The London Eurovision Party took place at the stunning Café de Paris venue at Leicester Square last night, with a horde of 2014 acts joining Eurovision legends on stage. The escXtra team pass their verdicts on how the contenders for Copenhagen fared. You can find a high quality gallery of stills from the event here on our facebook page.
Latvia
Simon: Had some technical issues but gamely battled on. This song grows more infectious as you hear it live. Aarzemnieki were fully live without a backing track.
Rodrigo: I was impressed with their professionalism and how well they coped in spite of the technical issues. This is extremely good live.
San Marino
Simon: See: San Marino 2012 and San Marino 2013. Nothing new to report.
Rodrigo: She’s a solid performer but I feel like her attitude is turning a bit more diva-esque. Still, I like the song very much.
Armenia
Simon: Very impressive vocally today, and looking confident. Warmly welcomed by the London crowd. Impressed with his versatility in a jazzy upbeat number too.
Rodrigo: Now, this was a winning performance. After last week’s debacle, Aram showed that he can carry in his shoulders the weight of the favourite.
Switzerland
Simon: High energy and went down a storm. Sebalter is gaining confidence and gaining fans. Also performed Aviici’s “Wake me up” as they did in the Swiss national final.
Rodrigo: Absolutely amazing. Catchy, happy, well performed. One of my top faves this year.
Austria
Simon: The expected positive reaction came to pass. Conchita knows her audience and as well as her ESC entry sang cabaret-but-impressive performances of “That’s what I am” and “My heart will go on”, which Conchita introduced by saying, “it’s cheesy but I love it”.
Rodrigo: Stunning. She knows what she has to do and she does it flawlessly. Every song. Every time.
Montenegro
Simon: Vocally very assured as always. Not a great deal of variety in his delivery but he conveys his songs with emotion and confidence. A professional performer.
Rodrigo: Impressed with Sergej’s vocals, this is full of emotion and it should sail to the final. Otherwise I don’t get Europe.
Portugal
Simon: Like Conchita, Suzy was sure to be received well, and she too knows her audience. As well as delivering her ESC entry with aplomb (good vocals, plenty suzyshakes and increased sambafication in the backing track) Suzy pleased the London crowd with “Quedate conmigo” and “Where are you?” (UK 1998).
Rodrigo: There is nothing about Suzy that is not great. She has the vibe and she has the voice. She delivers and it stands out as the big party entry of the year.
Ukraine
Simon: The Ukrainians can pull off just about anything, and Mariya’s sass and vocals distract marvellously from the lack of musical quality in this number.
Rodrigo: Ditto.
Norway
Simon: Vocally less impressive than in Amsterdam, though he still had the audience captured.
Rodrigo: I was surprised at how poorly he performed. Wonder if he’ll be able to get himself together as the nerves of the moment start racking up.
Spain
Simon: She’s the real deal, and performs with impressive might. I wonder if the performance of the song might be a bit too Mediterranean for some European voters though?
Rodrigo: Another perfect performance from Ruth. And what she did with Nessun Dorma was stunning. Love her, love the song and am rooting for this to do very well.
UK
Simon: Major improvement on Amsterdam. Looking much more confident and sounding good.
Rodrigo: After Amsterdam I was a bit worried. I’m not anymore. She did it confidently and she delivered.
Greece
Simon: Fresh and contemporary. The boys impressed with their Eurovision medley as well as with “Rise up”.
Rodrigo: Mark my words. Potential winner.
Malta
Simon: Clear and bright vocals, and the interaction with the audience is really helped by not having Michelle sat behind a keyboard.
Rodrigo: Those vocals are simply outstanding. Shame that we didn’t get the whole band, but if two can do this the whole deal should do very well come May.
Romania
Simon: Given the honour of closing the show and didn’t disappoint the hardcore fans who had been enjoying close to five hours of Eurovision performances, singing both their Eurovision entries. No vocal worries of course, but “Playing with fire” did seemingly go down better than “Miracle”.
Rodrigo: “Miracle” is a grower for me. It’s a shame that most voters will listen to it for the first time and this isn’t really an instant one. With that said, I enjoyed the performance very much.
