Eurovision Song Contest 2017 • Semi-final 1

Many of you are shocked that Latvia didn't qualify! Well, I'm not! The song was good enough to qualify, also the performance was fine enough between mostly bland (and I mean this translation - lacking strong features or characteristics and therefore uninteresting) songs/performances. Yes, the vocals could've been a bit better, but one thing many people noticed - the music wasn't powerful AKA the bass was weak (so thank's to the guy who was sitting to the sounds remote). Also the cameraman could've done a lot better job...
But returning to the reasons, why you thought it will qualify but I didn't! My answer is - the draw killed our chances... After the semifinal draw I already had only about 5-10% belief that we could go through, if everything goes right... Just look at the countries and their voting history - 3 closest (on th map) countries to us were - Finland, Poland and Sweden. If you look at their voting history, Latvia has never really been between their favorites, so it was obvious, that we won't get any good points from them this time as well.. about other countries - those have never really voted for us - even the UK that gives us points only from time to time...
Another reason, why Latvia didn't qualify was that everyone was sure it will qualify - that's not a good sign, especially if you're in a semi with countries that usually don't vote for you! Without actually voting for somebody it will never qualify!

This is what Lauris Reiniks had to say about it: "It's really sad that our (act) didn't qualify, but you can find at least 3 reasons - the sound was weak, foreigners reproaching us for copying Katy Perry and there were no neighbours to vote for us!"

1 - Sweden - they didn't even need to sing, because it was obvious they would qualify anyway. But if I'm honest - the performance was like divided in 2 - a model, who moves as less as possible, just to escape possibility of looking bad at some camera angles and a crew, that is dancing with passion and saving the model's weak vocals (yes, his vocals were weak, when he was singing alone at the beginning)... Robin, you are good only when you stand still and look beautiful - as soon as you start moving, it looks way too stiff...

2 - Georgia - Tamara did everything vocally, the dress was also nice, but the song I guess just wast right for her to qualify.

3 - Australia - was expecting a lot more from him vocally, but the most distracting thing in his act was... his pants/legs! I don't know if it's the newest fashion to walk with pants that are 10 cm too short or is he just thinking that it looks cool, but it looked really bad - black shoes and black pants, but if you can't cover you legs with them or at least wear black socks, then all you can see is his ankles from the back of the arena...

4 - Albania - was surprised, that she was actually very good vocally, so she surprised me the good way.

5 - Belgium - THE WORST LIVE VOCALS TONIGHT!!! I don't know - was she so nervous or what was going on, but she struggled the most from all 18 acts vocally. Maybe she'll be able to deliver better in final, but all I can say is that she qualified only thank's to the studio version of this song, because performance wise it wasn't a qualifier... also, when there were more than 1 country left to qualify, I stil had hopes for Latvia to qualify, but when only 1 spot was left and there was also Belgium left, I knew it will be the qualifier... sadly, because she definitely didn't deliver...

6 - Montenegro - no surprises. weak performance and no one even really cared about his non-qualifying...

7 - Finland - from the studio version it seemed like just another bland ballade, but she didn't disappoint. Her vocals were strong and performance itself was also fine, because in a ballade like that you don't really expect to see some dance moves etc...

8 - Azerbaijan - even though I'm not really a fan of this song, it didn't surprise me that the studio version was better. Yes, the performance in general wasn't bad, but it also wasn't outstanding! Another obvious qualifier...

9 - Portugal - very happy for him. He didn't need the big stage, he didn't need any special effects. It was just him, the song and the audience. Simple as that... and very good.

10 - Greece - not the first year Greece picks the best backvocalists, because they were vocally a lot better than Demy herself... another obvious qualifier... just like with Sweden, I guess there isn't an ESC final without Greece - deserved or not.

11 - Poland - it felt like the music is tonally too low for her in refrains... she was struggling there... otherwise it was an ok performance - nothing really outstanding... Wait a minute - why her voice sounds so weird after the song, when she thank's everyone?

12 - Moldova - people didn't vote for this song or the performance, because it wasn't something spectacular. they voted for the sax guy! Done, I said it!

13 - Iceland - can't you people wear normal shoes? What's with those high heals that are not even high heals... everything else was just as bland as all the show in general...

14 - Czech Republic - an expected non-qualifier, as jazz music isn't really a thing in ESC.. but as a jazz singer she proved that everything's fine with her vocals... also her outfit wasn't something that doesn't fit the performance, so overall it was a nice performance...

15 - Cyprus - the same as Australia about the pants... seriously! Ok, it wasn't as bad as for Australia here, because the shoes had white parts as well, so the naked ankles didn't stand out as much... vocally he isn't the strongest, but he proved that he can hold everything in place even when moving, which isn't easy if you're singing... one of those rare performances where camera work was on point...

16 - Armenia - high notes she took very well, but the low ones - not so much... with Hi-Oh-Hi and some flames I guess it was enough to qualify...

17 - Slovenia - there were a few notes his vocals didn't take very well, but in general, his vocals were one of the best in the night... Why would you take a song that is written 10 years ago to ESC nowadays?

First of all, I am extremely happy that we made it once again! It's the first time ever since the introduction of the semi-finals that Cyprus qualifies thrice in a row! Hovig certainly did an amazing job and vocally he was really good and totally on point, especially considering he had to do some dance moves which certainly make singing even harder. I know it might sound mean but cheers to those who kept (and even keep) on saying that the song is a bad copy of "Human" and that the staging is a copy of Belgium 2015 with parts of Russia 2016.

As for the other acts, I expected Finland through instead of Poland which unfortunately did not happen. To me, the most overrated of the night was definitely Australia. The staging was really mediocre, Isaiah really couldn't hit those high notes towards the end (kinda hilarious as he's won the X Factor) and the fireworks were just there to make the performance somewhat interesting, even if it really wasn't. It's really annoying that apparently whatever they send, they'll always be through thanks to the juries. Unfortunately we have to deal with the fact that the EBU want Australia to win so that a country from the BIG 5 can host the contest (at least from those that haven't hosted the contest for years, like the United Kingdom or France).

Nothing more or less than that. Congrats on the qualifiers, thanks to everyone who voted for Cyprus and enjoy the rest of the shows!