Eurovision 2018: You Decide (whether or not you can vaguely remember seeing any of these people on TV before)

Someone at the EBU likes to troll - Russia and Ukraine are both in the same semi (Thursday’s).

Strongly recommend the Popbitch guide which is always fairly great:

It’s here. The annual Popbitch Eurovision Guide – filled with 60 pages of my dazzling(/dipshit) insight – is out now, in time for the first semi-final tonight... https://t.co/VmQDgf8ByH pic.twitter.com/BnMFPnBIMi

— Kit Lovelace (@kitlovelace) May 8, 2018

Cyprus is favourite atm but I don’t realky understand why. Rubak’s song is like the shameful pleasure and cultural worth of picking your own scabs. He’ll probably win.

Tonight’s semi final has some of the better/higher rated entrants and Ireland, who are muck as usual.

but it's *our* muck

i'm rooting for australia and estonia this year

i imagine netherlands will be the most disliked here ha

jfc at my many typos, it was not worth editing that sentence for that.

Netherlands is the racist one right? Nb I don’t acrualky know anything about it besides what’s mentioned in the guide.

oh is it?
i listened to it once a couple months ago and just hated it

here we... here we... here we go!

Azerbaijan = cool hostile architecture on the set, meh song.
Iceland = nononononononononononononononononononononono

Iceland is probably going to be that one inexplicable one that goes through.

I can't remember icelands which one was it

Male crooning.

Belgium my favourite so far but not 100% sold on it, would listen again though.

Wow @ Israel, that was fucking great.

Our household is divided over that one. Her vocals were a bit wobbly but you’d still fancy it.

Estonia is like Emma Shaplin with all the fun goth bits removed - though probably the least offensive thing so far.

Croatian lady seems just a teeny bit too method for my liking.

Greece and Finland = thumbs up from me.

yeh i like finlands

Finland ++++

This feels like a pretty even SF, only a couple of obvious non-qualifiers. Nervous for Israel.

Inexplicably taken by Iceland's 1997 revivalism.

Portugal sounds pleasant this year.

Ireland wtf

Pour one out for Greece.

yeah Greece was robbed

Belgium was my fave not to go through, Greece was solid. Ireland coasted on the staging.

Greece definitely the one I'm most bummed about. Cyprus was good, though!

Phillip Kirkorov is going through even if Russia aren’t.

^ correct

Russia was awful, Moldova was fun enough.

France is pretty good.

Georgia was nice :( Norway and Netherlands the worst qualifiers of the whole lot.

Amazon Web Services emo franchise is growing on me.

I liked Slovenia (banger) and Serbia (gothy ethno-dance). This round was generally poor, though. Pleased Hungary got through, just to add a bit of a difference. Netherlands = wtf @ that garbage.

Would have preferred Malta over Serbia but otherwise main faves today made it through, Slovenia, Australia.

Oh and Ukraine for the 'what if Phantom of the Opera, but Marilyn Manson?'

Apparently like three ppl on twitter got upset over the Attenborough parody that was broadcast as part of Eurovision, the Daily Express picked up the story and now it's all outrage and "it's POLITICAL CORRECTNESS GONE MAD" over on the Portuguese social media landscape.

Ireland is up to third with the bookies! This is getting out of hand...

Partisanship at Eurovision is becoming more blatant
Collusion between countries has increased tenfold in 40 years

https://www.economist.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/800-width/20180512_WOC501.png

Decades are a meaningless basis for the analysis. Even 2007-17 covers multiple voting systems.

Love this heavy psych chanson entry from Luxembourg 1977:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaXvi1XXcM8

Here we go and fuck the Beatles...

First two songs were a bit eh whatever but this entry from Slovenia is more like it.

that bit in the middle was a misfire though

#Eurovision That legendary guy from Ireland going 'WHAT'??? pic.twitter.com/ZUUebfo2ta

— Sam Overton (@Pieterwolfe) May 12, 2018

Austria deserves to do well imo but I suspect it won’t.

Estonia sounds better the second time as well.

That Estonia dress! I don’t think I’ve seen anything with actual artistic merit on Eurovision before

wtf just happened?

Stage invader yelling about Nazis?

jings that was dramatic

I initially thought, "Oh no, they haven't put in a rap section have they" LOL. Seriously.

props to surie for pulling that off

Ha, so did I. xp

Stage invader yelling about war, I think.

cool to see rasputin from hellboy hit the stage for serbia

https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/hellboy/images/8/8e/Rasputin.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20091128000027

I initially thought, "Oh no, they haven't put in a rap section have they" LOL. Seriously.

Yeah for a split second thought this too

Have liked all the songs so far tbf

Even Asgard has a boyband.

the pillage people

Now then..

always good to dress your backing singers like bondage nazis imo

The Bulgarian chorus sounds like they're singing "baaaaaaaaalls!".

oh my

okay moldova you have my attention

‘the rhythm is driving me wild’, they sing over the most lumpen mambo no 5 thump imaginable

...and then they got thrown out of Ikea.

A key change. Heavy metal doesn't do key changes.

Eurovision doesn’t really do them either these days. I quite like them.

I hate the Israeli song with a passion but it’s nice to see the innovative use of Novation Launchpads.

This performance is a bit less grating than the semi final one.

this is a pretty infectious performance from israel here

somewhat taken aback by the netherlands, i must admit

I want to hate it on principle but it’s really quite well done for what it is.

This Netherlands song is awful anyway, but following Israel it sounds like the worst thing I've ever heard

Re Israel song I felt that Norton had hyped it up too much, was just okay in the end.

Eurovision doesn’t really do them either these days. I quite like them.

Eurovision without key changes, it's a different world. Good riddance to 'em, I says.

cyprus lady’s outfit looks like something cher might have worn in her 80s imperial phase

oh italy

just no

Italy: your pointless wars

Tell it to the Abyssinians.

... the veteran Jamaican vocal group, that is.

Is Cyprus going to be one of those ones where it wins and I have no idea why? It didn't stand out at all.

I was shocked Cyprus made it to the finals

They are the favourite on betting sites

If Israel don’t win this I blame Corbyn. #eurovision

— Max Tundra (@MaxTundra) May 12, 2018

Backstage interviews are even more painful than usual. Austrian guy has zero charisma.

What is happening. This is crazy.

starting to think the uk might not win this

I blame Russia.

OK so Israel win

gotta be

time for a celebratory sodastream beverage

Damn it.

Had an e/w on Austria though.

Ha, brilliant, Mr "let's go back to real music" now has to hand over the trophy to Netta

psyched for next year’s event from noted european capital *checks notes* jerusalem

They'll have to pay Jack White for this surely.