Live Blog: First Semi-Final 2022

Thank you SO much for following the Live Blog this evening, it’s been a lot of fun and a fantastic kick-off to the Eurovision Live Shows. Our beds are calling, so we’ll see you on Thursday for the second Semi-Final! Ciao!

…here’s what we know about the plan so far (these are in no particular order – the final running order won’t be decided until late on Thursday night).

Performing in the first half (order not yet confirmed):

🇨🇭 Switzerland

🇦🇲 Armenia

🇵🇹 Portugal

🇳🇴 Norway

🇺🇦 Ukraine

🇳🇱 Netherlands

🇫🇷 France

🇩🇪 Germany

🇪🇸 Spain

🇮🇹 Italy (confirmed 9th place)

Performing in the second half (order not yet confirmed):

🇮🇸 Iceland

🇱🇹 Lithuania

🇬🇷 Greece

🇲🇩 Moldova

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

We’ll find out the remaining finalists in the second Semi-Final on Thursday, which is VERY EXCITING.

🇳🇱 NETHERLANDS will perform in the FIRST HALF of the Grand Final

🇲🇩 MOLDOVA will perform in the SECOND HALF of the Grand Final

🇺🇦 UKRAINE will perform in the FIRST HALF of the Grand Final

🇬🇷 GREECE will perform in the SECOND HALF of the Grand Final

🇳🇴 NORWAY will perform in the FIRST HALF of the Grand Final

🇵🇹 PORTUGAL will perform in the FIRST HALF of the Grand Final

🇱🇹 LITHUANIA will perform in the SECOND HALF of the Grand Final

🇮🇸 ICELAND will perform in the SECOND HALF of the Grand Final

🇦🇲 ARMENIA will perform in the FIRST HALF of the Grand Final

🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND will perform in the FIRST HALF of the Grand Final

…and it turns out it’s quite a long way to run. We’ve only done it at a walk before now. It’s going to be aaaages before we know which half of the Grand Final each country is performing in, because we have to get through press questions for ten different countries and they haven’t started yet. We are quite tired but we’ve come this far and we’ll be here until the very end, because that’s what a Live Blog is for 💪❤️

Anyway, if you’re staying with us, grab a hot drink and settle in.

Oh no wait, this is actually happening quite quickly *panic face*

Well, that was intense. We’re sprinting off to the press conference to hear from our Grand Finalists, and to share the results of the draw for which half of the Grand Final they’ll perform in. Please don’t go away!

The first Semi-Final is done, and we have our results! Here’s the final list of qualifiers for Saturday’s Grand Final:

🇱🇹 Lithuania / Monika Lui – Sentimental

🇨🇭 Switzerland / Marius Bear – Boys Do Cry

🇺🇦 Ukraine / Kalush Orchestra – Stefania

🇳🇱 Netherlands / S10 – De Diepte

🇲🇩 Moldova / Zdob și Zdub & Advahov Brothers – Trenulețul

🇵🇹 Portugal / MARO -Saudade Saudade

🇮🇸 Iceland / Systur – Með Hækkandi Sól

🇬🇷 Greece / Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – Die Together

🇳🇴 Norway / Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf A Banana

🇦🇲 Armenia / Rosa Linn – Snap

Netherlands’ S10 has qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

Moldova’s Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers has qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra have qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

Greece’s Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord has qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

Norway’s Subwoolfer have qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

Portugal’s MARO has qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

Lithuania’s Monika Liu has qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

Iceland’s Systur have qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

Armenia’s Rosa Linn has qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

Switzerland’s Marius Bear has qualified for the Grand Final of Eurovision 2022!

…which of our 17 Semi-Finalists have qualified for the Top Ten. The results have been checked and verified, and Martin Osterdahl has confirmed that we’re GOOD TO GO.

OK. Deep breaths everyone. It’s time.

Italy automatically qualify for the Grand Final as a member of the Big 5, but would have qualified automatically anyway as they’re also as the host nation. Look, it’s complicated.

Mahmood is one of the biggest stars in Italian music, and he came second in Eurovision in 2019 with his song Soldi. This year he’s paired up with BLANCO, another popular Italian artist. They’re singing their powerful duet Brividi (Chills).

France is one of the Big 5, which means they automatically clarify for the Grand Final on Saturday. Let’s start with a glimpse at France with their techno/folk song Fulenn (Spark) sung by Alvan & Ahez. It’s entirely is sung entirely in Breton and is definitely one of the most unique sounds in this year’s competition.

Did you watch Junior Eurovision back in December? It was won by Malena from Armenia with her song Qami Qami. She’s here on the Turin stage, and Junior Eurovision will be taking place in the Armenian capital Yerevan this December.

When Diodato sang his Eurovision song in an empty Arena di Verona in May 2020, it captured the mood of Italy, the Eurovision community and the whole world. Tonight Diodato has the opportunity to sing Fai Rumore (make noise) in front of a packed PalaOlimpico, and it’s an equally powerful moment.

2020 was a year of lots of amazing 'lost’ Eurovision songs, and it feels really special to hear what this might have been like had it been performed on stage in Rotterdam that year. The audience is singing along and so are we. Bit dusty in here…

The countdown is finished, the voting is closed, so Europe please stop voting NOW. And if you didn’t vote, you can’t complain if your fave doesn’t make it through to the Grand Final. We don’t make the rules*.

*We literally make the rules.

While you’re voting, it’s time for a Italo-disco interval performance from the biggest names in Italian dance music – as Laura tells us, we’re about to turn your living room into the biggest discotheque in the world, so push some furniture out of the way and throw your arms in the air.

This is a brilliant example of how much influence Italy has had on dance music – at the helm is Dardust, one of the most successful producers on the planet, accompanied by DJ/producer Benny Benassi and British band Sophie and The Giants, with the participation of conductor Sylvia Catasta.

We’re just going to take a moment to get up and dance, just to stretch our arms and legs a bit.

Current Delegation Bubble status: Going OFF to Benny Benassi.

Well that time FLEW by – That’s all the peformances for this evening, and it’s up to YOU to decide which ten go through to the Grand Final.

The voting is now OPEN, and in case you’ve forgotten what’s just happened, Eurovision is kindly providing a handy recap.

Our final performance of this evening is Armenia’s Rosa Linn, who tears down her walls of her bedroom of sticky notes as she sings her country/folk ballad Snap. It’s a great vocal performance and definitely one of the more impactful staging options this year – the turn of the set so she can sing the final section through a huge hole is really clever.

🇦🇲 Armenia / Rosa Linn – Snap

Rosa Linn – Snap – Armenia 🇦🇲 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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If you’ve made this far without hearing about the yellow, potassium-loving moon wolves from Norway, well done – they’ve stayed in character for their entire time they’ve been in Turin, which is an impressive dedication to their craft. But before you dismiss Subwoolfer as a novelty act, enjoy the precision of their dance routine, then learn all the moves. You’re going to have this song stuck in your head for days either way, so you might as well embrace it.

🇳🇴 Norway / Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf A Banana

Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf A Banana – Norway 🇳🇴 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2

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This musical journey of heartbreak and hope begins with a reverberating a capella intro, then soars into a huge orchestral ballad. Amanda’s ghostly white dress and the staging of broken chairs makes this one of the more haunting stagings of this competition, and it feels very much like a song for our times. Bleak, but beautiful.

🇬🇷 Greece ​​/ Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – Die Together

Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – Die Together – Greece 🇬🇷 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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Time for some gentle Icelandic folk, from Systur singing Með Hækkandi Sól, which translates as 'with the rising sun’. This is very much a family affair, with sisters Sigga, Beta and Elin accompanied by their brother Eythor on drums. Like Portugal earlier, this has a really chilled, folky vibe and it’s lovely to hear a song sung entirely in Icelandic. The staging is beautiful too, making great use of the arena lights to create a stunning sunrise. And…relax.

🇮🇸 Iceland / Systur – Með Hækkandi Sól

Systur – Með Hækkandi Sól – Iceland 🇮🇸 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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OK so we’ve already experienced a pretty broad spectrum of musical genres this evening, but we’re not done yet. Time to wave your glowsticks for our first big EDM banger of the night, sung by LUM!X and Pia Maria from inside an actual halo. We love a literal prop, and there’s definitely dancing happening in the Delegation Bubble

🇦🇹 Austria / LUM!X feat. Pia Maria – Halo

LUM!X feat. Pia Maria – Halo – Austria 🇦🇹 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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The opening ceremony on Sunday was a really special afternoon, with every act walking the Turquoise carpet at the Reggia di Venaria Reale just outside Turin. Italy knows how to build a royal palace, and they also know how to throw a party. There’s a gallery of photo highlights below.

Another three minute rock interlude, but this is much more pop/punk from Denmark’s Redd singing The Showi. It starts off as a gentle ballad, but after a minute it goes OFF with a burst of colour and energy. Bonus points for the retro costumes too – we LOVE a glam rock platform boot.

🇩🇰 Denmark / Reddi – The Show

Reddi – The Show – Denmark 🇩🇰 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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Croatia’s Mia Dimšić has a definite Taylor Swift vibe, and Guilty Pleasure feels like it wouldn’t be out of place in any 2022 pop chart. In rehearsals Mia sang the whole song in English, but for the live shows she’s singing the final verse and chorus in Croatian.

Can we just take a moment to celebrate this year’s outfits? No idea if it’s the Italian influence of whether this year’s contestants are just a really stylish bunch, but there’s some seriously strong looks on the Eurovision stage this year, and we’re just getting started. Mia’s hot pink gown is entirely fabulous.

🇭🇷 Croatia / Mia Dimšić – Guilty Pleasure

Mia Dimšić – Guilty Pleasure – Croatia 🇭🇷 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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So in Portuguese, the word saudade translates as a kind of longing – a wistful nostalgia for something or someone beloved that is no longer with us, leaving us with a blend of “the pain of missing something” and “the joy of having had something worth missing”. The Portuguese have one word for something that’s taken us a whole paragraph to explain, which doesn’t seem fair somehow.

Either way, this song is a beautiful moment of calm – it’s has a post-party chillout vibe that makes us want to lie on a beanbag and eat snacks whilst doing the little hand claps. Sadly there are no beanbags in the Delegation Bubble this year, and we’ve run out of snacks. Already feeling the saudade.

🇵🇹 Portugal / MARO -Saudade Saudade
MARO – Saudade Saudade – Portugal 🇵🇹 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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Moldova always brings the party to Eurovision, and this year Zdob şi Zdub and Adavhov Brothers are inviting us to be their guest on a train ride from Chișinău to Bucharest. It’s Zdob şi Zdub’s third time at Eurovision, and folklore and rock 'n’ roll sounds very much like our kind of journey. Where do we buy tickets?

So much love for this in the Delegation Bubble – everyone’s up and dancing.

🇲🇩 Moldova / Zdob și Zdub & Advahov Brothers – Trenulețul

Zdob şi Zdub & Advahov Brothers – Trenuleţul – Moldova 🇲🇩 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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Next up it’s S10 from the Netherlands, singing her bleak and beautiful ballad Die Diepte. That means 'the deep’ in Dutch – it’s the first time Netherlands have sung in Dutch since 2010, when they failed to qualify for the Grand Final. Will the story be different this time? We’ll know in a couple of hours…

Incidentally, there are a whole bunch of Dutch people next to us in the Delegation Bubble singing the Ooohs and Aaaahs really loudly.

🇳🇱 Netherlands / S10 – De Diepte

S10 – De Diepte – Netherlands 🇳🇱 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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Intention is our first rock track of the year, and definitely not the last. It’s also our first flame jet experience, although you’ll see a few more of those too, particularly on Thursday.

Intelligent Music Project are an established band in Bulgaria and that experience and confidence definitely shines through in this performance. It’s also the first performance that showcases the lighting capability in the PalaOlimpico – light plays a big part in lots of the staging this year, and the scope of what can be done is huge.

🇧🇬 Bulgaria / Intelligent Music Project – Intention

Intelligent Music Project – Intention – Bulgaria 🇧🇬 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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…eleven to go. Laura and Mika are kissing in the bushes in the Green Room – there are 1700 living plants in there, and we’ve become a bit obsessed with the team of people who’ve been watering and pruning them every day.

While we take a breath, please enjoy this fun little video history of Turin. It’s a beautiful city that’s made the Eurovision family very welcome.

Kalush Orchestra are a folk/hiphop collective who mix traditional Ukrainian music with contemporary elements to create a really distinctive sound. They’ve also been handing out bucket hats to the Eurovision team, so we’re all adopting this look from now on. If the guy on flute looks familiar, he’s was a member of Ukraine’s Go_A at Eurovision last year.

This song is about lead singer Oleh’s mum, and features folk bits, thumping bass, epic dance moves and an incredible rap interlude. There’s a lot of love for this in the Delegation Bubble, and it’s reasonable to assume that Oleh’s mum is extremely proud.

🇺🇦 Ukraine / Kalush Orchestra – Stefania

Kalush Orchestra – Stefania – Ukraine 🇺🇦 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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Time for Slovenia’s giant disco ball – LPS are a five-piece teen band from Slovenia, but their style is much more retro disco and funk than your average chart pop. LPS stands for 🍕 Last Pizza Slice 🍕 so they’re very much at home here in Italy. In fact, that’s the first pizza emoji of this Live Blog, which shows considerable constraint.

This is our first pop bop of the night, and dancing is happening in the delegation bubble.

🇸🇮 Slovenia / LPS – Disko

LPS – Disko – Slovenia 🇸🇮 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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…with his heartfelt, emotional ballad Boys Do Cry. Marius is the only male soloist of the evening, and he definitely has a unique tone and power to his voice. There are a number of ballads this year that are definitely more blues than pop, and Marius is a great example. He also ROCKS a leather coat.

🇨🇭 Switzerland / Marius Bear – Boys Do Cry

Marius Bear – Boys Do Cry – Switzerland 🇨🇭 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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A dramatic change of pace now, with Monika Liu singing her evocative, sultry bop Sentimental. She’s the second of five female soloists this evening, compared to only one solo male – although we’ve got a few more of those in Thursday’s second Semi-Final. This song is, as the kids say, a vibe.

The draw for which Semi-Final each country performs in happened back in January, in many cases before the country’s song had even been chosen. It’s given us two Semis that feel quite different – we’ve got a lot of the ballads in SF1, and more of the uptempo bops in SF2. But what’s most notable is the huge spectrum of musical genres in this year’s contest – it’s got folk, pop, dance, hiphop and plenty of rock, and pretty much everything in between. We honestly couldn’t be happier.

🇱🇹Lithuania / Monika Lui – Sentimental

Monika Liu – Sentimentai – Lithuania 🇱🇹 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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Latvia’s pop/funk ode to sustainable vegetarianism encourages us all to recycle and eat our salad because being green is hot, cool AND sexy. They’re the owners of the biggest smiles and the most colourful outfits in the competition – they’ve been so much fun around Turin and in the delegation bubble over the past ten days.

Incidentally, Citi Zēni means 'other boys’ in Latvian, but they’ve decided to adopt 'other lads’ as the English translation.

🇱🇻 Latvia / Citi Zēni – Eat Your Salad

Citi Zēni – Eat Your Salad – Latvia 🇱🇻 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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Albania’s Ronela Hajati is up first – we saw her rehearse in a two different outfit options, and for the Semi-Final she’s gone with the silver one she wore in the second rehearsal. Sekret is a high energy start to tonight’s show – with big vocals, smoke jets and an unforgettable dance routine. Let’s get this party started, shall we?

🇦🇱 Albania / Ronela Hajati – Sekret

Ronela Hajati – Sekret – Albania 🇦🇱 – Official Music Video – Eurovision 2022

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This year’s postcards use Leo the drone to showcase the artistic and natural beauty of Italia, pairing each artist with a different location in Italy. So in Albania’s postcard, you’ll see Ronela Hajati paired with Barumini in South Sardinia. You can find the full list of locations in the link below.

Out come our three hosts for this evening – Italian singer Laura Pausini, comedian and TV presenter Alessandro Cattelan and Lebanese/British pop star Mika.

They tell us that seventeen countries will be taking part tonight, but there are only ten places in the Grand Final. The easiest way to vote later is using the Eurovision App – if. You haven’t already, you can download it now.

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And we’re off! This opening sequence is a fun fairy tale about an Italian inventor who invents a flying, singing, dancing time machine, with nods to Geppetto the inventor in Pinocchio, and Renaissance imaginer of flying machines, Leonardo Da Vinci.

The result is Leo the drone, who brings the sound of beauty into the world. There’s quite a lot of Leo footage in this year’s Eurovision – if you get motion sickness, you might want to look away.

The Sound of Beauty begins – Italian music and dance come together with elements of air, water, earth and fire, finally giving birth to the sun as the focal point of the Eurovision stage. We’ve spent a lot of time in the PalaOlimpico arena over the past ten days, and the the stage is stunning – from the beautiful waterfall to the living green room. You can find out more about it in the link below.

You have five minutes until the start of Eurovision 2022! Don’t say we didn’t warn you…it’s literally in the heading.

1. 🇦🇱 Albania / Ronela Hajati – Sekret

2. 🇱🇻 Latvia / Citi Zēni – Eat Your Salad

3. 🇱🇹 Lithuania / Monika Lui – Sentimental

4. 🇨🇭 Switzerland / Marius Bear – Boys Do Cry

5. 🇸🇮 Slovenia / LPS – Disko

6. 🇺🇦 Ukraine / Kalush Orchestra – Stefania

7. 🇧🇬 Bulgaria / Intelligent Music Project – Intentions

8. 🇳🇱 Netherlands / S10 – De Diepte

9. 🇲🇩 Moldova / Zdob și Zdub & Advahov Brothers – Trenulețul

10. 🇵🇹 Portugal / MARO -Saudade Saudade

11. 🇭🇷 Croatia / Mia Dimšić – Guilty Pleasure

12. 🇩🇰 Denmark / Reddi – The Show

13. 🇦🇹 Austria / LUM!X feat. Pia Maria – Halo

14. 🇮🇸 Iceland / Systur – Með Hækkandi Sól

15. 🇬🇷 Greece / Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – Die Together

16. 🇳🇴 Norway / Subwoolfer – Give That Wolf A Banana

17. 🇦🇲 Armenia / Rosa Linn – Snap

Are you ready for the first Semi-Final? Snacks? Beverages? Tiny flags? Friends and family? Been to the bathroom? You’ve got half an hour to get organised. GO.

We’ve been asked to report back what the Subwoolfer wolves look like out of costume, because clearly we see acts wandering around the Delegation Bubble in their normal clothes all the time.

To be honest we don’t really understand the question…they’re yellow moon wolves, they don’t wear a costume. Do you mean what do they look like with the black suits off? We’re going to assume they just look like naked wolves, but it feels impolite to ask.

…in the Delegation Bubble? Right now we’re in the 'in between’ bit where this afternoon’s dress rehearsal is finished, but it’s still two hours before tonight’s live Semi-Final starts.

So people are milling about, getting food, playing video games or getting their hair done in the Morrocanoil salon. It’s a very big night for the seventeen countries taking part tonight, and you can definitely feel the building excitement in the room. Seven of them will be going home after tonight, which we’re already really sad about – we’ve had such a great time hanging out with the 40 delegations that have made up this year’s Eurovision family.

📺 Watch the First Semi-Final Live Stream on YouTube or find out how to watch in your region.

Buona sera Europe, and welcome to the Live Blog for the first Eurovision Semi-Final! It’s Heidi and the Live Blog team keeping you company this evening from the Delegation Bubble in Turin’s PalaOlimpico – we’ll be bringing you all the pre-show gossip, backstage breaking news and minute-by-minute details of the live show, which starts at 21:00 CEST.

By the end of tonight’s show our first 17 Semi-Finalists will be just 10 Grand Finalists, and theoretically by about 00:30 CEST we’ll also know if they’re going to perform in the first or the second half of the Grand Final on Saturday. We’ll be here with you every step of the way, so stick with us. It’s almost time for the #soundofbeauty to begin…