Eurovision Semi-Final Brief
Hands down, the two best Eurovision semi-final performances were given by Finland's hard rock band Lordi and Iceland's completely bizarre Sylvia Night.
Lordi performed sheer metal pyrotechnic theatre that had the crowd--not an obvious hard rock audience--exploding. Sylvia Night's act included a striptease, a phone conversation with God, and a garbled bad word that got her in trouble with the European Broadcasting Union, all in a babytalk voice. She was applauded and booed. It was an exhausting three minutes.
Through to the final: Russia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, Ukraine, Ireland, Sweden, Turkey, and Armenia. They'll join Switzerland, Moldova, Israel, Latvia, Norway, Spain, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Romania, the United Kingdom, Greece, France, and Croatia in the final.
These latter countries qualified either on the basis of their performances last year or by dint of market size: the UK, France, Germany, and Spain automatically qualify each year for the final.
A public televote determines winners, with people allowed to vote for any country performing but the one from which they are calling. This form of telephonic democracy allows for some surprises. Case in point: Eurovision fanatics rated Belgium's Kate Ryan their top choice. Yet despite this and despite her significant success as a dance music artist throughout Europe, Ryan failed to place through to the final.
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