19:48 BST 13 May
Mark Savage
BBC Music correspondent, reporting from the Eurovision semi-final
Image source, EPA-EFE/ShutterstockImage caption,
VÆB are Iceland’s answer to Jedward
The show opens with Icelandic brothers VÆB, who have
universally been called the country’s answer to Jedward.
In their song Róa, the duo sing about rowing from Iceland to
Greenland to the Faroe Islands – about 2,000km in total. Their performance includes a clever bit of choregraphy mimicking the jittery animation of a flipbook. Look out for their
costumes, too, which employ Iceland’s entire supply of tinfoil.
A few songs later, we’ll see Estonian iconoclast Tommy Cash,
whose song Espresso Macchiato is a double shot of silliness. Inspired by a trip
to Capri, it’s a tribute to the power of the caffeine, with a euro-dance spin
on the tarantella music you hear in Mediterranean cafés.
Sweden’s entrants KAJ are currently favourites to win the
contest with Bara Bada Bastu. Their track is feel-good singalong about the “the
best cure for body and soul” – a Swedish sauna. Just one snag: Eurovision’s
never given its top trophy to a comedy song, putting a little heat under KAJ’s
already sweaty feet.
Towards the end of the running order, we get Claude – a
Dutch singer originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. His song, C’est
La Vie, is a life-affirming mantra about overcoming tragedy.
“It’s about embracing the chaos,” Claude says. “You cry, you
dance, you move forward. That’s life.”
And I have a little soft spot for the Swiss entrant, Zoë Më. Her tender, unstated ballad Voyage had the entire arena waving their phone lights during rehearsals this afternoon.
Who’ll get your vote?