So, it only took us eleven posts to get a 5 star/heart entry – will there be any more? We’ve already come to the end of semi 2, chances are getting slim! Only two more posts to go before I have to get my crystal ball out – have we seen the winner already or not? Happy reading!
MONTENEGRO 
PERFORMER: Vanja Radovanovic
SONG: Inje
The Song: If you feel like we’ve heard this song before, rest assured: you are not alone. It’s got nothing going for it except for that quintessential Balkan sound. Give me the daring side of Montenegro any day over this. #igrankaforlife
Standout lyrics: “Ja i život, pas i mačka srce najskuplja mu igračka / Me and my life are like a dog and a cat my heart is its most expensive toy” – The poetry runs deep within this one.
The Voice: Zjelko’s little brother needs to eat a bit more spinach to be able to withstand future comparisons.
The Performance: Will he bring back roller girl, I wonder? Some kind of distraction would be most welcome anyway.
In one line: At least I got to know the word ‘hoarfrost‘ looking at the translation, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.
Why it will qualify: People need more Zjelko-vibes in their lives
Why it won’t: It puts people to sleep, making them miss the actual voting procedure.
Biggest competition in this semi: Serbia.
Pre-Contest status: As they’ve gone and surprisingly qualified with similar entries, I’m not too quick to dismiss this. In the ‘near miss’ zone for now though.
PERSONAL TOTAL: 
SLOVENIA 
PERFORMER: Lea Sirk
SONG: Hvala Ne
The Song: In terms of coolness, this shows every other entry (bar Sweden perhaps) its heels. The way ‘thanks but no thanks’ is conveyed is really awesome, even if it’s surrounded by that damn trendy instrumental bit – which this time round leaves a bit of breathing space after the overload that is the combo of verses and chorus, so they’re excused. The ‘believe in yourself/girl power’ themed lyrics are quite delicious so it’s a bit of a pity it gets lost in translation – even if the Slovenian version sounds fetch and I can only applaud the amount of entries in non-English this year.
Standout lyrics: “Da skrivnost je v tem, ne prodajaj se vsem, to je najbolj pasè / The secret’s in this, that you don’t sell yourself to everyone cause that’s old fashioned” – If only I’d known that in all those years I was single.
The Voice: Good enough for what she needs to do, she embraces the streetwise vibe well. She needs to be careful for those high bits here and there though, they’re her equivalent of slippery spots on the sidewalk mid-winter.
The Performance: Here’s hoping they’ll be able to recreate that NF-performance cause it oozes street-charm. Loving it all really, even that somewhat questionable outfit that could easily win this year’s Barbara Dex award. Onesies to the wonning!
In one line: Yes, please.
Why it will qualify: Pink hair does the trick.
Why it won’t: The title is a self fulfilling prophecy.
Biggest competition in this semi: Traditional Eurovision thinking.
Pre-Contest status: Slovenia have been among my pre-Contest favorites twice in the past decade and the result has been very mixed. I’m afraid this is more 2013 than 2015, so non-qualification it is.
PERSONAL TOTAL: 
UKRAINE 
PERFORMER: Melóvin
SONG: Under The Ladder
The Song: As far as the melody goes it’s one of the better pop songs in the line-up this year. It’s something Coldplay could have written about a decade ago, as in that it’s highly infectious and the ‘oh oh oh’ bits only help make it more catchy. Pity the lyrics disappear a bit in the smog of that terrible accent, making it all a bit more bewildering and a bit less intriguing.
Standout lyrics: “The decision has got to be made” – Just because it’s one of the few things I can actually understand, besides the title.
The Voice: Vocally absolutely fine, but I’ll be very happy if Melóvin (aka the less instant Kostyantyn Mykolayovych Bocharov) takes up a class in English annunciation before traveling to Lisbon.
The Performance: Something along the lines of that NF-performance should work nicely, even if that construction is presumably off limits for the Lisbon stage. Don’t quite get why they’re playing with fire in a song that’s all about wind, but then again I’m not a stage director so what do I know… They could always call in Bojack Horseman and his ladder from Azerbaijan if they’re looking for an alternative.
In one line: Chuck in a black cat and Friday the 13th while you’re at it, just for luck.
Why it will qualify: It’s a very strong pop song and they tend to do well.
Why it won’t: It doesn’t set people on fire.
Biggest competition in this semi: Murphy.
Pre-Contest status: Should sail through quite easily.
PERSONAL TOTAL: 
CURRENT RESULTS
Sweden, Slovenia
Croatia, Latvia, Armenia, Ukraine, Greece, Belgium, Estonia
Bulgaria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Norway, Czechia, Lithuania, Russia, Netherlands, Israel, Georgia, Hungary
FYROM, Albania, Moldova, Poland, Finland, Azerbaijan, Romania, Austria, Malta, Australia, Serbia, Ireland
San Marino, Denmark, Belarus, Montenegro, Iceland
Dimivision 