By Neil Durham

WHEN?: Thursday 9 May 2024

WHERE?: Malmo Arena, Malmo

HOW DO I WATCH?: BBC1 8pm, eurovision.tv or SVT

It’s non-binary artist Nemo (pictured) who has the best song in this less competitive semi final that will need a big performance to do it justice live but inevitably it will be the appearance of Israel’s Eden Golan with a rewritten entry no longer called October Rain that will likely dominate headlines.

• Read on for reasons including the 10 songs we think will make it through to the 11 May final

1. MALTA: Sarah Bonnici Loop (Kevin Lee; Leire Gotxi Angel; Michael Joe Cini; Sarah Bonnici; Sebastian Pritchard-James) PREDICTION: non-qualifier

Bonnici performed this energetic dance number with 3 male dancers to win Malta’s national selection and, while the choreography’s the most impressive element owing a debt to Spain’s glorious Chanel, the song appears underwritten and generic.

2. ALBANIA: Besa Titan (Besa Kokëdhima; Kledi Bahiti; Petrit Sefaj; Rozana Radi) PREDICTION: non-qualifier

Previously known as Zemrën n’dorë (Heart in Hand), we’re enjoying the revamp of this song titled Titan which which gives it a modern international feel more in keeping with the contest stage. Albania have failed to qualify for the final eight times in 19 attempts and this will be in the running to do so. This is well-performed anthemic pop although we’re a little underwhelmed by the rehearsal clip (watch above)

3. GREECE: Marina Satti Zari (Dice) (Gino the Ghost; Jay Lewitt Stolar; Jordan Richard Palmer; Konstantin Plamenov Beshkov; Marina Satti; Nick Kodonas; Oge Solmeister; Vlospa) PREDICTION: Qualifier

Self-described as a song that aims to tell the ‘real characteristics’ of young Greek people and their culture, the song was co-written by Satti with 8 other songwriters and feels a bit of a mess to us. Heavy on the dance breaks and incorporating traditional elements. Despite our initial reservations, coming together rather well in the rehearsal clip (see above).

4. SWITZERLAND: Nemo The Code (Benjamin Alasu; Lasse Midtsian Nymann; Linda Dale; Nemo Mettler) PREDICTION: Qualifier

‘Somewhere between the 0s and 1s …’ goes the song and this is a very clever leaning into the non-binary world that may strike a chord with some. Vocally it’s very Mika/Queen and going to be a real challenge to perform live and musically this has Eminem and Bond theme flourishes. We think it’s a dark horse for the win and will do far better than people are currently predicting.

5. CZECHIA: Aiko Pedestal (Alena Shirmanova-Kostebelova; Steven Ansell) PREDICTION: non-qualifier

Co-writer Ansell is part of Brighton-based alternative rock duo Blood Red Shoes and this is a fine song which was rather ruined by the 1st live performance of it that we heard. Still time for Aiko to improve that of course but this 1 needs work. Aiko was born in Moscow and now lives in Brighton.

6. AUSTRIA: Kaleen We Will Rave (Anderz Wrethov; Jimmy ‘Joker’ Thörnfeldt; Julie Aagaard; Thomas Stengaard) PREDICTION: Qualifier

As we write, Jimmy ‘Joker’ Thörnfeldt has 5 co-writes in the Swedish Melodifestivalen finalen with 1 even boasting the lyric: ‘Now I rave on my own and I don’t even think of you.’ 90s dance is an inspiration being drawn on heavily there as it is here. We’ve yet to see this performed live but it’s a dance track that screams Cascada with a video short on subtlety. Love the false ending though.

7. DENMARK: Saba Sand (Jonas Thander; Melanie Gabriella Hayrapetian; Pil Kalinka Nygaard Jeppesen) PREDICTION: non-qualifier

Co-written by Melanie Wehbe, who co-wrote Move for The Mamas which won Melodifestivalen in Covid year 2020 and participated in 2023 and jointly penned Denmark’s 2019 entry. This isn’t the song we wanted to represent Denmark this year and we think it will struggle to make the finalen for the 1st time since Wehbe’s last co-write in 2019.

8. ARMENIA: Ladaniva Jako (Audrey Leclercq; Jaklin Baghdasaryan; Louis Thomas) PREDICTION: non-qualifier

Giddy if a little aimless folk from this French-Armenian world music group originally from Lille in France. The duo, founded in 2019, consists of Armenian singer Jaklin Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas. Their musical style is inspired by music from around the world, particularly traditional Balkan music, maloya and Armenian folklore which may mean we’re underestimating its international appeal.

9. LATVIA: Dons Hollow (Artūrs Šingirejs; Kate Northrop; Liam Geddes) PREDICTION: non-qualifier

Fans of the anthemic Take Me To Church by Hozier will find much to love in this well-performed, throaty, bluesy number. It’s not a song we seek out however and so we see this struggling to make it out of this competitive semi.

10 SAN MARINO: Megara 11:11 (Isra Dante Ramos Solomando; Roberto la Lueta Ruiz; Sara Jiménez Moral) PREDICTION: Qualifier

This Madrid-based alternative metal band finished 4th in Benidorm Fest 2023 with song Arcadia and reportedly offered RTVE 11:11 for the 2024 edition but were turned down. It won in San Marino instead where some of the lyrics had to be changed into Italian to comply with the rules but this is authentic and a strong entry we can see beating Spain in the final.

11. GEORGIA: Nutsa Buzaladze Firefighter (Ada Skitka; Darko Dimitrov) PREDICTION: Qualifier

Heavy on the dancebreak, a shrieky vocal and light on actual song. Dimitrov is North Macedonian and wrote Proud for Tamara Todevska which finished 7th in 2019. This is feisty and uptempo and shouldn’t be discounted. Nutsa is a singer songwriter who grew up in Turkey, has worked in the US and currently lives in Dubai. The anti-Fuego if you will. But performed brilliantly in the rehearsal clip (see above).

12. BELGIUM: Mustii Before The Party’s Over (Arianna Damato; Benoit Leclercq; Charlotte Clark; Nina Sampermans; Pierre Dumoulin; Thomas Mustin) PREDICTION: Qualifier

Drag Race Belgique judge, actor and singer Mustii has had 2 top 10 albums in Belgium and gives us a gay, midlife crisis anthem. It’s going to need a big vocal and we haven’t heard the live version yet. Co-writer Sampermans has worked with other Eurovision acts including Hooverphonic and Gjon’s Tears.

13. ESTONIA: 5 minust and Puuluup (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi (We know nothing about these drugs) (Kim Wennerström; Kohver Lancelot; Marko Veisson; Päevakoer; Põhja Korea; Ramo Teder) PREDICTION: Qualifier

Who let those older guys with musical cheese graters in here? Flying out of these semi finals without juries. A combination of folk and rap that was our favourite for Eesti Laul even before we saw the anarchic and memorable staging which sealed the deal.

14. ISRAEL: Eden Golan Hurricane (Avi Ohayon; Keren Peles; Stav Beger) PREDICTION: Qualifier

Important to remember that this is a song contest, and, on the basis of that, despite its lyrical rewrite at the request of the EBU we think this is a well-performed ballad that should make the final. It’s impossible to ignore the implication of conflict in Gaza on a public vote however and whether Israel should have been permitted to attend the Contest is 1 for others to debate.

15. NORWAY: Gåte (Riddle) Ulveham (Wolf pelt) (Gunnhild Sundli; Magnus Børmark; Jon Even Schärer; Marit Jensen Lillebuen; Ronny Graff Janssen; Sveinung Ekloo Sundli) PREDICTION: Qualifier

Not the song we wanted to win this year’s Melodi Grand Prix but it was clear well before the finalen that it was the song that had captured the Norwegian public’s imagination eventually triumphing thanks to the home televote rather than the international jury. The 1st entry since 2006 in Norwegian. It’s a mixture of folk rock and metal that is 1 of a number of authentic songs which could win the whole thing this year.

16. NETHERLANDS: Joost Europapa (Donny Ellerström; Joost Klein; Paul Elstak; Teun de Kruif; Thijmen Melissant; Tim Haars) PREDICTION: Qualifier

A song of the month for us in March when we said: ‘We’re holidaying in Barcelona and leaning into the flood of Eurovision songs just released and this Netherlands entry stands out on 1st listen for its riffing on 90s Dutch superstars 2 Unlimited and their best known charttopper No Limits. Joost … should expect to see his way clear to the final 2 days later thanks to the lack of juries in the televote-only semis. We don’t see this as a Eurovision winner but its funnier than Finland’s No Rules by Windows95Man which should make the final from semi 1 2 days earlier and we’re loving the cheesy flourishes which appear to understand why European pop and Euro living can be such a joy.’

• Main picture via Facebook courtesy Nemo and Eurovision Song Contest
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