Eurovision 2015: Semi-Final 2: Who Qualified?

The 10 Qualifiers From the Second Semi-Final

Some of Eurovision's more successful nations crashed out of the second semi-final last night, with the likes of Ireland, Iceland and Malta failing to qualify for Saturday's Grand Final. However, unlike Tuesday's first semi-final, this second one had very few notable moments and, in many ways, was far more predictable: there was plenty of smoke, the wind machine was in overdrive again and some of the costumes were...dubious.

Equally unsurprising is that live performance can be even more revealing than some of those outfits. With real-time vocals laid bare before millions, the men and the boys were truly separated and several of the songs suffered as a consequence.

Heading into the semi-final, it was anticipated that Malta's Warrior would join Georgia's in the final line-up. However, Amber's vocals were all over the place, prompting calls in this neck of the woods for her to desist from singing. It was sheer agony and a pity the song's running time was not similar to Finland's effort. It was interminably repetitive and incessantly ropy, so it was really no surprise when it failed to get the nod.

Meanwhile, Ireland's fate was in the hands of the young Lynsey de Paul lookalike, Molly Sterling. It was always a toss-up whether her Playing With Numbers would survive the night. Drawn in second spot, it appeared her nerves kicked in and her downbeat performance suffered as a result. There was not enough sparkle to make it memorable, instead resembling a piece performed at an amateur school concert.

Ahead of time, there didn't seem to be much to pick between Ireland's and Poland's efforts, but a plum draw and a much weightier emotional connection secured Monika Kuszyńska's place in the final. It was no surprise that Lithuania would join her - that kiss, assuredly - but both Cyprus and Montenegro were revelations. Sometimes great vocals combined with simple staging can speak volumes.

That's exactly how Latvia's Aminata achieved her place in the Final. Dressed in a revealing, figure-hugging red dress, she both looked and sounded tantalising: the vocals soaring; the staging perfect; the song even more quirky and memorable than ever. Surely, the performance of the night.

All of this is incidental, of course. Bookies-favourite Sweden was lurking in the shadows with its Heroes, ready to pounce. An assured Måns Zelmerlöw did not disappoint. He brought his stick men with him and proceeded to show the rest of the participants how it is done. Is this Stockholm calling?

[Images: Andres Putting (EBU)]

Here are the qualifiers (as announced):

Country	Song	Performer
Lithuania	This Time	Monika Linkytė & Vaidas Baumila
Poland	In the Name of Love	Monika Kuszyńska
Slovenia	Here For You	Maraaya
Sweden	Heroes	Måns Zelmerlöw
Norway	A Monster Like Me	Mørland & Debrah Scarlett
Montenegro	Adio (Goodbye)	Knez
Cyprus	One Thing I Should Have Done	John Karayiannis
Azerbaijan	Hour of the Wolf	Elnur Hüseynov
Latvia	Love Injected	Aminata
Israel	Golden Boy	Nadav Guedj

These are the seven nations/acts which failed to qualify:

Country	Song	Performer
Ireland	Playing With Numbers	Molly Sterling
San Marino	Chain of Lights	Michele Perniola & Anita Simoncini
Malta	Warrior	Amber
Portugal	Há um mar que nos separa	Leonor Andrade
Czech Republic	Hope Never Dies	Marta Jandová & Václav Noid Bárta
Iceland	Unbroken	María Ólafs
Switzerland	Time to Shine	Mélanie René

Eurovision 2015: Who Won't Qualify From Semi-Final 2?

The second semi-final of Eurovision 2015 takes place on May 21, with a total of seventeen songs vying for the ten remaining available spots in Saturday's Grand Final.

Among those taking part are favourites such as Sweden, Azerbaijan and Slovenia, but unfortunately there are seven that will be jettisoned after all the contenders have performed.

Who will go and who will stay? No-one knows for sure, but here are the seven (or eight) suggestions of songs that could be heading for the exit door.

Semi-Final 2: Thursday, 21 May (Seven songs will not qualify) 

1. Cyprus | Giannis Karagiannis | One Thing I Should Have Done
   
   One of the earliest entries to be decided in this season's Eurovision, Cyprus's song is possibly one of the dullest of the many ballads featured at this year's Contest. The song is nice enough, but it never feels as if it gets out of first gear, stubbornly plodding along at a sedate pace. It's a very lethargic pick to begin the evening's proceedings and not memorable enough to pick up very many votes either.


2. Montenegro | Knez | Adio
   
   One of the few songs to be performed in its native language (hooray!), the fate of Adio will probably suffer because of it (boo!). It's well sung, but just not very dynamic. A memorable presentation may push it up the scoreboard, but it feels as if it is just making up the numbers.


3. Switzerland | Mélanie René | Time to Shine
   
   This is a pretty good song with its Pat Benatar Eighties-vibe, but it seems that Switzerland have to submit something extra special to qualify these days. Unlike last year's effort from the Swiss, this is not quirky enough to capture the votes it needs, even if it should be good enough to proceed. This one might surprise everyone, though, and make the Top 27. Hearing the lyric "mucking about" again would be a bonus, after all! 


4. The Czech Republic | Marta Jandová and Václav Noid Bárta | Hope Never Dies
   
   A lot better than any of the Czech Republic's past entries, but there is something just irritatingly overwrought about the whole thing. Although it's sung with passion, the duo's voices do not blend well to these ears, sounding as if one voice would be adequate. The language change to English may help the Czechs, but even so, there's a feeling that it won't receive enough support.


5. Portugal | Leonor Andrade | Há um mar que nos separa
   
   Poor old Portugal have been waiting forever to secure their first Eurovision win and it looks likely that they will have to wait yet another year to fulfill that dream. A song that will be presented in its native language, Porugal is another nation which often has to produce something near-sensational to qualify. This is not it, unfortunately.


6. San Marino | Anita Simoncini and Michele Perniola | Chain of Lights
   
   Ever since the micro-state first entered the competition, it has found it difficult to qualify. It famously happened last year but, apart from the fact that San Marino is generally isolated and starved of support, this effort is way too sweetly cute to repeat the feat. It would be great to see them back in the final, but Chain of Lights is unlikely to make it happen.


7. Poland/Ireland
   
   Molly Sterling will sing Playing With Numbers for Ireland while Monika Kuszyńska will perform In the Name of Love for Poland. Both are relatively bland piano-driven ballads and, because of this, both are in danger of falling at this semi-final hurdle. There's nothing much to distinguish between the two, but one of them will have to go. With the voting power of the Polish diaspora, it's possible that Ireland could miss out on the Final once again.

These seem to be the likely candidates, but you may think differently. Which countries do you feel could fail to advance to the Final?

Who Won't Qualify From Semi-Final 1? See here

Semi-Final 2 Playlist (in draw order)