Eurovision 2018 - Semifinal 1: Results

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The hardest semifinal in years is over and now it's time for me to give my opinions about the finalists but as always I'd like to start the post giving a shout out to 2 of the acts that didnt qualify:

Belgium: SENNEK

Love this song and Sennek is so lovely but sadly I dont think this worked on stage.

Switzerland: ZIBBZ

These 2 worked so hard and it showed on stage cause they did such a great performance and they should be really proud of it. Would have loved to see them in the final but the most important thing in ESC is showing yourself to the audience doing what you love to do and what you do best, they did that and Im sure they gained a big number of new fans today.

THE FINALISTS

10. AUSTRIA: Cesár Sampson

I like this song but to me this wasnt a good performance (in a visual way), my fear of his lack of charisma was confirmed and even if his voice is out of this world, I think he looked lost on stage.

09. BULGARIA: Equinox

I wasnt a big fan of this song when it was released but it grew on me a lot, I still dislike the aura of desperation around it, like I dont feel anything with it and to me the performance needs more heart and honesty, they are great singers but there is like all this fake plastic around them and I just want them to get rid of all those rehearsed moves and just jump and show who they really are. (Zhana's reaction to their result was adorable and it showed me a side of her that I have seen a bit on interviews but never on stage so I hope they all let themselves free for the final performance)

08. FINLAND: Saara Aalto

This song is alright, there are too many things happening on stage but that's her style and let's be honest, it could have been worse. I would like her to have more fun on stage, I want too see that "living my dream" sparkle in her eyes!

07. ESTONIA: Elina Nechayeva

I think she did her best, but sadly the camera work didnt, her Eesti Laul performance was so much better.

06. CZECH REPUBLIC: Mikolas Josef

After following the rehearsals I was expecting this to be my fav from this semifinal but even if I liked it a lot, I didnt go crazy for it. There is something missing on it but I dont know what it is.

05. ALBANIA: Eugent Bushpepa

Eugent is one of the best singers of this year and Im so happy we will get to see him perform again on saturday! GO ALBANIA!

04. IRELAND: Ryan O'Shaughnessy

Wow, this just worked on stage so beautifully! One of the best performances of the night!

03. ISRAEL: Netta

I love this song and Netta is such a star! The performance is not a winning perfomance but it is fun and it looked like she was having a great time on stage! (I would take out the pyro from the 1st chorus)

02. LITHUANIA: Ieva Zasimauskaitė

This is such a pretty performance, it truly gets to your heart. Well done Ieva! GO LITHUANIA!

01. CYPRUS: Eleni Foureira

911? THERE IS A BIG FIRE ON THE ESC ARENA! Im so impressed by her stage presence, like damn! I wasnt expecting this to be a contender but guess what Europe?...IT IS! Eleni is a PERFORMER and the Eurovision stage was made for her to burn down! GO CYPRUS!

Photos: Andres Putting/EBU 

Cesár Sampson: Everytime I wrote “You”, I either meant my inner self, the higher power, or all of you, who are listening to me

Photo: Jeff Mangione

Hello everybody! It's time to get to know more about the Austrian act for ESC 2018, here are Cesár's answers:
Name: Cesár Sampson
Birthday: 18.08.1983
Height: 183
Favorite color: Gold
Favorite food: Sweetpotato Quinoa Risotto and heaps and heaps of letucce :)
Where are you right now? Munich,Germany for the weekend
3 things that make you happy: Truth, Love, Nature
What’s your strangest talent? I don´t get hematoma :D
What is the strangest thing you have in your room? I don´t think I have any strange things in my room
What are you really good at? Bringing my point across with words
What are you really bad at? smalltalk
Childhood idol: Michael Jackson
Childhood memory: kissing LaToya Jackson (on the lips! haha)
Celebrity crush: LaToya Jackson :D
Tell me something no one knows about you: I am an alien visitor from Planet Melmak
What would you do if you were invisible? Be very very bored. I am a Leo, we don´t fantasize about being invisible:)
Favorite movie: The OA (not exactly a movie but still)
Favorite TV series: Game of Thrones
What is your guilty pleasure? I watch fictional character deathmatches on youtube :D like Mickey Mouse vs Danger Mouse :D
If you were a girl for a day, what would you do? I´d finally find out why girls always go to the rest room as a team.
Name a song that never fails to make you happy: Nobody but You 
Can you teach me some interesting words in German?  « Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit » = food intolerance
« Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft » = Danubian Steamship Company
« Arbeiterunfallversicherungsgesetz » = worker accident insurance law

Photo: Thomas Ramstorfer

Hello Cesár! How are you doing?
Fantastic!

How would you describe yourself as an artist?
I would describe myself as a late blooming artist, considering I´ve been one for about 17 years.

You were part of the Bulgarian team for ESC in 2016 and 2017, what did you learn from those experiences?
More than I can list here, certainly. Most importantly, I learnt how important it is to be yourself and to lower your guards. People have to feel who you are. 

You were selected by ORF to represent Austria in Lisbon. How did it all begin?
The ORF prompted me about submitting a song back in 2016, and then again in 2017. In 2017 all the right ingredients came together and so, here I am.

Photo: Maria Hintz

“Nobody but you” is the title of your song, and it’s written by you, Sebastian Arman, Joacim Persson, Johan Alkenäs and Borislav Milanov. How was it to work with them?
Sebastian, Boris and me know each other since almost 15 years, so we have a good understanding of where everyone is coming from. Joacim and Johan are the coolest guys, they are such fun personalities and amazing professionals. I´m lucky to have them on board. The fact that 5 people can end up on the same page about one song, speaks for itself. 

Photo: Jeff Mangione

What’s the story behind the song?
Since Sebastian and I started writing the song, there have always been two parallel, but not mutually exclusive meanings to it. Let me just say, I didn´t write it with a person in mind. Everytime I wrote “You”, I either meant my inner self, the higher power, or all of you, who are listening to me. Sebastian on the other hand would probably give you a different answer entirely.

Photo: Thomas Ramstorfer

Describe the song with 4 words:
Groovy, rocknroll, grand, spiritual

What can we expect to see on stage for the performance?
Expect the unexpected

Photo: Thomas Ramstorfer

Tell me about the official video of “Nobody but you”:
It was hard work, shooting in the freezing cold for hours on end, and I spent most of that time shivering, as I was the only one who was not sufficiently clothed for the occasion ;)

What do you like about Eurovision?
I like the professionality of it, the size of it, the idea behind it, and the mottos, that always center around inclusion, diversity and feeling connected. 

What do you dislike about Eurovision?
I rather dislike when eurovision (just like any other big event) is abused by indivduals, to further their closed-minded agendas. Individuals that certainly cannot be called true eurovision fans. But we are not letting anyone harsh our mellow:)

Tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word:
Freedom: being yourself, always
Nightmare: I don´t have them, the waking world contains all the horrors I can handle
Euroclub: If the Songcontest is the heart of Eurovision, Euroclub is its liver:))) 
Tight pants: not for me
Chicken sound: bagawwwk
Future: Unknown

Photo: Maxwell

What are your plans for 2018?
I take things one step at a time, theres lots to do in the present.

Thank You!

Thanks to Cesár for the interview! All the best in the contest!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CesarSampsonOfficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cesarsampson/

Austria 2018: Cesár Sampson

Photo: Thomas Ramstorfer

This is the song that will represent Austria in Lisbon: Nobody but you

He is so handsome! This is an okay entry, not excited about it right now but it might grow on me later.