CROAT I A
AZERBAIJAN
GRAND FINAL
SEMI-FINAL 1
Song: Tell Me More Performers: TuralTuranX Songwriters: Tural Baghmanov, Turan Baghmanov, Nihad Aliyev, Tunar Taghiyev AZERBAIJAN Semi-Final 1 Televote total: 4 points 14th place • This was by far Azerbaijan’s worst ever result with only three countries awarding it any points. Azerbaijan only failed to reach the Grand Final only once before.
Song: Mama ŠČ! Performer: Let 3 Songwriters: Damir Martinovic, Zoran Prodanovic CROATIA Semi-Final 1 Televote total: 76 points 8th place Grand Final Total: 123 points Juries: 11 Televote: 112 13th place • The last time Croatia reached the Grand Final was in 2017. The difference between the jury and televote was vast. Though Let 3 only achieved one 12 and that was from its neighbour, Slovenia.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I am so glad the group stopped stripping once they reached their underpants. Yes, this was a fun act trying to tell a serious story. It will no doubt go down in Eurovision history as a novelty act. But maybe a bit unfair - as many would describe the act as ‘pure Eurovision’. Visually, you couldn’t really fault the performance. They told their anti-war story in a brash but fun way. Great outfits and props - and even better special effects. This is one act no one will probably forget, though the juries would probably like to. The public obviously ‘got’ it and appreciated the spectacle. Well done to Croatia for taking a chance with this act - at least they got noticed! And equally well done to the voting public who gave two fingers up to the boring juries! People power rules! Hass Yusuf
With a strong Merseybeat influence which was given a McFly twist, TuralTuranX should have done much better with Tell Me More . Although the recorded voice intro was somewhat off putting and the rap section added little to the song, the twin brothers from Azerbaijan still managed to give a simple but effective performance at the first semi-final. The rapport with the audience did come across as somewhat muted, which may have affected the televote, but the song should not have ended up second from last on the Tuesday night. This is only the second time since making its debut in 2008 that Azerbaijan has failed to qualify for the Grand Final, but hopefully Azerbaijan will soon return to its former qualifying success before too long. Gordon Lewis
BE LG I UM
CYPRUS GRAND FINAL
GRAND FINAL
Song: Because Of You Performer: Gustaph Songwriters: Gustaph, Jaouad Alloul BELGIUM Semi-Final 2 Televote total: 90 points 8th place Grand Final Total: 182 points Juries: 127 Televote: 55 7th place • Gustaph achieved 12 points each from the juries in Australia, Georgia and Greece. The highest it got in the televote was a ten from the Netherlands. Clearly the jury vote helped the country achieve a Top Ten placing.
Song: Break A Broken Heart Performer: Andrew Lambrou Songwriters: Jimmy Jansson, Jimmy ‘Joker’ Thörnfeldt, Marcus Winther-John, Thomas Stengaard CYPRUS Semi-Final 2 Televote total: 94 points 7th place Grand Final Total: 126 points Juries: 68 Televote: 58 12th place • Andrew only got three points from the Greek jury but normal service was restored by the Greek public with a 12.
After missing out last year, Cyprus were back in the Grand Final thanks to all its Scandi songwriters and the barefoot Australian singer, Andrew Lambrou. He proved to be the perfect performer with a decent vocal range for this angst-filled ballad. The imagery also helped tell the story of Break A Broken Heart - it starts off all in blue with mist and rain and erupts into red with flames galore. Andrew was able to command the stage on his lonesome, but there wasn’t really much to the song to make it really stand out. There was nothing ethnic Greek about it at all, which was a shame. Nevertheless, it was a decent result for the country - which is still waiting for a win! Hass Yusuf
This is how Eurovision should be done and the audience were on Belgium’s side from the very first note. Experience shows and Gustaph did not disappoint. Having already achieved almost 25 years in the music industry, the young looking and energetic 42 year-old (what’s his secret?) was guaranteed a place in the Grand Final from the moment Because Of You was first made public. Mixing Motown sounds with disco, the staging was truly inspired, with Gustaph wearing white and pink while the projection and lighting effects cleverly used black and white to enhance the overall performance. The dancer added a moment of cheeky genius to the production which certainly helped with the song’s qualification, not that it needed any assistance. Gordon Lewis
VISION ● AUTUMN 2022 27
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AUTUMN 2022 ● VISION
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