Just 15 minutes’ walk from The Cavern club scene, which has been called the birthplace of The Beatles, 16 artists are singing tonight to advance to Saturday’s Eurovision final. John, Paul, George and Ringo played 292 concerts at The Cavern over two years at the start of the 1960s. Ten of tonight’s semi-final artists get to sing one more time in Liverpool. Among the artists are our neighbours, Denmark and Iceland, as well as attpåklatten Australia, which has been in the competition since 2015. These are tonight’s 16 semi-finalists Denmark: Reiley with “Breaking My Heart” Armenia: Brunette with “Future Lover” Romania: Theodor Andrei with “DGT (Off and On)” Estonia: Alika with “Bridges” Belgium: Gustaph with “Because of You” Cyprus: Andrew Lambrou with “Break a Broken Heart” Iceland: Diljá with “Power” Greece: Victor Vernicos with “What They Say»Poland: Blanka with “Solo”Slovenia: Joker Out with “Carpe Diem”Georgia: Iru with “Echo”San Marino: Piqued Jacks with “Like an Animal”Austria: Teya and Salena with “Who the Hell Is Edgar?” Albania: Albina & Familja Kelmendi with “Duje” Lithuania: Monika Linkytė with “Stay” Australia: Voyager with “Promise” Weak – but exciting semi While the starting field on Tuesday contained big favorites such as Sweden and Finland, tonight’s semi-final is seen as clearly weaker. – This is the worst semi-final in Eurovision since 2018, when Alexander Rybak represented Norway. Then Rybak won his semi-final, but was only number 15 in the final, says Morten Thomassen, president of the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix club. But the fact that the starting field is without the big guns also has an advantage, he believes: – It gives more excitement, it is not a given who will hijack the ten final tickets. TikTok generation Denmark has sent Reiley with “Breaking my heart” in the suitcase, and maybe he will break some girls’ hearts tonight. The contribution is a proposal to the TikTok generation, with a digital soundscape, according to Thomassen. He is happy that Denmark is finally sending something modern. In recent years, Denmark has almost traveled in a time machine back to the 1980s. – This contribution sounds like it finally comes from the right decade, says Thomassen. – His huge following on TikTok is Denmark’s strength. If enough of them vote, it is in the final, says ESC expert Anders Tangen. Both agree that Reiley’s singing performance is not up to par. – It is a thin and weak vocal. He will probably sing his way out of the final, if he gets there, says Thomassen. – He is weak live, and far too dependent on technical aids to make it sound right, says Tangen. – Pee break What about Iceland? Sagaøya in the west is not being left to much chance. – Iceland sends a song that could have been a jury favourite, but in the semi-finals only the people vote. Not even my Icelandic friends and Eurovision fans believed it, says Thomassen. – This is probably tonight’s pee break. On the other hand, great expectations are attached to the contribution from Arnold Schwarzenegger and the wiener schnitzel’s homeland, Austria. The song is a kind of tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, the American writer and poet legend. However, the title is “Who the Hell Is Edgar?” Romania and San Marino are at the bottom of the odds. It will be a big surprise if any of them qualify. – It’s like an 18-year-old performing on the Russian show, with a song only a mother can love, says Thomassen about the song to Romania. Nail-biting for Alessandra After everyone has sung, the finalists are read out in random order. On Tuesday, Alessandra and Norway were called up as the last nation, after a nail-biting reading. – It was a real kick. The atmosphere was electric! said Alessandra after the performance. news’s reviewers rolled both 1s and 6s on the dice during Tuesday’s semi-final: Final-ready Eurovision artists These advanced from Tuesday’s semi-final: Croatia: Let 3 with “Mama ŠČ!” Moldova: Pasha Parfeni with “Soarele și luna” Switzerland: Remo Forrer with “Watergun” Finland: Käärijä with “Cha cha cha” Czech Republic: Vesna with “My Sister’s Crown” Israel: Noa Kirel with “Unicorn” Portugal: Mimicat with “Ai coração” Sweden: Loreen with “Tattoo” Serbia: Luke Black with “Samo mi se spava” Norway: Alessandra with “Queen of Kings” These six nations were pre-qualified for the final. In addition to last year’s winner Ukraine, there are “the big five”: Germany: Lord of the Lost with “Blood & Glitter” Great Britain: Mae Muller with “I Wrote a Song” France: La Zarra with “Évidemment” Spain: Blanca Paloma with “Eaea” Italy: Marco Mengoni with “Due vite” Ukraine: Tvorchi with “Heart of Steel” Saturday’s final in Liverpool starts at 9pm, and is broadcast on news.
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Denmark and Iceland may have trouble tonight – news Culture and entertainment
