The first semi-final on Tuesday was dominated by favorite Baby Lasagna from Croatia. In the second semi-final, the eyes were now on Switzerland and the Netherlands. According to bookmakers, Switzerland could best challenge Croatia for victory with Nemo’s pop-rap opera “The Code”.
When Nemo jumps across the stage in a skirt and is whirled around by the turntable that looks suspiciously like Tagada, then it becomes clear: This is Eurovision! Nemo has already cracked the binary gender system with “The Code” and the ESC victory could soon be due. It’s all set for the duel between Croatia and Switzerland. TikTok star Joost Klein shouldn’t be written off either.
Klein brought his over-the-top production as “Europe” to the stage, complete with a flashy dance LED show and – a little surprise – an emotional conclusion. Worth mentioning at this point: With the coven performance in the first semi-final, Bambi Thug from Ireland sang his way into the hearts of the fans and boosted the betting odds. Bambi Thug is now one of the extended favorites.
Sweden has to host the contest for the seventh time in ESC history. The Swedes also proved in the second semi-final that they are familiar with this. It’s Swedish precision work, sometimes perhaps too perfect, very calculating, but in the end it’s a good show. So in the second semi-final we mainly saw Eurovision legends.
The three winners Helena Paparizou (Greece 2005), Sertab Ener (Turkey 2003) and Charlotte Perrelli (Sweden 1999) invited people to the big sing-along. We also found out how ABBA’s victory changed Brighton and took a look at acts that were already kicked out in the preliminary round of the respective countries (scooters!).
“We love Eurovision”
The newly founded Ravenation Austria can breathe a sigh of relief: Kaleen has made it to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. Rave can be anchored as a dominant culture. Kaleen’s song “We Will Rave” falls into the Eurovision category, it comes from a Scandinavian writer, but the dance number gives Austria its second place in the finals in a row. It was a successful performance by 29-year-old Kaleen.
As has been the case throughout the ESC season, Kaleen presents herself prepared, every move is perfect. The vocal problems that existed during the pre-parties are largely under control. A real rave looks different, but you can’t take rave literally here anyway. Kaleen herself says in interviews that she has never been to a rave and sees her song more as a feel-good dance number that should also work at the breakfast table. Every country gets the rave it deserves.
ORF/Roman Zach-Kiesling
Kaleen makes it into the final of the Eurovision Song Contet 2024.
Some ESC fans are already said to have had enough of Köttbullar, Knäckebröd and the Swedish Eurovision machine. If it weren’t for Petra Mede, who also does what she does best in the second semifinal: Petra Mede. Together with co-host Marlin Åkerman, she opened the semifinals in the Solarium.
The producers also know that some fans are already tired of the Swedes. They have Ackerman and Mede sing and apologize for the Swedish successes. The message: “We can’t help but win. We just love Eurovision.” As a second peace offering, Käärijä from Finland, who came second last year, was also allowed on stage. Many would have preferred to see this year’s song contest in Sweden’s neighboring country, Finland.
On the day of the ESC, May 11, 2024, Alica Ouschan and Philipp Emberger will present “The FM4 Warm-up Show” (7-8:45 p.m.)before Jan Böhmermann and Olli Schulz from Malmö Comment on “Song Contest Live” on FM4 (8:45 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.).
Boos, applause and politics
Months before this year’s Eurovision Song Contest even started, it was clear that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) would have a hard time maintaining the claim to be a non-political music competition this year.
The EBU had to intervene after the first semi-final. The Swedish singer and former ESC candidate Eric Saade (2011) was reprimanded. During his opening number, the singer, whose father is Lebanese Palestinian, had the traditional Palestinian scarf keffiyeh tied around his wrist. The EBU interpreted this as a reference to the Middle East conflict and “deplored” the political symbol. Eric Saade countered on Instagram and explained that he only wanted to show his origins. The fact that the EBU classifies this as a political symbol “says more about them than about me.”
With Israel’s appearance in the second semi-final, the big political test was still to come. The Israeli artist Eden Goland made it to the final with her song “Hurricane,” which had already caused controversy in advance. However, she didn’t receive much sympathy from the hall. Her performance was audibly accompanied by unrest and displeasure in the audience. Boos could be heard in the hall, which were countered by well-rehearsed applause.
Grand finale live on Saturday!
Now we know all the acts that will sing in the grand finale for the ESC trophy on Saturday: Armenia, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and Austria. Albania, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Malta, San Marino and, quite surprisingly, Belgium have to make the journey home.
Jan Böhmermann & Olli Schulz will be there on Saturday. The two comment on the final live in the video stream on fm4.orf.at! Here you will find an overview of how you can watch the ESC 2024 with commentary from Böhmermann & Schulz!