the grand ol' opinion of Zan (yall should do yours as well, or at least your top10)
feel free to argue with me ; ) and sorry in advance for the miles long post lmao
in order of performance in the semi's, first semi:
Aisel - X My Heart | Azerbaijan
I don't mind the song but I'm also not super excited by it. I also find the lyrics a bit strange. "I'm stronger than cannonballs" and "I tear down the firewalls" specifically. Would not change the station if this played on the radio.
5/10
Ari Ólafsson - Our Choice | Iceland
He has a very nice voice, but the song overall doesn't feel like it fits into the eurovision "genre" I guess. The song itself also feels like something out of the early 2000s/late 90s to me, which I'm not a huge fan of. Also his swaying in the "official video" is super distracting to me?? Would not change the station if this played on the radio but I'd be bored listening to it.
4/10
Eugent Bushpepa - Mall | Albania
Now this song I find interesting. I enjoy the fact that its not in english, and I like the beat and music behind it. And even though I dont know what he's saying and can't sing along, it feels very catchy to me. Would not change the channel.
6/10
Sennek - A Matter Of Time | Belgium
This song also sounds interesting to me, more because of the way her vocals go up and down. It's just very easy to listen to. Would not change the channel, might even sing along to.
6/10
Mikolas Josef - Lie To Me | Czech Republic
See, here's the thing. The song is catchy. It's catchy and I hate it. I would not change the channel if it played on the radio, would probably even sing along, but I hate his face. He looks like a douchebag and I hate the theme of the song. I also saw a video of him live and he just... looked really awkward on a stage? The song itself is fun but also doesn't seem like it fits well into the eurovision genre.
Song: 7/10, person performing: 2/10, overall score: 4.5/10
Ieva Zasimauskaitė - When We're Old | Lithuania
Her voice is so soothing and the song itself is so cute. Would not change the station, would sing along and favorite the song on youtube. It does feel like songs like this would work better on a small stage in an acoustic version, and not so much on a massive eurovision stage, but I guess we will see how that goes.
7/10
Oh boy I have so many good feelings about this song. it's fun, edgy, very opinionated, easy to listen to while not being boring at any point. Her image is very cool as well, bright, dominating and fun, and I'm always excited to see more plus sized women being confident and loud. Really the only downside I can think of for this song is that I've been unable to find a live version of it, and I'm unsure if 100% of the vocals used in the music video can be repeated on stage without voice-altering software. But I did watch her perform something else live and she had the same voice and same energy, so I'm excited to see how she will carry herself and the song on stage!
10/10
ALEKSEEV - FOREVER | Belarus
I gotta say this is one of those songs that have won me over the more I've listened to it. I think the thing that most draws me to this song is how it sounds both happy and sad at the same time. The performer is also very cute and I enjoy his face very much. Would not change the station and would definitely sing along. I also listened to the russion version of the song and I didn't hate it! Which isn't often something I can say about songs in russian. Something about the song makes it very hard for me to even listen to the lyrics. I just really enjoy the melody, I guess?
8/10
Elina Nechayeva - La Forza | Estonia
First of all the visuals for this song are sooooo cooool. Definitely never seen 3D projections on a dress. My only concern with that is how well a similar concept would work on a much larger stage. The song is also not a common eurovision genre, but I personally enjoy listening to it every time I hear it. Would not change the station and might even try to scream along. Her voice is so amazing, though, and I really appreciate those high notes. Definitely feel like the visual effects make up about 60% of the song itself, which might not be a great thing in the end. Appreciating the non-english in this one as well.
7/10
EQUINOX - Bones | Bulgaria
This song is pretty similar to the kind of music I regularly listen to, so I enjoy it right off the bat. I really like the lyrics and the theme of the song itself. I'm actually less impressed by the actual vocals of the people performing it. I don't know, I feel like the song could have an even bigger kick, and the version in its "official video" feels kind of overly soft to me. Would not change the station and definitely enjoy the song, but I can see ways in which it could be better.
6/10
Eye Cue - Lost And Found | F.Y.R. Macedonia
This song sounds half heard before, and half in a style I just don't like. I can't quite put a name to that style right now, but it doesn't really do it for me. Would not change the station but would probably not pay attention to the song. Basically I was already tired of the song when it was just halfway done playing.
5/10
This song also feels very heard before, and not in a good way. I like her voice, its really nice and deep, but I dont like the theme of the song. At least I enjoy the bass in this song. :') I can make it about 2/3s of the way trough this song before getting bored. Would not change the station but would not sing along either.
5/10
Cesár Sampson - Nobody But You | Austria
At this point I'm getting tired of all the english songs. This song is catchy, I'd probably sing along to it but it also feels like I'd get bored of it pretty quickly. I'm also not a fan of the gospel-type music, and this reminds me of that sort of thing at times. The music video is interesting, but since its just him in there, I have doubts about what kind of performance that could translate into on the stage. Would not change the station if this song was on the radio.
6/10
Yianna Terzi - Oniro Mou | Greece
mmmm getting a break from all the english. I really like this song. I love the melodic vocals with very little instrumental melody behind them, and the strong drums. It gives me a very.. folk-ish? feel, that I greatly enjoy. It's also very catchy in the kind of "I can't sing along because I dont speak the language but I sure will try!!" way and I love that. It's also such a pretty language imho. I like this song very much.
8/10
Saara Aalto - Monsters | Finland
I have very mixed feelings about this song. To me it feels like about 5 songs stitched together. All the beats feel heard before but I also don't hate them all together. Can I just say that I hope we get some of those "monsters" on stage...... The song itself is fun and interesting, and it could have many cool visuals on the stage, but at some points the song itself doesn't entirely convince me. It doesn't feel very... flowing? Would not change the station and might sing along.
6/10
Sevak Khanagyan - Qami | Armenia
From just the start of the song I'd say that I dont like it, but when it starts picking up it just sounds really nice to me. I also enjoy the language, and after translating the song I really like the theme as well!! I just love how it gets stronger and stronger, just like wind would, but I have concerns about being able to show that same effect on stage. Excited to see what they come up with, though!
7/10
ZiBBZ - Stones | Switzerland
I like the style of the song, and her voice is very nice. It feels a bit edgy for eurovision, but not in a way that bothers me. Wouldn't mind hearing it on the radio, but don't know if I'd actually sing along to it.
6/10
Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together | Ireland
A cute song,but one of those that I'd prefer to hear on the radio instead of live on stage. I somehow feel like it would lose its cuteness because of it. His voice is really nice, though, and I love those high notes. The video is adorable, and I hope they stay with the gay theme and bring on some lovey male dancers on stage. Definitely looking forwards to that.
7/10
Eleni Foureira - Fuego | Cyprus
This song also sounds very heard before. In the kind of "every pop song ever" kind of way, which I don't enjoy. If I heard it on the radio, I wouldn't think much of it, but for eurovision it just feels too generic.
4/10
So from these ratings, the ones I really want to make it to the final are these, in ascending order:
7. Ieva Zasimauskaitė - When We're Old | Lithuania
6. Elina Nechayeva - La Forza | Estonia
5. Ryan O'Shaughnessy - Together | Ireland
4. Sevak Khanagyan - Qami | Armenia
3. Yianna Terzi - Oniro Mou | Greece
2. ALEKSEEV - FOREVER | Belarus
1. Netta - TOY | Israel
Now I'm going to take a break and then compile the second semi list :' )