It starts with a country whose participation repeatedly raises the question: Why can Australia take part in a European music competition? After all, hardly any country could be further away from Europe. Basically, the ESC is not a European competition, rather the participating countries are a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and do not necessarily have to be part of the EU.

The Australian’s ESC enthusiasm started in Brighton in 1974, the year when Abbas Waterloo won. The Australian Olivia Newton-John competed for Great Britain and finished fourth with “Long Live Love”. Since then, the ESC has been transferred regularly. In 2015 for the 60th ESC in Vienna, Australia was first invited to the competition by EBU.

Australia – Montenegro – Ireland – Latvia

Australia is represented by go-Jo, in real life Marty Zambotto. He toured Australia, Europe, the USA and Southeast Asia and shared the stage with some of the world’s largest artists. The performance of “Milkshake Man” begins with a retro commercial in which go-YO appears as an enthusiastic seller. His overwhelming energy and his sense of the surprise moment are also reflected in the staging. In the middle of performance there is a color explosion that captures the same wild, cheeky energy as the music video. This is great fun and a real feast for the eyes. Many observers find the cheeky text too clearly in its ambiguity.

In the past two years Montenegro foregoing a participation in the ESC. Unfortunately, the Balkanland is one of the most unsuccessful nations. This year you want to try again. Nina Zizic is a singer and songwriter with a career of two decades. It takes part for the second time after 2013. Her song “Dobrodosli” is a Balkan Powerballade in the James Bond style with a rousing orchestral arrangement.

This year it seems common for interpreters not come from their own country. For Ireland the Norwegian singer Emmy starts to start with a piece of Europe in the style of the 2000s. Her song “Laika” is actually about the Soviet bitch of the same name, who was the first to circle the earth in 1957. A happy journey through time and space that the Eurovision Bubble gives a message of hope and positivity. During the chorus, the main LED wall shows a constellation that forms the shape of dog Laika stars. Very touching.

Folk daughter Latvia is a six-person ethno-pop band that connects Latvian folk melodies with modern beats. Since 2004 it has been again that the entire song can be heard on Latvian. “Bur Man Laimi” means “a singing for happiness”. The whole thing has something of mystical magic, which is greatly reinforced by the curtain on stage, which creates light and shadow. The six singers wear golden catsuits with an appendix that are reminiscent of branches and fins. So far on the large classical platforms at home, taut people now want to conquer the pop stages.

Armenia – Austria – Great Britain – Greece

Pargetev Vardanian, an indie folk, r’n’b, pop and rock artists Armeniais known for combining traditional Armenian culture with modern elements. He is considered a pioneer of Armenian music. For “Survivor” he also brought a completely different stage concept than that from the preliminary decision. The majority of the performance takes place on a treadmill in the middle of the stage. There he sprints during the speaking chants of the chorus and then slows down the pace for the slow middle section. The entire concept fits perfectly with the pace and the energy of the song.

Johannes Pietsch alias JJ from Vienna took a break from his work as a counter tenor at the Vienna State Opera to get “Wasted Love” to the Eurovision Song Contest. The staging of Austria Should be completely broadcast in black and white, a challenge for the lighters. The central stage element is a simple boat for JJS opera singing. First peaceful, then stormy and finally almost underneath, JJ never loses the tone. The song was written on JJ and processes an unfortunate love. A song like a total work of art that only grabbed me through the staging. At the German embassy reception, to which the German delegation invited together with the Austrian, JJ had a ban on singing. You don’t want to take any risk.

A countrypopop trio is from Great Britain sent into the race. The three friends Lauren, Holly-Ann and Charlotte had met at school and founded a band very quickly. In the meantime, the girls are only making music after giving up their jobs and calling themselves Remember Monday. Your song “What the Hell Just Happed” starts slowly, then becomes faster and has several changes. In terms of content, the song describes the cat state after a night of century if the memories do not want to come back. Since Israel in 1999, Remember Monday has been the first girl band to represent the United Kingdom at the Song Contest.

The 22-year-old Klavdia Greece is a singer and songwriter and a well-known artist and Tikok star in her home country. “Asteromáta”, according to her song title, is a traditional Greek expression that describes women with radiant, dreamy eyes that the most apt translation would be “small, dreamy woman”. Klavdia begins her appearance on the Eurovision stage on a pier. Her movement on a rock symbolizes the fiery journey that every person makes to light. The presence of a second person on stage and the movement of the stage design reflect the topic of separation: the central message of the ballad “Asteromáta”. The glasses of Klavdia, which is reminiscent of another great Greek: Nana Mouskouri is wonderfully Greek.

Lithuania – Malta – Georgia – France

Katarsis is a four-member rock band known for its mixture of dark alternative and post-punk. “Tavo Akys” (your eyes) should be for Lithuanese Cut off well. The formation around lead singer Lukas Radzevičius has existed for five years. The staging from the preliminary decision remains largely unchanged: blue outfits, the bleak landscape, the exploding house and the flying stones seem even more impressive on the large LED wall in Basel.

MIRIANA CONTE AUS Malta is a 24-year-old Maltese singer, known for her rousing appearances and her fearless use of music. Your concern is to denounce and discuss discrimination, exclusion and bodyhaming on the Internet. And so you will also feel the Maltese contribution “Serving”. In the preliminary decision, her song was still ambiguously called “Kant”. But that couldn’t go well. There was an official BBC protest at EBU that the text or the song title were deliberately written as a tasteless ambiguity. In Maltese, the word means “vocals”, it said from Malta. In English it sounds less harmless, but like “Cunt”. The term is used as a vulgar swear word for women in general, but also for the female genital organ in particular. If you get so much attention before the contest, you can hardly get past the final. The appearance is typical Miriana: courageous and uncompromising.

After Malta’s powerful appearance, we get to hear an orchestral Powerballad. Mariam Shengalia Georgia Sings her song “Freedom” in Georgian and English. Production is reminiscent of the style of the 1960s. Mariam should already appear at the ESC: as a background singer at the ultimately canceled Song Contest in Rotterdam 2020. Now she is getting a new chance as a participant. The stage is also of great importance in this performance: a mountain landscape is projected onto the LED wall behind Mariam and a moon is opened between the two stage mountains, which merges into a red sun with storm clouds and neon rings. In the course of the song, Mariam strips off her dress and a red glitter overall comes to light. Pure drama!

The French Louane is an icon of the music scene in France. And our music is also extremely popular with us. She has just been represented with two titles in the BRF1 hit parade, with “Les Etoile” for some than 80 weeks and her ESC song has also been at the top for weeks. The pop ballad “Maman” was presented in public in the half-time break of a rugby game and is very successful. Even if the “Grande Nation” has been very successful in recent years, the last victory at the ESC has been almost 50 years ago. “Maman” tells the journey of a life: a child who became a woman and a daughter who became a mother. The song is about love, loss and strength to continue. There is a lot of sand in the game in the staging and the stage workers will have a lot to sweep when Louanes appears.

Denmark – Czech Republic – Luxembourg – Israel

After so much emotions there is a Eurodance bang Denmark. The singer Sissal comes from the Faroe Islands, but now lives in Copenhagen. The most important prop on stage is a transparent curtain and the strong wind machine has also found its way to Basel. Sissal obviously didn’t want to do without the black “swimsuit”. However: no pyrotechnics, but the final tone of “hallucination” alone allows the roof of the St. Jakobshalle to be lifted off.

And another ballad full of drama. Adam Pavlovčin Czech Republic is called Adonxs – it is spoken “Adonis” – and so it presents itself. He can look back on a successful music career and has worked as a dancer and model. After the shortening last year, Czech television decided for the first time since 2017 for direct nomination. The focus of the performance is on Adonx’s stage presence, vocals and charm. The clear, elegant concept fully draws the possibilities of the Eurovision stage and uses the latest lighting technology to create effects, make the waves and remind the film ‘Inception’. Here, too, no pyrotechnics and no props – nothing should distract from the song “Lis Kiss Goodbye”.

Laura Thorn from Luxemburg is a singer and multi -instrumentalist, as well as a teacher at the Luxembourg Conservatoire de Musique. “La Poupée Monte Le Son”, sung in French, means something like “the doll turns on”. It is an entertaining, faster beat, and it seems to me like a continuation of another legendary ESC song: “Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son” – With this song by France Gall, the Luxembourgers won the Eurovision Song Contest exactly 60 years ago. An entertaining song and the staging makes it a nice piece of visual story. For years, the small country, framed by Germany, France and Belgium, had no longer participated in the ESC, although it is one of the successful nations with five victories.

The next ballad is from Yuval Raphael Israel presented. She sings “New Day Will Rise” in English, French and Hebrew. Yuval is 24 years old and comes from Ra’anana at Tel Aviv, but also lived in Geneva for a few years as a child and is therefore no stranger in Switzerland. Israel has the biggest props this year: a two -story, round construction, about five meters high, with a curved staircase on one side. All around a glittering curtain made of silver strands, almost like a modern version of a vintage bird cage. Yuval Raphael is a survivor of the attack on the Supernova music festival and could only protect herself by standing dead for several hours. Of course, the text is based on this traumatic event, but the EBU checked it in detail and approved it for the competition.

Germany – Serbia – Finland

Abor & Tynna, the Austrian siblings, that Deutschland Represents, presents an electric bang. A total of six siblings will appear at the ESC this year (Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Ukraine and Portugal). With “Baller” Germany has a song in German for the first time since 2007. Since the national finale with the return of Stefan Raab, who explained the search for a contribution to the “boss matter”, the song has caused a lot of sensation. On the Basel ESC stage, ABOR plays on an illuminated cello, Tynna is wearing an outfit that is reminiscent of Lara Croft on a Berlin rave: black hot pants in military style and knee-high military boots, a black belly-free top and elbow length, gathered leather gloves. Baller stands in huge white letters on the black flashing LED wall. I had the opportunity to experience “Baller” in a balladesque version, I would have liked it better. So the “baller” is a melody-poor, but can be danced. The question remains exciting whether the ARD is on the right track with the “chief format”.

Prince Aus Serbia Not only is a singer, it also plays the guitar and drums. He was a front man of a rock band, finalist at The Voice Bulgaria and already applied for the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023, where he finished second behind Luke Black. Now it should work. In his song “Mila”, another power ballad, Princ asks his loved one to come back to him. The staging was completely changed after the preliminary decision: deep fog at the beginning, then a flame explosion in the last stanza.

Is that the crowning glory? Erika Vikman is a well -known star in Finlandwon the Tangomarkkinat Festival in 2016 and in 2020 brought the unforgettable “Cicciolina” for Finnish preliminary decision in 2020 and a song about Pornoqueen Ilona Staller. With this she landed in second place and the Eurovision community never forgotten the then winner Aksel Kankaanranta that he won. This year Erika Vikman sings in Finnish with a pinch of German: “I am coming”. Plus a lot of latex, metal rivets and something that looks like a dance on the bar.

The 2nd semi -finals will be transferred to VRT 1, Tipik and One (Germany) from 9:00 p.m.

Biggi Müller