Liverpool live: Sweaty sweaters, video games and red feathers

Eurovision time! The second semi-final opens with a parody of JJ’s “Wasted Love”, performed by the hosts. To us, it feels like wasted time. 🇧🇬 Bulgaria In what looks like a waiting room, we see Dara with her dancers. There is some rather wild dancing going on. Halfway through the performance, the waiting room disappears, but the act remains just as gripping. Dara opens the show and immediately grabs the viewer’s attention, from the first second to the last. A perfect opener. 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan At first, Jiva’s performance is rather understated. That should put the focus mainly on the vocals and the song. Halfway through, the man she has to let go of appears, and a small routine with ribbons unfolds. A pity, because it distracts from the particularly strong vocals Jiva delivers. Whether the song is strong enough for a place in the final, we would not dare say. 🇷🇴 Romania There is a lot happening on stage for Romania. At first, Alexandra is connected to the two guitarists by light cables. Later, she breaks free from the two men. On stage, we also see a figure in a white robe. The connection with the song is not entirely clear to us. Vocally, she veered off course a little at times. 🇱🇺 Luxembourg The staging has been kept simple: Eva Marija stands on stage with a violin, behind a small tree. Behind her, we see a starry sky. Mother Nature, then. The song, like the staging, is simple. Vocally, apart from one slip-up, she is okay. But whether all of this is enough for a place in the final, we have our doubts. 🇨🇿 Czechia Czech singer Daniel Zizka sits and stands on stage, surrounded by mirrors. That creates a striking effect. It brings the song, which until now we had not seen staged, to life. Zizka’s vocals are rock-solid. The song is truly one for discerning listeners. We are pleasantly surprised and would gladly see this back in the final. 🇫🇷 France Seventeen-year-old Monroe stands on stage in a white dress, surrounded by dancers in black. She manages to hit every note perfectly, from high to low. The song is not easy to sing, but Monroe appears to do it with great ease. Three minutes in which the viewer is blown away. 🇦🇲 Armenia We see Simon with the dancers in a lift, and later in an office. Simon wears his jacket covered in Post-its, but takes it off halfway through the song. For three minutes, all kinds of things happen on stage. That can also be a disadvantage: the whole thing comes across as somewhat messy. Simon, however, is an entertainer who could help Armenia reach the final. 🇨🇭 Switzerland Switzerland’s jazzy song, with strong vocals, does not really need anything else. It already draws all the attention to itself. That is why we think it is a pity that Veronica Fusaro has still chosen to add a performance concept. We see her getting tangled up in red ropes. And we do not understand the staging. We do not see the connection with the song. A pity. 🇨🇾 Cyprus “Dancing on the table, baby,” Antigoni sings. And that is exactly what she does: she is literally dancing on a table. She is surrounded by four dancers. Antigoni throws a party that lets the arena really cut loose. At the end of the performance, we see a lot of fire. Fuego? 🇦🇹 Austria Cosmo starts off lying on the stage. Cartoon-like figures are projected onto the floor, making it look as if the singer is performing inside his own cartoon. Later, he is musically supported by musicians wearing animal heads. They later climb a climbing frame. Cosmo chooses to head down the catwalk, prompting deafening cheers from the Austrians in the arena. Unfortunately, we do not see Austria finishing very high this year. 🇱🇻 Latvia Singer Atvara stands alone on stage; we see a beam of light as if a door is open. This creates Atvara’s shadow. Atvara delivers vocals that are somewhat airy, but clean. Whether the song is strong enough for a place in the final remains to be seen. 🇩🇰 Denmark Søren stands on stage with a kind of aquarium behind him, containing his dancers. Eventually, Søren himself also crawls into the aquarium, exactly at the moment when he has to hit a high note. That takes guts. Søren simply goes for it. The whole package has everything it needs for a high placing. 🇦🇺 Australia Delta Goodrem wears a dress with 7,000 Swarovski crystals. Her grand piano also appears to be covered in crystals. Delta has a great deal of experience and uses it to deliver a very strong performance. Right at the end, it turns out that a platform rises out of the piano. Delta rises up on it. She ends as a kind of Lady Liberty. Top three? 🇺🇦 Ukraine The vocals from Ukraine’s Lekela are fine. During the performance, however, little happens. We see curtains coming down, and use is made of the good old wind machine. A place in the final is certainly within reach for Ukraine, but in the final we still see her finishing in the middle of the pack. 🇬🇧 United Kingdom Old-school Britpop: you either love it or you do not. Sam, also known as Look Mum No Computer, wears a pink overall. His dancers have computer screens over their heads. Halfway through the song, they swap them for a furry computer. Behind him stands a large music computer. We do not think this act will appeal to a very broad audience. 🇦🇱 Albania We see Alis with the image of an older woman behind him. His mother? The LED screens are important: later, various groups of people are also shown on them. Alis manages to move the listener with his song. Although he sings in Albanian, he conveys the emotion effortlessly. And then you also forgive him the small vocal slip-up he made last