Weekend Semifinal Round-Up
This weekend marked the start of the semifinals for Estonia’s Eestilaul, as well as the third heats in Sweden and Lithuania, and the continuation of the Finnish selection process. Furthermore, we’ve gotten more clarification on the songs that Spain will be choosing from for Pastora Soler. Let’s take a look at what happened this weekend:
Sweden: The Tegera Arena in Leksand hosted the third Semifinal of Melodifestivalen, where (as usual), eight songs were competing for two spots in the Final, and two in the Second Chance round.
Moving on to the finals at the Globen on March 10 are:
- Molly Sandén – “Why am I Crying?”
- Björn Ranelid feat. Sara Li – “Mirakel”
Getting a second chance on March 3 are:
- Youngblood – “Youngblood”
- Andreas Johnson – “Lovelight”
Sadly, missing out this week were:
- Mattias Andréasson – “Förlåt mig“
- Love Generation – “Just a Little Bit“
- Carolina Wallin Pérez – “Sanningen“
- Maria BenHajji – “I mina drömmar“
Lithuania: The third of four semifinals took place this weekend in Vilnius, where nine songs were competing for three spots in the Final, to be held on March 3. Qualifying this week are:
- Monika Linkytė – “Happy“
- VIG Roses – “Come Back Home“
- Bekešo Vilkai – “Letter by Letter“
Nine more songs will compete in next week’s fourth (and last) Lithuanian semifinal.
Finland: After weeks of heats and eliminations, there are only seven acts remaining in the Finnish “Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu”. One will be eliminated on this Friday, with the winner officially crowned the next day. Remaining in the competition are:
- Freeman & Uusi Fantasia – “Noitanainen“
- Iconcrash – “We Are the Night“
- Kaisa Vala – “Habits of Human Beings“
- Mica Ikonen – “Antaa mennä“
- Pernilla Karlsson – “När jag blundar“
- Stig – “Laululeija“
- Ville Eetvartti – “Lasikaupunki“
Estonia: The first of Eestilaul’s two semifinals took place on Saturday, and ten acts competed for one of only five spots in the March 3 final. I make it no secret that this is my favorite of the National Finals, and this week didn’t disappoint, offering ballads, alt-rock, and enough synth-pop to make anybody think it was 1987, in the best possible way. Continuing on in the process are:
- Pop Maniacs – “I Don’t Know“
- Ott Lepland – “Kuula“
- August Hunt – “Tantsulõvi“
- Liis Lemsalu – “Made Up My Mind“
- Loss Paranoias – “Valedetektor“
Missing out this week were:
- Janne Saar – “Fight for Love“
- Erasmus Rotterdamist – “Kuu pääle“
- MIA – “Bon Voyage“
- Milky Whip – “My Love“
- Soundclear – “A Little Soldier“
Next week’s Eestilaul Semi will be a hard-fought one, as four Eurovision veterans (Malcolm Lincoln, Lenna, Soul Militia, and Orelipoiss) will try to get one step closer to returning to the international stage.
Finally, Pastora Soler and her team in Spain have announced the three songs in the running for Baku. They are:
A fourth song, “Me despido de ti“, was eliminated via a public vote, leaving a trio of songs for the March 3rd National Selection.
What stands out to you, either good or bad? Leave a comment, and let your voice be heard!
Posted on February 21, '12, in 2012, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden. Bookmark the permalink. 6 Comments.
The ESC Insider 
You know why I like your site Sam?
Its because you post links to each of the song you mention
which many other sites do not, and it saves trawling through
everywhere trying to find them.
Plus I like your style.
Thanks, Andrew! 🙂
I can NOT believe that Janne Saar didn’t make it to the finals. That was my favorite song out of the whole contest of every national in every country so far. However, after looking at her live performance, I can understand why it didn’t make it. Every year, Janne has a great song, but she dresses up in these absurd outfits that takes the meaning and value away from the songs. This year, she dressed up a little bit slutty, and that definitely did not contrast well the song.
OMFG I just realized that Soundclear did not make it either. :O WHAT?
I don’t want to comment too many times, so this will be my last one for this post. lol It’s like an update of my reactions, no? Well, those two songs were the ones that I was supporting the entire time. Soundclear was my backup one in case janne didn’t make it. lol Who do I support now? Out of the songs remaining, my favorite is probably Lenna.
You see, most of my favorites in this year’s competition are next week…Malcolm Lincoln, Traffic, Lenna, Mimicry, and Soul Militia…I have the feeling I’m going to have my heart broken by one of them not qualifying…