Eurovision 2011: First Semi-Final Results

The first semi-final of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest has just been completed and here are the winners and losers from this section of the competition:

Qualifiers:

1. Serbia: Magical by Nina (sings 24th in Final)

2. Lithuania: C’est Ma Vie by Evelina Sašenko (sings 4th in Final)

3. Greece: Watch My Dance by Loukas Giorkas featuring Stereo Mike (sings 9th in Final)

4. Azerbaijan: Running Scared by Ell and Nikki (sings 19th in Final)

5. Georgia: One More Day by Eldrine (sings 25th in Final)

6. Switzerland: In Love For A While by Anna Rossinelli (sings 13th in Final)

7. Hungary: What About My Dreams? by Kati Wolf (sings 5th in Final)

8. Finland: Da Da Dam by Paradise Oskar (sings 1st in Final)

9. Russia: Get You by Alexey Vorobyov (sings 10th in Final)

10. Iceland: Coming Home by Sigurjón’s Friends (sings 21st in Final)

Non qualifiers were Poland, Norway, Albania, Armenia, Turkey, Malta, San Marino, Croatia, and Portugal.

Surprises? A couple. Norway, who have qualified for the Final in every year since 1994 failed this time. With what was a fairly strong song, and one expected to qualify, I believe the night’s performance let the country down. The singing was downright awful in places.

Turkey was another surprise. A country that usually appears on Final’s night was ousted this time around. The song was pretty good, but maybe voters thought there was only room for one rock song, namely the one from Georgia.

Among the qualifiers I was astounded that Lithuania got through. Quite honestly, the song would not sit well in a second rate am dram production, but this reject Disneyesque ballad from a Miss World pageant nonetheless garnered enough votes. Thankfully, singing fourth in the Final won’t help its chances of winning! Other surprises included the eco-friendly entry from Finland, the Jason Mraz styling of Switzerland’s song and Iceland’s down home band, Sigurjón’s Friends.

The next semi-final is on Thursday May 12, and expect qualifiers from Bosnia, The Netherlands, Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, Denmark and Ireland.

© 2011, Richard. All rights reserved. Any links to this post must give credit to this blog.