All of this year’s songs have been selected, the running order has been decided: let’s get this show on the road! I’ll be reviewing all of this year’s participants three by three in running order. Lord, gimme strength… Let the Hunger Games…eum…fun begin!
BULGARIA
The Song: Surprisingly demure R&B ballad, this. It’s got a touch of ‘Believe’ without going full out, which makes it all rather heartfelt. Also reminds me of FYR Macedonia 2015, but the balanced version of it. It might be a tad too demure though, at one point it’s dangerously close of just floating by. The lyrics are cohesive and warm – if Eurovision was watched by teenage girls alone, this would surely fly high.
Standout lyric: ” And we don’t have a thing to lose ” Being nr. 2 with the bookies sure changes this statement.
The Voice: He’s gonna have to nail the vocals for this to gain momentum.
The Performance: Don’t go down the FYR Macedonia 2015 route, por favor.
In one line: Not really a mess is it? Now try to keep it that way…
PERSONAL TOTAL: 
PREDICTION: Hm, this kinda pisses all over Ireland, doesn’t it? If they manage to get the performance right, this should QUALIFY easily. Doubting a top 5 placing in the final, though.
LITHUANIA
The Song: That first chorus is simply awesome, and promises a lot more than the rest of the song delivers. Sadly. Somehow the rather funky chorus doesn’t quite match with the more electronic verses. And yet somehow it kinda works for me. We haven’t hear something quite like it in Eurovision, which is only a good thing. Not too keen on that bridge though, it’s a bit on the forced side.
Standout lyric: ” Breaking the rational views and narrow limits ” You could say that again. No really – this time with an accent that might make it comprehensible for those watching and listening.
The Voice: The big working point here. She gives it her all, but tends to go overboard at times. Which makes it all shouty, and too much. Oh, and that accent – I keep on hearing ‘Rainbow Revolution’. But maybe I’m simply too gay to function.
The Performance: I like that rather busy NF performance, I have to say. No really, I do!
In one line: More of an overblown argument than an actual revolution.
PERSONAL TOTAL:
PREDICTION: At first glance, this might be too loud for Europe. Then again, Lithuania even managed to qualify with their atrocious 2011 entry. So who knows. Borderline for now.
ESTONIA
The Song: This sounds like something that has been hiding in Fredrik Kempe’s desk for years, cause it was bound to fail in Andra Chansen in 2005. At the same time it’s got a Modern Talking kinda vibe, which is totally awesome for a child of the ’80s like myself. The lyrics keep me on the fence as well – a play on Verona is nice, but it’s a bit too all over the place to really captivate.
Standout lyric: ” this western type of woman, western type of man ” What is this doing in these lyrics, and what does it even symbolize?
The Voice: Loving the harmonies. On her own, Laura gives an extremely nervous impression which shines through in her sometimes strained vocals. Koit on the other hand is brilliant – especially in the high parts.
The Performance: The biggest working point. That NF-performance was a bit lackluster and lacked the feeling of desperation they were trying to convey. Amp it up a bit more, I’d say.
In one line: Guilty pleasure, table for one.
PERSONAL TOTAL:
PREDICTION: Difficult. It sounds too Eurovisiony for its own good, which could turn out to be its downfall OR its strong point – cause some people look for that typical touch of Eurovision. I’m gonna say, against better judgment, that this will QUALIFY.
ISRAEL
The Song: Another Avicii chorus, great. Catchy enough, yes – especially with the ‘breaking me to pieces’ part – but it all sounds a bit empty. It does provide for a nice party atmosphere, which this edition desperately needed. Not that keen on the bridge, the ethnic part feels somewhat forced, but all in all an okay three minutes.
Standout lyric: ” Baby I can now escape away with you ” Lyrics sponsored by Google Translate.
The Voice: No doubt that he’s gonna be just fine – after all, he’s been a backing singer twice before, so I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.
The Performance: Hello, hottie! He’ll probably build a party on stage in a way that’ll make all man-crazy living beings want to take him home at the end of the night.
In one line: Man candy is the best kind of candy.
PERSONAL TOTAL:
PREDICTION: A surefire QUALIFIER.
So, who’ll qualify? Looking back, I seem to have found ten – even though I thought I’d labeled almost all of them as a borderliner. But. Contrary to what I initially thought, I’m gonna make a trade. I’m chucking Serbia out of my list, and I’m gonna include The Netherlands (gut feeling). And I’m tempted to trade Ireland for San Marino. But not yet. So these are the 10 I think might be going through to Saturday at the moment: Israel, Bulgaria, Ireland, Estonia, Belarus, Norway, Hungary, Romania, Russia and Netherlands. Curious how much the live performances will change that prediction – this semi might seem a bit less all over the place than semi 1, but it’s still confusing the hell out of me.
UPDATE
So, just a couple of hours after publishing this post, it was announced that Russia is withdrawing from the 2017 edition. Good riddance, I’d say. So I’ll include San Marino in the list of qualifiers instead. You know, just for the fun of it.
CURRENT RESULTS
– Belgium, Portugal, Armenia
– Sweden, Finland, Azerbaijan, Iceland, FYR Macedonia, Norway
– Montenegro, Poland, Latvia, Serbia, Hungary, Denmark, Ireland, Belarus, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Israel
– Georgia, Australia, Albania, Czechia, Cyprus, Austria, Netherlands, San Marino, Switzerland
– Greece, Moldova, Slovenia, Malta, Romania
– Russia, Croatia
Tomorrow: France, Germany & Italy!
Dimivision 
Russia gone, you can include San Marino now 😀