After a relatively quiet Saturday night, the Eurovision 2022 world is at the halfway point. 21 out of 40 songs have been revealed so far. Time for us at ESCXTRA.com to check the balance: Which songs do we have, when can we expect the others and where do we literally know nothing so far..? Today, semifinal 2! But first, make sure you check out the current status of semifinal 1 below:
Semifinal Two – First half
Australia: Sheldon Riley – Not The Same
A mask reveal, a big emotional ballad and lots of tears: Australia are going for the feels this year. 22-year old The Voice alumnus Sheldon Riley narrowly won Australia Decides last weekend. With Jaguar Jonze winning the jury vote and Voyager taking the televote, Sheldon Riley did well enough in both votings to scrape through with his song Not The Same.
Azerbaijan: Nadir Rustamli – TBA
Azerbaijan are taking a relatively safe route this year with Nadir Rustamli. The winner of The Voice of Azerbaijan will be going to the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. He was chosen after an open call for songs last year. We don’t know anything about a release date or a title, but Nadir has given an interview where he speaks highly of Julius Caesar. After Cleopatra and Mata Hari, are Azerbaijan going for another historical figure..?
Cyprus: Internal selection
A country where we actually don’t know anything just yet is Cyprus. Marvin Dietmann and Dan Shipton will presumably be responsible for the staging of the Cypriot entry, but that’s as much as we know. Early reports suggested Ivi Adamou, Tania Breazou or Evangelia might have been in the running to represent the island nation, but in January, CyBC said they were still undecided. In the past few weeks, most rumours have pointed towards Andromachi. We know CyBC are not afraid to approach the big names, seeing as they even approached Eleni Foureira in 2021 and Helena Paparizou last year and in 2018.
Finland: The Rasmus – Jezebel
Back in 2003, large parts of Europe were listening to In The Shadows by a new Finnish band: The Rasmus. Now, twenty years later, The Rasmus are going to the Eurovision Song Contest. With a convincing victory at a record-breaking UMK, the band will now go on to sing Jezebel in Turin after already being the pre-national final favourites. Behind the song are lead singer Lauri Ylönen and the legendary Desmond Child. Child has been a large name for writing worldwide hits like I was made for loving you, Livin’ on a prayer and Poison, but also Bonnie Tyler’s 2013 Eurovision entry Believe in me.
Georgia: Circus Mircus – TBA
It was a quiet Sunday morning in November when GPB suddenly revealed their entrants for the Eurovision Song Contest. Sonically unique circus drop-outs is the way to describe Circus Mircus. Like with Norway’s Subwoolfer, we still have no idea who’s behind Circus Mircus. We also don’t know when the song is coming or what it will sound like… Stay tuned for Georgia.
Israel: Michael Ben-David – I.M
A surprise winner of a national final? Israel sure provided us with one this year as Michael Ben-David won X Factor Israel to make it to Turin. Out of 130 submissions, eight were chosen to take part in a national selection. Four of those eventually made the final, with I.M emerging victorious. Marvin Dietmann will be responsible for Israel’s staging at Eurovision.
Malta: Emma Muscat – Out of sight
When Malta revealed their list of entrants for the reborn Malta Eurovision Song Contest, it was clear that there would be an obvious frontrunner. Italy-based hit machine Emma Muscat had scored many hits before, not only in Malta, but also in her adopted home country of Italy. With a clean sweep in the jury voting and a convincing lead with televoters, Malta chose Out of sight as their Eurovision entry. Rumours suggest Emma may still ditch the song for a new one, but that’s far from confirmed.
San Marino: Achille Lauro – Stripper
San Marino are always in for a surprise. Whether it be randomly getting Flo Rida to Eurovision, getting Serhat to the top ten of televoting or… getting an established Sanremo entrant to enter Una Voce per San Marino. Achille Lauro took part in Sanremo 2022 with Domenica, but then went on to participate in San Marino’s new national final with Stripper. He won by a single point over Tuesday DJ Burak Yeter from Turkey. It will be San Marino’s first entry in Italian since 2013, when Valentina Monetta sang Crisalide (Vola).
Serbia: Pesma za Evroviziju 2022
No more Beovizija, but Pesma za Evroviziju for 2022. Serbia have changed their national final format. 36 entries have been divided over two semifinals. They will take place this Thursday and Friday, with the final on Saturday (5th March). On the list of participants, we see two former Eurovision entrants: Tijana Dapčević previously represented North Macedonia at Eurovision 2014 with To The Sky and Sara Jo, who was part of Moje 3.
Semifinal Two – Second half
Belgium: Jérémie Makiese – TBA
Belgium were the very first country to reveal their act for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. 21-year old Belgian-Congolese singer and winner of The Voice Belgique Jérémie Makiese will have the honour of flying the Belgian flag in Turin. He had already expressed his desire to do Eurovision in June 2021. After two VRT years, it’s back to RTBF now. The song Jérémie will sing is nearly finished and will premiere on 10th March.
Czech Republic: We Are Domi – Lights Off
Belgium were the first to reveal their act, but Czech Republic were the first national final of the season. On Spotify, they’re called Domi, but they entered the selection ESCZ 2022 as We Are Domi. The group will sing Lights Off in Turin. Dominika Hašková is the lead singer and she has teamed up with two Norwegians to form Domi: Casper Hatlestand and Benjamin Rekstad.
Estonia: Stefan – Hope
With the country tones kicking in, you’d almost think it was time for the Netherlands. But no, it’s Estonia who are going down the western route. Stefan Airapetjan, an Estonian singer of Armenian heritage, won Eesti Laul 2022 with Hope. There was little doubt in Estonia, as Stefan won the superfinal with more than double the votes as runner-up Minimal Wind ft. elisabeth tiffany.
Ireland: Brooke – That’s Rich
After selecting Lesley Roy internally for 2020 and 2021, Ireland returned to The Late Late Show for 2022. The voting was a true nail-biter, with eventual winner Brooke Scullion placing second-last with the studio jury and winning the televote and international jury with her song That’s Rich. Former Eurovision entrant Brendan Murray placed third with the studio jury, but last everywhere else and therefore also finished in last place.
Montenegro: Vladana – Breathe
Montenegro are back at the Eurovision Song Contest! After sitting out in 2020 and 2021, they are now returning. RTCG have internally selected Vladana to represent them from over thirty submissions. 35-year old Vladana Vučinić will represent the Balkan nation with Breathe. The song will have its premiere on Friday, 4th March.
North Macedonia: Andrea – Circles
It was a complete surprise when North Macedonia announced a national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. They had taken a leaf out of the Czech book and went for an online national selection. Andrea Koevska emerged victorious with her entry Circles, which she wrote alongside Aleksandar Masevski. The 22-year old won Za Evrosong 2022 after a tie break. Circles will undergo a revamp before heading to Turin.
Poland: Ochman – River
After claiming an internal selection was on for 2022, Poland had a sudden change of heart. A national final under the catchy title of Tu bije serce Europy! Wybieramy hity na Eurowizję was born. Tu bije serce Europy! had a famous host and the man who had been rumoured to be their internally selected entry took part and won: Polish-American The Voice winner Krystian Ochman. Former Eurovision entrant Lidia Kopania finished last and received backlash from her composers, Ylva & Linda Persson, but that obviously doesn’t change Poland’s entry: River by Ochman.
Romania: Selecția Națională 2022
It has been a while since we’ve seen Romania in the Eurovision final. Going from a 100% record, they’ve now failed to qualify three times in a row. The semifinal took place three weeks ago and ten songs now remain in competition to represent Romania at Eurovision 2022. Juries have so far been in full control, eliminating two televote favourites. In the final, televoting will act as the sixth jury member, with the televote winner scoring 12 points. The rest of the televote will be split proportionally, so if the televote winner gets 1000 votes they get the 12 points and if second place gets 100 votes they only get 1.2 points instead of 10. This is promising to be confusing. The final is set to take place on 5th March.
Sweden: Melodifestivalen 2022
SVT have taken a new approach to Melodifestivalen in 2022. Christer Björkman is gone, Karin Gunarsson is the new lady in charge. This weekend, the new semifinalen will take place and we actually know who the Deltävling winners are: Cornelia Jakobs, LIAMOO, Anders Bagge and Klara Hammarström. It’s relatively safe to assume the winner might be among those four. But who will it be? The final of Melodifestivalen 2022 will take place on 12th March.
Semifinal Two – Automatic qualifiers
United Kingdom: Internal selection
After their dreadful result at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, the BBC had to make a change. A double zero was hard to imagine, but James Newman and Embers got it done. That’s why BBC have now announced a partnership with TaP Music – the management behind stars like Elton John, Lana Del Rey and (as of today) London Grammar. Many names have already been discussed: Chelcee Grimes, Claudia Valentina, Sam Ryder and others. So far, BBC have been silent. We don’t have a release date, but TaP Music have set themselves a deadline for 10th March.
Germany: Germany 12 Points
Like with the United Kingdom, Germany have not been performing well at the Eurovision Song Contest at all. Apart from a fourth place in 2018, they have failed to finish higher than 25th (!) since 2015, gathering just 44 points in five editions (not counting 2018). That’s why NDR and ARD switched up their game and have come up with a new national final: Germany 12 Points. The show will feature six radio friendly entries. The line-up does not include hyped submission Pump It by Eskimo Callboy, who were denied a wildcard even after a petition started. Germany 12 Points will take place on Friday, 4th March.
Spain: Chanel – SloMo
Sometimes a performance can change it all. Spain returned to a national final and brought Benidorm Fest back from the black & white TV ages. Rigoberta Bandini and Tanxugueiras went in as favourites, but thanks to a good performance, Chanel eventually ran away with the victory. Tanxugueiras convincingly won the televote, but due to the voting system, that didn’t help them. 30-year old Havana born Chanel will now go on to perform Slomo with her Benidorm Fest team at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.
Who are your favourites in the second semifinal of Eurovision 2022 so far? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest!
