And the first ten countries to qualify for the final are …

From our special correspondent in Rotterdam (Netherlands)

After two years of waiting – the 2020 edition having been canceled due to the pandemic – Eurovision made its comeback this Tuesday at Ahoy Rotterdam. While waiting for the grand final on Saturday, sixteen countries were in the race for the first semi-finals. Ten qualifying places were to be won. Back on the tops and flops of the evening.

While many nightclubs remain closed, The Roop has opened its Discoteque early. A Lithuanian group, chick yellow outfits and a zinzin choreography: the bill allows the Balts to get their ticket to the final without having to negotiate with the bouncer.

See the performance here.

• Slovenia, unqualified

This year, two songs entitled Amen are in contention. While waiting for Austria on Thursday, Slovenian Ana Soklic delivered her gospel ballad on the Rotterdam stage. It is about tenacity in the face of adversity. Her prayers were not heard: she did not advance to the final.

See the performance here.

Manizha began her song wearing a huge dress made from fabrics received from all parts of Russia and mounted on casters. Then, she left it alone (literally) to sing her ode to Russian women, urging them not to let it go and to resist in the face of adversity. Enough to cringe the conservatives of the country of Vladimir Putin. And that, at Eurovision, is always a good point.

See the performance here.

Sweden eliminated in the semi-finals of Eurovision, it is the equivalent of Brazil who would not pass the group stage of a World Cup: a shock. Unthinkable. A poor performance which has only occurred once, in 2010, since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004. Tusse secured his passage in the final. He has also released a French version of his Voices this Tuesday.

See the performance here.

• Australia, unqualified

The singer Montaigne – yes, her nickname is REALLY a tribute to Michel de – entered the history of Eurovision by becoming the first participant to compete without being present in the room. All the candidates for this edition had to record their performance in March under live conditions, in a studio in their country, in case they could not make the trip to Rotterdam. This was the case for the Australian, deprived of Gouda. And final.

See the performance here.

• North Macedonia, unqualified

How to say things without being disparaging? Does singer Vasil have talent? Yes. Is it a surprise that his song Here I Stand did not qualify for the final? No. But special mention to its faceted ball plastron of the most beautiful effect which would have been particularly admirable if the idea had not been
snatched from singer Dotter, candidate for the Swedish selection for Eurovision last year.

See the performance here.

Once upon a time, singer Leslie Roy represented her country in a cutout paper staging, giving the impression, through the magic of perspective games, that she was walking through a book of fairy tales. When it comes to creative hobbies, it’s worth a 20/20. In terms of music, the grade is not sufficient to pass in the next class.

See the performance here.

We don’t know if we would sell our soul to Elena Tsagrinou, but we give her our indulgence even if her El Diablo at times looks like a collage of Alejandro and Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. We admit to wanting to review in the final its position of the spider, recalling the scene of The Exorcist where the possessed girl runs down a staircase. Infernal.

See the performance here.

Note the malice of the programmers who have chosen to make the El Diablo Cypriot with the Fallen Angel Norwegian. Did the singer remind you of Fatal Bazooka? Yes but no: this performance, staged in an extremely literal way, could not be more first degree. You can (re) check it in the final.

See the performance here.

Albina and her futuristic jumpsuit surrounded by her dancers is a bit like the Sheila and B Devotion of the second millennium. She sings Tick ​​Tock and we say “Cocorico” because the English lyrics were signed by the Frenchman Max Cinnamon – who had
participated in the French selection for Eurovision in 2018. He was then 16 years old. Despite everything, Croatia will not be in the final.

See the performance here.

“Don’t you ever dare to put on my Johnny Cash t-shirt again,” warns Geike Arnaert in this song about a woman waking up next to her lover from the night before and not planning on spending the rest of the day. his life (or even the morning) with him. Hooverphonic will participate in the final. And it is deserved.

According to Wiwibloggs, Eden Alenea broke a 25-year-old record – to the day. With her whistle note (the “whistle note”) at the end of the song, she delivered the highest note ever to the Eurovision Song Contest. And does better than the Croatian Maja Blagdan.

See the performance here.

The Romanian delegation decided to undermine all the chances of its artist by inflicting a rather perilous choreography on him transforming a Eurovision performance into an obstacle course. Unsurprisingly, Roxen in the false air of Billie Eilish of the Carpathians will not go to the final.

See the performance here.

Last year Efendi should have sung Cleopatra. This year she sings Mata hari. We are not immune to finding her next year in competition with a song entitled Marie Curie. We don’t know if Mata hari, Dutch dancer accused of espionage and shot in France during the First World War appreciated the tribute, nonetheless: Efendi will be in the final.

See the performance here.

Tradition and modernity. Go_A mixes vesnyanka, a traditional Ukrainian spring dance, with electro dance. There is something bewitching about Kateryna Pavlenko’s voice, enough to make audiences want to send a slew of premium rate texts.

See the performance here.

The song’s title, I break, was not premonitory: Destiny remains in the race. The Maltese singer, winner of the Eurovision Junior 2015, was announced as the big favorite of this edition before the competition, but her rating declined during the first rehearsals. With tonight’s performance, she demonstrated that she will always have to be reckoned with when it comes to the final prize list.

See the performance here.