EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2011 PREVIEW - SEMI FINAL ONE

Hello and welcome to Terminal 3's preview of this year's contest which is rapidly approaching us!  By now, hopefully most will have listened to the songs in some way or other.  Well, here at Terminal 3, I've been doing the same and I've noted down my thoughts on the songs.

Let's start with Tuesday's Semi final one.  Please remember that these are my own opinions on the songs, which can and probably will differ from other's views.  I've rated them all out of 10 for you and then at the bottom, I state who I'd like to see go through to the final on the 15th May.

Poland – Pop beat. Singer has a good strong voice .  Gets a bit repetitive by the end of the song.  4/10 

Norway – I like it!  First thing you have to do with this song is check the country it came from again, as Norway isn’t one I’d expect.  Nice African tones to the song which makes it a pleasant song to listen to.  However whether it’s a song to go far in Eurovision – I doubt it, but could make the final.  I hope so anyway. 7/10

Albania – Powerful female vocals, but the song doesn’t seem to have the finishing polish that others have.  3/10

Armenia – Seems like a bit of a childish song to me... “I’m in love wi’ch you”?!  Oh please! Sorry but the only way this will qualify is if they ride the friendly voting wave.  2/10

Turkey – Rock again from Turkey.  However, it doesn't have a proper rock feel to me. Poor. 4/10

Serbia – Sounds like a retro song.  Tame song which won’t go far...hopefully!  3/10

Russia – Too long to get into the song properly.  He doesn’t start singing until 37 seconds into the song.  It’s a bit of a shame as once he does it’s a good song.  7/10

Switzerland – I would describe this as a pretty little song.  Sweet and harmless, stage presentation will make or break, but I think a bit too tame to stand out enough.  6/10

Georgia – Songs with rappers don’t usually do well in Eurovision – ask Ich Troje!  Sorry don’t like it. 4/10

Finland – An interesting voice and it will be interesting to see how he pulls it off on stage.  It’s a shame that there isn’t a change in tempo somewhere in the song somewhere to get people out of their seats.  Tom Dice showed last year that you can do well with just one person on stage, but his song got people clapping.  This one won’t, but I would like to see it in the final.  6/10

Malta – Vella has been trying to represent Malta for a while now and he finally gets his chance.  Not a bad song and probably middle of the bunch. 6/10

San Marino – I quite like this song.  It’s quite a strong song and well presented. 7/10

Croatia – Quickening of the tempo after the slow song before it.  Could see this as a theme tune for a festival somewhere.  6/10

Iceland – Has a slight 70’s feel to it.  Found myself singing along with it by the end! :-) Hope it gets through! 8/10

Hungary – One of my favourites of semi-final 1.  Good foot-tapping beat and a strong contender for the final. 9/10

Portugal – Portugal seem to have lost their direction in Eurovision and continue to do so with this song.  Sorry Portugal, but this is not good! 3/10

Lithuania – Has a musicals feel, maybe two years earlier and Andrew Lloyd Webber may have had use for it.  Still a good song, but strong enough to get through?  Don’t know, especially as it’s followed by a strong song.  Could be swallowed up by Azerbaijan.  5/10

Azerbaijan – Definitely the best song in semi-final 1.  It’s success will depend on it’s translation from studio to stage.  9/10

Greece – Greece goes traditional, but definitely not as good as last years. Couldn’t wait for it to end! 3/10

For me, semi-final 1 is a disappointing one song quality wise.  I’m afraid it looks like some substandard songs will qualify through to the final which again is disappointing considering some of the past entries that some of the countries have provided.

For me, qualifiers are....

1.       Azerbaijan

2.       Hungary

3.       Iceland

4.       Norway

5.       Russia

6.       San Marino

7.       Malta

8.       Finland

9.       Croatia

10.   Switzerland

However, I expect  Greece, Turkey, Serbia or Armenia to attract votes in spite of their song quality and could see any of these four qualifying instead of Malta, Finland, San Marino and Switzerland.

Agree with me? Disagree with me?  Let me know! :-)