Eurovision 2014: Semi-Final 2 RESULTS

Wow, what a show! From what appeared on first glance to simply contain the “other” countries, while the big names occupied the first semi, I think it may have been the superior show. A great mix of styles and energy. But we did this for a reason – there were 10 slots left for Saturday’s grand final, but 15 countries were still in the mix. Who would qualify?

For reviews of ALL the competing entries in the 2014 contest, as well as coverage of all the national finals and all sorts of other news, please visit my Copenhagen 2014 Hub by clicking the link, or the “Copenhagen 2014″ menu on the top banner, or the “#Joinus” crystal on the left-hand bar.

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Eurovision 2014: Semi-Final 2 preview

Well, after a night of thrills and spills in the first semi-final, 10 new qualifiers joined Denmark and the Big Five in Saturday’s final. There are 10 spots left, but 15 nations are keen to snatch one of those tickets. Who is going to make it?

I’ve been saying for ages that semi-final 2 is perhaps a little easier for some surprise qualifiers, but after Tuesday’s curveballs of both San Marino and Montenegro qualifying for the first time ever, who knows what’s going to happen? Maybe a semi-final lacking so many obvious qualifiers is going to stir things up quite a bit!

For reviews of ALL the competing entries in the 2014 contest, as well as coverage of all the national finals and all sorts of other news, please visit my Copenhagen 2014 Hub by clicking the link, or the “Copenhagen 2014″ menu on the top banner, or the “#Joinus” crystal on the left-hand bar.

Road to Copenhagen 2014: Can-Linn & Kasey Smith – “Heartbeat” (Ireland)

Here’s one nation that needs no introduction in Eurovision terms, but I will go ahead. Ireland are the most successful nation in Eurovision. With seven wins to their name, their dominance of the contest was cemented in the 90s with an incredible run of four wins in five years.

In recent years, things haven’t been quite as rosy, with three of their eight attempts to get through the semi-finals ending in disaster. It’s been a tough truth for the Irish to bear, given their track record. They unexpectedly found redemption in Dusseldorf at the hands of hyperactive twins Jedward, whose 8th place finish in 2011 saw them selected for Baku. They may have only finished 19th there, but their imprint on the consciousness of Eurovision viewers was bigger than anyone expected.

Dublin calling: Ireland’s 2014 Eurovision selection (Eurosong)

Well well well, national finals are usually a fairly mundane affair, with the majority of excitement coming from a wacky entry or a close result. Not a former Eurovision winner shouting down an industry mogul. But that’s what happened in Ireland’s Eurosong selection event last week.

The usual format includes Eurosong as a special edition of chat show “The Late Late Show”, with a panel of music-centric guests giving their opinions on the five finalists. The choice is made by a 50/50 split between six regional Irish juries, and the televote. The panel themselves have no direct contribution to the selection though. But each act has a mentor, someone music-related too who looks after them as an entrant. One mentor complained at length about how panelist Louis Walsh was linked to two of the acts (Kasey Smith was in a girlband Walsh managed, and Eoghan Quigg was on UK’s X-Factor where Walsh judged).

Former Irish winner Linda Martin fought Louis’s corner, at one point stalking up to the mentor, calling him an “odious little man” and a “gobshite”. Well I never! It didn’t seem to help the mentor’s cause, as one of the Louis-linked singers was eventually triumphant. But was it any good? We’ll see.

Eurovision 2014: Who will #JoinUs in Copenhagen?

Less than 5 months to go before the Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark. By this point in the year preparations are usually well under way from the national delegations, and indeed the first national final is being held on Saturday. Makes it a bit more exciting to think the first song is nearly here, but there’s still a long way to go.

We haven’t even got the final list of countries yet, and while the application deadline last month threw up a few surprises, there are still changes afoot. The final roster isn’t due until January, but for now it looks like we say a sad farewell to Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria & Cyprus, all for financial reasons. However we are welcoming back Poland and Portugal so it’s not all bad news. Bosnia & Herzegovina was coming back too but today it seems they’ve not secured funding and have pulled out. Also in the balance is Greece, keen to stay in but are currently without an EBU broadcaster. It seems the EBU are also keen to keep as many countries in, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see a few more unexpected appearances in January.

We’ve got theme art too! DR unveiled the “#JoinUs” slogan earlier this year, but now we have a diamond logo. I wasn’t convinced by Malmö’s butterfly idea but that turned out to be fabulous, I can only imagine how versatile the diamond could me in motion, so I’m all for it.