EUROVISION 2019: FINAL SEMI-FINAL 2 PREDICTION

The second semi-final of Eurovision 2019 is tonight! I was fairly confident in my pre-show predictions but as time has gone on im not as sure about my predictions as I once was. Some of my thoughts have changed and I’m hoping to get a new prediction record this year of more than 8/10, so lets see!

Armenia

This is a real cut-throat semi-final where a lot of the big favourites take a huge chunk of the top 10, meanwhile others like Armenia fall into the middle ground, and with this opening the show I just don’t know if people are going to have this in their mind by the end of the show. Its on the bubble, but I’m concerned it’ll fall on the wrong side.

Final Verdict: Not Qualifying

Ireland

This has gradually improved as time has went on and seeing the second rehearsal made me realise this has some things going for it. Its still nowhere near the ideal staging I would’ve gave this though, and I just don’t think its gripping or even interesting enough that people will be determined to vote for it at the end of the show, similar to Armenia, which is a shame.

Final Verdict: Not Qualifying

Moldova

There’s been a bit of drama from the sand artist during this performance, who says that they are being screwed over by the team as the performance isnt reaching the level they want it to be at. The sad reality is this was always a no-hoper in such a semi-final anyway, and I can’t see Moldova saving this one.

Final Verdict: Not Qualifying

Switzerland

As much as I’m not a big fan of this song this does feel like the real start to the show. High energy and a solid performance that will appeal to its audience with the Sacha Jean Baptiste seal of approval with staging. Easy prediction really.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

Latvia

This feels another one of the acts that is easy to predict. As much as I love this one this has no Eurovision competitive element at all so it has simply no possibility of making it through all the crazy of this semi-final.

Final Verdict: Not Qualifying

Romania

This is another one of the acts that I have on the bubble. I love that they’ve translated the music video setting to the staging of this one and I think that this is one of Romania’s stronger entries over the years. I do think it has a higher chance of qualifying than not because I think having Romania send the spooky, Transylvania-esque entry may appeal to the casual audience, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it slipped out just because of the competitive nature of this semi also.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

Denmark

This for me is the hardest act in this semi-final to predict. I constantly go back and forth on whether of not to put this through or leave it out because in some cases these types of entry have worked and others not so much. This is the one I’m most uncertain about, but I think its going to sneak through, much to my dismay.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

Sweden

Are we really going to have a conversation on whether this can qualify? Not only is this qualifying but its also neck-and-neck in my eyes to be the winner of this semi-final and probably even take the trophy on Saturday night. This is really strong.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

Austria

I originally had this down as a shock qualifier but seeing everything in this semi-final that demand strong jury support I’m not sure if this will get enough support from them to push this through. I definitely don’t think its top 10 televote neither, so even though they’ve elevated this even further with the live and its one of my favourites I can’t set myself for failure and unfortunately I see this missing out. In my prediction, this is my 11th.

Final Verdict: Not Qualifying

Croatia

People have started saying this week that Croatia are a dark horse to qualify, and I truly want to know if they‘ve lost their minds. This has no way of making it through such a tough semi-final because there’s nothing compelling enough to vote for it over the others apart from Roko’s vocal, which is cancelled out by singing such a dated song anyway.

Final Verdict: Not Qualifying

Malta

I love this and I’m also really happy that on the night they’re going to have their own LED walls back that were taken away due to technical problems in the second rehearsal. This is really strong and I can see many voting for this as its the only female uptempo number and it feels contemporary, and I can’t wait to see how high Malta can go with this.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

Lithuania

I did once think that Lithuania could be a dark horse with all the diaspora-heavy countries and neighbours voting in this semi-final, but that was with only the Eurovizjos Atranka staging. This just doesn’t hold up the same and I can‘t believe anyone believed that LED was a good idea. On the bubble, but more likely sitting the final out I’m afraid.

Final Verdict: Not Qualifying

Russia

No brainer here also. Sergey’s staging is really strong and its easily going to get enough points to get Russia back to the final. I will say I don’t think its one of the huge winners from this semi and I can see at least 3 other countries finishing higher than this, but its obviously still enough to qualify with ease.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

Albania

Now this one pains me. I think I speak for all of us when I say I was underwhelmed by Albania’s staging. What they have now is way better but in this super competitive semi-final its just not holding up against the others that have risen above it anymore. I still hope and pray that this qualifies as its one of my favourites from this semi-final, and it still has the USP of being the only non-English entry in the semi-final, but I’m really uncertain.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

Norway

This is another where I quite simply have absolutely no idea which way it will go. Spirit In The Sky is hugely popular with Eurofans and I think that reputation is clouding our predictions as a result. A result similar to Saara Aalto’s Monsters is what I expect, but it will have to nab one of those 10 spots to get there. This is almost certainly on the bubble.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

The Netherlands

I don’t even know what to say here because its just so obvious that this is going through and headed for top 3 in the semi-final at the very least. The staging did underwhelm me but its coming together slowly and I think this is really going to be the moment of the semi-final.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

North Macedonia

This is the Georgia of this semi-final, an act that elevated with staging and fooled people into thinking it could shock qualify but in the end people‘s initial impressions weren’t as strong and it missed out. I really think they‘ve elevated with this staging to the point where its on the bubble, but its still not a certainty and I think after The Netherlands it maybe reduces its impact.

Final Verdict: Not Qualifying

Azerbaijan

This is another one of the certain qualifications. They could’ve brought staging that did everything that I hated about the video and still qualified in my mind. Azerbaijan are comfortably back in the final and they may as well announce them first as we’re all expecting it.

Final Verdict: Qualifying

This really turned out to be a bloodbath too, didn't it? Having all the huge favourites at the top of this semi-final really made it tough to piece together the rest and who would make it through. Hopefully I can get a new record tonight but I'm not so sure! Let's check in tomorrow after the inevitable chaos of tonight's results...