song contest
“Thank God, a rock band”: ESC finalists are certain
The Rasmus from Finland play their track “Jezebel” at a rehearsal for the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC). Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
After the second semi-final, the finalists in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 have been determined. The Grand Prix is unintentionally more political than ever this year. Who made it to the finals?
The finalists have been determined: In the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, ten more countries qualified for the final round on Saturday with 25 participants.
Next came the Finnish band The Rasmus with the rock song “Jezebel” on Thursday evening at the 66th edition of the international music competition in the northern Italian city of Turin. The group is best known for their 2003 hit “In the Shadows”. “I thought, thank God, a rock band is in the final,” said frontman Lauri Ylönen after the show.
Poland with Ochman and the ballad “River” also reached the final round. Above all, the musician thanked his family. “My grandpa, who was an opera singer, was a great inspiration to me,” he said. The Belgian Jérémie Makiese (“Miss You”) builds on his sporting experience after reaching the final: “I’m a footballer and in football we have to be mentally strong. I’ll just bring that to this competition,” he explained.
Points not known on purpose
Cornelia Jakobs’ rocking, tube-like sung contribution “Hold Me Closer” from Sweden made it into the final round, as did the contributions from Estonia, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia and Australia. Malta, Cyprus and Israel, among others, were eliminated after this semi-final.
This establishes the 25 finalists for the Grand Final. How many points the 20 countries received from the two semi-finals was not announced in order not to influence the voting for the final.
Already in the first semi-final, Ukraine qualified for the final with the Kalush Orchestra. The band is the favorite for overall victory this year. The bookmakers are currently expecting the group around rapper Oleh Psjuk to be number one with their song “Stefania”. The six men assume that in the event of a victory, the next edition of the Grand Prix would be held in the country currently affected by the Russian war of aggression. The ESC organizers do not want to speculate about this possible scenario.
Malik Harris sings for Germany
Germany will perform at the finale with Malik Harris and “Rockstars”. The 24-year-old Bavarian was already a finalist because the largest sponsors, such as the Federal Republic, are set for the final without qualifying. The song is currently expected to be in the lower ranks. Harris sings about childhood, when everyone was still little “rock stars” and life had fewer problems.
The other four countries of the so-called Big Five France, Spain, Italy and Great Britain are also seeded directly for the final. Looking at the betting providers, the British, Spanish and Italian entries should have a chance of making it to the top ranks. The Swede Jakobs is also highly regarded.
Dress rehearsals for the show on Saturday will continue at the ESC on Friday. The show will be hosted by Italian Grammy winner Laura Pausini and British singer Mika, best known for his 2007 hit Grace Kelly.