Israeli pride, Croatian rock anthem and Ukrainian feminism: Eurovision 2024 will open tonight in Malmö

Eurovision 2024 kicked off tonight (Tuesday) at 22:00 Israel time in Malmö, Sweden, with 15 songs from 15 countries hoping to be among the ten that will advance to the final on Saturday night. As last year, the audience’s vote will determine the results of the semi-finals, without the intervention of the professional judging teams, whose opinion will only be heard in the final.

For the first time, the organizers of the competition decided that the six automatic participants in the finals will also be placed among the songs in the semi-finals, and thus the viewers will get to know them fully like all the other songs.

These are the songs of the first semi-final, divided into completely subjective categories:

The countries that came to win

CroatianGod: A sweeping rock song about a young man who leaves his hometown, his family and the farm animals. An exciting story familiar to many Europeans, seasoned with humor and stage charisma. Since Baby Lasagna’s win in the Croatian preliminaries, he has been leading the betting tables almost continuously, and after his first returns he even opened a gap from the competitors. After the Italian win in 2021 with a kicking rock song, the Croatians dare to dream of a first Eurovision victory as an independent country. They will go to the final for sure.

Ukraine: Aliona Aliona, one of the most successful singers in Ukraine, joined Jerry Hale, which was her third participation in the local show. With lyrics in English and Ukrainian about female empowerment (“all divas were born human”), an impressive rap section and an infectious chorus, and of course with the sympathy of Europe and the desire to provoke Russia, the Ukrainian duo was marked as one of the top songs of the year. The short video clip released from the rehearsal made the song soar in the betting charts. If Ukraine gets a fourth victory, it will be especially impressive for a country that only started participating in 2003.

The countries that saw “cha cha cha” and wanted too

Ireland: Bambi Thag, semi-binary Swedish singer, responsible for a song that is a phenomenon – you can hate it, you can love it, you can’t ignore it. There are those who think it all looks like one big stage and musical mess, but the betting tables actually predict that the audience will unite en masse (or panic and vote so that a spell is not cast on them).

Finland: The country that brought “Cha Cha Cha” chose a scattered and hopeless nonsense song. The magic that was in his career in 2023, which beyond the eccentric show also sang a successful and addictive song, is not something that can be expected this year from Windows95man, who will probably not be among the ten qualifiers for the final.

The countries that understand that Eurovision is a pop contest

Lithuania: Sylvester Ballet was chosen to represent the Baltic country this year with a well-produced and slightly catchy pop song in Lithuanian. It is not certain that greatness would have been predicted for him if he had been in English, but he can be given the benefit of the doubt. He will probably go to the finals.

Cyprus: Israelis remember for better or worse “Fuego”, that phenomenal pop sensation that tried to threaten Neta Barzilai’s victory in 2018. The trouble is that since that achievement, Cyprus has been trying a pretty similar formula every year. Sometimes it works, but this year, if it depends on the vocal abilities of Celia Kapsis, it won’t be enough for the final.

Poland: A professional committee chose singer Luna to represent Poland with an optimistic and empowering hyper-pop song. However, after many fell in love with the song in the studio version, Luna sang it at the promotional parties, and it was revealed that she had a hard time keeping it up vocally. She even canceled some of her scheduled performances so she could rest and work on her song. If you manage to rise and sing properly, you may be one of the surprising finalists.

Luxembourg: Tali Goulargant was born in Jerusalem, and migrated to Chile, Argentina and finally Luxembourg. She was chosen to represent Luxembourg at Eurovision with a light pop song in English and French. Luxembourg is returning to Eurovision after a 30-year absence, and this fact may give Golargant the little boost it needs to reach the final. Its position as the last song in the semi-finals can’t hurt.

The countries that do not give up the original language

Slovenia: After trying her luck in the local preview three times and receiving great love from the Slovenian audience and Eurovision fans across the continent, Ada chose the singer Raven to represent Slovenia. She wrote an experimental pop song and in parts a bit creepy in Slovenian, which the audience will probably have a hard time digesting. Someone has to finish last in the semi-finals.

Australia: The Electric Fields duo was also within touching distance of representing their country in 2019, but only finished second in the local prelims. In the Australian case as well, a professional committee decided to give the duo the honor of representing the country, but the song they wrote this year moved Eurovision fans much less. Australia will probably have to settle for a respectable achievement: the debut of the Australian Aboriginal language Yankunitara.

Azerbaijan: For a change, the Caucasian country chose not to buy a song from Swedish producers but to go for an authentic local piece that involves English and foreign. The song has a certain charm, but the duo Fehri and Ilkin Dublatov will have to work hard to make the stage performance memorable enough.

Portugal: The country that makes sure every year (with the exception of one stumbling block in 2021) to send a poem in its language has mostly known failures until the amazing victory in 2017. This year the singer Yolanda sang the song Grito, which starts quietly and develops into a cry that is hard to remain indifferent to. She is one of the mesmerizing vocalists and performers this year, and can surprise and qualify for the final.

Serbia: Another ballad that leaves a mark is Ramonda by the singer Tia Dora. The enchanted clip won the hearts of many fans, but in the betting tables, Serbia remained borderline to advance to the finals. It is difficult to predict, and it seems that Dora’s progress to the finals depends on her vocal abilities and how memorable her appearance on stage will be.

The countries that chose to send the same singers again (why?)

Iceland: Hara Bjork only finished in 19th place in 2010, but her song Je ne sais quoi became a hit among contest fans, and she made sure to leverage the love she received in the Eurovision bubble and continue to perform at various events, as well as participate in the local preview. Unfortunately, Shira is particularly weak this year, and even her biggest fans understand that her chances of making it to the finals are very low.

Moldova: Natalia Barbeau reached tenth place in 2007 with the song Fight. This year, with the song In The Middle, she can dream of the top ten in the semi-finals. As written on the Slovenian song, someone has to finish last.