In years gone by, the running order of the voting process was scheduled in the same manner in which the performances took place but nevertheless, the system was altered a couple of years back when the juries gained their voting priveledges back, and which now undoubtely decide half of the respective result. The European Broadcasting Union would like to make the best possible showcase for the millions of viewers watching all over the world including; China and Australia and therefore, where possible, changes in the leaderboard will be implemented just to create an exciting feeling for all to enjoy.

Valletta, the capital city of Malta will be the backdrop for the voting this evening with the spokesperson being none other than Emma Hickey, otherwise known as Jeremy's love interest in the music video for Tomorrow, which is the entry representing the country in the international music showcase. The song which is co-written by Dean Muscat and Boris Cezek with vocals provided by Gianluca got through to the final round following an initial qualification phase held on Thursday. Malta was announced as the ninth country following what seemed to a nerve wracking situation. This evening, during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, Malta will be performing in position number #9.

1. San Marino (John Kennedy O'Connor)
2. Sweden (Yohio)
3. Albania (Andri Xhahu)
4. Netherlands (Cornald Maas)
5. Austria (Kati Bellowitsch)
6. United Kingdom (Scott Mills)
7. Israel (Ofer Nachshon)
8. Serbia (Maja Nikolic)
9. Ukraine (Matias)
10. Hungary (Éva Novodomszky)
11. Romania (Sonia Argint)
12. Moldova (Olivia Furtuna)
13. Azerbaijan (Tamilla Shirinova)
14. Norway (Tooji)
15. Armenia (Andre)
16. Italy (Federica Gentile)
17. Finland (Kristiina Wheeler)
18. Spain (Inés Paz)
19. Belarus (Darya Domracheva)
20. Latvia (Anmary)
21. Bulgaria (Joana Dragneva)
22. Belgium (Barbara Louys)
23. Russia (Alsou)
24. Malta (Emma Hickey)
25. Estonia (Rolf Roosalu)
26. Germany (Lena)
27. Iceland (Maria Sigrun Hilmarsdottir)
28. France (Marine Vignes)
29. Greece (Andriana Magania)
30. Ireland (Nicky Byrne)
31. Denmark (Sofie Lassen-Kalhke)
32. Montenegro (Ivana Sebek)
33. Slovenia (Andrea F)
34. Georgia (Liza Tsiklauri)
35. F.Y.R. Macedonia (Dimitar Atanasovski)
36. Cyprus (Loukas Hamatsos)
37. Croatia (Uršula Tolj)
38. Switzerland (Mélanie Freymond)
39. Lithuania (Ignas Krupavicius)

All of the participating countries in this years' Eurovision Song Contest will be casting their votes, half of them as decided by a panel of professional experts and the other half by the million of people watching in their homes. As one could denote from the list above, there are a number of well known individuals who will be reading out the points of their country, amongst them being; Tooji (Norway), Anmary (Latvia), Lena (Germany), Alsou (Russia) and of course, the most famous one being Nicky Bryne of the former group, Westlife for Ireland. Speculation is running high that Italy did extremely well with the juries last night as opposed to Denmark who might have not scored one of the top results. This is yet to be seen. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for more of the latest news.

Source: eurovision.tv

Good Evening! Welcome to the live coverage of the first semi-final of this years' edition of the Eurovision Song Contest being held in Malmö, Sweden. Members of the European Broadcasting Union had to confirm their participation in the international showcase by December and as a matter of fact, during this period some nations had selected both their artist and entry for the event. Seventeen (17) countries will be performing this evening with seven (7) of them being eliminated at the first hurdle noting that the other ten (10) will be going through to the final stage on Saturday night where they will compete with another ten (10) qualifiers from the second semi-final and the countries which have already qualified due to their respective financial status.

In recent years, social media has become an important tool to get a message across and escflashmalta.com has been proud to keep you updated through both Facebook and Twitter whilst bringing you exclusive content through Flickr and YouTube respectively. This evening, the special coverage that is annually planned is set to be conducted by our Senior Editor, Antoine Farrugia as well as guests; Davinia Pace, second runner-up at the 2013 Malta Eurovision Song Contest and Christabelle, awarded the Best Solo Artist at the Bay Music Awards for four years running. All of the three are extremely professional in their line of work and their interests in music have been duly recorded over time. Malta is competing in the semi-final this evening we would like to wish the very best of luck to the delegation on stage and also to the one behind the scenes. Follow the semi-final as of 21:00 CET on Television Malta.

The Show (Part 1)

And here it goes! The second semi-final commencing now! What a great introduction! We have the Urban Orchestra dancing to the the official song of Eurovision! It shows the past and what may come in the future. The song has now changed and another musical song is being played by this awesome orchestra. The dancing is magnificent being a bit lyrical and like a box! Also, we can notice the flexibility of the dancers. They went away from a slide and they are running up and down the slide once again leaving splashes of colours behind them on the same slide with every move.

This is totally a different opening and it is coming out as beautiful! The orchestra is still playing the same song just with a more up-tempo beat, now turning to  more hip-hop. They made up a laptop on the same slide and the music is being seen! That was a perfect opening in my honest opinion. Here is Petra Mede once again wearing a different dress. With a black dress with the underneath full gold, she added the gloves. She's being a bit more funny by just comparing herself to many female role models! Petra is talking about the voting system! She's translating into French also since it is another mondial language and a language that is mostly used in Eurovision after English!

Latvia

As Latvia take to the stage they look interesting and I love the costumes! but the song is very average a feel good song but nothing special about it. Not convinced about the rapping..although, must say that they do have charisma. (Davinia Pace)

PeR from Latvia is the first one up! Please explain the Rhythm is what it means! This is a nice 20 second clip. Here We Go! Shiny dressed guys are now on stage! They are surely enjoying it to the full! Vocals have obviously improved since the national final in Latvia. It seems to me that they're told to enjoy it now. Although, it is turning out better than I thought! Crowd is responding a lot as I can hear! At least they don't have a trampoline, they're jumping way too much for me. The slow-motion part is so so cool! Secondary stage is full with all the participants form Latvia. Stage dive is done today also! I think this may qualify by tele-voting. (Antoine Farrugia)

The beginning of the song sounds like a queen song. Not a big fan of the outfits and how they are moving like Jedward! (Christabelle)

San Marino

Loving the dramatic outfits but why sing in Italian? Very good vocals but there isnt a chill factor at all. Oh no this tune is just horrible, way too cheesy really. Started off great but the song just collapsed for me now(Davinia Pace)

Valentina Monetta is up next for San Marino! After last year, the facebook song, it is a different song, a superb ballad to come! A crowd's favourite from the first beat. Perfect vocals since from the begginning. A great improvement from San Marino since I can remember. She's improvising some things right now, is she crazy? She left the ball on stage now and went to perform. She's clad in a red dress with a black cape all over it which now she takes off as the song gets more up-tempoed! Perfect vocal from Valentina! Perfect look and staging! Last note was a bit off for me though! (Antoine Farrugia)

Her voice is gorgeous like a proper Italian! Not a bad song and love when it changes the beat! (Christabelle)

FYR Macedonia

I'm liking his vocals and his outfit very classy. Oh my God she is hilarious but how can you take this seriously? (Davinia Pace)

 with 'Pred Da Se Razdeni' from Lozano and Esma, the gypsy and the pop artist. Lozano's vocals are really good from every rehearsal and even today, they're really really good. He is not wearing his glasses which I find it awkward to look it since I always saw him with glasses. Here comes the ruiner of the song, sorry. She's clad in a really really really big shiny red dress while Lozano is wearing a black modern suit and a white shirt. He's improvising too although his always on key. The Esma part is so good musically, I personally don't like it at all. Too much things going on! Maybe, Macedonia nexy tear decides to send Lozano alone! Not a qualifier, for sure. (Antoine Farrugia)

He has an amazing voice but I wish I could undertand what they re saying! In my opinion she is horrendous though and I would have liked it more if he was the only one singing. (Christabelle)

Azerbaijan

Whoa! Farid has definitely been complimented by good looks. Im loving him and his song, the creativity of this performance is very clever, he really did think outside the box literally!  This guy has great stage presence ! and his definatley trying to send a message here. Very classy performance and this will do well! (Davinia Pace)

Farid Mammadov with 'Hold Me' is up next for Azerbaijan. It was a great introduction from the Land Of Fire.  Is it only me or the microphone is too loud? The man in the box is surely a perfect chereography. Vocals are spot on without missing any notes whatsoever. I would have liked to see the chereography a bit more since it is absolutely original. The girl is getting on stage with her usual red dress. The song now reaches a point near to perfection. Farid does not seem as scared as he was in the rehearsals at least, he's confident on stage! Noticing, it is Azerbaijan and a brilliant performance, I say it would fit perfect in the top 10! (Antoine Farrugia)

Wow what a beautiful performance! And I love the song!! (Christabelle)

Finland

This is vey quirky! and she is a very pretty girl the song has a fun factor and a girly feel thats for sure and she is great on stage , loving the backing vocals outfits and gestures. She is great entertainment but as a song not my type and i reckon it wont get very far in the competition. Did she just kiss a girl!? Thats awesome big risk. (Davinia Pace)

Krista Siegfrids is next with her Ding Dong Team singing Marry Me. She's a beauty queen. Vocally, she's a bit off as from the begginning. She has a perfect camera work clad in her marriage dress! The staging is good but the screens are really too much for me. The chorus is so so catchy and I quite wanna get up and freak out with this song! This song sounds a lot like from a Barbie commercial or something like that but really enjoyable! The fire shots were perfect! I love how she performed it and took many risks on stage including the best one to come. Wearing that dress is already a risk but that kiss was more riskable! Hope the audience likes it! She may qualify I think! (Antoine Farrugia)

What was she thinking wearing that dress??? The song is very catchy but she s not an amazing singer and obviously she s trying her best to give her best performance! (Christabelle)

Malta

MALTA!!! gianluca is looking great very smiley as always and such confidence you go Malta! Gianlucas vocals sound perfect and his performance is going great !! his really using the stage space and interacting with the audience and the camera ! best of luck gianluca. (Davinia Pace)

And after commercials, Malta is up next! Cross fingers for Gianluca and his band! Dr.Ginaluca has a pretty awesome 20 second pre show! He is clad in his usual dark orange chinos and a black waistcoat and white shirt. The audience is clapping a lot! He is really enjoying it with that big smile on his face! He is acting the song by just his facial expressions! He's so so relaxed! Vocally he's really good! the stage looks amazing and the backdrop screens are perfect too! When he sings the Oh Oh Oh part the audience joins in! The band is so so happy on the stage they're really enjoying it! gianluca is off on the catwalk where he is connecting with the audience more! He runs back to the stage to join the band on the bench Huge appaluse from the audience! He may bring us a really good result! He should qualify (Antoine Farrugia)

I cant stop smiling he s so cute!!!! Such a fantastic performace when I hear him and look at him he just makes you smile as his smile is contagious! !!! Super gianluca!!!! (Christabelle)

Bulgaria

He was amazing! I like a woman playing the drums but the minute she opened her mouth I cringed, this song is awful. (Davinia Pace)

Bulgaria is up next with the drums and nasty vocals form Elitsa. They're enjoying it a lot! Her vocals are already off from the beginning! She doesn't have any breath to sing this fast I think! I like the drums a lot from this one though I think that it is one of the few really bad songs this year. This folk music won't do it for Europeans. Maybe it's just me or her voice is really not nice and today she's worse than rehearsals without even having breath to sing. Glow sticks on drums! These three minutes are never ending! She's not singing? The mask is really ugly sorry Bulgaria! I don't think they'll qualify. (Antoine Farrugia)

Sometimes I wonder if im still watching the Eurovision... the song is not too bad but nothing compared to Malta (Christabelle)

Iceland

ICELAND, great vocals a very emotional song but I wish he was singing it in English its a tad depressing I must say. (Davinia Pace)

Eythor Ingi is next for Iceland with Eg A Lif. Eythor starts giving his back to the audience. What a beautiful language I must say. His hair is still really long but his vocals are superb tonight as all the other nights but I think the musci is too low. This is a ballad to enjoy after many up tempo songs! This draw is helping Iceland I think! The stage is too blank until the backing vocals reach the stage! The song is getting stronger but it is still the same all throughout. I hink his vocals stands out in this performance alongside with his hair! From jury, he will pass but from televoting not so sure! (Antoine Farrugia)

Again I wish I could understand what he s saying but he has a good voice ... such a simple performance. (Christabelle)

Greece

Okay this is just weird I don't get the skirts the high socks , the old guy is kind of cool. As a song this is rubbish not even catchy theres no hope really. (Davinia Pace)

Alcohol Is Free and Koza Mostra and Agathon Iakovidis is up next for Greece. The audience is enjoying it from the beginning they're all clapping. I'm enjoying it here! I like this song awkwardly enough since almost nobody likes it! His voice is too good I think! They're wearing skirts too!! They take up to the catwalk except for Koza whose singing on a stand! This song is so so good but I think that the elderly on stage is a copy from Russia las year which I don't see it as a good take! The instruments glowing is surely amazing too! This is really good, like really really good! They will qualify, for sure! (Antoine Farrugia)

Lively song for sure! Very entertaining but not so sure about the outfits they re wearing! The song is called alcahol free its true they look rather drunk on having fun on stage. (Christabelle)

Israel

Israel: I like the tune of the song but she is looking like the mother of fertility what is that dress? and those glasses? I am loving her voice she is giving a very convincing performance. She needs to move around abit even if its just a few steps! (Davinia Pace)

Rak Bishvilo and Moran Mazor for Israel. Ra Bishvilo translates to 'Only For Him' and she is one of the best singers in the competition. A great feedback from the audience since the piano started playing. Moran has a really nice voice and the dress, I don't bother much looking at as many are saying that she ain't dressed nice. This song is just perfect for Mazor, her voice stands out from the others. This is a really nice language to listen to and in songs, it's just really nice! The jewelery may be a bit too much I think. The perect note was spot on too! I think she is making a really good impression for Israel, they should be proud of Moran! Moran will qualify for sure! Best vocals in every competition! (Antoine Farrugia)

The dress does not flatter her figure at all!!!! Though I love her ring and her earrings and her voice is amazing but I again I wish I could understand the lyrics to this song! (Christabelle)

Armenia

He has a great voice, this song is nice the style is quite current , I am not sure about that scarf, the band are cool but I'm finding it rather boring. (Davinia Pace)

Armenia and Dorians are next with Lonely Planet written by Tony Iommi form Black Sabbath. I quite like this song but unfortunately, they're not getting any good comments. Gor has a really strong voice. This song is coming out not as I thought on stage which is making me feel a bit sad cause I really believed this will qualify. Too many jeans fabric on stage. He was off at points but his riffs are pretty amazing. Fire in the instrumental part, it's a no for me! He is screaming all the way thorugh today. I'm sad for him, he was so much better in the rehearsals. The song is really nice but they won't qualify in my opinion. (Antoine Farrugia)

Really good voice!!! Proper rock star and I love the song! (Christabelle)

Hungary

I am asleep already. This has nothing to it, it feels like a very lazy song. (Davinia Pace)

This is the worst song in the history of Euroivision with Kedvesem by ByeAlex and Hungary. His glasses are nice but the outfit it's like for going shopping around for me not a Eurovision-stage outfit for sure! I can't listen to this song in any way but it is getting positive feedback but I still believe they won't qualify. Is he copying Roban Lob from Germany with the hat? I hope this won't qualify, it is so so so boring. It just makes me want to run away and not listen at all. This is a big no for me. (Antoine Farrugia)

uch an ordinary guy ... I cant understand why prefer singing in their language and not in english ... though im not a big fan of the song!! (Christabelle)

Norway

I love her dress and her hair great effort in appearance , Im loving this song so powerful. I am in love with her and this song , she is a natural, i like this style not cheesy at all and something different to what we have seen so far This will make it through for sure ! (Davinia Pace)

Margaret Berger is up next with I Feed You My Love for Norway. She is getting many many positive comments to winning and top 5. The beginning of this song is certainly amazing and which gets your attenion right away. She's excited, I can hear it in her voice! She's getting more into the performance now! hat dress makes her look like a mermaid for me and the fishtail doesn't help at all. No, not the dance please! It makes her look not an all-rounder for sure. The song is good but it is turning out boring and always the same. Oh it changes to the bridge at least! The last chorus is just great now and it gets back your attention. This will qualify, I believe! (Antoine Farrugia)

She s gorgeous!! And I love the song but I wish she wore a more playful dress! (Christabelle)

Albania

Awesome guitar move !! but this song is getting worse as it goes on! (Davinia Pace)

The rock duo is here! Many many smoke on stage, and stabbing on drums which is not pleasant to listen to. The first man's voice is like that all the time don't worry, he doesn't have a sore throat I believe but the second one is fighting to sing on the other hand. So so dull on stage with many many black and little splashes of gold. The guitar is having fire sparkles on his guitar solo which are the interesting part of this act, nothing more! Fireworks? Way too much Albania. Please, don't qualify! (Antoine Farrugia)

This has nothing to do with Lordi if they re comparing it to it !! Lets put it this way not my favourite!!! (Christabelle)

Georgia

I hate their outfits so dated.. the diction is terrible nice voices but its so so cheesy and I can't imagine this doing well in the competition! (Davinia Pace)

Nodi  Sopho and Waterfall next for Georgia! I like this act a lot, hope it turns out good! Smoke on stage already but now, it makes sense, you feel like you're in another world! The voices are so so strong and they blend together so much for me! Was she off pitch in the first Waterfall? It always sounds off to me. They finally got closer together and are showing a bit of chemistry while their vocals keeps on shining all through out. Smoke and now fire together, it's way too much. somebody is off, I believe it's the woman finding the song a bit too high! Still, I think they will qualify, not sure! (Antoine Farrugia)

I hate their outfits so dated.. the diction is terrible nice voices but its so so cheesy and I cant imagine this doing well in the competition! (Christabelle)

Switzerland

Very catchy tune , the bassist is so cute. This performance is very sweet not my type of song at all but it has something nice about it must be the smiley faces and the bassist  but again NOTHING SPECIAL! (Davinia Pace)

Switzerland of Takasa! The chocolate introduction before is a yum! You And Me, let's go! The intro of the song is superb, it gets your attention right away! The 95 year old man is cute on stage but you're copying Russia last year guys. the male vocals were low and the female's are high and she is squeking the notes. They're so stiff, just a simple line al next to each other. The musci video's song was different! It was full for sure, here it's the demo I think! The song is good but the performance, the look, the vocals and staging is awful. Switzerland, I think I will say bye for you this year, although you're not the worst tonight! (Antoine Farrugia)

I remember this song when they came to Malta ... wasn't a fan then am not a fan now!  (Christabelle)

Romania

What is this? oh dear dear vocals are so pitchy! This is confusing and just not right who let this man on stage? (Davinia Pace)

Cezar and his life for Romania. The pop-opera singer of tonight. Dracula on stage! What happened to his voice? Are the dancers wearing anything? Worst song from Romania in the history of Eurovision. No Cezar, if you wanted to do Eurovision, you didn't succeed sorry! Even the song is not nice at all, it's got something huge missing, I can hear it! Fire for reaching a high note is like 1990s now! Oh, so the neighbour countries all got higher Romania and Moldova. Romania, you won't qualify for the first time. (Antoine Farrugia)

Quite a eurovision song but not my favourite his damcers are amazing and his upper range too but it doesnt go with the song at all... and he looka like dracula with that collar! (Christabelle)

The Show (Part 2)

We just saw Petra Mede explaining where the dressing room is located and now we're seeing a recap of all the songs competing. In the meantime, our reviewers this evening have also provided their own qualifiers and these could be seen just below. 

Davinia Pace: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Finland, FYR Macedonia, Israel, Malta, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland

Antoine Farrugia: Azerbaijan, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Malta, Norway, San Marino

Christabelle: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Malta, Norway, San Marino.

Petra on the segway in the green room! She meets up with Cezar and she promotes the DVD and CD. Mede is sitting next to your Moran who are talking about when she saw the first Eurovision ever. And Moran says she's celebrating her birthday today! Another comeback from the past like last Tuesday! This is funny more than last semi-final! One of my favourite songs ever from Armenia 'Jan Jan' was played! And Petra just gave us the history of Eurovision in a few minutes! Another recap is now playing! 4 minutes left for voting! Make your desicion right voters, let's not be dissatisfied after a great show! Petra is back on stage encouraging us to vote for the final time! Lines closed now! Europe Stop Voting Now! Darin is now on stage giving an awesome performance as the interval act! Following his is none other than Agnes! And here is the recap of the pre-qualified countries! I strongly believe that the best songs this year come from Big 5 along with Sweden. The qualifiers are as follows;

Hungary

Azerbaijan

Georgia

Romania

Armenia

Iceland

Finland

Malta

Norway

Greece

Tonight! Malta will be taking part in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest following a series of technical and dress rehearsals, the last of which commencing later on this afternoon. The excitement for all of the seventeen participating countries is definitely high and considering the surprises that came about when announcing the qualifiers of the first semi-final, everyone is seemingly on edge to see which songs get through to the final stage. With the countries drawn from all across the continent, it will be hard to predict the full set of qualifiers because there might be someone who sneaks in unknowingly. A non-scientific analysis is seen below to hopefully predict the qualifers of the evening pertaining to two different factions. Remember that escflashmalta.com will be having a live report conducted by Antoine Farrugia and guest writers; Davinia and Christabelle. 

In recent weeks, escflashmalta.com has collaborated with a number of professional personnel from all across the world with vast knowledge about the music industry. The seventeen entries which will be competing in the second semi-final this evening were thoroughly analysed and graded both on an individual basis and also within the context of a competition. The latter scoring system was taken and added to the result of the public poll to create ten qualifers based on the system used at the Eurovision Song Contest which gives 50% weighing to the public and another 50% weighing to a professional jury. We are glad to reveal the results of the qualifiers according to this result in alphabetical order. The system was explained in order to answer any queries with regards to why countries may be missing from the poll on the right hand side of the screen which has now been closed.

• Azerbaijan
• Finland
• Georgia
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Malta
• Norway
• Romania
• San Marino
• Switzerland

There was a general consensus between the public and the professional panel of experts on eight tracks in total whilst noting that both factions predicted a song each which the other did not, leaving a song out in the process which had received the same type of result. In the meantime, out of the six (6) non-qualifiers predicted, both sides agreed on a total of four (4) entries and awarded them no points. escflashmalta.com would like to denote that this is not the opinion of the website with each of the professional panel as well as the public casting their personal votes. In the second semi-final the panel consisted of Stano Simor, Sharon Vaughn and Martin Isherwood. Stay tuned to our portal in the coming hours for more of the latest news. Remember that Malta will be competing in the second semi-final. All shows will be shown on TVM with commentary by Rodney Gauci and Gordon Bonello.

Source: escflashmalta.com, eurovision.tv

Good Evening! Sixteen (16) countries which competed in the first semi-final last night learned their fate last night and unfortunately, six (6) of them had to be eliminated. Italy, Sweden, Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom had their second technical rehearsals earlier this morning and all went to plan, followed by a series of press conferences where each act apart from Sweden drew their allocation slot in the running order. The host nation had drawn number #16 in the weeks leading up to the competition and the producers will be creating the draw around them in order not to have genres clashing. This is the second dress rehearsal which somewhat bears more significance that the one this morning for the simple reason that the Jury in all of the participating countries of the second semi-final will be casting their vote along with those in Spain, France and Germany. We would like to wish Malta the very best of luck!

escflashmalta.com thanks to Juergen Boernig, the Head of Press is currently also processing a couple of video interviews with artists who will be representing their country at the Eurovision Song Contest. As a matter of fact, stay tuned on our YouTube Page for all of the latest. In the meantime, you may also have a look at our photo gallery whilst staying up to date through both our pages on Facebook and Twitter. Coverage of the second semi-final tomorrow eveing will be led by Antoine Farrugia, Senior Editor for escflashmalta alongside special guests; Davinia Pace who was the second runner-up at this years' edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest and Christabelle, a four time consecutive winner of the Best Solo Artist at the Bay Music Awards. We are committed to bringing you all of the latest news as the day unfolds so make sure to continue visiting escflashmalta.com as Gianluca takes to the stage with Tomorrow.

The Show (Part 1)

The mixture of past and present is well represented in the opening act of the second semi-final now that everything has been explained in greater detail. Another choreography which includes bicycles, it looks quite cool and weird at the very same time but indeed, this is the Eurovision Song Contest and everyone expects anything to happen. In the meantime, Petra Mede is now back on stage for this second show and indeed, she is introducing the competition for the evening. Seventeen performances from different countries across the whole of Europe including east, north, south and west!

Latvia

PeR from Latvia are currently on stage and this has to be one of the most intriguing acts to ever open a semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest. The two leading gentlemen are wearing silver jumpsuits and are joined on stage by an array of performers limited to the number set forth by the organisers. The vocals are straight forward this evening and this is mostly due to the fact that there are no high notes in the song. The middle part of the song is a slow motion dance across the catwalk which looks fabulous. At the end, there is a jump into the audience. This looks fab and I believe that this is now qualifying!

San Marino

Valentina Monetta is back on the stage of the international showcase for the second straight year and she kicks off holding an enlarged ball which glows in the dark. She is currently wearing a dark cape and the whole idea of an Italian ballad is transpiring well on stage. She is joined on stage by two female backing vocalists who carry out a simple choreography. The whole set up is very similar to the one from the preview video. Mid-way through the song, it turns into an uptempo number and this is all enough is enough at the moment. Valentina is enjoying her performance but I am still not sure about that getting through so I will say, NO!

FYR Macedonia

The first duet of the evening and Lozano is seemingly finding it quite difficult to hold onto the notes in the beginning of the song. Esma follows and this performance is easily ruined unfortunately despite the track in itself being well written. The backdrop for this one is relatively dark but then transforms into a colourful entry when Esma starts performing her parts. The whole stage act is coming across as a bit awkward and the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia is looking to go out in the semi-final stage and therefore completely a whitewash of the Balkan countries which is very unfortunate.

Azerbaijan

Nervous! This is somewhat the word that sums up this performance especially this evening but it does not seem to be affecting the vocals at this point in time. Farid is wearing an ill-fitting grey suit but nevertheless, the staging is perfect and will definitely elevate them not only into the final but most likely another top five result. As a matter of fact, there is a glass box with a man dancing within it and another dancer on the catwalk with a red dress and a long train. Vocally this is awesome and it definitely stands out as the first contender of the evening. This is my second pick of the night from my end. It might need some slight adjustments but nevertheless, it is an easy choice.  

Finland

Team #dingdong has somewhat infiltrated the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest for this performance and Krista Siegfrids is as expected clad in a wedding gown complete with the tiara and the veil. On stage, there are bridesmaids who are also dancers and backing vocalists. This is all extremely Las Vegas Wedding to be honest. This is a tele-voting favourite although the shock ending might hurt slightly in more conservative countries. The jury voting this evening might be more cautious to vote for this one. Vocally this is sounding much better than in the afternoon but it does sound like Krista was sick earlier in the week. At the end, there is also confetti. Slick camerawork and this will get through by the skin of it's teeth. 

Malta

Gianluca takes to the stage and he is definitely putting up a brave face for this performance as he looks rather relaxed, once more an extremely good sign. He is wearing a white shirt, black waistcoat and dark orange trousers and everyone on stage including the band and the backing vocalists are casually dressed as well. Vocally, this is the best performance that Gianluca has given throughout the week and it seems that the crowd is very much enjoying the performance. The camera work this evening is really good and he seems to be interacting extremely well with the audience. He walks onto the catwalk at the end of the performance where he meets up with the crowd and goes back to the main stage where he meets up with the rest of the band. 

Bulgaria

Elitsa & Stoyan have taken to the stage and despite having previous experience at the Eurovision Song Contest where they had managed to finish in fifth place. Samo Championi is nothing but noise and the whole stage performance looks incredibly messy on screen. These have been described by many as an extremely long set of three minutes. It is rather unfortunate because they are quite talented. Bulgaria will not make it through to the final based on such a performance and the jury will not give it any points. The reason behind choosing this act was simple and that is qualification into the final but this isn't working at all!

Iceland

Eythor Ingi is on the main stage and is wearing a completely black outfit which is definitely more suited to this performance rather than the white jacket which was seen earlier. This is a typical scandinavian ballad which imposes a typical outcry for stunning vocals. This is definitely well performed and should stand outy this evening. It receives an extremely loud applause in the hall as expected from a neighbouring country. This will be getting through to the final most likely because it is a ballad which elevates rather than go down or stay in the same manner. One note, remember Kuula, and vote for this tomorrow night!

Greece

Koza Mostra, a relatively popular band in both Cyprus and Greece have a lot of charisma on stage and despite this track being in Greek, it is coming across extremely well on screen. The fact that the lads are good looking definitely helps in terms of tele-voting tomorrow night. Those who will be going for a more modern track will most likely cast this vote for this one in terms of jury this evening. SKA is still very popular and the addition of Agathonas for the extremely traditional element. Greece will also be getting through to the final and might surprise many by creeping into the top ten.

Israel

It seems that there are a large number of Israeli in the venue this evening considering the large applause that it received at the starts of the performance. Everyone is bringing their A-Game to the show this evening and it is quite important because the jury will definitely award that quality. Moran Mazor is still in the black dress which has been slightly altered and bedazzled. She is joined on stage by two backing vocalists. The vocals are just incredible and this is definitely going to be the moment where people get goosebumps. Whoa! Impressive stuff indeed from Israel. This will sail through to the final!

Armenia

The Dorians were selected to represent the Eastern country ahead of Sirusho and people were somewhat disappointed at this decision especially when the songs for the national final were unveiled. It has to be noted that his was indeed the best track from the show. The vocals are really good this evening as opposed to a mediocre performance this afternoon but nevertheless, that is not enough for this one to get through to the final of this years' Eurovision Song Contest. I believe that for the second time in a row, Armenia will be missing out!

Hungary

This has to be one of the simplest performances in this semi-final and following Armenia, one has to say that ByeAlex comes across as extremely talented. The song in itself has a lot of poise and the only issue that has been hindering it is surely the performer who has lacked the emotion or the personality but nevertheless, he might be seen as doing that on purpose. The team on stage enjoyed the performance. I can honestly see the juries going for this one but I am not too keen on the tele-voters although this was similar to the case last year. I am going to go on a limb and select Hungary as a qualifier. 

Norway

Margaret Berger is one of the most popular acts in Norway and taking on the honour of representing the country is quite interesting especially because this is marking her return to the industry. The track, one of the most modern in the competition is very catchy and will surely garner the attention of both the publc and the jury voting this evening. Margaret is wearing a long white dress which is tight around the waist. This is looking extremely beautiful on screen and I cannot see Norway finishing lower than the top five at this stage. This is a definite qualifier by my standards.

Albania

It seems that the kitchen sink has also been thrown into the Albanian performance considering that at the beginning of the song there is dry ice, pyrotechnics and fire coming out of the guitar. As has been mentioned on numerous occasions, this is a rock song and will definitely be getting that vote at the end of the evening. I am not sure that they will be picking up a lot of votes from the juries this evening though and that will definitely be a positive. The lads are wearing what seem to be dark outfits which are very much assimilated to the genre in itself. This is just dire in my opinion, my apologies but not my cup of tea at all.

Georgia

Sophie & Nodi is very much looking like Ell & Nikki meets Chanee and N'Evergreen with a fusion between Running Scared and In a Moment Like This. They are clad in extremely formal outfits which is very much important for the general idea of this song. The vocals are perfect and the only really disappointing aspect is that they are trying to copy the performance of the aforementioned two songs to be honest. Having a pyrotechnic curtain is definitely copied. Nevertheless, Georgia made the right choice in going internal and this one is heading into the final with relative ease with a mid-table result. 

Switzerland

I might not agree with the choice of this entry for Switzerland. The logo on their shirts has apparently been removed in this performance following instructions by the European Broadcasting Union. This is still pretty much static and therefore does not give the cameramen a lot of hassle whilst making the viewers at home think that they're somewhat incapable of not moving. I just cannot see Switzerland getting through with such a performance. This is beyond disappointing and Switzerland will miss out tomorrow night and most likely finish towards the bottom. 

Romania

Crazy! Dracula is seemingly on stage and well representing the culture of Romania because Cezar is wearing a large black cape and seems to be giving the public the feeling of Olivia Lewis or Aliona Moon. He is also joined on stage by three dancers whose choreography is unnecessary. The vocals itself are really strong and Cezar is definitely trying to garner the attention of the juries considering that he is literally playing about with his vocal chords. He is a great artist but this song is just going nowhere unfortunately. 

The Show (Part 2)

Petra Mede is back on stage following the seventeen performances and opens the tele-voting portion of the competition. A recap is currently being shown on screen for the people to make their selections. Malta has decided to select the last part of the song as the recap part in which all of the performers on the stage come together on the famous park bench. Am sure that tomorrow at this time, there will be many people on edge. Darin and Agnes are the interval acts for the second semi-final. A recap of the direct qualifiers is currently being shown on screen! Switzerland, Georgia, Greece, Malta, San Marino, Norway, Romania, Israel, Hungary, Finland are the 'FAKE' qualifiers.

Good Afternoon! Sixteen (16) countries which competed in the first semi-final last night learned their fate last night and unfortunately, six (6) of them had to be eliminated. Italy, Sweden, Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom had their second technical rehearsals earlier this morning and all went to plan, followed by a series of press conferences where each act apart from Sweden drew their allocation slot in the running order. The host nation had drawn number #16 in the weeks leading up to the competition and the producers will be creating the draw around them in order not to have genres clashing. This is the first of two dress rehearsals which are taking place during the course of the afternoon and into the late evening noting that seventeen (17) countries will be performing in front of a full hall. The international juries found in each country will be voting during the evening rehearsal. We would like to wish Malta the very best of luck!

escflashmalta.com thanks to Juergen Boernig, the Head of Press is currently also processing a couple of video interviews with artists who will be representing their country at the Eurovision Song Contest. As a matter of fact, stay tuned on our YouTube Page for all of the latest. In the meantime, you may also have a look at our photo gallery whilst staying up to date through both our pages on Facebook and Twitter. Coverage of the second semi-final tomorrow eveing will be led by Antoine Farrugia, Senior Editor for escflashmalta alongside special guests; Davinia Pace who was the second runner-up at this years' edition of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest and Christabelle, a four time consecutive winner of the Best Solo Artist at the Bay Music Awards. We are committed to bringing you all of the latest news as the day unfolds so make sure to continue visiting escflashmalta.com as Gianluca takes to the stage with Tomorrow.

Opening

The opening act of the second semi-final seems to be an awkward kind of choreography including people on bicycles and so forth. The music being played in the background is really wonderful to listen to nevertheless and suddenly, the Te Deum comes on and it seems that the audience is full this afternoon noting that all of the shows including such dress rehearsals were sold out. Petra Mede is currently on stage, and it seems that there are a number of technical difficulties with camera shots and lighting early on. Once more the script is somewhat concise and thus we move onto the performances.

Latvia

Wild! That is the first word that comes to mind as soon as PeR walk onto the stage with that high levels of energy. They are still wearing the silver jumpsuits that they have been dressed in during most of the rehearsals in the lead up to the show. The vocals for this one are just perfect because the track in itself involves a lot of shouting and jumping around. Mid-way through the song, they just walk on the cat-walk in random slow motion and then, one of them jumps in the audience. Latvia, the song that the public will like and that the jury will abhor. 

San Marino

Valentina Monetta takes to the stage for the second consecutive year and she is holding a shining crystal ball between her arms whilst wearing a large black cloak. Mid-way through the song, the tempo of the beautiful ballad changes in a Barbara Streisand manner and suddenly, it is a dance song with Valentina clad in a stunning red gown. She is joined on stage by two dancers and the choreography is kept simple. San Marino are yet to get through to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest but I am not sure that this will be getting through either. We'll see. 

FYR Macedonia

Lozano, the male performer of this entry is going for a slightly younger look this afternoon having removed his glasses for the performance. Esma, the female who is accompanying him is wearing a huge red dress and suddenly, the public are on their feet in the hall. This is definitely the result of what happened last night, where none of the Ex-Yugoslav countries made it through to the final. I am not sure of the song in general because whilst it is quite good, I am not sure about the performance. This is translating well on screen but Esma is clearl ruining it. The accreditated media are clapping along and I could see this reaction tomorrow for reasons mentioned before.

Azerbaijan

Farid Mammadov is said to be the most good looking guy of the competition and the staging for this one is relatively dark. He walks onto the stage and is extremely nervous noting that his vocals are suffering slightly. He is joined on stage by a dancer in a glass box. There is also a female dancer wearing a red gown who is dancing on the catwalk. The song itself, a modern ballad is sound brilliant in the beginning of the second semi-final especially in terms of quality. This is coming across beautifully and Azerbaijan will have no trouble of getting through to the final. He needs to keep his nerves down for the final. 

Finland

Krista Siegfrids is one of the craziest people to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. It is rather unfortunate that she did not have any vocals in the past couple of days but she has been affecting the public in general with her #DingDong routine. The vocals themselves are quite good although do sound a bit strained at times. The novelty factor of the song will definitely be felt for the first time viewers but nevertheless, people who have seen this on countless occasions will start seeing it as boring. Finland have thrown everything the kitchen sink in this performance. 

Malta

Gianluca kicks off his rehearsal in brilliant vocals and it seems that his nerves are nowhere to be seen at the moment, which is definitely a good sign. He is wearing a white shirt, black waistcoat and dark orange chinos. The backdrop is still the lyric video created by Duane Laus. He is also joined on stage by two female backing vocalists; Louise Ann and Samaria Bezzina as well as Christopher Tate, Gabriel Cassar and Kenny D'Ugo. This was a really good rehearsal for Malta and the response in both the hall and the press centre is really positive. Gianluca will definitely up his game for this evenings' jury rehearsal if possible considering that he was great!

Bulgaria

This is the second time that Elitsa & Stoyan are performing on the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest having already done the honours back in 2007. I do not believe that this is a better song than that one. The backdrop is a bit dark to be honest but nevertheless, the idea is to keep this traditional. The vocals are good but nevertheless, they are not getting across on screen it seems. Bulgaria is energetic and fun but I do not think that it adds to the positive quality of the competition.

Iceland

This is the most appealing entry in the mindset of Gianluca and indeed, this is a typical Scandinavian ballad which definitely has a strong climax towards the end of the performance. Eythor is wearing a black outfit and decided against the white blazer that he wore for the initial rehearsals. The vocals are just stunning and the pure emotion of the track is felt throughout. The upper registers gets an applause mid-way through the song and the male backing vocalists come through mid-way through the song to help him out vocally. The shots look brilliant and Iceland have managed to get everything in the manner that they wanted to. 

Greece

The word wild should have been a theme in this semi-final as the Greeks have also set the same standard seen by both Latvia and FYR Macedonia before. Koza Mostra are wearing kilts for this performance and are transmitting a lot of energy on stage. The music in itself is quite traditional and they are mixing this typical element with a SKA genre. The vocals are good and the people in the hall along with those in the press centre are enjoying this performance alot. It seems that Greece will be safe through to the final, if they can managed to keep up such energy levels until tomorrow night. 

Israel

Moran Mazor, clad in a black dress which has been bedazzled with a number of jewels in both appropariate and inappropriate places. This is a huge ballad, typical of Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest noting the success with entries in the noughties including Shiri Maimon in 2005. Moran is a competent performer and much better than Harel Skaat. She is aided by a pianist and two backing vocalists but nevertheless, her vocals definitely not require any help considering that she is stunning. 

Armenia

When one looks back at the national final, he could easily relate to how strong this performance has become despite the fact that the song in itself is nothing special. A mixture of pop/rock is the genre that very much represents this genre but I am not sure that the public would somewhat connect with this performance. The icon, Tony Iommi is a fantastic performer and he is the one who co-wrote the track. The camera shots are not coming across too well and technically speaking, a lot of work is required for this evening, the one in which the jury will be voting.

Hungary

ByeAlex is somewhat having difficulty showing his personality on screen and this is not a good sign considering that the public enjoy a smile every now and then. When this won the national selection, it was compared to the Maltese entry but nevertheless, the idea of the personality is not transpiring. The shots for this one are kept rather simple but look nice especially with the cartoon in the backdrop and the lighting being somewhat green. The vocals are good, nothing too outstanding. 

Norway

I must say that this is the first time that I feel totally indifferent to the Norwegian entry despite somewhat loving it when being chosen. Coming after Hungary, this seems to be lacking something but definitely not star quality. Margaret Berger is one of the most beautiful females in this years' competition and clad in that long white dress, she looks gorgeous! She is joined on stage by female backing vocalists who are doing the echos in the chorus. The shots are kept similar to the ones of the Melodi Grand Prix and this is looking good on screen. Norway will definitely not have any issues getting through to the final, as they will most likely be competing for a top five position. 

Albania

The most annoying entry to compete in the second semi-final but nevertheless, will be picking up a lot of votes by the end of the semi-final for their strategic positioning in the map and through the core rock vote. It has to be said, that on first listen, it was far more horrid that it has become and this is most likely because the public have become used to it. The pyrotechnics are definitely required for this performance considering the genre. I am indifferent to this one as well and if they get the Balkan Vote, they might qualify!

Georgia

Two of the most competent performers in this years' edition of the Eurovision Song Contest take to the stage and one cannot really understand what is going on with the technical crew. The vocal performance on the other hand is really strong as expected. People are somewhat getting the vibes of Runnign Scared from Azerbaijan in 2011 when listening to this song and it is the case of somewhat copying their performance with the fire curtain and everything. Georgia will be sailing into the final and one has to agree that this is a much better song than the one that they had last year. 

Switzerland

Static! In recent hours, there have been developments over the outfits that they are wearing because it seems that they are costumes used by other Salvation Army bands. The problematic shots seem to continue throughout unfortunately. The vocals of the group are good but the song cannot go wrong in terms of notes and there is no real difficulty involved. The people in the hall seemed to enjoy the performance. They are all wearing white on stage and that is something to signify purity most likely. 

Romania

This has to be the most awkward performance in the second semi-final in terms of both staging and just song quality. The general idea for those who are yet to hear this is that it features a mixture of pop and opera and used in the voice of soprano. Cezar is wearing a huge black cloak with an open torso to show to his female fans and he is also joined on stage by a number of dancers. The choreography is good and impressive but the whole idea of the song is not getting through to me. 

The Show (Part 2)

Well, all of the performances of the second semi-final have now taken place and Petra Mede is back on stage to open the tele-voting portion of the competition. A recap of all of the entries is shown on screen at the moment in order for the public to make up their minds. Remember that this is just a rehearsal for tomorrow night and that the audience in the hall is just made up of accredited media and children. Once more, there is a clip of the Eurovision Song Contest history with Petra Mede superimposed in performances. This will definitely prove to be intriguing for the viewers tomorrow night. The interval acts for this semi-final are none other than Darin and Agnes. They will both be performing a number of tracks each including the hit track Release Me by the latter. Another performance of the Big Five along with Sweden in recap form prior to the announcement of qualifiers. The fake qualifiers for the first semi-final are; Azerbaijan, Iceland, San Marino, FYR Macedonia, Latvia, Albania, Armenia, Hungary, Malta, Bulgaria.

Good Morning! All of the delegations competing in the semi-finals have arrived at this years' edition of the Eurovision Song Contest on the fourth day of rehearsals because the shows' first technical runs will officially come to a close today as the press centre will officially open as from tomorrow. Following a somewhat error free two days, yesterday posed a couple of problems in terms of sound quality where Malta and Bulgaria were involved although all of the issues were fixed as the runs went along. SVT, the host broadcaster is very well organised and thus are keeping their reputation in tact. Some of the camera shots requested by delegations will be executed during the second rehearsal which will be completely open to the scrutiny of the media. escflashmalta.com in collaboration with Eurovision Ireland, escXtra and Radio International are bringing you all of the latest from the rehearsals.

escflashmalta.com thanks to Juergen Boernig, the Head of Press is currently also processing a couple of video interviews with artists who will be representing their country at the Eurovision Song Contest and some of those uploaded include Ryan Dolan from Ireland and Dina Garipova who will be represent Russia. In the meantime, you may also have a look at our photo gallery whilst staying up to date through both our pages on Facebook and Twitter. Today will mark the conclusion of the second semi-final and therefore, we continue see through the competition that Gianluca will be facing during the Thursday showcase. We would like to remind you that the second semi-final on escflashmalta.com will be commented upon by Antoine Farrugia, Senior Editor as well as Davinia, second runner-up at the Malta Eurovision Song Contest and four time Solo Bay Music Award winner, Christabelle.

Greece

One of the few uptempo numbers in this years' competition in a genre that is rarely submitted into the Eurovision Song Contest, that being Ska. The backdrop itself is made to look modern during the performance with the colour scheme used being a mixture of dark and light colours, for example black with yellow. Koza Mostra along with Agathon Iakovidis are dressed very casually for the first technical rehearsal so it is rather unknown whether this will be their attire for the night of the semi-final. The group have their instruments with them and this is all still funny and very much enjoyable. It is a rather good start to the day and one definitely cannot lament about the actual vocals, which are solid throughout each run.

Israel

Translating this from the stage of the national final to the Eurovision Song Contest has been rather effortless considering that ballads should benefit from the lighting. Moran, who has been seen as the artist with the least fashion sense on the choice of the attire at Kdam is seemingly set to use the same dress for the international showcase. There is no gimmick in this particular track with Moran standing in the middle of the stage and belting out her beautiful ballad. She is joined on stage with two backing vocalists and this is all sounding extremely well on television. The addition of a pianist suits the songs as well and one cannot fault any decisions taken in the performance because this should qualify with relative ease.

Armenia

Their return was much more anticipated when people where discussing the possibility of a return from Sirusho but it was then revealed that The Dorians would be honouring the country. The song itself is not bad and is written within a specific genre, that being a rock type of ballad with the emphasis on the former considering that it was indeed written by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath. The vocals in this one are strong and one would definitely not mind listening to it after the beauty of Israel but nevertheless, it does come across as slightly dull and boring. We know it's relatively early but then again, the energy seems to be missing in every run, hence why this is branded as dull. Nevertheless, this is Armenia competing in a weaker semi-final, so it will qualify!

Hungary

A song which I personally like to listen to especially if I would like to relax a bit. ByeAlex will not be alone on stage, as he will be joined by two backing singers, one of which will also be playing the guitar. Following Armenia, this also seems rather dull in terms of performance or maybe it seems that the artists forgot to bring their 'A-Game' to the rehearsals. The idea of just standing there on this stage does not really work especially if you're presenting a mid-tempo kind of track. Some people have choreographies with their ballads, so certain things have be to be thought of well. The backdrop is the music video, the one with the cartoon and that is a nice element to the song. I am not sure on what this will achieve but it might be on the border to qualify.

Norway

It just so happens that I have just received the promotional disc accompanying the entry from Norway in this years' Eurovision Song Contest. Our colleagues in Malmo have come forward that after two run throughs, Margaret Berger is having some issues with her in-ear monitor, similar to the problems that Malta faced yesterday. Funnily enough, this always seems to happen following the break. Margaret is clad in the same dress she was wearing at the Melodi Grand Prix, with some minor adjustments but nevertheless, why change a winning package. The vocals are troubling, even in the second run through where the technical issue has been sorted out. The only differences that one could note from the national final is that there are three backing vocals on stage.

Albania

Rock! The first word that comes to mind when this entry comes up on my iPod and even though this genre can be melodic, I cannot find anything positive with regards to the track. It was one of the worst entries during the national final in my opinion especially in comparison to around five entries which could have represented them. Nevertheless, this will be picking up the specific vote of people who might not be in tune with the Eurovision Song Contest but love this kind of music. Across the screens, this is a bit messy but nothing that cannot be fixed whilst the vocals fit in accordingly with the music. Coming after a pretty disappointing rehearsal from Norway is helping them out a bit. Still can't see this qualifying!

Georgia

In this weak semi-final, the average song would definitely sound better and not too many songs can actually sound worse after Albania. The beauty of Georgia lies within the vocals of Sophie & Nodi, noting that the spark between them seems real and very much alive. In each run-through, despite having some fine tuning issues, the vocals have been beyond perfect. The female artist is clad in a long white and light blue dress, along with a couple of sparly bits on the shoulders whilst the male is wearing a typical suit. There are three backing vocalists, all female and one of them having joined Olivia Lewis back in 2007. The backdrop as expected features a waterfall.  This is definitely qualifying and could, with the right draw make an Azerbaijan 2011 impact. 

Switzerland

For some bizarre reason, this is currently doing well in terms of polling numbers despite not really setting the betting odds on fire. The staging is pretty much kept the same as it was during the national final but since the loss of the uniforms and their actual name, the whole performance has started to fall flat. One of the most positive elements about this is definitely the vocals but they also seemed to tire out after just a run or two. Switzerland will most likely not be in the final for the second consecutive year and probably hitting the latter part of the table towards the end. Rather disappointing as the chorus of the song is quite catchy yet it is just not coming across, at all!

Romania

Cezar seems to have taken the path of the devil in terms of this performance but nevertheless, he is also sporting a cruxifix, so that could be something to consider both as 'art and gutsy' at the same time. He is clad in a black, long coat, slightly metallic-looking and showcasing his phsique after receving various compliments from the fans of the Eurovision Song Contest. Whilst not being lifted in the air throughout the performance, there is something that sees him lift up but it seems that he is indeed just moving forward. The effect on camera is stunning. The vocals are as expected, good but don't know whether Europe will go for this. It seems to be a marginal qualifier, possibly taking a spot from someone who fails. 

Stano Simor from the Czech Republic, Sharon Vaughn from the United States and Martin Isherwood from the United Kingdom represent diverse music scenes in their respective nations with their contributions duly noted across the year. Their aim in joining this feature is to see what lies beneath each track of this years' edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The first semi-final along with the three finalist countries voting there have long been concluded as we find ourselves within the middle section of the second semi-final. Attention turns to Albania whose broadcaster, RTSH has been drawn in slot number #14 with the producers thinking this position best. The song entitled Identitet is co-written by Bledar Sejko and Eda Sejko with vocals attributed to Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko.

Adrian Lulgjuraj (32) was raised in an Albanian family in Ulcinj, Montenegro. He loved Rock & Roll music since he was 13 years old. When he got his degree in law, at the age of 26, he dedicated more time to his passion – singing. He describes himself: “I do like my job as a lawyer, but when I am on stage, I feel like a beast, a different person, a Hulk.” In 2011 he published his first track called Te mori nje det at Top Fest 8 in Albania.With his second single Evoloj he won the award as “The best male artist” in Top Fest 9. Adrian worked as an assistant coach in the TV show The Voice of Albania, in the 2012-13 season. During his career he has has given many concerts in Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo and FYR Macedonia. 

Bledar Sejko (42) was born in Tirana, Albania. He started to sing and play guitar when he was 12 years old. It was his father who noticed his interest in guitar and thus Bledar started taking lessons at an early age. He was always attracted to rock music but in his young years, following this style was not always possible in communist Albania. In 1987, he first took part in an international music festival, in Turkey, as a guitarist. His first performance on TV was in 1989, when he won the second prize with Qeshu Rini in the Festivali i Këngës, which still serves as the Albanian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest today. He went on to participate also in the 1992, 1993, 2005 and 2007 editions of the competition. 1990 was the most difficult year for the Albanian people.

Bledar participated in the change of system, he was part of student movement in December 1990 that brought the fall of communism in Albania. But mostly he contributed in the music scene. 1990 was the year that he created his hard rock band Megahertz. In 1997 Bledar left Albania for Italy where he lived for six years. Bledar played more with traditional Italian bands as a guitar player and singer during this period. In 2011, he supported Aurela Gaçe as a backing artist in the Eurovision Song Contest, playing the guitar. This year, he will finally take the lead as an artist, together with Adrian Lulgjuraj. The Festivali I Kenges, the national selection in Albania has a historic element to it noting that it is also still conducted with the orchestra. 

This years' first runner-up was none other but Anjeza Shanini, the first Albanian representative at the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2004. Albania have an intriguing history at the international showcase with this year making their first decade. In nine (9) participations, the country has only not been in the final on three occasions, which reflects to one third so to speak but nevertheless, have only reached the top ten on two occasions, the first time being in 2004 with a track entitled The Image of You which managed seventh place and the second time being last year when Rona Nishliu took to the stage and belted out Suus, finishing in fifth place. This year, many are seeing Albania as a definite non-qualifier noting that the track is something which is not perceived as current. 

Professional Critics Voice their Opinion

Rating: 50%

Martin Isherwood: Hard to know where or what the chorus is. Didn’t get the lyrics due to my appalling language skills Interesting vocal sound to start but good strong voice when it gets going Great production - nice drums and strings Kicks off like Pride U2 Good rock song - doubt it's a winner though.

Sharon Vaughn: Exciting musical skills and track... better than the song itself!

Stano Simor: Rock-folklor song which could reach out to the public within the Balkan region. Lead vocal has old- fashioned feeling. The guitar solo could definitely been done better to fit the song because it seems to have just been thrown in there. I am not sure this track will have a wide following. 

Source: eurovision.tv

SVT, host broadcaster of this years' edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in conjunction with the European Broadcasting Union and the Reference Group have revealed their verdict with regards to the running order as decided by the producers of the showcase. This will be the very first time that the draw has not been done in a random manner but nevertheless, the countries were drawn into their respective semi-finals and also the first and second part of the running order based on the results of the allocation draw which took place earlier this year. The only draw that had to be done in a random order was that for the host country of Sweden so that the producers could not inflict it in any wrongdoing, and as a matter of fact, was drawn in sixteenth (16th) position within the final.

Tomorrow, co-written by Boris Cezek and Dean Muscat with vocals provided by Gianluca on behalf of Malta was drawn to perform in slot number #6 noting that the country had been drawn in the first half of the second semi-final for the second  consecutive year with This Is The Night performed by Kurt Calleja having to start at slot number #4 last year. Yesterday, in an interview with our colleagues from Eurovision Ireland, it was revealed that Gianluca will be flying to Malmö, Sweden alongside the team that accompanied him on stage in Malta as well as his sister, Dorothy Bezzina who will be accompanying as a vocal coach. Marry Me by Krista Siegfrids will be performing prior to Malta on behalf of Finland whilst following us will be Samo Shampioni performed by Elitsa & Stoyan for Bulgaria. The full running order can also be seen below.

First Semi-Final (14th May)

1. Austria
2. Estonia
3. Slovenia
4. Croatia
5. Denmark
6. Russia
7. Ukraine
8. The Netherlands
9. Montenegro
10. Lithuania
11. Belarus
12. Moldova
13. Ireland
14. Cyprus
15. Belgium
16. Serbia

Second Semi-Final (16th May)

1. Latvia
2. San Marino
3. F.Y.R. Macedonia
4. Azerbaijan
5. Finland
6. Malta
7. Bulgaria
8. Iceland
9. Greece
10. Israel
11. Armenia
12. Hungary
13. Norway
14. Albania
15. Georgia
16. Switzerland
17. Romania

During the years, Albania has somewhat kept the tradition to be the first to select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, but nevertheless, it seems that December is becoming a hub of selection processes for the simple reason that countries would have time to give the track a complete overhaul. Albania got their best result last year with Suus performed by Rona Nishliu finishing in fourth place following a stupendous placing by the professional jury and an above average placing by the public at large. This time round they selected a rock track entitled Identitet performed by Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejko.

In less than a week, all of the final versions with their respective preview videos will be submitted to the European Broadcasting Union and therefore the uploading will commence through the official channel of the competition on viral website, YouTube. Identitet has been kept in Albanian as thought before hand but nevertheless, it has been professional produced and the final product is just slightly different with more catchy elements in the chorus for example. Albania will be competing in the second half of the second semi-final alongside Tomorrow presented by Gianluca on behalf of Malta. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for all of the latest news.

Source: Eurovision.tv, esctoday (image)

There have been a number of questions which have been seemingly addressed in the past couple of hours with the withdrawal of Saska Hunt and her entry Dress Rehearsal being replaced by Overrated performed by Marilena Gauci. It is important to note that both entries are composed by Philip Vella and penned by Gerard James Borg and therefore, the songwriters had to be relieved to know that they were still not going to miss an entry in the competition. In the past couple of hours, it seems that the preparations for the 2013 Malta Eurovision Song Contest have continued due to the fact that whilst in Albania, the Public Broadcasting Services Chairman, Joseph Mizzi invited the Albanian representatives at the upcoming international showcase to the local selection show. It is unknown whether they have accepted or not at this stage although it could be the first of a number of guests.  In the past, reciprocity of jury and guests between countries took place quite freely.

The Festivali I Kenges took place last night and just finished beyond the stroke of midnight. The song quality seems to have improved over time but nevertheless, the mixed reactions over the winning entry are somewhat very apparent. The public in Albania have made their opinion known though and they are very happy about the choice of entry with their second favourite also finishing in second place noting that the winners were Adrian Lulgjuraj & Bledar Sejkowith with the track Identitet with the first runner-up being the song Love performed by the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest representative; Anjeza Shanini. Details about the Malta Eurovision Song Contest are being released in small doses at the moment noting that preparations are taking place at a timely pace. The hosts along with the guests have not been revealed but it is widely expected that the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest representative from Malta; Kurt Calleja will be present to perform his entry along with a number of other hits. Stay tuned to escflashmalta.com for all of the latest news.

Source: RTSH, escflashmalta.com, Joseph Mizzi (PBS)