Poland: Justyna Steczkowska expresses interest for Eurovision 2025!

/0 Comments/in , /by

Justyna Steczkowska is still a sensation among Eurovision fans even though she did not win Poland’s national selection for the 2024 contest. The Polish diva impressed the crowd with her amazing dance routine and slavic sounding song “WITCH-ER Tarohoro” when she submitted it in the Polish preselection last year. Her performance thrilled fans in Poland and across the vast majority of the Eurovision fandom. Nevertheless, she was merely surpassed by Luna in the TVP internal committee voting.

Justyna Steczkowska appears to be preparing a song for Eurovision 2025, which she will submit to TVP subject to certain conditions, suggesting that her time in the competition may not be over.

Justyna’s song for Eurovision 2025

Justyna recently posted a teaser of her upcoming song on social media. She is collaborating with Hotel Torino, the composers of “WITCH-ER Tarohoro” and other popular Polish Junior Eurovision entries.

@justyna_steczkowska Jest moc ❤️ Może na Eurowizję ? #HotelTorino #JustynaSteczkowska #Eurowizja ♬ dźwięk oryginalny – justyna_steczkowska

She states that she may submit this song to TVP, suggesting that:

There is power. Maybe for Eurovision?

The final say must be given to the public

A five-person jury made the final decision in TVP’s internal selection process, where Justyna only came in second. Justyna would like to try once more only in the event that Poland goes back to its usual selection process, which includes a televised show where the public can vote for its representative. She therefore wants to return to the Eurovision stage only with the support of the general public on the 30th anniversary of her Eurovision performance.

Poland in Eurovision 2025

Up to this date, there is no official statement regarding TVP’s participation or selection method for Eurovision 2025. Following the speculation according to which JoJo Siwa was in talks with TVP about Eurovision, the Polish broadcaster mentioned that no decision has been made yet. More details regarding Poland’s participation in Basel is anticipated after Junior Eurovision, which will take place in November.

Luna was TVP’s pick for Eurovision 2024 with her song “Tower“. Unfortunately, she did not manage to qualify to the Grand Final, placing twelfth on the First Semi-Final.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: eska.pl

Poland: TVP denies having discussions with JoJo Siwa for Eurovision 2025!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

TVP now appears to be rejecting all of the speculation that has been circulating on social media over the past few weeks regarding JoJo Siwa’s potential participation for Poland in Eurovision 2025.

Via a statement, TVP mentions that:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Referring to numerous questions regarding the preparations of Telewizja Polska for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, we inform you that Telewizja Polska is not conducting any talks with artists on this matter and has not yet made any decisions regarding participation in the Contest. We will inform you about Telewizja Polska’s involvement in the preparations for this year’s Eurovision as soon as possible through the official TVP news channels.

Currently, Telewizja Polska is implementing the “Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2024″. We invite you to TVP2 on September 29 this year for the final of the Polish Junior Eurovision pre-selections, which will be hosted by Artur Orzech, and on November 16 for the final in Madrid.

Because of its current focus on the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, which is scheduled for November 16 in Madrid, TVP hasn’t spoken with JoJo Siwa or any other artist for Eurovision 2025.

JoJo Siwa and Eurovision

Everything began when JoJo’s brand-new song “Yesterday’s Tomorrow’s Today” grabbed fans’ attention on TikTok with its retro Polish disco vibe. It’s even said (not confirmed) that the singer has indeed Polish routes. Then, videos started to pop-up on TikTok endorsing JoJo Siwa to represent Poland in Eurovision 2025. Furthermore, it seems that JoJo Siwa is being followed by both the official Eurovision account and TVP’s account on TikTok.

JoJo Siwa is now in Poland and on a video she uploaded yesterday she confirmed that she is in talks to represent the country in Eurovision 2025. Moreover, she also mentioned that during the period when the competition will be held in Switzerland, another project of hers will be running at the same time, but this does not seem to deter her as she would make it work.

Poland: Jojo Siwa confirms that she is in talks for Eurovision 2025!

Who is JoJo Siwa?

JoJo Siwa is a media personality, singer, dancer, and actress from the United States. She first appeared as a dancer along with her mother on two seasons of the reality TV series “Dance Moms” in 2015 and 2016. Siwa joined Nickelodeon in 2017 and appeared in a number of TV series. She released a number of kid-friendly songs under Nickelodeon in 2021, including “Boomerang“, which has over a billion views on YouTube. In 2020, she was listed among the 100 most significant individuals worldwide on Time’s yearly list. Siwa’s post-Nickelodeon career began in 2024 with her debut extended play, “Guilty Pleasure“, which featured the hit song “Karma“.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: dziennik eurowizyjny

Poland: Jojo Siwa confirms that she is in talks for Eurovision 2025!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

One of the names that seems to be preoccupying the Eurovision world in this new season that has started is that of Jojo Siwa and the possibility of her representing Poland at the 69th Eurovision Song Contest which is going to take place in Basel, Switzerland in May 2025 .

The American singer with Polish roots a few days ago through a post on her TikTok account expressed her interest in getting on the big stage of Eurovision. You can read more about this in our related article.

JoJo Siwa expresses interest to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest?

In a new post on TikTok on the occasion of her visit to Poland Jojo Siwa confirmed that she is in talks to represent the country in Eurovision 2025.

In particular, in her new post she states:

“Somebody asked if I was gonna do it on Eurovision because [the song] was going viral in Poland. I initially jokingly replied to the comment saying ‘Yes’, but now it’s actually become a real conversation. Eurovision’s into it. We’re talking with the people in Poland because each country essentially decides who goes to Eurovision to represent that country.”

“We have been talking with everybody, obviously there’s a lot that goes into it, there’s a lot of logistics.”

Moreover, she also mentions that during the period when the competition will be held in Switzerland, another project of hers will be running at the same time, but this does not seem to deter her as she comments that:

“I might be able to make both work if Poland wants me to do it. If Poland wants me to represent, I will be there. I will make it happen, 1000 per cent.”

Below you can also watch the relevant TikTok post.

@itsjojosiwaUnedited GRWM for travel dayyy✨

♬ Yesterday’s Tomorrow’s Today – JoJo Siwa

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Follow us on all our social media, so that you’ll not lose a thing of what’s happening Eurovision:

JoJo Siwa expresses interest to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest?

/2 Comments/in , , /by

A crossover that we never thought we would experience. American-based singer JoJo Siwa has expressed her interest to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Everything began when JoJo’s brand-new song “Yesterday’s Tomorrow’s Today” grabbed fans’ attention on TikTok with its retro Polish disco vibe. It’s even said (not confirmed) that the singer has indeed Polish routes. Then, videos started to pop-up on TikTok endorsing JoJo Siwa to represent Poland in Eurovision 2025.

But the story doesn’t end there. These videos caught JoJo’s attention and began sharing videos on TikTok in which she mentioned getting ready for Eurovision.

@itsjojosiwa❤️✨♬ Yesterday’s Tomorrow’s Today – JoJo Siwa

Furthermore, it seems that JoJo Siwa is being followed by both the official Eurovision account and TVP’s account on TikTok

.

Who is JoJo Siwa?

JoJo Siwa is a media personality, singer, dancer, and actress from the United States. She first appeared as a dancer along with her mother on two seasons of the reality TV series “Dance Moms” in 2015 and 2016. Siwa joined Nickelodeon in 2017 and appeared in a number of TV series. She released a number of kid-friendly songs under Nickelodeon in 2021, including “Boomerang“, which has over a billion views on YouTube. In 2020, she was listed among the 100 most significant individuals worldwide on Time’s yearly list. Siwa’s post-Nickelodeon career began in 2024 with her debut extended play, “Guilty Pleasure“, which featured the hit song “Karma“.

Is it all a coincidence? Is it all just fans’ wishful thinking or an advertising scheme? Time will tell…

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all news!

Poland: Court orders the announcement of the results of the national final for Eurovision 2023!

/0 Comments/in , , /by

A court decision in Poland, following a complaint by the local OGAE, orders the announcement of the detailed results of the national final for Eurovision 2023.

The story of the dispute

While we have not yet practically calmed down from the scandals and the tense atmosphere at Eurovision 2024, a decision of the Warsaw Regional Administrative Court obliges the Polish public television to announce the detailed results of the jury in the national final for Eurovision 2023.

As you may remember back then, a lot had been said and written about this national final, which was considered to be at least a scandal. The favorite to win that national final was Jann with the song Gladiator. Despite the fact that the TV audience supported him with their vote, it was the jury’s score that finally gave the ticket to Blanka and her Solo, eventually finishing in the 19th place in the final.

Immediately after the end of the national final, there were many complaints, both about the conflict of interest of some of the jury members, but also about the fact that TVP never announced the detailed results of the jury.

Edyta Gorniac, who was the president of the committee, had stated that she actually only knew her own score and that the results she announced were the ones she was given on a piece of paper. Polish radio and television had explained that the process was supervised by a notary public.

Despite the persistent pressure from OGAE Poland to TVP for transparency and publication of the detailed results, there was no response towards this direction. Thus, with an official complaint of the local branch of OGAE to the regional administrative court of Poland last January, the compulsory publication of the detailed results of the jury in the national final of Eurovision 2023 was requested.

The Court’s decision

The court last week ruled that this information must be public and the public has a right to access it. It remains unknown when TVP is required to announce the official results. No one from public television appeared before the court.

After the change of government in Poland, TVP has entered a process of change and modernization, trying to follow the pro-Western footsteps of the new government. In this context was the detailed announcement of the results of the jury, in the internal selection that followed this year, highlighting the choice of the country’s participation in the competition.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Eurovision Song Contest 2025!

Source: Eurowizja, Euromix

Follow us on all our social media, so that you’ll not lose a thing of what’s happening Eurovision:

Bets: Derby for two for the victory| Lots of shuffling after the second semi-final!

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

The two semi-finals brought upsets upon upsets to the betting tables, with several countries standing out and others losing ground. The leak of the Italian public’s votes in the second semi-final changed the scene dramatically, with everything we wrote yesterday going out the window.

With less than 36 hours to go until the Eurovision 2024 grand final, we take a look at the betting companies’ odds regarding each country’s chances of winning this year’s contest.

Derby at the top

Israel‘s “breath” is now felt by Croatia, with last night’s RAI leak moving Eden Golan up six places, with room to move up even further. The sweeping wave of support for Israel‘s entry, which counted around 40% of the Italian public vote, may indicate a Europe-wide trend of support for the Hurricane.

When yesterday, in a total of 16 countries, one song has received 40% of the votes and the second, the Netherlands, has just under 8%, then we can talk about a situation that could have a profound effect on the development of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

In any case, even at the time of writing this article, the first favourite is Croatia. Baby Lasagna‘s supersonic performance in the first semi-final had given Croatia a clear margin of victory, with its maiden win as an independent country “just around the corner” according to bookers who offered that possibility at odds of 1.62 to 1.91 before the second semi-final. At the moment, you can bet on a maiden Croatian victory at odds between 1.83 and 2.25.

Second is Israel, who yesterday before their appearance in the second semi-final and, especially, the Italian broadcaster’s leak, were considered the eighth favourite to win the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, at odds close to 67. As expected, those odds are now a thing of the past. Thus, Israel‘s win at Eurovision 2024 is being played at odds between 2.75 and 3.5. This is the biggest odds drop recorded from semi-final to final in Eurovision history, and it is not unlikely that in the next few hours Croatia will get even closer in the next few hours.

Despite Nemo‘s excellent performance in last night’s second semi-final, Switzerland has dropped to third place as a direct result of Israel’s rapid rise. Switzerland and Nemo‘s victory is now being bet at odds between 6 and 9, up from 3.5 to 4 last night.

The second winner of last night’s show is undoubtedly France, which is the only country along with Israel to see its odds fall by the hour. Between 17 and 26 was being played last night for France to win, while it is now being played between 11 and 17. Slimane‘s outstanding performance, which moved millions of viewers across Europe, lifted the French above the Ukrainians, Irish and Italians.

The top five is completed by Ukraine, being the big loser after the second semi-final, losing two places from where they were in our last analysis. With the odds on offer having almost doubled, currently as much as 26 times the stakes are returning on a Ukrainian win in Malmö.

Top 10

At similar odds to Ukraine, you can also play Ireland, who have dropped to sixth place, having been in fourth before the second semi-final. The possibility of Ireland winning is now offered between 13 and 26.

A loss of one place for Italy too, with a win for Angelina Mango tomorrow night returning up to 36 times the money of anyone who bets on her. Rising odds for Italy, who have lost whatever momentum they had before the contest.

The same is true, but to an even greater extent, for eighth-placed Netherlands. Having lost five places compared to before the start of the rehearsals and now outside the top five in eighth place, a potential win for Joost Klein and “Europapa” could return up to 81 times the stake.

Greece remains in ninth place at the time of writing, with the fluctuations during the day being huge. In the early hours of the morning of May 10 we have seen too many countries move up and down continuously, with some time of the day being within the top ten and others even lower. The same has happened in the case of Greece, which is now ninth, but was earlier in 15th place. A possible win for “ZARI” and Marina Satti is currently being played at odds between 81 and 251, higher than in our analysis the day before yesterday where it was played at odds between 51 and 151.

At the same maximum odds as Greece, one finds the United Kingdom, which completes the top ten. Up to 251 times the stake is returned on the UK’s first win within the 21st century.

Conclusions

We await with great interest in the coming hours whether the betting tables will be further affected, following the leak of Italy‘s votes in last night’s semi-final with its sweeping support for Israel. In any case, we’ll be back with additional betting articles ahead of the grand final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

Eurovision 2024: These are the ten finalists of the First Semi-Final!

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

The 68th Eurovision Song Contest has officially started and the First Semi-Final was just concluded.

Tonight’s show was hosted by Malin Åkerman and Petra Mede. Fifteen countries performed tonight competing for ten tickets to Saturday’s Grand Final.

These were tonight’s contestants:

  1. Cyprus: Silia Kapsis – “Liar”
  2. Serbia: Teya Dora – “Ramonda”
  3. Lithuania: Silvester Belt – “Luktelk”
  4. Ireland: Bambie Thug – “Doomsday Blue”
  5. Ukraine: Alyona Alyona & Jerry Heil – “Teresa & Maria”
  6. Poland: Luna – “The Tower”
  7. Croatia: Baby Lasagna – “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”
  8. Iceland: Hera Björk – “Scared of Heights”
  9. Slovenia: Raiven – “Veronika”
  10. Finland: Windows95Man – “No Rules”
  11. Moldova: Natalia Barbu – “In the Middle”
  12. Azerbaijan: Fahren ft. Ilkin Dovlatov – “Özünlə apar”
  13. Australia: Electric Fields – “One Milkaki (One Blood)”
  14. Portugal: Iolanda – “Grito”
  15. Luxembourg: Tali – “Fighter”

The results were determined exclusively by public voting and tonight’s ten qualifiers are the following:

    1. Serbia
    2. Portugal
    3. Slovenia
    4. Ukraine
    5. Lithuania
    6. Finland
    7. Cyprus
    8. Croatia
    9. Ireland
    10. Luxembourg

A few words about tonight’s show

Tonight’s show started with an explosive act, which included three Eurovision superstars, who may not have won Eurovision but won people’s hearts instead. We’re talking about Elena Foureira, Eric Saade and Chanel, who all performed their Eurovision entries.

For the first time, the BIG 5 and the host country performed live in the semi-finals. Hence, tonight the following countries performed:

  1. United Kingdom: Olly Alexander – “Dizzy“
  2. Germany: ISAAK – “Always On The Run“
  3. Sweden: Marcus & Martinus – “Unforgettable“

Johnny Logan, also, appeared on stage and performed “Euphoria”, Loreen’s winning entry from 2012. It was an act of great importance, as both Johnny Logan and Loreen are the only performers in Eurovision history having won twice.

Benjamin Ingrosso, a former Swedish participant as well as one of Sweden’s biggest stars, took the stage of Malmö Arena, where he performed some of his hits.

The allocation regarding in which half will the qualifiers perform in the Grand Final, comes next, so stay tuned…

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss a moment of what is happening in Malmö:

On Facebook

On Χ

On Instagram

On TikTok

On YouTube

On Spotify

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news!

Eurovision 2024: The odds before the first semi-final – Croatia “prevails”!

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

We are just hours away from the first semi-final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which means that in a few hours from now fifteen countries will compete for one of the ten tickets leading to Saturday’s grand final.

With rehearsals now complete and dress rehearsals well underway, the favourite column of many of you is back, as the betting analysis for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest is back again.

With less than a few hours to go until the first semi-final of Eurovision 2024, we take a look at the betting companies’ odds regarding each country’s chances of winning this year’s contest.

Croatia extends its lead

As expected, yesterday’s Press and Jury Rehearsals brought a lot of shuffling of the betting tables, as it was the first full rehearsals that journalists and the public had access to. With various images having been released online, the mood for many of the participating countries in this year’s competition has changed, having for the first time during this year’s Eurovision season a clearer picture of what the public likes and dislikes.

So the big winner of the last few hours is, by far the runner-up, Croatia. For the first time during this year’s Eurovision season, one country has such a big difference compared to the others. Significantly, at the moment, bookers are offering the Croatian maiden victory at odds between 2.1 and 2.38, the lowest we have seen this year.

This drop in Croatia’s odds also means a parallel rise in the odds for Switzerland, who see their gap to the leading Croatia widening by the hour. Switzerland and Nemo‘s win is now being bet at odds of between 4.5 and 4.75, while on the exchanging offices it is being played close to 5.30.

Italy remains in third place, largely stable in its odds, without losing much ground. Between 5.5 and 7, the Italian win is on offer for those who believe in Angelina Mango‘s potential. Fourth is Ukraine, which after yesterday’s rehearsals lost the momentum it had held up to that point and was on the verge of third place. Up to 9.5 times the stake is returned if the Ukrainians win in Malmö.

The big surprise of the first week of this year’s Eurovision is of course Ireland. Having impressed last week, yesterday’s rehearsals delivered the big bang for Ireland, who are now inside the Top 5, overtaking the Netherlands. The potential for Ireland to win is now offered between 10 and 15.

Top 10

The big loser before the shows is clearly the Netherlands. Having lost three places compared to before the start of the rehearsals and now outside the top five, a potential win for Joost Klein and “Europapa” could return up to seventeen times the stakes.

Absolutely stable and in seventh place is France, as they are now playing at odds between 15 and 21. One place down compared to our last analysis is Israel, now seen as the eighth favourite to win the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, at odds close to 36,

One place below is Greece, in ninth place. A possible victory for “ZARI” and Marina Satti is currently being played at odds between 26 and 67, clearly higher after the release of the clip from the second rehearsal of the Greek delegation last Thursday.

Finally, the top ten is completed by the United Kingdom, which after a long time returns to the higher echelons of the betting tables, with Olly Alexander having built momentum after his first rehearsals. Up to 91 times the stake returns the UK’s first win inside the 21st century.

First Semifinal

As we are just a few hours away from the first semi-final, in today’s analysis we will take a look at the chances of each of the fifteen participating countries in tonight’s show to qualify.

Six countries are considered a given to qualify, with Croatia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Ireland, Finland, Ireland and Luxembourg being offered by bookies at odds of under 1.10. Significantly, the odds on the top four countries in particular return almost nothing to those who bet on them. For example, in the event that someone bets ten euros on their qualification, they will only make a profit of fifty euro cents on the best one.

The countries following the top six seem to have a very big chance of qualifying for the grand final. Portugal, Poland and Cyprus have over 80% chances of qualifying, with their eventual qualification being bet at odds of close to 1.20-1.25.

Beyond that, with a place in the grand final seemingly up for grabs, the edge appears to be with Serbia, whose qualification returns up to 1.67 times the stakes. Australia also seem to have a fairly strong chance, with Australia being played at odds under 2.

Underdogs are now considered to be Slovenia, whose eventual qualification returns almost 3 times the stake, an increase too significant compared to our last analysis.

The following countries, namely Azerbaijan, Moldova and Iceland, are considered less likely to qualify. More chances of qualification for the Azeris played between 3.25 and 5.5, the same is more or less true for Moldova played at similar odds. In contrast, Iceland are far from the rest in last place.

We await the final results tonight with great interest to see if the bookers will be confirmed once again.

Which countries do you think will qualify for the grand final on 11 May?

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

Eurovision 2024: Family Show of the First Semifinal- Live Commentary (Updated Live)

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

The family show of the Eurovision 2024 First Semi-Final in Malmö at the Malmö Arena! We are just a couple of hours before the First Semifinal kicks in but, before we get to know the first results the artists competing in the First Semifinal will perform once again for the Family Show.  The Family Show is more financially convenient, identical to the live one for families and takes place earlier on the same day of the Semifinal. EurovisionFun will be watching all the shows live both at the on-site press centre in Malmöä and at the online press centre and will be commenting on the full performances of the 15 participating countries and the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden.  This year we will watch the automatic qualifiers perform their entire songs as part of the Semifinal

 

This article gets updated in real time, all you need to do is hit the refresh button on your browser!

So stay tuned to this article as we update it with all the details, preparing you for what you will see in the Semi-Final today May 7th, at 21:00 CEST.

The Show

The show opens with the iconic Cyprus representative Eleni Foureira singing her 2018 Eurovision song, Fuego! She is performing an oriental-inspired version of Fuego. After Eleni, Eric Saade comes to the stage to sing Popular in an explosive performance. Last but not least, Chanel rocks the stage.  The 2022 Spanish representative sings SloMo with a different dance performance than what we saw in Turin two years ago. An amazing way to start this year’s Eurovision Season!

The host of the show is Petra Mede who is familiar to Eurofans as she has hosted the contest twice before in 2013 and 2016.  She is joined by actress Malin Åkerman. The female duo are dressed in pink and orange neon suits that are suitable for the LED background.

Petra welcomes us back in Sweden and she made a joke about her voting for Finland last year. They also thank last year’s organizers for hosting an incredible show back in 2023. Malin praises Petra for hosting for a third time the contest and Petra said that she never tried to host with a woman and she was thrilled about this experience.

The hosts are explaining the voting process in English AND French this year.  We’ve missed so much Petra speaking French!! Malmo are we ready? Let the Eurovision Song Contest begin!

The Competing Countries – LIVE COMMENTARY

Cyprus: Silia Kapsis – Liar

Silia becomes the youngest artist to open a Eurovision Song Contest.  With 17 years Silia opened the First Semi-final! She’s joined by 4 male dancers all in white t-shirts which they removed by the end of the song. The LED’s are mostly in neon turquoise colours. Silia has improved her vocals from her previous attempts. She danced in the whole performance. The dancebreak looks better than the second rehearsal, the camera shots are improved by a lot!! In the last 20 seconds, the colours of the LED turn red.

Serbia: Teya Dora – Ramonda

Following Teya Dora brings a Serbian ballad.  Teya Dora is standing and sitting on a rock during the performance.  The performance is introspective and very emotional.   The LED screens show thunders and a flower by the end of the song and the atmosphere is dark throughout the performance.  Will this be enough for Teya Dora to get to the Grand Final?

Lithuania: Silvester Belt – Luktelk

Lithuania is next with Luktelk! His performance has most of the elements from their national final one. The LED’s are based in red and blue colours. Silvester enjoys his performance and is very energetic. A sure qualifier!

Ireland: Bambie Thug – Doomsday Blue

Bambie Thug has grown in the weeks.  The change from her national final to Malmö is incredible. Bambie really knows how to pull a live performance with their voice and their face expressions. They are accompanied by a shirtless dancer who seems that he is their lover in the performance. The dancer dresses off Bambie revealing a very thin suit. On the bridge of the song, the candles rise upwards, and the lighting turns red. At the end of the song they scream and the performance is finished with a LED phrase “Crown The Witch”. The crowd was clapping for a long time.  Ireland is back in the game!

Break

Petra Mede interacts with the audience.  She is tested on her Eurovision knowledge from previous songs but fails.

United Kingdom: Olly Alexander – Dizzy (not competing)

Olly is the first of the Big 5 plus Sweden to sing live in one of the Semifinals.  He is performing in a Box that has a shower.  He is accompanied by 4 male dancers in boxer shorts. The whole performance is very physical and sensual. The choreography increases this sexual tension. In the last chorus, he leaves the box with his dancers and he’s performing in the front part of the stage. Olly’s vocals were not the best.

Ukraine: alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – Teresa & Maria

The folk duo is next to perform. In the first chorus the shots are from above with the LED floor being in grey and blue colours making a hurricane. Aliona comes to the stage for her rap part and she is vocally perfect. After that, we can see Jerry in the LED wall being as mother Teresa.  The images on the LED screens and the light work elevates this song. At the end of the performance, Jerry and alyona are lying on the floor and the LED is full of women.   A very moving performance that could give Ukraine another victory!

Poland: Luna – The Tower

Luna honors the name of her song with a floor that resembles a chessboard and two towers onstage.  Luna is surrounded by two dancers dressed in black and white as chess pieces. Then, a red figure appears forming the shadow of the singer. At the final point of the song, the two towers come together and change color to red, while we also have fireworks.  Overall it is not a very impressive performance.  It seems to me that Poland risks not qualifying this year.

Croatia: Baby Lasagna – Rim Tim Tagi Dim

The fan and bookers favourite is next on the stage.  We start with smoke and a setup resembling a rock concert. There are fireworks, and the lights are in various colors with alternations. At the last chorus we can see many smoke and many fireworks also. In general, the dancers and the choreography is an upgraded version of the national final. The crowd went crazy with Croatia’s performance you can listen them joining the chorus.

Iceland: Hera Björk – Scared Of Heights

Eurovision legend Hera Björk, started her performance with her standing at the top of some stairs. The LED backdrop is in golden colours and it suits her iconic dress of the same color. Vocally Hera never disappoints. At the middle of her performance, the colours are transformed in red colours. Up until the second chorus, she is alone on stage, and then her backing singers joined her. The platform rises, and we see fireworks as well. It seems that she enjoyed the performance by 100%!

Break

Malin Åkerman shares her love for Swedish cinema as well as Eurovision music.  A segment that mixes classic Swedish movies such as “The Seventh Deal” and “Fanny Alexander” with Eurovision songs entries.

Germany: ISAAK – Always On The Run (not competing)

The performance starts in an apartment with a fire in a barrel. In the chorus, the whole living room catches on fire, and Isaak stands in the middle. In the end, we see the backing vocalists on stage, while the fires go out.  Isaak’s vocals are impeccable but he risks going unnoticed by the audience in the final.

Slovenia: Raiven – Veronika

After Germany, next on stage is Raiven. She is dressed in a transparent bodysuit, at the beginning of the performance she is laid on the floor by herself, and then in the chorus, she is accompanied by her dancers wearing light beige underwear.  The choreography is good but the whole work is not as impactful.  At the end of the song, the LED floor is in blue colours like they are floating in the sea.

Finland: Windows95man – No Rules!

Windows95man takes his UMK concept including the jean egg for Malmö. Windows95Man emerges from the egg. The dancers have a 1990-2000s style, and the shots are framed to create an illusion of nudity. In the end, he wears denim shorts with fireworks.  A novelty act that could go either way.  You either love it or hate it.  Windows95man and Henri Piispanen vocals did not sound as good as in UMK.

Moldova: Natalia Barbu – In The Middle

The Malmö version of In The Middle is a much polished one from Natalia’s national final. Natalia’s vocals are really good but the stage feels empty during most of the performance which plays against her. There are images of flowers, a tree, bubbles and butterflies. When Natalia plays the violin the angel wings are displayed.

Sweden: Marcus & Martinus – Unforgetable (not competing)

Twins Marcus & Martinus represent the host country. The performance does not change the concept from Melodifestivalen but expands it. It feels like the inside of a club with flashing lights and dancers. A very professional presentation that will surely do well in the Final.

Azerbaijan: Fahree feat. Ilkin Dovlatov – Özünlə apar

Next act on the stage is the male duo from Azerbaijan, the LED wall displays an unknown character in silver waving his hands and performing some movements.  In the middle of the performance, two huge hand props were revealed on the stage. Overall, the performance is not very memorable.  Azerbaijan may not qualify for a second year.

Australia: Electric Feilds – One Mikali (One Blood)

Electric Fields is the next onstage.  The camera shots are good but there is nothing particularly impressive. “On the LED screens, we see scenes from the video. Then three dancers-vocalists appear, and in the second chorus, the didgeridoo appears, and the title of the song is written on the wall.  In fact the second half of the performance is more eye-catching and colourful.  Will this be enough for Australia to qualify?

Portugal: Iolanda – Grito

Portugal is bringing art to the stage!  A classy performance with an impressive, minimalistic choreography. The vocals of Iolanda are on point and the camera frames and shots are perfect. One of the floating cubes is lower the whole performance based on the other three. The performance is based on white colours as we already saw at Festival da Cançao.

Luxembourg: Tali – Fighter

Luxembourg had not competed in Eurovision since the 90s and is closing the First Semifinal with a French/English pop song, which is unusual based on the previous representatives. Tali is good vocaly but the camera shots are weak. The performance is based on purple and golden colours as well as images of tigers roaring. She has changed her braids from the first rehearsal. There is fog on the stage and shots towards the audience. In the last chorus, we also have fireworks, and the word ‘Fighter’ appears on the LED screens.

A recap of all the entries follows.

Interval Act

Petra Mede present us in a really special interval act the double Irish winner Johnny Logan! Johnny sings Loreen’s Euphoria with a live orchestra. A beautiful performance!

We are now watching a video with the turquoise carpet. Petra jokes that according to social media, “it was the best turquoise carpet ever”.

A recap of all the entries follows.

We go from lighthearted humor to a sad moment. In addition to reminding the audience that Nicole and Hugo were the first performers to dance and sing together for Eurovision, Malin also briefly remembers that Nicole who passed away the previous year.  A compilation of Eurovision dance acts as a tribute to the Belgium representatives in 1973 follows.

Second Interval act for the semi-final one is Benjamin Ingrosso in an amazing medley of three songs.

The hosts highlight the several nations and languages that have participated in the show right before the results are announced, and another video compilation is presented.

Certain Qualifiers

Cyprus

Lithuania

Ireland

Ukraine

Croatia

Finland

Portugal

Luxembourg

Borderline Qualifiers

Serbia

Poland

Slovenia

Australia

Non-Qualifiers

Iceland

Moldova

Azerbaijan

The Results

The green room is behind the stage and the LED wall opens so we can see the contestants behind it. Martin Osterdahl executive producer of Eurovision Song Contest 2024, declares that he is happy to see that we now have a valid result!

Here we have a big change, as the 15 competing acts stand on stage, without their delegations, waiting for the result. The camera shows them one by one, as the presenters announce the qualifiers. After the first 5 qualifiers are announced, Alesha interviews them backstage and then we learn the 5 remaining qualifiers.

The ten countries that (virtually) qualified for the finals for rehearsal purposes only were the following:

  • Australia
  • Ireland
  • Iceland
  • Moldova
  • Finland
  • Croatia
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia
  • Luxembourg
  • Ukraine

Closing the televised show, we will get to watch a recap of the ten finalist songs.

You can watch our live reaction from the Family Show of the First Semi-Final on our YouTube channel:

Follow us on all social media, so you do not miss a thing of what will happen in Malmö:

Stay tuned at Eurovisionfun for all the latest news regarding the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, which is held in Malmö!

Eurovision 2024: Tonight marks the first semifinal!

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /by

The moment all Eurofans have been waiting for has arrived! The 68th Eurovision Song Contest officially kicks off today in Malmo with the staging of the first semifinal.

Fifteen countries will participate in tonight’s show, with ten of them advancing to Saturday’s grand final, where the winner of Eurovision 2024 will be crowned.

Among the countries participating in the first semifinal is Cyprus, represented by Silia Kapsis with the song “Liar”. Cyprus is set to open this year’s show, being the first competing country to take the stage in the competition.

The presenters for tonight’s event, as well as all shows until Saturday, will be Petra Mede and Malin Åkerman.

The 15 participating countries in tonight’s first semifinal are:

R/O
 COUNTRY ARTIST SONG
1  Cyprus Silia Kapsis “Liar”
2  Serbia Teya Dora “Ramonda“
3  Lithuania Silvester Belt “Luktelk“
4  Ireland Bambie Thug “Doomsday Blue”
5  Ukraine Alyona Alyona and Jerry Heil “Teresa & Maria”
6  Poland Luna “The Tower”
7  Croatia Baby Lasagna “Rim Tim Tagi Dim”
8  Iceland Hera Björk “Scared of Heights”
9  Slovenia Raiven “Veronika”
10  Finland Windows95man “No Rules!”
11  Moldova Natalia Barbu “In the Middle”
12  Azerbaijan Fahree feat. Ilkin Dovlatov “Özünlə apar“
13  Australia Electric Fields “One Milkali (One Blood)”
14  Portugal Iolanda “Grito“
15  Luxembourg Tali “Fighter”

Let’s not forget that in this year’s contest, for the first time, we will see the Big 5 and the host country, Sweden, present their songs in the semifinals via live stream. Therefore, today we will witness the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden perform on stage. These countries, in addition to performing, will also vote for their favorite entries from the first semifinal of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest.

The first semifinal kicks off at 21:00 CET, and you can watch it live on the official Eurovision YouTube channel, as well as on various public broadcaster across Europe.

Follow us on all social media, so you don’t miss a moment of what’s happening around the Eurovision Song Contest:

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!