Semi Final 1: Part One

Montenegro
Rambo Amadeus "Euro Neuro"
Crazy and destined to go down like a Trackshittaz sandwich. Rap, political commentary, T-Rex shout-outs and Zorba keyboards. A slim chance it may connect with people. But really will only get the Hipster Ironic votes. (Will not Qualify)

Iceland
Gréta Salóme & Jónsi "Never Forget"
The return of Jonsi. The first of many ballads for the year. It has a very familiar sounding chorus; mostly meh (Qualifies)

Greece
Eleftheria Eleftheriou "Aphrodisiac"
Very Greek. Very Sakis. Not very creative. No one ever goes broke underestimating the public. Will qualify (Qualifies)

Latvia
Anmary "Beautiful Song"
Meta-references in Eurovision songs can only be for sh*ts n giggles. It is forbidden to get self-referential when serious. (Will not Qualify)

Albania
Rona Nishliu "Suus"
Really dull, least engaging Albanian entry I can recall. A three minute warble. (Will not Qualify)

Romania
Mandinga "Zaleilah"
Continuing the tradition of female singers from Romania who don’t mind wearing not much on stage. Aiming for the Flor-de-Lis’ demographic from a few years back. Portugal not voting in Semi 1 but Spain is. Great sound. Trivia – the former lead singer of this band sang Balkan Girls in 2009. (Qualifies)

Switzerland
Sinplus "Unbreakable"
Another Swizz band – can they play live will be the big question. And do bands even work at ESC? It is not Unbearable, just Unremarkable (Qualifies)

Belgium
Iris "Would You?"
This is [my version of] my time. Very Dianne Warren sounding. A committee-written soft-pop ballad. Banal and instantly forgotten. (Will not Qualify)

Finland
Pernilla Karlsson "När jag blundar"
Shades of Missy Higgins’ ‘The Special Two’ here. A very sweet ballad, will it stand out in the strong semi? (Qualifies)