Oslo’s semi numero uno!
Well what a show Norway put on last night (also known as Tuesday, but remember I’m living in the future! Or past? Whatever). The 17 songs passed by in the blink of an eye, an eye which in my case was moist. Yes, folks, I got so damn excited when the broadcast began that I almost cried. I think it’s safe to say that I am a Eurovision obsessive.
Highlights of the evening: Mini-me hosts (very cute); Erik parading around in a wig a la Milan Stankovic (aka His Supreme Royal Hotness, who I discovered last night graduated from medical school…..hot + smart + funny + can sing = MARRY ME MILAN!) a-hem, sorry about that; Greece’s performance which I was veeery impressed by, and by the look sof things so were the audience; Tom Dice, who’s voice I could listen to all day, making it through to the final despite having a simple and slow song with no costume reveals or ridiculous props and being so happy when he did; the interval act (only in Norway!); the beautiful stage – claps for NRK; and the postcards incorporating a glance at the artists as they stand onstage, waiting to belt out their song for millions.
Lowlights of the evening: The postcards also lacked a bit for me – they didn’t really show anything of Norway – just a bunch of screaming fans from each performing nation. The bubble effects of the flag and country floating above the audience almost made it better. Almost; and (sob) Slovakia not making it through to the final (sob).
Surprises: Russia and Bosnia & Herzegovina making the final – the jury is obviously having an impact! I was very surprised by this, but placated when FINAAALLLLLY Serbia was announced; Belarus’ butterfly wings making an appearance as the song reached its climax – having seen the video clip I’d wondered how they were going to translate that effect to the live stage. Lovely.
Just a few awards to hand out:
– Best stage show: Greece and Malta (oh, that seagull!).
– Best vocals: Iceland.
– Worst stage show: None really – Macedonia’s was a bit much, but not terrible.
– Worst vocals: Latvian Aisha’s high notes.
– The package: Serbia, of course!
– Miss Congeniality: Juliana Pasha & Mr. Congeniality: Peter Nalitch and Milan (<3)
– Best dressed: Belarus. Plus or minus the wings, the gold, silver and bronze looked amazing. Am I biased coz I’m big into metallics and sequins at the moment? Worst dressed: All were acceptable.
– Hottest he: M. I. L. A. N! but Tom Dice’s pretty adorable too & hottest she: Portugal’s Filipa.
– Best prop/gimmick: Belarus and Malta, as discussed. Both animal-oriented, funnily. We’ve come a long way since Buck’s Fizz, haven’t we?
And finally: how correct were my semi final 1 predictions? Let’s have a looksee:
I said SEMI-FINAL #1: Iceland, Greece, Albania, Moldova, Serbia, Slovakia, Finland, Portugal, Belarus and Poland. So I got 7/10. Not too bad! Hopefully I’ll do better in SF2. As for who I WANTED to make it, I wished for Belarus, Albania, Belgium, Serbia, Slovakia, Finland, Moldova, Iceland, Portugal and Greece. So here I got 8/10 of who I wanted, which is pretty impressive. As I said to my feverish self last night as more and more finalists were announced, none of them being the Serbs, ‘As long as they get through, I’ll be happy.’ They did. And I am. But I did squeal when immediately afterwards, Belgium made it, which I wasn’t sure would happen, but I’m uber glad it did!
So tonight’s the second semi for me, and I’m pumped! Although after last night I’m not so sure of Germany’s chances of winning in the final. Maybe the jury will give Serbia/Croatia a leg up? I honestly cannot tell what they think when they cast their votes though. But I’m still thrilled to have them back.
Stay happy, fellow Eurofans. I’ll be back when the SF2 is done and dusted!
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