Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Second Semi-Final

Host country: Italy (RAI)
Venue: PalaOlimpico, Turin, Italy
Hosts: Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan, Mika
Date: Thursday 12 May 2022

N.B. Any use of "tonight" or "this evening" throughout this post means Thursday 12 May 2022. All times in this post are in BST.

The Opening

After the initial opening sequence, the Second Semi-Final began with "The Italian Way", ode to Italian hand gestures performed by Alessandro Cattelan. Afterwards the three hosts appeared on stage to give their opening speeches.

The Songs

9 minutes after the start of the show (20:09 BST) it was time for the first song. Each song was introduced by a postcard film related to the appropriate country.

Song 1: Finland - The Rasmus “Jezebel”

I watched Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022.Final live, online from the UK, on 26 February 2022. Finland has gone for a rock song again this year, however it’s a somewhat toned down form of rock compared to last year. I’m mystified as to why the lead singer is wearing a yellow raincoat, and held a yellow balloon in the early part of the song. Unsurprisingly this song included bursts of strobe lighting, as well as static yellow lighting. Altogether, a lively, catchy song, but I think the lead singer’s voice ought to have been stronger. Now I’m not normally keen on rock, but oddly enough I’d like to see this in the Grand Final, and I think it’s got a good chance of getting there. See you Saturday, The Rasmus.

Song 2: Israel - Michael Ben David “I.M”

#ISR Israel has sent some good songs over the years, but I’m disappointed with Israel this year. “I.M” is a totally different sort of lively song to “Jezebel”. “I.M” seems a bit of a mess to me, with a beat which seems a bit on the irritating side to me. Unsurprisingly this lively song included strobe lighting. I’m mystified as to the significance of the white line on the stage early on, and the red on the stage later. I’d rather this stays out of Saturday’s final.

Song 3: Serbia - Konstrakta “In Corpore Sano”

#SRB Serbia has gone for a rather obscure entry this year. Looking at the lyrics, this is about being healthy. Undeniably that’s important for everyone to remember, but I’m not sure this is the right place to promote that. I was unimpressed by the preview video, but I think tonight’s live performance is better. The lead singer sang well, and the song has a good beat. The background imagery enhanced the song. I wouldn’t mind this in the Grand Final, but wouldn’t miss it if it’s not there.

Song 4: Azerbaijan - Nadir Rustamli “Fade To Black”

#AZE Azerbaijan has entered a ballad this year. Nadir has a good voice, and sang well this evening, including whilst lying on one of the steps for part of the song. I’m mystified as to the need for the steps though. The lighting was varied; white and blue lighting early on, some red lighting later and flashing lights during the most powerful part of the song. This is another song which I wouldn’t mind seeing in the final, but I wouldn’t miss this if it’s not there. I think this is very much a borderline qualifier though.

Song 5: Georgia - Circus Mircus “Lock Me In”

#GEO Well I didn’t think much of this when watching the preview video, and tonight’s live performance isn’t much better. This is a very repetitive song, the lines “Take me to the spacecraft, Take me to dance club” are, in my opinion, downright irritating. Thankfully I find the lines “Lock me up, Lock me down, Lock me in, Lock me out, Lock me sideways” more tolerable, but even then I think they are over used. The only thing I did like about this was the patterns on the background screens (which, for some strange reason, included lips) and on the stage. I hope this stays out of Saturday night’s final, but I have a feeling this could just slip through, just because it’s unusual.

Song 6: Malta - Emma Muscat “I Am What I Am”

#MLT This is one of the tonight’s songs I liked the most when watching the preview videos of tonight’s 18 songs in performance order, but I’m a bit disappointed with the live performance tonight. Emma has a nice voice, but I think she could have sung a bit more strongly. I’m mystified as to why she stood on the grand piano, rather than sitting at it. I like the use of the yellow lighting, and the burst of fireworks near the end. Anyway, I’d still like to see this on Saturday night, but I have a feeling this will struggle to qualify.

A short break followed at this point.

Song 7: San Marino - Achille Lauro “Stripper”

#SMR San Marino has entered a hard rock / heavy metal song this year. Unsurprisingly this included use of strobe lighting, and flame effects in the latter part of the song. I’m mystified as to the need for the two cages on stage. Altogether a very lively entry, enhanced by the lighting and flame effects. I’d rather this doesn’t go through, but again, I think there’s a fairly good chance this will go through.

Song 8: Australia - Riley “Not The Same”

#AUS A ballad, which going by the lyrics, has a message to get across. Sheldon has a beautiful voice, and he sang well. I’m mystified as to the significance of the steps though, and I question the need to include strobe / flashing lights in a ballad. I’d like to see this in the final. I’d like to see this in the Grand Final.

Song 9: Cyprus - Andromache “Ela”

#CYP A ballad, which I think is more Greek sounding than Greece’s entry this year. I like the use of blue lighting during the verses, and bursts of red / orange lighting during the first chorus. I’m mystified as to the significance of the wavy structure,, which has wedges in it. For some mysterious reason there was yellow lighting near the end, and changing back to blue right at the very end. Altogether another good song, well performed. I’d like to see this in the Grand Final.

Song 10: Ireland - Brooke “That's Rich”

#IRL I quite liked the preview video of this song, but I’m not so sure about the live performance tonight. This makes good use of hearts, including on the stage. I question the need for the distorted voice during the bridge; I think that spoils it a bit. Altogether a lively, catchy entry, and good use of light beams. I wouldn’t mind seeing this on Saturday night, but I don’t think I’ll miss it if it’s not there.

Song 11: North Macedonia - Andrea “Circles”

#MKD Another ballad. This one’s not bad, and Andrea has a good voice. I like the light beams, and the patterns on the stage, but I don’t think it’s a very memorable song. I wouldn’t mind this in the final, but I wouldn’t miss this if it’s not there.

Song 12: Estonia - Stefan “Hope”

#EST Estonia has gone for a wild west style song this year. This was one of the songs from this semi-final that I liked the most when watching the preview videos in performance order, and I like it just as much tonight. I like the way it started with Stefan shown in a yellowed monochrome, old film effect, an this transformed to full colour. Some of the wild west scenes from the preview video were included on the background screen at one point in the song. I definitely want to see this in the Grand Final, and will be gutted if it’s not there.

A short break followed at this point. In the UK, BBC Three saw Sam Ryder speaking to the commentators.

Song 13: Romania - WRS “Llámame”

#ROU Another lively song, with a really catchy chorus; I like the way the words of the chorus appear on the background screen and stage floor. This song is enhanced by dancers and orange lighting. This is another song I wouldn’t mind seeing in the final, but wouldn’t miss it if it’s not there. I think this is a questionable qualifier.

Song 14: Poland - Ochman “River”

#POL A beautiful song, Krystian Ochman has a beautiful voice, and he sang very well. I like the use of the blue lighting for much of the song, but I’m mystified as to the need for so much strobe lighting usage about two thirds of the way through, because this is a ballad, not a hard rock song. Anyway, I’d definitely like to see this in the Grand Final.

Song 15: Montenegro - Vladana “Breathe”

#MNE Another beautiful ballad; Vladana has a nice voice and she sang well. The blue lighting added to the atmosphere, but I’m mystified as to the significance of the figures on the background screen for part of the song. I wouldn’t mind seeing this in the final, but wouldn’t miss it if it’s not there. Still, I think it’ll be a miracle for this to qualify; realistically I think it’s highly unlikely to be there.

Song 16: Belgium - Jérémie Makiese “Miss You”

#BEL Another ballad, but in my opinion, it’s not a particularly memorable one. I think there’s too much exaggeration of the word “now” when it appears. I liked the blue and white light beams during the first half of the song; they were just what a song of this style needed, but it seems odd as to why they changed to orange / red lighting about mid-way. I’d rather this doesn’t qualify.

Song 17: Sweden - Cornelia Jakobs “Hold Me Closer”

#SWE I watched Melodifestivalen 2022 Final live, online from the UK, on 12 March 2022. Although I ranked this just 6th on My Eurovision Scoreboard that evening, this has grown on me since. Just like Melodifestivalen, Cornelia began on the stage floor. Everything else from the Melodifestivalen performance is there, including the characteristic microphone and the big circle with green and red light shining through. I’d definitely like to see this in the Grand Final, and this is one of the most likely qualifiers tonight. I’ll be shocked if this doesn’t qualify.

Song 18: Czech Republic - We Are Domi “Lights Off”

#CZE The last song of the night already; it’s amazing how time flies! This isn’t bad; I think I prefer tonight’s live performance to the preview video, but this isn’t one I’m overly keen to see in the final. It’s got a good beat, and I liked some of the images on the background screen, as well as the light beams, but that’s about it really. Altogether a lively entry to close the show.

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Televoting and Recap

After the songs finished, the hosts reappeared to announce the start of the voting at 21:?? BST. A recap of the songs followed. The UK voted in tonight's semi-final, and therefore UK viewers saw the voting numbers at the bottom of the screen during the recap.

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My Preferences

Here are my preferences based solely on all of tonight's performances:
Definitely want to qualify: Finland, Malta, Australia, Cyprus, Estonia, Poland, Sweden.
Wouldn't mind qualifying: Serbia, Azerbaijan, Ireland, North Macedonia, Romania, Montenegro.
Prefer not to qualify: Israel, San Marino, Belgium, Czech Republic.
Definitely don't want to qualify: Georgia.

So, these are the ones I want to see Saturday night: Finland, Malta, Australia, Cyprus, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, plus three of Serbia, Azerbaijan, Ireland, North Macedonia, Romania, Montenegro.

The UK voted this evening; I voted for Finland, Malta, Australia, Estonia, Poland.

My Qualification Predictions

Well this is a difficult one; it’s almost unpredictable. Anyway, here are my predictions of which countries will and won’t qualify, based solely on all of tonight's performances:
Almost certain qualifiers: Sweden.
Likely qualifiers: Finland, Serbia, San Marino, Australia, Estonia, Poland.
May qualify: Israel, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Malta, Cyprus, Belgium, Czech Republic.
Highly unlikely to qualify: Ireland, North Macedonia, Romania, Montenegro.

Voting closed at 21:48 BST.

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Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Second Semi-Final Results

Here are the results, which were announced in a random order before 22:00 BST. Any use of "tonight" still means Thursday 12 May 2022.

My desired qualifiers: Finland, Malta, Australia, Cyprus, Estonia, Poland, Sweden, plus three of Serbia, Azerbaijan, Ireland, North Macedonia, Romania, Montenegro.

Actual qualifiers (in order of announcement): Belgium, Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Australia, Sweden, Romania, Serbia.

Bold entries represent the actual qualifiers that match my "Definitely want to qualify" preferences, and italic entries represent the ones that match my "Wouldn't mind qualifying" preferences.

OUT: Cyprus, Georgia, Ireland, Israel, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, San Marino.

I’m overjoyed that Australia, Estonia, and Poland are through, after I voted for them. Australia’s song has a message to it, and I particularly like Estonia’s wild west style entry. As for Poland, Krystian Ochman has a beautiful voice, and he sang well tonight. I’m also glad Finland is in the final; although I’m not a rock fan, “Jezebel” is a toned-down form of rock compared to Blind Channel’s “Dark Side” last year, so unusual for me, I was particularly to see Finland in the Grand Final this year, and therefore I voted for them as well. In addition, I’m glad Sweden are through; even though I didn’t vote for them, I thought their song was one of the best tonight, and was convinced this was almost guaranteed to qualify.

I’m disappointed that Malta and Cyprus didn’t qualify. Although I was a bit disappointed by Malta’s live performance tonight compared to the preview video, I still voted for Malta as I felt their song deserved a place in the final. That said, I had my doubts about that qualifying.

Three of the countries on my “Wouldn't mind qualifying” list: Azerbaijan, Romania and Serbia qualified. So, I got one wish, 3 of my 6 “Wouldn't mind qualifying” countries made it to the final. That said, when Serbia was the last country to be called out, I would have preferred Malta or Cyprus (one of my missing “Definitely want to qualify” countries, but at least Serbia as the tenth qualifier was better than having Israel, San Marino or Georgia (all of which I didn’t want) in the final.

I’m glad Georgia have been eliminated because I thought “Lock Me In” was the worst song of this semi-final, which is why Georgia ended up on my “Definitely don't want to qualify” list. With 18 countries competing for 10 slots in the Grand Final, I feel it would have been totally inappropriate to have been in the final at the expense of another better song.

So, 5 of my 7 “Definitely want to qualify” songs went through, and 3 of my 6 “Wouldn't mind qualifying” reached the final. Not bad I suppose. At the end of the day, I cannot expect to have all the songs I personally want in the final, and all the songs I personally don’t like eliminated.

Anyway, no matter how I personally feel about which countries' songs went thorough and which ones didn't, all the artists who performed tonight deserve equal respect. Congratulations to the ten countries which qualified to the final, and commiserations to the eight which failed to reach the final. So that means all 25 finalists are now confirmed and 15 countries have been eliminated (but will still vote in the final). Roll on the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 Grand Final at 20:00 BST Saturday evening.

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