Eurovision 2014: First Semi-Final

I intended to post this yesterday, but hey ho.

On Tuesday night 16 became 10 as the first Eurovision semi-final of 2014 took place.

The qualifiers were:
Armenia
Sweden
Iceland
Russia
Azerbaijan
Ukraine
San Marino
The Netherlands
Montenegro
Hungary

This means that Latvia, Estonia, Albania, Belgium, Moldova and Portugal failed to qualify. Latvia's song, "Cake To Bake", was very cheerful, but I think the stark contrast between it and the song performed before it (Armenia's "Not Alone", which featured a plethora of pyrotechnics) seriously harmed its chances. I was quite surprised about Estonia's fate, because the song is very Eurovision-y (it's title is "Amazing") and Tanja's vocals didn't falter at all, in spite of her acrobatic choreography. However, I felt that the dancing detracted from the song somewhat, and it was third in the running order, which wouldn't have helped it stay in the minds of the voting public. Albania and Moldova produced pleasant songs, but they were ultimately overshadowed by the other songs, many of which are favourites to win. Belgium's representative, Axel Hirsoux has a brilliant voice, but I wasn't fond of his song, "Mother". I enjoyed Portugal's performance, but the more modern songs were favoured by the voters.

In terms of qualifiers, I was delighted to see San Marino get through! This year is Valentina Monetta's third time representing her country, and her qualification with the song "Maybe" is the first time her country has reached the final. Likewise, Sergej Ćetković's "Moj Svjet" marks Montenegro's first qualification as a standalone nation. I really enjoyed this rousing Balkan ballad; I'll probably support it if Malta fails to qualify from the second semi-final (which I hope doesn't happen). Iceland's qualification surprised me, but Pollapönk's "No Prejudice" is a very catchy song with a good message, and I'll be happy to hear it again in the final.

The other seven songs were widely expected to qualify, and I'm especially happy that Armenia, Sweden, Azerbaijan and Ukraine made it through, because it means that four more of Chris's partygoers will have songs to support in the grand final. Now all we need is Malta, Austria, Finland, Ireland, Switzerland and Slovenia to qualify tonight!