5 automatic finalists will assumably take place. All voting rules are explained again and the voting lines are 'opened'. 'You cannot vote for your own country' gets repeated 3x, so whomever is seen doing it... you've clearly missed the memo ;)
21:09 - Construction work in the postcard brings us to the first country, Bosnia & Herzegovina. Red curtainlike fabric is shining on the LED wall and gives an intimate atmosphere. It takes a while to get off, but at a certain moment it becomes clear they could take varied audiences with this. The routine is slick and the song starts its outro with fireworks surrounding the stage. It leaves a great impression to the first song of the night.
21:13 - Mountain climbing in the postcard brings us back to the postcard of Norway who performed at the same spot last semifinal. It is up to Nadine in her short dress to qualify Austria and prove draw 2 isn't unlucky. The glittery backdrop in blue is like a projection of Nadine's eyes. I didn't think the backing vocals coming in in the middle of the performance was a good idea but it sure lifts the performance to a bigger level. Vocally she astounds yet again, and no matter how small the crowd the reaction is huge. I feel the jury will be able to help this one right now.
21:17 - The Netherlands open with a lot of shipping containers in the postcard. Starting out small the stage finally comes alive in the bridge. The lead singer makes a great balance between interaction with his bandmates and the public. I may feel this needed a bit more of a dynamic background than what it is currently sporting. The lead singer doesn't sound optimal tonight, and the backings sound slightly better. This will need an audience in the hall, or it'll have to be saved by the jury.
21:21 - The postcard flashed by too soon for me to notice anything, so I'll keep it a surprise. The Belgian song is a flashback to a certain Baltic state in 2006. Add a bit of beatbox and you have yourself a Belgian vegetable... one could question its taste. The backdrop is minimalistic and perhaps looks a bit like pins and needles, literally... The band is working the camera's but the overall image of the group is questionable. Don't rule this out for a shock qualifier but again, it needs to be saved by juries.
21:25 - A Slovak surfer shows you can even surf in Germany... yes surfers in Europe, no need to go to Florida for your fix. A dark setting in colours resembling the Azeri performance heads us to a couple of girls who look an awkward lot like each other. We can keep them apart from the bronze & white dresses they have pulled on. The bandsetting doesn't look suited to this American sounding ballad. The twins sure have a lot of charisma which carries them through the performance. The vocals aren't always completely spot on, but nevertheless it seems Slovakia chose an optimal place in the draw, and again it could surprise. Would this be the Lithuania of semifinal 2?
21:29 - We meet Judith with a freshly qualified 'Anna' in the qualifiers section of the audience.
21:31 - The Ukraine's postcard involves a lot of cyrillic letters and a group of students. The message this finally becomes is indeed... feel your heart beat! We immediately get a shot of the amazing sand artist. You can't help but look at the fantastic projection which indeed does not do Mika Newton justice as a singer as you want to see what message the sand artist is trying to portray. As said by many journalists, it is hard to keep your focus off the LED-screen even when Mika is in close-up. The song is pleasant enough and Mika's voice is good enough to pull this, but the sand artist makes this performance and will guarantee it a spot in the final.
21:35 - Next we meet a window cleaner from Moldova who writes his message in Romanian to a couple of girls who are dining. We get some sort of a love message in the Moldovan song, but it obviously is a lot more twisted than the postcard's. Heavily recognized as novelty we nearly forget about the song. The show is similar to the national final performance. The main colours are red, yellow and green. They've managed to rejuvenate their bunica and now she's cycling across the stage. The novelty is especially carried out in the endshot. I feel both juries and televoters may fall for this.
21:39 - A parade of wacky viking costumes and Pippi Longstocking leads us to Sweden. The dancing routine looks very slick and Eric's voice is certainly at its best tonight, even to a point where the backing vocalists don't need to lift him. The glass smashes! The only downfall to this is the camerawork which does not seem well rehearsed. The main colours of the staging is blue and red. If he does it like this tomorrow, the televoters will lift him to the semi, but the juries may vote for this enough already to secure it.
21:44 - We're at a carnival where a Cypriot couple is enjoying themselves. The message in Greek is carried by a big candy heart. The performance starts with a look at the catwalk, which is the first time it is used this Eurovision. Traditional instruments and dancing is bringing a dramatic feel to the ballad. The singer, although being well suited to this song vocally does not grab the attention. The main colour is yellow. Juries may have been mediocrely tempted, but perhaps this will need the televote to have a chance.
21:48 - We're reminded we can already vote, preferably not via postcard voting.
21:48 - An intelligent young lady from Bulgaria shows us very complex theories... but at nighttime she gazes into the stars with a telescope and finds the oh so important slogan appearing in it. Poli is lucky to get the backdrop Safura could've used last year. As dynamic as the song is, so is the backdrop. The camera movements to this performance are beautiful and Poli gives it her all, vocally and physically. Eurovision is the only place where fire survives in the rain! This will definately get a lot of attention from both sides of the coin.
21:52 - A Macedonian mother and her daughters visit a German zoo. The backdrop looks like it could look fantastic in 3D. Vlatko is singing his song, while the backings are dressed in white with red ribbons. Every stop is passed on getting this on screen perfectly and there's always something to watch. Vlatko's voice is quite good tonight, and the televoters may be tempted into voting for this one.
21:56 - Israel gets introduced by basketball, but before we see the postcard Dana is already stealing the show. In a diva-esque way she walks across the stage which is filled with purple and pink. She's wearing yet another infamous dress, or is this the one she is saving for if she qualifies? You never know with Dana. Vocally it has left many fans cold but it sounds equal to if not better than her 1998 performance. In a catwalk climax she is convincing the audience for the very last time. A kiss to her fans... juries may like this, we'll have to see if the televoters still love her.
22:00 - An old-man base jumper from Slovenia is taking a dive in the air. Maja adlibs on stage all alone in a thorny blue background. The chorus brings the backings in who are all dressed in sexy-but-dressed outfits. I'll be honest, I've heard her sing a lot better than today. It takes half of the song for the performance to become dynamic. She isn't making much connection to the camera's which is quite a problem seeing juries are voting right now. However, the end makes up for a lot of it as she adlibs her way off stage. It could qualify, but this one is starting to leave doors open for others as far as I am concerned.
22:04 - Romania is represented by graffiti artists who work their magic on an East Berlin wall, symbolic reference. Romania has their national colours in the dynamic setting. The singer sounds as good as he always is, and is truly working the camera. The song itself is quite simple, but perhaps it is simple enough to be perfectly understood by both the juries & the public. Coming after Slovenia it is something different, and it may benefit.
22:08 - Stefan Raab has come on stage to announce a brief intermezzo. Eurovision goes failed Idol auditions in this little clip, I'd almost say Johnny Logan's addition fits right in.
22:10 - At the German Stock Exchange we find an Estonian stockbroker, and seeing their reactions the economy is definately on a rise. Getter's charisma still shines, but it unfortunately is not the Getter as we've seen her in the first rehearsals. Especially her facial expressions seem forced. Especially the backing vocalists let this one down, and they should simply not be allowed to perform bits on their own. The camera movements do not do the flashy background justice, and with that, it unfortunately does not impress as much as it needs to. This might do better with televoters.
22:14 - We are greeted by a charismatic bunch from Belarus in an ice hockey match. The camerawork at the opener looks generic and could've been used more originally. However, that's the least of its worries. Anastasiya takes a big risk not being supported by her backing vocalists at the verses, and she sings too softly for it to properly come to the audience. The backings actually make the thing worse in the chorusses. Her camera angles have not been properly worked out either. This totally falls flat tonight, and will really need to reckon on televoters if she performs it better tomorrow.
22:18 - A Latvian woman arrives at an airport where her family and friends await her. The Latvian duo starts with their backs against the audience. Their enthusiasm makes the backdrop look boring. The level of the backing vocals is just right, and his vocals sound good as always. The rap bit may take some countries by surprise. This song has the potential to be completed by an audience going along with it. He ends it with quite an off-note, which is something to avoid tomorrow. Juries may not really follow this but I feel televoters will make up for that.
22:23 - Denmark is represented by sailing, grey images which look familiar as to representing Denmark. Boys & girls, check 2001 for that one. The black & white staging is very effective for this type of rock song. The lead singer's hair may just be a little preview for the Irish twins. Despite various obstacles the lead singer remains in tune and makes a big impression. The band stands as a whole. He also takes that catwalk with a record time. This is already benefitting from juries tonight, but televoters will definately be voting for this.
22:26 - A progressive rock band's soundcheck is used as Ireland's postcard, but the twins have already left their impression beforehand. The start of the performance is quite geniusly found and vocally it actually works quite well. The cameramen almost don't know how to keep up. There are too many wideshots if I look at it with a critic eye. The backings could've been put well in the back, as the twins completely own the stage. After 2 minutes, I feel like everyone's seen it and the performance loses power from that point on. Juries may vote for it as a laugh, but the televoters will be carrying it.
22:30 - We are about to go to the recap. My opinion will be coming up in a moment.
22:38 - Judith meets up with 'Jedward'. We are then meeted by another episode of 'Feel your heart beat XXL'.
22:39 - In my opinion the most impressive acts in this dress rehearsal have been Slovakia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Denmark & Ireland. Certain qualifiers to me seem to be the teams from Sweden, Denmark & Ireland. After yesterday I am not writing anyone off, but it seems to me the flight back home is going to be for the Netherlands, Belgium & Belarus. Anyone else in this open semifinal is going to be able to surprise or will be making its betting odds reality. The ones who will need to improve most by tomorrow are Slovenia, Estonia & Belarus.
22:41 - Anke is tested in her linguistic skills. This is the lead up to yet another recap.
22:47 - Europe, stop voting now! NDR's Macintosh is now busy calculating results. An interval act is coming up, which this semifinal has something to do with Bach and modern dance.
22:56 - We are reminded of the Big 5, as we end the interval act. A brief recap of the 5 songs again...
22:57 - Judith meets up with 'Lena'. They then ask 'Blue' if they like 'Lena', and as they move to 'Blue' they end up having a chat. We are then reminded of the BluRay, DVD & CD release.
22:59 - We are starting with the results... bring them on!
1. Estonia
2. Romania
3. Latvia
4. Bulgaria
5. Belarus
6. Ireland
7. Slovenia
8. Denmark
9. Israel
10. FYR Macedonia
23:05 - We have a sequence Anke wasn't prepared for. We see all 25 finalists on a board. We are reminded the 18 eliminated countries will still vote. They hope to see us again on Saturday... I hope you have enjoyed my running commentary, see you in 2 days!
