The almost perfect Eurovision song, the bookies’ favourite and a guttural scream… What to look out for tonightpublished at 20:12 BST
20:12 BST
Mark Savage
Music correspondent, at the semi-final
Image source, EBU / Alma BengtssonImage caption,
Like a 1984 electro-pop robot? Lion Ceccah is hoping to represent Lithuania in Saturday’s grand final
Tonight’s semi-final is jam-packed, with some of this year’s
most colourful and exciting contestants lined up to perform.
We won’t be providing running commentary until Saturday’s
final – but here are some highlights to look out for tonight.
Opening the show we have Satoshi, representing Moldova, with
the rabble-rousing anthem Viva, Moldova! It’s almost the perfect Eurovision
song, with a dash of patriotism mixed with an embrace of other cultures –
including lyrics in Romanian, Italian, Latin, English, Spanish and French.
Finland is the bookies’ favourite, with the
bombastic and passionate Liekinheitin (“flamethrower”). It’s
performed by concert violinist Linda Lampenius with singer Pete Parkkonen, who
has all the clean-cut good looks of his near-namesake in Spider-Man.
Dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984, is Lithuania’s
Lion Ceccah. His song, Sólo Quiero Más, is all about breaking free of the
algorithm and reclaiming our humanity. To illustrate the struggle, he’s painted
head to toe in silver like the man
from Rank, external.
Greece is also a strong contender, with
27-year-old Akylas showing off centuries of Greek culture in his innovatively
staged song, Ferto.
We’ll also hear from Israel’s Noam Bettan. His
country’s presence
at the contest has proved divisive but his song, Michelle, is one of
the year’s better ballads.
And keep an eye out for LAVINA, the band representing Serbia.
They’ll round out tonight’s show with a guttural scream in their rock anthem,
Kraj Mene.
For
more details on all this year’s entries, here’s a guide we published over the
weekend.