Eurovision 2022: The Jury Rehearsal of the 2nd Semifinal! (Updated)

After the completion of the 1st semifinal and the announcement of the qualified countries, now it is the turn of the countries of the 2nd semifinal. Tonight 18 extra countries are competing for the last 10 tickets leading to Saturday’s Grand Final.

Tonight,  50% of the total score will be determined and specifically the vote of the juries. Together we will comment on the appearances of all the participants in tonight’s show!

In the opening video we see one of the presenters of the show, Alessandro Cattelan, give us a special tour around the production and behind the scenes of the show, followed by a choreography.

Right after, we have the three presenters who come out on stage. And the show begins!

Finland

A very strong start to the Semifinal with the world-famous rock band The Rasmus. Yellow lighting and black balloons dominate the staging. At the same time, Lauri makes a very good appearance vocally. There does not seem to be any problem at the start of the Semifinal, the Finns give us from the beginning to understand that they are claiming the qualification for good!

Israel

Although many did not give much hope to Israel before the competition, Michael has come to change our minds here in Turin. It starts with mirrors at the beginning that reflect him, very strong dances while vocally Michael is nailing it. Tremendous energy from Israel, which raises the tension in the arena, as well as the competition in this Semifinal!

Serbia

Probably the most special participation this year, both due to the stage presence and the song itself. Konstrakta is awesome in her role and the audience participates in an impressive way. It is characteristic of the participation that subtitles for specific phrases of the song appear on the screens, another way to communicate the message. The choreography attracts the whole audience and we expect to see Serbia again on Saturday.

Azerbaijan

The Azeri ballad this year is based on the vocal abilities of the singer, which really impresses everyone. It’s a collaboration with another dancer, and the two are synchronized on the special construction that has been set up. Then this stage is divided by bringing the singer opposite the dancer. There was a small issue with a specific plan, which was skipped. We would really like to see azerbaijan on Saturday!

Georgia

Literally, the circus is in town. Circus Mircus bring a strong taste of a circus in the stage of Turin. The direction has nothing special and vocally the lead singer has no problems. It reminds us of Willy Wonka, but the qualification seems far away for Georgia this year.

Malta

Emma brings a more youthful air. Golden lighting and a piano on which Emma begins singing. Somewhat unstable vocally, perhaps, she tries to transfer her energy to the audience, something she achieves at the peak of the song along with the choreography. Overall, a full appearance from Malta that wants thequalification in the final. The battle has begun!

(A break with a video related to the music history of Italy and the Sanremo festival)

San Marino

San Marino is playing at home this year and this can be seen from the madness of the public for Achille Lauro. Describing the appearance as “bold” is not enough. Cages, furs, smokes and rock create an explosive combination, with Achille performing his own personal show. Pyros and fireworks are coming to peak the climate. Of course, our favorite bull is not missing. Just a panic in the arena! Will San Marino rock in the final too?

Australia

Sheldon is on a pedestal and behind him are two large stairs. Dressed in white and wearing the mask, he makes his appearance. Then he climbs the stairs, takes off his mask and conquers the TV shots. We believe that Australia will qualify, returning to the Grand Final!

Cyprus

Andromache is on the big prop of a shell like the two dancers. Orange and Blue lighting,  several vocal instabilities, the audience participates and enhances the participation. Maybe the vibes from the video clip did not pass so effectively on the Eurovision stage. We’ll see.

Ireland

A lot of pink for the Brooke who is dressed in turquoise. She starts the song lying down and then enters together with the dancers doing the choreography. Brooke gives her own show, along with the fireworks that accompany her. A girlish-cute appearance that may be the underdog that some are looking for, although the qualification still has a way to go.

North Macedonia

Andrea tries hard to support the song, but alone on stage and without any climax, she is far from approaching the competition. Andrea’s vocals are quite good, but the scene is very empty and it can be seen from most of the shots. Andrea is circling around the disqualification, we are moving on.

Estonia

Retro shots at the beginning, which, however, are not combined with the scene of the wild west prepared by the Estonians, due to the problems of the “sun”. Vocally starts a bit weak, but then he is as he should be. He enjoys it very much, Estonia is very likely togualify to Saturday as well.

(Βreak with a video that addresses life and the beauty of our reality)

Romania

Α dance participation this year from Romania and WRS. A lot of dance and golden lighting. However, here too there are permanent problems due to the immobility of the “sun”, as the scene in the back seems half and really very uncomfortable to anyone who observes it. Of course it is not the responsibility of the Romanians. WRS changes his costume, since the dancers tear his clothes apart, while the audience has a lot of fun. Maybe the train for Bucharest on Friday is not going to have WRS, since he is a strong qualifying candidate!

Poland

Ochman confronts his demons on stage. vocals are perfect although the effects used may surprise some viewers. Enough intensity and drama in the song as a whole, a very good and full performance from Poland, aiming high this year.

Montenegro

VVery blue and fairly low lighting. Vladana is quite stable vocally, perhaps one of the best performances here in Turin. Then she continues the song in Italian, raising the pulse of her song. We all take a deep breath for the qualification of Montenegro, which for many is quite doubtful.

Belgium

Dynamic song by Jeremy this year, based on golden lighting and plenty of space. Μaybe due to the pulse of the song we could see more. Despite a small vocal problem in the last part, Belgium is currently one of the countries we are expected to see again in the final.

Sweden

After the many technical problems that appeared in today’s dress rehearsal, Cornelia endures and returns to the stage. The vocal instabilities exist, as does the classic stage presence of the song. Fireworks, change of lighting and Sweden flies straight and relaxed to the final. Simple and Beautiful!

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic closes the 2nd semifinal by raising the pulse in the arena. Much improved vocally by Dominika  something that brings the song among the contenders for qualification. Really beautiful appearance from the Czechs, with intense alternation of lights and the audience seems to loves the song very much. We hope that the Czech Republic does not have the end of Austria!

(End of the competing part, the voting for the Juries has begun and we see the first recap)

Interval Act

For the first time on stage, Laura Pausini and Mika join forces and sing together Sting’s “Fragile” and Patti Smith’s “People Have the Power“. A quite beautiful collaboration from our hosts.

Τhe next big interval act is that of Il Volo‘s, who appear on stage, but without Gianluca, who is at home and on the screens. Ignazio and Piero sing their tremendous success from Eurovision 2015 Grand Amore, in English. Huuge love from the audience (and us) and we all shudder to hear this song once again on the Eurovision stage after 7 years!

Big 5

Spain

Spain has come this year with many ambitions and they stand out from the stage presence of Chanel. The change in melody at the beginning of the song has come to stay. Very strong choreography, Chanel is a star and wants to lead Spain to high positions this year!

United Kingdom

Really all this lighting is like being on a spaceship. Sam’s voice is one of the best voices in the competition this year and he proves it in every perofrmance (and in his TikTok). The United Kingdom returns dynamicallyand will be “launched” in a Top-10 spot this year.

Germany

Final, for today Malik Harris with Rockstars, Much passion in his appearance, many instruments on stage and quite a beautiful presence. It looked better than we expected and will probably not end up at the bottom of the table, but he will definitely be on the right side of the board in the final.

Which ones I think will qualify

Personal Opinion always:

Based on the rehearsal we just watched, I take it for granted that the following will qualify:

• Sweden
• Poland
• Australia
• Serbia
• Czech Republic
• Finland
• Azerbaijan

Which will fight

The following will fight for the remaining 3 positions:

• San Marino
• Estonia
• Romania
• Montenegro
• Malta

Which will be disqualify

These countries, either because of their appearance or because of their song, I find it very difficult for them to qualify:

• Belgium
• Israel
• Ireland
• North Macedonia
• Georgia
• Cyprus

Results

The executive supervisor of the competition, Martin Osterdahl gives the green light for the announcement of the results.

We’re going to see random qualifiers with random order, for the sake of the rehearsal.

The qualified countries are:

• Belgium
• Azerbaijan
• Georgia
• North Macedonia
• Ireland
• Estonia
• Sweden
• Poland
• Romania
• San Marino

Thank you all for staying with us tonight for the Jury Rehearsal! Half of the voting has now been judged. Can’t wait to watch the TV show, tomorrow!

 

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