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So! We have ESC semifinal 1.

As per usual, I'm watching it on SVTPlay. This time, I remembered to turn on the closed captions for the Swedish commentary. I'm able to understand much more of it when I have it in written form, even if I don't actually speak Swedish.

The opening act was rather lovely. Some cool modern dancing and yodel-inspired singing. Nice work, Switzerland!

Rundown:
Iceland - Væb - "Roa"
The commenter compared this act to Jedward, lol. Anyway. ...Yeah I can see why that comparison actually; it's bouncy and fun in a similar way to Jedward. Also they have very sparkly vibes in a way that seems kind of Kpop inspired. As for the song itself - I like it! It's fun, you can dance to it, it has lots of energy. The onstage presence is cute. To the final, please! Ohh, turns out the subtitles have the lyrics too - obviously the Icelandic is not totally understandable for me, but I'm catching a few words here and there.
Anyway, yeah, it's a fun song. Love me some fiddles mixed with electronica.

Poland - Justyna Steczkowska - "Gaia"
Bleh, I do not like the costuming and the song is kind of meh. She gets some points for pyrotechnics and native language, tho'. ...And also the stunt where she goes up in the air, that is pretty unexpected. Hm, the commenter seemed to say she's a big star in Poland (if I understood correctly). Her voice is pretty all right.

Slovenia - Klemen - "How much time do we have left"
Bleh, this song is a total downer. Like, it's not horrible, but the song is very sad and I'm just not into it. I would be very surprised if this one went to the final. The light effects in the background are kind of cool, at least.

Estonia - Tommy Cash - "Espresso Macchiato"
Allright, we've got some opera and some very strange dancing. Okay!
I recall someone seeing they weren't thrilled with someone who isn't Italian riffing on Italian stereotypes in this way, and I see what they mean. Like, okay, it's not the worst thing in the world, but I'm not into it.
The weird dancing is fun, though.

Spain - Melody - "Esa diva"
As per usual, Spain goes direct to final. Song's in Spanish, whoo! She has a fancy hat in the beginning; I wish she'd stuck with the black dress and hat rather than switching into the sparkly bodysuit. As for the song itself, the slow parts are too slow for me, but the more energetic parts are fun. She does have a pretty powerful voice! And the dance flip stunt at the end was cool.

Ukraine - Ziferblat - "Bird of Pray"
Huh. This is Interesting. Got some vaguely medievalish, vaguely drag costuming. I think the parts in Ukrainian are pretty cool, but I'm not so much into the English parts. It's got a cool guitar solo, though! IDK, I'm not really into this song but they're at least trying to do Something with it. And the thankyou at the end was sweet!

Sweden - KAJ - "Bara Bada Bastu"
I've heard a lot of good things about this "humour group" (as the commenter put it). OK, yeah, I can see where people are coming from. The stage set is very different, the stage acting is a bit unusual, the chorus is catchy, and overall it's just very fun in a very Eurovision sort of way. We've got some folk influence, we've got humour, we've got native languages, it's very delightful really.

Portugal - Napa - "Deslocado"
This one is slow and kind of dreamy. It's kind of pretty. But also the kind of song that could put you to sleep. ...It's the kind of song that I could see myself loving circa 2006. Like, it's the kind of music I loved at that time. IDK, it was nice enough I suppose, but it's not something I can see going to the final.

Norway - Kyle Alessandro - "Lighter"
Ew, English. Love the costuming though! Whoo, armour and chaimail and stuff. ...The song and the dancing feels very early 2000s to me. I wonder if that's part of the inspiration. Whoo, pyrotechnics! The song itself is very ehhhh though, I'm not really into this guy's singing. (I wonder if it would sound better in Norwegian?) ...Aw, his thankyou was very cute. Sorry dude, I'm not into your song but you are very sweet.

Belgium - Red Sebastian - "Strobe Lights"
That is one very red costume. Fits with the name! And very pleather-y. Kind of haute couture. The song itself is a weird space between not chill but not energetic enough for me to dance to it. I could see it growing on me later though. ...Man, when he starts putting more energy into the singing, his voice is pretty powerful. That's impressive.

Italy - Lucio Corsi - "Volevo Essere un Duro"
They go straight to the final, because Italy. I kind of like this guy's face. There's something interesting about his features. His voice is nice too. The song is a bit slow for me, but it sounds all right. ...The fuck is up with his outfit though, man those are some crazyass shoulder pads. ...Ooh, I really love his boots though. And once the electic guitar comes in, that's pretty cool. ...And harmonica!!!!

Azerbaijan - Mamagama - "Run With U"
I think I'll end up liking the recorded version of this much more than the live version. This dude's singing is kind of gimicky and weird, but it might sound better in studio. LOVE the traditional instrument bits, though. They sure got a light show, too. ...I feel like this is my typical reaction to Azerbaijan.

San Marino - Gary Ponte - "Tutta L'italia"
Apparently the guy singing for San Marino used to be in Eiffel 65? If I'm understanding the commentary correctly. Anyway. Another song riffing on Italian stereotypes? Ish? This one is better, anyhow. Not really my thing, but it's energetic. Love the accordion.

Albania - Shkodra Elektronike - "Zjerm"
Whoo, some folktronika! Oh gosh, her dress sure is something. I think maybe RED is a theme for this semifinal, there's a lot of Red. Also wow, I love her makeup. As for the song, it's fun, though I admit to being weak for folk + electronic mixes. Ooh, and some spoken word. Will have to look up the details and translation. It does sound very cool though, mixes well into the music.

Netherlands - Claude - "C'est la Vie"
Ooh, Neds's singer is handsome! ...ooh the parts in French sound amazing! The English bits are all right, but the French is wonderful! Augh I wish he was doing the whole thing in French! I think I would like it much better that way. As it is, I'm not very into it - the French parts are pretty but the rest is relatively unremarkable.

Croatia - Marko Bosniak - "Poison Cake"
At first I was like "wtf are these lyrics" but then I realized that the song is literally about a poison cake, haha. ...This song is weird. Very Eurovision. Witchy vibes. Well, it sure gets points for creativity. I like the cloak. Not into the song as a song, but as a gimmick/performance, it's fun. "Don't be scared, you'll be buried tomorrow" lolwow, these lyrics, haaaaaa. I'm finding it fun in spite of myself.

Switzerland - Zoë Më - "Voyage"
Ahh, another song in French! Since Switzerland was previous year's winnter, this goes straight to the final. Which is good, because like, it's pretty, but the stage show is not doing much, the act is not much, the song is slow... it's not something I'd personally hope for in the final, but it's pretty and well-executed.

Cyprus - Theo Evan - "SHH"
...Ehhhhh. I'm not into this. The song is eh, the costuming is not there, and I'm not crazy about the flashing lights. Some of the background dancing is neat, but I'm not into this at all.

So, those are my thoughts on individual songs. :V Now, for my personal top 10 in no particular order:

1. Iceland
2. Sweden
3. Albania
4. Croatia
5. Poland
6. San Marino
7. Portugal
8. Norway
9. Belgium
10. Azerbaijan

I skipped through most of the interval stuff, 'cause honestly, I'm not all that interested. Though I did watch the surprise video appearance from Celine Dion. Hi Celine! Too bad she couldn't be there in person, but I'm sure she's very busy.

Here are the final semifinal results:
Norway
Albania
Sweden
Iceland
Netherlands
Poland
San Marino
Estonia
Portugal
Ukraine

Hmm, a few differences between my personal choices, but overall I'm happy - considering Iceland and Sweden and Albania got in, haa.