Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two

Host country: The Netherlands (AVROTROS, NOS, NPO)
Venue: Hilversum, The Netherlands
Host: Janouk Kelderman
Date: Thursday 14 May 2020

N.B. Any use of "tonight" or "this evening" throughout this post means Thursday 14 May 2020. All times in this post are in BST.

Introduction

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final was due to take place at Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands on Thursday 14 May 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in March 2020, the EBU made the difficult decision to cancel the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. This is the first time the Eurovision Song Contest has been cancelled since its first ever edition in 1956. Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two was a replacement show, streamed live on the Eurovision Song Contest's YouTube channel, at the time the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final would have been shown on Thursday 14 May 2020. Its purpose was to honour the 18 countries which would have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final, plus the three countries (France, United Kingdom, Spain) which would have voted but not performed live that evening, by showing the official preview videos of those countries' entries for 2020. A few extra surprises were to be included too.

The Opening

After the Eurovision ident accompanied by Charpentier's Te Deum prelude, the opening was minimal. Janouk Kelderman gave a short speech stating that the purpose of this online show, just like part one planned for two days earlier, was to honour the songs which would have competed at the Eurovision Song Celebration 2020.

The Songs

Each song video was introduced with a slide containing rays in the country's flag colours, the country name, artist name, song title, a panel containing the writers and composers and a photo of the artist. A voice-over announced the song number, artist, song title and country. Some of the videos were national final performances, whereas others were pre-recorded preview videos. The first 18 songs were from the countries that were to have performed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final, in the order they were planned to be performed in that semi-final.

Song 1: Greece - Stefania "SUPERG!RL"

This is clearly a promotional video, which features, amongst other scenes, a school and an exercise studio. I'm mystified as to the significance of those, but collectively they make a good video. As far as the song goes, this has a really catchy chorus, the filler music following each chorus is the style of Greek music which as featured in some past Greek Eurovision entries, e.g. "Aphrodisiac" in 2012, and the middle eight is good too. Stefania has a nice voice, and she sang well in the video. One can only guess how this would have looked or sounded on the Rotterdam Ahoy stage; presumably some of those who featured in the exercise studio part of the video may have done exercises, but to comply with the rules, even if Stefania had been singing alone, there could only have been a maximum of five people exercising. Altogether a lively, catchy song; just what is needed to open a semi-final. First grade rocks (or for the purposes of the classroom scene in the video, perhaps it should be twelfth grade rocks); this would almost certainly have qualified for the Grand Final, even though Cyprus would have been unable to vote for Greece (due to them being in the wrong semi-final). Put it this way, this was in the top ten of my ranking, and I'd have definitely wanted this to qualify.

Song 2: Estonia - Uku Suviste "What Love Is"

Another video which is clearly a preview video. This is a love song, which starts with a gentle first verse. The pre-chorus (starting with "But how can you know how a star looks) is also gentle, but is set to the chorus tune; the wavy effect of the lyrics to the tune here is out of this world. The chorus itself (starting "I never imagined the power") is really powerful and impactful, and you still get the wavy effect of the lyrics to the tune. After the second verse, there is another instance of the chorus. After that, a quieter, gentler instance of the chorus serves as a suitable bridge before the final powerful instance of the chorus. Uku has a good voice, and he sang well in the video. It's likely that the background and floor lighting would have featured in the live performance in Rotterdam. This is another song I included in my top ten, and going by the video I'd have definitely wanted this to qualify. Unfortunately, I think it the likelihood of this qualifying would have been questionable; it might have scraped through, but then again, I think there's a slightly higher chance it would have been eliminated.

Song 3: Austria - Vincent Bueno "Alive"

This is clearly a promotional video. Not a bad song, it's certainly got a catchy chorus. That said, the chorus sounds to me like a 1970s / 1980s disco style one. Of course, one can only speculate how this would have been staged, and how this would have sounded in Rotterdam. Going by the video alone, I'd have preferred this to have stayed out of the final.

Song 4: Moldova - Natalia Gordienko "Prison"

Another video which is clearly a preview video, so one can only speculate how this would have been staged in Rotterdam . It's got quite a bouncy introduction, the sections starting "I don't want to feel you" or "I don't want to be with you" are sung in a bouncy manner, and parts starting "I am surrounded by walls" are more intense. As one would expect, the chorus is the most intense part of the song, with the greatest emphasis on the word "Prison" within each instance of the chorus. Quite a lively song, but I ended up ranking this twelfth. Nonetheless, I'm convinced this would have had no problem qualifying for the Grand Final.

Song 5: San Marino - Senhit "Freaky!"

This is clearly a promotional video, which includes kaleidoscopic images and disco balls. This is very much a 1970s disco style song; very catchy and lively. This is the sort of song that would probably have got very few points from the juries and a quite a large score from the public. Whether or not this would have qualified is questionable; I have a feeling it perhaps would have qualified, due to it being catchy, and having a novelty / silly slant to it. Personally, I'd have preferred this not to have qualified, as I thought there were other, better semi-finalists more deserving of a place in the Grand Final.

A short break followed at this point, during which some of the artists sung parts of their songs in their native languages.

Song 6: Czech Republic - Benny Cristo "Kemama"

What on Earth, in the world, is this? This sounds to me like a cross between reggae and rap. It's obvious that the video is a promotional one, so one can only speculate what this would have sounded like sung live, and how this would have been staged, in Rotterdam. Going by the video, this is one of my least liked songs that would have been performed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final, and I'd have almost certainly disliked it equally performed live. This is a song I'd have preferred not to have qualified.

Song 7: Serbia - Hurricane "Hasta La Vista"

The video used in Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two is a promotional video. Obviously, this couldn't have been recreated in Rotterdam; in fact, certain elements of the video probably wouldn't have gone down too well if they were created on the Rotterdam stage. I've also seen the Beovizija 2020 Final performance of this song on YouTube, and that gives a much better idea of how this would have sounded, and been staged at the Rotterdam Ahoy. "Hasta la vista" is a lively, catchy entry, with a good beat; it's also quite modern. I notice that, in the Beovizija 2020 Final performance, the three ladies had outfits made up of what looked like mirror pieces, and they danced in time with the music; presumably they would have worn those for their performance in Rotterdam. As one would expect for this type of song, there were flashing lights in the Beovizija 2020 Final performance, and there were various patterns on the background screens; presumably that would have been an important part on the Eurovision 2020 stage. Altogether a lively song which some would have wanted to get up and dance along to during its semi-final performance. This song would have done well in the public vote, even if it struggled in the jury vote, and would have had no problem qualifying, even though Croatia, North Macedonia and Slovenia would have been unable to help them (as they're in the wrong semi-final). Put it this way, this is a song I would have definitely wanted to have qualified for the Grand Final.

Song 8: Poland - Alicja "Empires"

One could be forgiven for thinking this is a James Bond movie opening sequence song. After a gentle first verse, the pace builds up during the pre-chorus. This is followed by a lively chorus. After a gentle second verse, and another build-up, there is another lively chorus. Altogether a well-structured song. Furthermore, Alicja has a beautiful voice, and she sang well in the video, which is clearly a promotional one. One can only speculate how this would have sounded or been staged at the Rotterdam Ahoy. The video includes plenty of fire, so presumably there would have been flame effects in Rotterdam, either through video effects on the background screens, or actual flames under controlled conditions on stage. Going by the video, I'd have definitely wanted this to have qualified for the Grand Final. I'm convinced this would have had a good chance of qualifying.

Song 9: Iceland - Daði og Gagnamagnið "Think About Things"

I watched Söngvakeppnin 2020 Grand Final online live from the UK on Saturday 29 February 2020, and that evening, I ranked Daði og Gagnamagnið just fourth out of five finalists. The video used in Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two is the Söngvakeppnin 2020 Grand Final performance, so that gives a good idea of how this would have been staged at the Rotterdam Ahoy. I still think, just like I did at the time of Söngvakeppnin 2020, that this sounds like a UK pop song from the late 1970s to mid-1980s, and therefore some could consider this kind of song to be behind the times. Initially I wondered what was the significance of the faces on the background screens, and on the outfits, but it quickly occurred to me during the Söngvakeppnin 2020 Grand Final they resemble the kind of computer graphics that 1980s technology was capable of; chunky and low resolution by today's standards, the group's way of completing the 1980s look. If the group members wanted to create a proper 1980s look, I think they ought to have worn oversized white T-shirts bearing slogans in black capital letters (as long as they were slogans which did not contravene Eurovision rules), and leg warmers. This was one of the favourites to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. When this song won Söngvakeppnin 2020, I had my doubts as to whether or not this would even qualify for the final, but now I've seen the videos of all 18 songs which would have been competing in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final, I'm convinced this would have had no problem qualifying. By the time of Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two, this was in the top three of my ranking, and going by the video, I'd have definitely wanted this in the Grand Final.

Song 10: Switzerland - Gjon's Tears "Répondez-moi"

This video is clearly a promotional one, so one can only speculate how this would have been staged in Rotterdam. According to the odds at the time of the cancellation, this was among the countries tipped to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. This is quite a good ballad, and the singer has a good voice, but this song just missed out on the top ten of my ranking. I wouldn't have minded if this had qualified, but I wouldn't have missed it if it hadn't been there.

A short break followed at this point. This break featured Eurovision artists performing Eurovision songs in their homes, followed by Eurovision artists giving home tours.

Song 11: Denmark - Ben & Tan "YES"

A country song, and a lively, catchy one at that. The video used in Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two is the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2020 performance. I like the way the camera crew focused on Ben & Tan early on. In the video, the song was well sung, and the staging was very good, I liked the way the word "Yes" was flashed on the background screens, and the use of light beams, during the choruses, which themselves are really powerful. The use of fireworks near the end added to the impact. Presumably this would have been staged in a similar manner in Rotterdam. This song ended up top of my ranking whilst watching Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two. Going by the video, I'd have definitely wanted this to have qualified, and I'm convinced there is a high likelihood this would have been in the Grand Final.

Song 12: Albania - Arilena Ara "Fall From The Sky"

A power ballad, the verses are quite gentle and the chorus is somewhat powerful. Arilena has a beautiful voice, and she sang well in the video, is clearly a promotional one. One can only speculate how this would have been staged in Rotterdam. This is one which I would have liked to have seen in the Grand Final, and it probably would have qualified.

Song 13: Finland - Aksel "Looking Back"

A ballad, containing rather gentle verses and pre-choruses, and more powerful choruses. The second verse has more beat to it than the first verse. The video used in Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two is the UMK 2020 Final performance of this song, which included background images and side to side strips of white and red light. Presumably, similar imagery would have been used for the live performance in Rotterdam. Altogether a very good ballad, and Aksel has a good voice. I liked this song enough to rank it in my top five during Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two and, going by the video, I'd have definitely wanted this in the final. Realistically though, I very much doubt if this would have qualified.

Song 14: Armenia - Athena Manoukian "Chains On You"

The video is clearly a promotional one, featuring the Athena atop a giant diamond whilst singing. Therefore, it's quite likely she would have performed atop a giant diamond at the Rotterdam Ahoy, and strobe lighting would have been used (just like in the video). Interestingly this song seems to have two different choruses, both of which are sung more than once. All in all, not my cup of tea; this is one I wouldn't have wanted in the Grand Final. Nonetheless, there are undoubtedly plenty of people who love this style of music, and without a shadow of a doubt this would have qualified.

Song 15: Portugal - Elisa "Medo De Sentir"

The video used in Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two is the Festival da Canção 2020 performance, and it's likely that the staging would have been similar in Rotterdam. I first saw the Festival da Canção 2020 performance, on YouTube, the day after this won Festival da Canção 2020. At the time I wasn't particularly impressed by this ballad; although Elisa has a beautiful voice, I felt "Medo De Sentir" is a bit dull and forgettable overall. This grew on me a bit as watched this again multiple times prior to Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two; I think "Medo de sentir" is better than Portugal's host entry "O jardim" in 2018 (which was directly qualified to the final that year), but "Medo de sentir" is definitely not one of Portugal's best efforts. I've known Portugal send better songs than this over the years, including "Dança comigo" in 2007 and "Vida minha" in 2012, both of which failed to qualify for the final against my wishes. I wouldn't have minded seeing "Medo de sentir" in the final, but I wouldn't have missed it if it wasn't there. Realistically this would have almost certainly failed to qualify.

A break followed at this point, during which YouTube creators from all over Europe commented the songs from Moldova, Denmark, Armenia, Poland, Serbia, Georgia, Iceland, United Kingdom

Song 16: Georgia - Tornike Kipiani "Take Me As I Am"

The video is clearly a promotional one, and interestingly it's in monochrome. One can only speculate how this would have been staged in Rotterdam. The song itself is a heavy rock song; on a general note I don't like this style of song, so it's hardly surprising that this was bottom of my ranking, and I would have definitely not wanted this in the final. Still, there are plenty of rock / metal fans out there, and such fans would have voted for this, so this may well have qualified against my wishes.

Song 17: Bulgaria - VICTORIA "Tears Getting Sober"

Is this a ballad, or is this a lullaby? Either way, it's a really sweet song, very much a Disney style song. Victoria has a beautiful song, and she sang well in the video, which is clearly a promotional one. It's hardly surprising this was the favourite to win by the time the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was cancelled. My only dislike is the flashing lights towards the end of the video; no doubt they would have been replicated using strobe lighting during the live performance in Rotterdam. Quite frankly, I think flashing lights are unnecessary in this kind of song. This is one I definitely would have liked to have seen in the final.

Song 18: Latvia - Samanta Tīna "Still Breathing"

The last semi-finalist already; it's amazing how time flies! What on Earth, in the world, is this? To me, this seems like a load of nauseating, irritating trash. I've noticed several instances of the lines "I will keep on running. Running till I reach the end" Even though I achieved my best ever times and absolute placing in the Bath Half Family Fun Run in March this year, that's not enough to sway me towards liking the song. The video used in Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two is clearly a promotional one. I've also seen the Supernova 2020 Final performance of this on YouTube, and although that gives a better clue as to how this would have looked in Rotterdam, the song still sounds just as bad. Regarding the Supernova 2020 Final performance, there is an instance of red and white flashing lights, which is hardly surprising for this style of song; presumably they would have been included in the staging in Rotterdam. However, I'm mystified as to the backing singers holding and squirting the detergent bottles in the Supernova 2020 Final performance. All in all, a song I definitely wouldn't have wanted in the Grand Final.

Direct Qualifiers

At this point there was a seamless transition into the three countries that were directly qualified for the final, but which would have voted tonight.

Song 19: France - Tom Leeb "Mon Alliée (The Best In Me)"

France have gone for a ballad this year. It's quite a beautiful ballad; the verses and most of the choruses are quite gentle. The final chorus, towards the end, is more powerful, giving the song a much-needed lift. Tom has a nice voice, and he sang well in the video, which is clearly promotional. One can only guess how this would have been staged, and how this would have sounded, in Rotterdam.

Song 20: United Kingdom - James Newman "My Last Breath"

As a UK resident it's difficult giving an unbiased opinion of this entry. This is a ballad with a really powerful chorus; but I'm mystified as to the need for a pause between "last" and "breath". The video used in Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two is a promotional one, filmed in a snowy coniferous forest. One can only guess how this would have been staged in Rotterdam; presumably the snowy forest scenes could have appeared on the background screens. James has a good voice in the video, but one can only guess how he would have sounded whilst performing live in Rotterdam on the night of the Grand Final. If this was well sung, and well staged, this could have done reasonably well in the Grand Final. Obviously, this song's place in the running order, and which twenty songs qualified from the two semi-finals, would have had their effect on how "My Last Breath" would have fared.

Song 21: Spain - Blas Cantó "Universo"

Last year Spain went for what I'd call a summer party song, and this year they went for a ballad. "Universo" is a well-structured ballad, with powerful choruses, but perhaps there's a little too much use of "Uni-universo" Blas has a nice voice, and he sang well in the video, which is clearly a promotional one. Of course, no-one will ever know how this would have been staged, or how well Blas would have sung, live in Rotterdam during the Grand Final.

Fan Recap

After the last song ended, there was a recap of all 21 songs, in the order they were shown. This recap was unusual on two counts. Firstly, it featured Eurovision fans enjoying themselves, whilst audio of clips of the songs was played in the background. Secondly, for obvious reasons, there were no phone numbers as would have appeared during a proper recap containing clips of live stage performances.

Finally, Janouk Kelderman gave a brief closing speech. This was followed by the closing credits and the Eurovision ident. The show ended around 21:30 BST.

Comparison with Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final

The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final would have differed in many ways from what was broadcast online this evening.
1) The show would have been presented by Chantal Janzen, Edsilia Rombley and Jan Smit.
2) The breakdancer Redo (Redouan Aiit Chit) would have opened the show, and the hosts would have given opening speeches.
3) Only the 18 semi-finalists would have performed live on the Rotterdam Ahoy stage this evening. The running order would have been the same as the first 18 songs in Eurovision Song Celebration 2020 Part Two this evening. Each song would have been preceded by a postcard.
4) Once all 18 semi-final songs had been performed, the voting lines would have opened, and there would have been a recap of the 18 songs; this would have been a recorded clip of each of live stage performance. The UK was drawn to vote in this semi-final, so UK viewers would have seen the voting numbers at the bottom of the screen during the recap.
5) After the recap, there would have been some sort of interval act. There would, almost certainly, have been a second recap after that, and a countdown to when the lines closed. Since the UK was drawn to vote in this semi-final, the BBC would have been required to show this.
6) Before the ten qualifiers were announced, France, United Kingdom and Spain, which were due to vote but not perform in this semi-final, would have been honoured. For each of these countries, one of the hosts would have spoken to the applicable artist, and about one minute of a rehearsal performance would have been shown.
7) The ten qualifiers would have been announced, in a random order.
8) Once the ten qualifiers had been announced, there would have been a recap, consisting of clips of the ten countries which had qualified for the Grand Final.
9) The semi-final would have ended around 22:10 BST.

My Second Semi-Final Ranking

I used My Eurovision Scoreboard to rank the songs. Since that only contained the 18 songs that were to have performed live in the semi-final that was due to take place this evening, I was only able to rank the 18 semi-finalists. In fact, that's what I wanted to do, to mimic the semi-final as closely as, some of which appeared to be national final performances and the rest were promotional videos. My opinions and ranking might have differed considerably had the artists been performing live at the Rotterdam Ahoy. possible. That's why the three direct qualifiers (France, United Kingdom, Spain), which were only due to vote but not perform tonight, were omitted from my ranking. Of course, I was only able to judge the songs on the videos in this online show

Here is my top ten:

{ Insert scoreboard images }

Here is my ranking of the remaining seven semi-finalists:

{ Insert scoreboard images }

The UK was drawn to vote in this semi-final anyway, so I would have voted for: (top 6 of my scoreboard).

Outro

Altogether, a good substitute show for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final. It's the best that could be done given the circumstances; basically a compilation of preview videos of the 18 countries that would have performed live in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Second Semi-Final, the three direct qualifiers (France, United Kingdom, Spain) which would have voted but not participated this evening, and a few extras. During the show, I noticed that some of the song videos appeared to be national final performances, (e.g. Söngvakeppnin, Dansk Melodi Grand Prix), whereas others were clearly pre-recorded promotional videos. Obviously national final performances would have given a better idea of how they would have sounded / looked live if the ESC 2020 Second Semi Final had taken place as planned in Rotterdam this evening. Even so, they may have sounded better or worse live at the Rotterdam Ahoy than at the national final venues when the national finals took place.

So, the sad thing is no-one will evequalified wouldn't and which ones, which is somewhat depressing to say the least. The upshot of this is, I cannot write my opinions on which songs which I wanted or didn't want in the final qualified or were eliminated. Furthr know which ten songs would have ermore, it seemed strange for this show to finish around 21:30, instead of around 22:10 as would have been the case if the semi-final had taken place as planned.