Eurovision Song Contest 2023 First Semi-Final

Host country: United Kingdom (BBC)
Venue: Liverpool Arena, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Hosts: Alesha Dixon, Julia Sanina, Hannah Waddingham
Date: Tuesday 9 May 2023

N.B. Any use of “tonight” or “this evening” throughout this post means Tuesday 9 May 2023. All times in this post are in BST.

The Opening

After the initial opening sequence, the first official opening act was called “United By Music”, featuring a boy and a girl standing either side of a frame, and copying each other’s movements (effectively mirror images of each other), along with the song “Together in Electric Dreams”. This led seamlessly into the second opening act, that being co-presenter Julia Sanina performing “Mayak”, accompanied by dancers, plus flame effects around the edge of the stage. At 20:06 the hosts Alesha Dixon, Julia Sanina and Hannah Waddingham appeared on stage to give their opening speeches.

The Songs

Ten minutes after the start of the show (20:10 BST) it was time for the first song. Each song was introduced by a postcard film related to the appropriate country.

Song 1: Norway - Alessandra “Queen of Kings”

I watched Melodi Grand Prix 2023 Final live, online from the UK, on 4 February 2023. “Queen of Kings” is a lively song from start to finish, the chorus is powerful and highly memorable, and the beat is powerful. The lines: "Lookin' out, she calls ... Lai, la-la-li, rai-ra ... Who will conquer all?" remind me of the lines "Zoti nuk ma fal ... Bota mbi mua ra" in Albania's 2021 ESC entry. Staging at the Liverpool Arena included blue light beams and white flashing lights. For some mysterious reason there were some red / orange lights during the bridge, but the blue lights returned afterwards. The dancers on stage enhanced the performance further. Altogether a lively, catchy song to start tonight’s show. I’d definitely like this in the final, and I’m convinced this will be there.

Song 2: Malta - The Busker “Dance (Our Own Party)”

Malta has gone for what I’d call a disco party song this year. According to the official Eurovision website, the band began by busking on the streets of Malta. Their song “Dance (Our Own Party)” explores social anxiety and, more specifically, leaving a party to spend time with friends in a more comfortable setting. The song consists of three parts, and graphics were flashed up at the start of each act. Cardboard cut-outs of past Maltese Eurovision stars appeared at the start of the performance, early on; presumably they represented other party-goers, in the party venue the lead singer clearly appeared to be leaving. Later in part one of the song, a globe appeared on the background screen. A notable feature of part two, and indeed the whole song, was the car, which ties in with the going for a ride part of the song. The most notable feature of part three was one member dancing at one end of the stage, with white lighting beneath the stage floor, and white lights creating a starry effect in the background. Musically, this featured the saxophone and drumkit, so unsurprisingly, one member of the band held a saxophone, and another was seated at a drumkit, for parts of the performance, but it’s difficult to tell whether they were actually playing those instruments, or miming them. Altogether a lively, bouncy song, with a good beat. Furthermore, this was well performed, and it was clever how they staged the parts of the story the song was representing. I wouldn’t mind this in the final, but I wouldn’t miss it if it’s not there.

Song 3: Serbia - Luke Black “Samo Mi Se Spava”

Serbia has gone for a rather unusual song this year. According to the Eurovision website, Luke has a unique brand of indie-techno-pop; he uses classic pop influences as his canvas which he then paints over with experimental, electronic and indie sounds. As for the song’s content, Wiwibloggs website states “Samo mi se spava” translates to “I just want to sleep”. “Samo mi se spava” stands out for its memorable use of metaphors that reference video game language throughout, with phrases including “I don’t wanna choose my fighter, who’s taking control of me?”, and “Hello? Game over”. The lyrics describe Luke’s desire to escape feelings of hopelessness and despair. Tonight’s performance included the giant leaf on a pedestal structure, just like the official preview video (which I presume to be the Pesma za Evroviziju 2023 Final performance). Just like in the preview video, Luke began by singing whilst lying down on the leaf, but by the pre-chorus, he sat up (and was accompanied by flashing blue lights in the background). During the first chorus, he stepped down on to the stage, and performed standing thereafter. Subsequent effects included a starry effect on the background screen and blue lights during the second verse, red and white flashing lights, plus a giant image on the background screen during the second instance of the chorus. The highlight, near the end featured plenty of red lighting, plus a robot image and flame effects on the background screen. This mix of electronic / techno music is not my cup of tea, but no doubt there are plenty who enjoy this style, and I think Luke has been clever with the electronic keyboard, including special effects, combined with beats here. Furthermore, he gave a good performance tonight, and the staging was appropriate for this style of song. I’d rather this doesn’t qualify, but this is sure to be in the final.

Song 4: Latvia - Sudden Lights “Aijā”

According to Wiwibloggs, “Aijā” is an indie-rock track with folk undertones; its title roughly translates to “hushaby” or “shush” in English. The song is a lullaby to the world, providing comfort through difficult times. It was performed in English, except for the outro, which was in Latvian. Just like the Supernova 2023 Final performance of “Aijā” (which I have seen on YouTube), the Liverpool performance was mostly performed on a predominantly dark stage, with a large circular light above the lead singer Andrejs Reinis Zitmanis, and other circular lights. However, there were bursts of flashing lights, plus patterns on the background screen and stage floor, during instances of the chorus. Altogether a somewhat unusual song if this is supposed to be a lullaby, albeit a lullaby to the world. Nonetheless, I quite liked tonight’s live performance; “Aijā” was well-performed and well-staged. Based on tonight’s performance alone, I’d definitely like to see this in the final, but I think this is going to be very much a borderline qualifier.

A short break followed at this point.

Song 5: Portugal - Mimicat “Ai Coração”

I watched Festival da Canção 2023 Final online from the UK, on demand, one day late. The beginning of “Ai Coração” seems fairly slow. From the first chorus it’s quite lively, with a good beat, and plenty of dancing. This sounds to me like something from decades ago. According to Google Translate, Coração means Heart. Tonight’s live performance included considerable use of red light; however white lighting was used at certain points in the song. In addition, Mimicat and her dancers all wore red outfits. The three beats at the very end were a good way to round off this entry. Altogether, quite a catchy song, well sung and well staged; however, unlike the Festival da Canção Final performance, there was no heart or cogs on the background screen in Liverpool. I’d like to see this in the final, and I think this has quite a good chance of qualifying.

Song 6: Ireland - Wild Youth “We Are One”

A song with a fairly gentle first verse, but it builds up during the pre-chorus and gets lively during the chorus. I’m mystified as to why the performance began with the lead singer on the landing at the top of some steps, but by the first instance of the chorus, he was on the stage. The first instance of the chorus included patterns on the background screen. During the second verse, there was a gold swirl pattern on the stage floor. The highlight was arrangement of fireworks around the edge of the stage during the last instance of the chorus. Altogether a lively, catchy song, and well sung. I’d like to see this in the final, but if the betting odds are anything to go by, it’ll be a miracle for this to qualify.

Song 7: Croatia - Let 3 “Mama ŠČ!”

What is this? The lead singer is singing what I’d call utter garbage. In addition to having five performers on stage, the group made use of the background screen to display images of extra people. These included people in sports kit early on, copies of group members during the first instance of the chorus, and loads of faces later. There were also line patterns on the background screen at times. Towards the end one member of the group held two giant rockets, each with a firework at its tip. Not my taste in music at all. I’d rather this doesn’t qualify, but there’s a good chance this could slip through.

Song 8: Switzerland - Remo Forrer “Watergun”

A power ballad of two noticeable parts, in terms of the manner in which they are sung and musically; the piano up is clearly noticeable until the end of the first chorus, and the powerful beat during most of the rest of the song. It’s hardly surprising therefore, that the staging tonight included white / blue lights from the background screens up until the end of the first chorus. After that, the staging included red / orange lights and white flashing lights, along with fireworks and smoke effects. Remo has a good voice; furthermore, tonight he sang well and demonstrated his ability to sing softly and powerfully in one song. Whilst reviewing Eurovision 2023 entries recently, I felt borderline about this song, but based on tonight’s live performance, I’d like this in the final. Sadly, I think this is a doubtful qualifier.

Song 9: Israel - Noa Kirel “Unicorn”

According to Wiwibloggs, the song “Unicorn” is all about perseverance and unleashing your inner strength. This song is notable for the word play of “feminine” and “phenomenal”. I liked the way Noa stood inside the frame, which was set on an angle, during the early part of the song. After the first instance of the chorus, she walked on the on to the main part of the stage, and was accompanied by dancers. Following the line “Do you want to see me dance”, Noa did some stage level dancing (presumably break dancing). During the outro, images of unicorns appeared on the background screen. The burst of fireworks after that was the perfect way to end this song. Altogether, a lively, catchy song, well sung by Noa and very well staged tonight. I’d definitely like to see this in the final, and I think this has a good chance of qualifying.

Song 10: Moldova - Pasha Parfeni “Soarele şi Luna”

Moldova has gone for what seems like an eastern style song this year. It has a good beat at certain points in the song, and I like the use of the flute at times. Unsurprisingly for an eastern style song, two band members were playing drums of some sort near the back of the stage. Notable background screen images included the giant eye at the start, followed by what looked like an eclipsed sun. The red and yellow lights, and the smoke / dry ice effect enhance the song. Altogether a lively song, well staged and well sung. At the time of performance, I’m in two minds as to whether or not I’d like this in the final. I wouldn’t mind this in the final, but wouldn’t miss it if it’s not there.

A short break followed at this point

Song 11: Sweden - Loreen “Tattoo”

I watched Melodifestivalen 2023 Final live, online from the UK, on 11 March 2023. Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 for Sweden with the song “Euphoria”. She’s back this year, this time with the song “Tattoo”. Having analysed the lyrics, it seems to me as though this is about a couple who aren’t ready to commit to a relationship yet, but it’s not over yet, and there is still hope for a successful relationship in the future, when the time is right. As for the chorus, it seems this is stating that one partner is determined to have a successful relationship with the other, no matter what challenges that requires. Just like the Melodifestivalen performance, this made use of the “giant sandwich”, with the upper layer being gradually raised during the performance. It’s unclear whether it’s the same “sandwich”, or a substitute, but it looked effective on the Liverpool Arena stage. The lighting tonight was similar to that in Melodifestivalen, and the smoke / dry ice effect enhanced the performance. Altogether an outstanding package; Loreen has a powerful voice, and sang exceptionally well tonight, and this song was very well staged. I definitely want this in the final, and if the betting odds are anything to go by, this is almost guaranteed to qualify.

Song 12: Azerbaijan - TuralTuranX “Tell Me More”

TuralTuranX is a duo consisting of twins Tural and Turan Baghmanov. The song begins with a spoken section, accompanied by a beat and some background music, until the first instance of the chorus, which is sung. After that there is a rap section, until the second instance of the chorus. The bridge is sung quite rapidly; I like the way in which they sing “And that is love, Love, Love”. The Eurovision performance began with separate monochrome images at start, which merged to full screen, and changed to colour in time for the first instance of the chorus. Thereafter turquoise blue and yellow light beams lit the stage up until the end of the bridge. Presumably those light beam colours were chosen to represent the Ukrainian flag colours. The song draws to a close with one final instance of the chorus, which at Eurovision, featured red / pink lighting. Altogether this is what I’d call a 1960s style rock ‘n’ roll song; similar to what The Beatles, Marmalade and Dave Clark Five used to produce, but with rap thrown in for good measure. It makes good use of drums, cymbals and guitars to varying degrees in different parts of the song. I like the chorus and the section I assume to be the bridge. I’m less keen on the rap sections, but they fit in very well with the sung sections here. Not a bad entry, but I’d rather this doesn’t qualify as there are too many other, better, entries which I’d sooner see in the final.

Song 13: Czechia - Vesna “My Sister's Crown”

Czechia has participated under the name Czech Republic in the past, but this is their first time of taking part under the name Czechia. The song “My Sister's Crown” is in English, Czech, Ukrainian and Bulgarian. Vesna are certainly being adventurous putting four languages in one song, but it’s ironic that they’re including Bulgarian in the song considering that Bulgaria isn’t taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. This opening section, sung in Czech, sounds quite unusual; I think it sounds rather eastern style, but there is a noticeable beat within this section. The next few sections, in English, are in a noticeably different style. As for the Eurovision performance, the opening Czech section included Czech lyrics on the stage floor, and the English section, which followed, included “We’re not your dolls” on the background screen. Light beams also appeared during the performance. Unsurprisingly for a song of this style, the six-member of group danced during the performance, in perfect synchronisation in some parts. During the section starting “All the sisters of the world”, the group members formed a tight circle, facing outwards. All in all, a rather unusual song from Czechia. It’s not the usual verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus structure; in fact, it’s difficult to say exactly the different sections, in noticeably different styles, are. I particularly liked the Ukrainian section starting “Sestro krasyva”, but there are some parts that I’m not that keen on. Anyway, Vesna gave a good performance tonight and this was well-staged. Based on tonight’s performance, I wouldn’t mind this qualifying, but I wouldn’t miss this if it’s not there.

Song 14: Netherlands - Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper “Burning Daylight”

A ballad performed by Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper. According to Wiwibloggs, Mia and Dion co-wrote “Burning Daylight” with Duncan Laurence (who won for the Netherlands in 2019), Jordan Garfield and Loek van der Grinten. Just like in the preview video, Dion sang up until the end of the first instance of the chorus, Mia sang the second verse and second instance of the pre-chorus, and both sang as a duet thereafter. I quite liked the performance in the official preview video when I reviewed this song recently, and also the CD album version, and based on that this would have been on my “Wouldn’t mind qualifying” list. However, I was very disappointed with tonight’s live performance; the only bit I liked tonight was the outro. The most notable feature of tonight’s live performance was the light circle, with rays, on the background screen during the second instance of the chorus, but I question the need for some flashing lights during the outro. Based on tonight’s live performance, I’d rather this doesn’t qualify.

Song 15: Finland - Käärijä “Cha Cha Cha”

The final song already, it’s amazing how time flies! I watched Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2023 Final live, online from the UK, on 25 February 2023. Their entry is performed in Finnish this year. I don't know what genre this is meant to be; to me it sounds like a mixture of rap and dubstep. Whatever it is, it's not my taste in music. Part way through it changes to a totally different style. Whether or not it's to one's personal taste, it's certainly a lively, memorable entry. Analysing an English version of the lyrics, this is about enjoying a night out, and having plenty of drinks until one's eyes are crossed and one's speech is slurred, along with dancing. Just like the UMK Final performance, tonight’s performance began with the lead singer inside the box, but part way into the song, he broke his way out through the top, and stood atop the box. Later he performed on stage. Also, just like the UMK performance, the lead singer wore his lime green top, and dancers, dressed in pink, were present on stage. This made considerable use of strobe lighting early on, but towards the end, this had static lighting in all colours of the rainbow on the background screen and stage floor. Altogether not my taste in music, and I’d rather this doesn’t qualify, but mark my words, this is almost guaranteed a place on Saturday. See you Saturday, Käärijä.

Televoting and Recap

After the songs finished, the hosts reappeared to announce the start of the voting at 21:20 BST. A recap of the songs followed. The UK was unable to vote in tonight's semi-final, and therefore UK viewers saw a message "UK viewers cannot vote tonight" 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: Norway, Latvia, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, Israel, Sweden.
Wouldn't mind qualifying: Malta, Moldova, Czechia.
Prefer not to qualify: Serbia, Azerbaijan, Netherlands, Finland.
Definitely don't want to qualify: Croatia.

So these are the ones I want to see Saturday night: Norway, Latvia, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, Israel, Sweden, Malta, Moldova, Czechia.

Had the UK been voting in this semi-final, I would have voted for: Sweden, Norway, Israel, Latvia, Ireland, Portugal.

My Qualification Predictions

Here are my predictions of which countries will and won’t qualify, based solely on all of tonight's performances:
Almost certain qualifiers: Norway, Sweden, Finland.
Likely qualifiers: Serbia, Portugal, Croatia, Israel, Czechia.
May qualify: Malta, Latvia, Moldova.
Highly unlikely to qualify: Ireland, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Netherlands.

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Eurovision Song Contest 2023 First Semi-Final Results

Here are the results, which were announced in a random order before 22:00 BST. Any use of "tonight" still means Tuesday 9 May 2023.

My desired qualifiers: Norway, Latvia, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, Israel, Sweden, Malta, Moldova, Czechia.

Actual qualifiers (in order of announcement): Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, Israel, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia, Norway.

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: Malta, Latvia, Ireland, Azerbaijan, Netherlands.

I’m glad Norway and Sweden are through, as I thought they were two of the best songs tonight; and they were among the countries most likely to qualify. There was a nail-biting moment when the hosts were about announce Norway as the tenth qualifier; although Norway was expected to qualify, no country was guaranteed a place in the final, and there was the possibility the last place could have gone to another country. I’m also glad Portugal and Israel are through, as I thought they too were good songs which deserved to be in the final. I’m glad Switzerland is in the final, because not only is “Watergun” a good power ballad, but I thought that was highly unlikely to qualify.

The one country I’m most annoyed about qualifying to final is Croatia. That was the one country on my “Definitely don't want to qualify” list. Still, I guess some people liked the style of song that Let 3 have entered this year, and the way it was staged. To a lesser degree I’m annoyed Serbia are through, as their entry this year is not my taste in music, and therefore ended up on my “Prefer not to qualify” list. To be fair though, I think Luke Black was clever with the electronic keyboard, including special effects, combined with beats, and his song “Samo Mi Se Spava” was well staged tonight.

So, 5 of my 7 “Definitely want to qualify” songs went through, and 2 of my 3 of my “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 five which failed to reach the final. So, that means sixteen finalists are now confirmed and five countries have been eliminated. Another sixteen countries will battle it out for the ten remaining places on Thursday evening.

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