As any ESC fan knows, there are mediocre songs which suddenly shine on stage, just as there are favourites that don’t get a favourable treatment. So let’s find out how things are looking on stage in Kyiv when it comes to the automatic finalists!

See the bottom of this post to find out how the total scores are calculated, as well as other detailed explanations.

Italy
Francesco Gabbani – Occidentali’s Karma

Judged by the full clip of the semi-final performance

Total score for Italy: 2.5 (out of 40)

Disclaimer: I don’t dislike the Italian entry. As a song, it’s a 7/10 for me. But I never saw it as a winner, and even less so after having seen last night’s clip. And watching the full video didn’t change anything. While the song might have winner potential, Francesco can’t do that potential justice. To me, this performance doesn’t look any more professional than the standards seen at Eurovision Karaoke.

Spain
Manel Navarro – Do It For Your Lover

Judged by the full clip of the semi-final performance

Total score for Spain: 10.5 (out of 40)

One of the more colourful stagings this year, which isn’t a totally bad concept. It suits the song well.  Overall, this is not a car crash, but the song doesn’t benefit much from the presentation either.

United Kingdom
Lucie Jones – Never Give Up on You

Judged by the full clip of the semi-final performance

Total verdict for United Kingdom: 21.0  (out of 40)

I’m not a a fan of this entry, enjoying neither the song nor the colour of her voice, but what the UK is delivering here is a very fine and decent presentation.

Winning these three: United Kingdom

Solid performance, magic staging. Personally, I enjoyed UK 2016 a lot more, but I guess that the UK readers among you (and our team member from the UK) will be relieved about the choice of the entry on the one hand, and can be proud on its presentation on the other.

It doesn’t overwhelm me, but the UK hasn’t done anything wrong this time.

Explanations

What the categories mean

Concept: Meaning the idea behind what the performers are actually doing on stage, ignoring how well their performance is executed.

Look: Hairdo, clothes, but also attractiveness or likability play a role here.

Stage: Use of backdrop, lights and colours.

Camera: The camerawork, judging by the official snippets.

Performance: How well the concept is executed. Movements, facial expressions, finding cameras.

Vocals: Well, how well can the entrant actually sing?

What the stars mean

1 star – Counterproductive, doesn’t do the song any favours
2 stars – Mediocre, doesn’t help nor ruin the song
3 stars – Decent, supports the song well enough.
4 stars – Literally outstanding, unique in the context of this year

How the total score is calculated

1 star = 0 points
2 stars = 1 point
3 stars = 2 points
4 stars = 4 points

For the total score, “Vocals” is weighted x5, “Performance” x3, the other four categories x0.5.