Eurovision 2024 Previews Part 9: San Marino, Georgia & Belgium

We’re already at part 9 and in dire need of something to shake us awake. Semi 2 only has one four star entry until now, hjälp! Will it be the tiny San Marino, the mysterious Georgia or my own home country that finally manages to turn the tide?

10. San Marino – Megara – 11:11

The Song: It’s always unfortunate when a candidate you loved from an earlier NF pops back up with a weaker attempt and then gets to go to ESC after all. How I wish Megara would have stuck with something à la Arcadia from last year’s Benidorm Fest. Granted, it felt like that was perhaps too formatted for their usual style, but now it feels like their usual style is a bit too unformatted to achieve anything memorable enough. It’s really hard to find anything in there that your brain is able to hold on to, let alone replicate afterwards. It’s a nice rock song, don’t get me wrong, but it just plods along instead of drawing us in. A bit of a missed opportunity all in all.

Standout line: “M-E-L-A-P-E-L-A / I-D-G-A-F” Me neither.

The Voice: Quite adequate for what they need to achieve, but nothing notable either. Rock chick by numbers, and it’ll need a ton of focus to get it right on the night, judging from what we’ve heard so far.

The Style: I love how they went for choreo to a song that feels unchoreographable from start to end. As a person with a black & pink heart I’m totally on board with the color palette, but not entirely with how it’s used. I do adore the dancers’ reveal, which – finally – add some kind of layer to this otherwise quite one-dimensional impression. It does make the entire thing feel like you’re going through a carwash for three minutes, but you don’t necessarily feel clean afterwards.

In one line: I love rock ‘n roll, so by all means don’t put another dime in the juke box baby.
PERSONAL TOTAL:
Why it will qualify: Rock is here to stay.
Why it won’t qualify: It doesn’t really slay.
Qualifier? Luckily ‘no’ translates the same into Spanish and Italian. Which is still simply no.
Winner? See the line above.

11. Georgia – Nutsa Buzaladze – Firefighter

The Song: Another serving of Girl Power and this one as well is perfectly adequate without really feeling like the punch in the face it would like to be. It’s as if they threw Wild Dances and Fuego in a blender and then added A LOT of water. Fire? Check. Fighter? Check. Ferocity? Eum… Check, I guess? The lyrics are more of a collection of ideas than anything of real substance, but I guess that doesn’t matter when you’re trying to sell female empowerment. Right?

Standout line: “Come dance with the thunder” I use the sound of thunder as white noise to fall asleep, so I’m afraid that might be mission impossible.

The Voice: We can all just guess what this will sound like. What we don’t know is what it’s supposed to sound like as Nutsa’s accent is so thick it makes for very different lyrics than we see on paper. Or am I the only one hearing “we’re running through the sachets” instead of “we’re running through these ashes”?

The Style: Hold on, let me get my crystal ball… Black, leather, fire, fierce choreography. So, like the video then? Got it. I wanted to say something super sarcastic, but the video gave me major Helena Paparizou vibes. Oops, did I just say that out loud?

In one line: Rise like a phoenix, out of the sachets.
PERSONAL TOTAL:
Why it will qualify: It does look and sound like it fits in at Eurovision.
Why it won’t qualify: It feels too calculated.
Qualifier? Sure, why not.
Winner? Not this year, Georgia. Do keep trying.

12. Belgium – Mustii – Before The Party Is Over

The Song: It’s a bit of a weird sensation when your own country’s entry is one of the front runners. Especially when you’re not completely getting the song yourself. Don’t get me wrong, this Bond-esque theme is certainly one of the better songs we’ve sent in recent (and even not so recent) history. And that last minute is simply divine, and will presumably be very impressive in the Malmö Arena. But it takes a bit of patience to get there. While the first two minutes aren’t shabby at all, they promise more than they are able to deliver. And I don’t really feel where the lyrics want to take me, except for something towards mortality, as there are just a couple of catchy stand-out lines without much of a storyline to hold on to. But. The catchy lines are indeed very that, and it is all knitted together in a nifty way when it comes to the production. So maybe I’m overanalyzing this and I should be enjoying the party before it’s all over.

Standout line: “Are you still playing the game?” I’m making my own rules, much like my sister with Monopoly.

The Voice: We have yet to hear this live, but Mustii’s not a newbiie so this needn’t be a point of worry. I guess? If he’s able to play concert venues he should be fiine, riight? (Checks pre-party performances) Oh, better reign in that enthusiasm, darling, because it’s making you cross lines that ought not to be crossed. But it’s better to have power to harness than no power at all, I presume.

The Style: The video is stylish, yes, but there are also quite a lot of ideas that don’t really feel super coherent. Mustii’s a regular judge on our version of Drag Race and his looks aren’t always as on point as he seems to think. It feels like he’s sometimes trying just a bit too hard to be dIfFeReNt. At the same time I do applaud him for trying to think outside the box. Which side of the coin shall we get in Malmö?

In one line: Wiir Geben ’ne Partyy.
PERSONAL TOTAL:
Why it will qualify: A Bond ballad never really hurt anyone.
Why it won’t qualify: Netherlands 1976
Qualifier? Shantay, you stay until Saturday.
Winner? It hardly ever happens we’re among the favorites, and even when we are it turns out to be one giant bursting bubble (*coughs* Kate Ryan *coughs*). So excuse for me not buying into the hype just yet. I might be willing to believe this will get us into the top 10, even top 5 maybe. But a second Sandra Kiim? I’ll have to see iit to believe iit.

CURRENT DIMIVISION STANDINGS

LITHUANIA – AUSTRALIA

AZERBAIJAN – LUXEMBOURG – SWITZERLAND

  POLAND – MOLDOVA – GREECE – BELGIUM

  CYPRUS – SERBIA – CROATIA – SLOVENIA – FINLAND – PORTUGAL – ALBANIA – CZECHIA – AUSTRIA – DENMARK – LATVIA – SAN MARINO – GEORGIA

IRELAND – UKRAINE – ICELAND – MALTA – ARMENIA

Tomorrow: Estonia, Israel, Norway & Netherlands