15 May 2026
The second semi final of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria, proved to be much superior to the first one. While there were two duds that reached the final that I would prefer not to see ever again, overall the show was of a high quality and very enjoyable. We also got to see last year’s Eurovision winner, JJ, perform his excellent new song, Unknown, as one of the interval acts.
Of the ten qualifiers into the grand final, Czechia and Malta were the most surprising. Czechia, especially announced as the final qualifier, I bet even they thought they had no chance at that stage. Malta was a tame ballad and was an utter joke compared to Latvia, which missed out. While I loathed Norway, I understand how it progressed. The world is full of enough bizarre people! For the three returning countries of Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania in 2026, all reached the final. That would encourage them to stay on for 2027. Moldova qualified from the first semi final.
The Qualifers
01 Bulgaria – Dar – Bangaranga
02 Azerbaijan – Jiva – Just Go
03 Romania – Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me
04 Luxembourg – Eva Marija – Mother Nature
05 Czechia – Daniel Zizka – Crossroads
06 Armenia – Simon – Paloma Rumba
07 Switzerland – Veronica Fusaro – Alice
08 Cyprus – Antigoni – Jalla
09 Latvia – Atvara – Ena
10 Denmark – Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem-
11 Australia – Delta Goodrem – Eclipse
12 Ukraine – Leleka – Ridnym
13 Albania – Alis – Nân
14 Malta – Aidan – Bella
15 Norway – Jonas Lovv – Ya Ya Ya
Curiously, the last six that performed all qualified for the grand final. Three entries near the start and Cyprus in the middle made up the rest. In the first semi final, the first four all qualified, Finland in the middle, and five of the last six. I can only think, if Malta performed early, they would miss out.
Review & Scores
My Top 10
01 Romania – Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me (9)
Wow. That was unbelievable. Full of passion, energy and drama. Unbelievable vocal quality and variety, especially with the small operatic sections, and it’s in a rock song!
02 Switzerland – Veronica Fusaro – Alice (8)
Another audible “wow” from me. Loved the soulful voice and vocal quality, and the build of the song. While the ropes didn’t make much sense (I presume it’s related to marriage and tying the knot), the song finished with them forming the name “Alice”, which was a delightful way to end.
03 Australia – Delta Goodrem – Eclipse (8)
Immediately I felt the presence and quality of Delta’s voice, and she oozed confidence from the start That’s the difference between a true professional and a reality show winner. Everything was effortless through to the bridge section, and then Delta produced that epic finale. The performance wasn’t perfect. First half of the staging lacked originality. It sounded like Delta bumped her face with microphone coming out of the piano solo. I hated the change of melody in a few spots. Fans love to hear those familiar notes live, not silly improvisations. On “for a night like this”, she emphasised “night” way too long, meaning a rushed “like this”. Yes, I am picky when it comes to Delta!
04 Latvia – Atvara – Ena (8)
While a straight reprisal from the national final, this was so beautiful. Sometimes you just want to hear a nice song, beautifully sung, and with a basic and evocative presentation. Ena delivered more than enough to reach the grand final, and it’s sad that we won’t see her again.
05 Luxembourg – Eva Marija – Mother Nature (7)
Eva is a one woman show. She brought the same classy performance seen in her national final. Even though the presentation lost a little of its magic come the Eurovision stage, the song and Eva were always a favourite of mine, and remain so!
06 Ukraine – Leleka – Ridnym (7)
Following Delta Goodrem was a tough ask, and Leleka still managed to enamour the audience with a graceful song and performance, especially vocally. Ukraine remains the only country to always qualify for the grand final.
07 Bulgaria – Dar – Bangaranga (7)
Excellent performance and strong vocals. Plenty of jubbly stuff happening on stage, and when celebrating in the green room. The song is obviously repetitive. Does it matter? Bangaranga!
08 Albania – Alis – Nân (7)
Hated the subtitles. I like to listen to and feel songs, not read them. That distraction sapped so much drama from the performance. The staging adequately portrayed the song’s message anyway. The subtitles were simply unnecessary, and I hope it’s not the start of a new trend.
09 Denmark – Søren Torpegaard Lund – Før Vi Går Hjem (6)
I’ve never understood the hype in this. The song is solid. The choreography is fine. The staging is interesting in parts. That’s about it. Idiot commentators informed us Søren is an otter, which is a twink with body hair. What’s a twink? We were told earlier that Daniel from Czechia was one. This is the sort banal and low level commentary that is still inflicted on Australian audiences. You’d think it would improve over the years. Clearly not!
10 Cyprus – Antigoni – Jalla (6)
The third of the repetitive dance songs in this semi final. The dancing was good. The song is repetitive. The decision was tough between this and Azerbaijan for my top 10. I guess a pretty Cypriot girl with the classic Greek surname of Buxton and who once competed on a show called Love Island, seeing her again holds a little more intrigue.
The Rest
11 Azerbaijan – Jiva – Just Go (6)
A ballad that was well presented and sung, while held back by being too generic. Appreciated hearing the Azeri language too. The Australian commentators showed their utter ignorance when Danny from Voyager mentioned Azerbaijan is “also not in Europe”. Clearly he’s addressing the perpetual criticism of Australia in Eurovision. First, part Azerbaijan is in Europe. Second, they’re linked to Europe in many ways, like football and economically. Finally, the European Broadcasting Area is the boundary for eligibility to Eurovision, not the European continent.
12 Czechia – Daniel Zizka – Crossroads (5)
A song that’s simply never registered, and still doesn’t. Vocals were fine for a ballad. I’ll remember all the mirrors, at least.
13 Armenia – Simon – Paloma Rumba (4)
Staged well for a song of low appeal.
14 Aidan – Bella (3)
Portended well with a pleasant voice and sound, then goes nowhere.
15 Norway – Jonas Lovv – Ya Ya Ya (1)
Nah Nah Nah. I still can’t stand this. Hated the song. Hated the styling. Please, no more male nipples on the Eurovision stage either. While the voice is obviously strong, that’s like putting chocolate syrup on a turd. It’s still a turd.
I expected higher than 6.1 as an average score. While there’s more strength at the top compared to the first semi final (scored 5.9), Norway and Malta obviously dragged this semi final down a little. Perhaps I was even a bit harsh on Delta Goodrem, while Albania lost a mark because of their use of subtitles. Also, 5.9 for SF1 was a touch flattering because some songs there could easily have scored one point lower. Regardless, anything over 6 is regarded a good show.
Three of my preferred grand finalists did miss out. That being Latvia, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Czechia, Malta and Norway took their place. I always recognised Norway as a strong chance for the grand final anyway. It would have been four that missed had I not switched Azerbaijan for Cyprus following the semi final performances.
Grand Final Preview
The Big Four and the Host performed during the semi finals, and it’s safe to say we saw France emerge as a seriously challenger to Finland. Monroe produced the third audible “wow” from myself for this show (Romania and Switzerland provided the other two) with her perfect vocals and presentation of this dramatic song. She was absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, I must be the only one feeling it because it’s done nothing for her in the betting markets. She is around a $30 chance compared to $8 before Eurovision. This could be because France’s recent results have been below expectations. Greece has drifted from $5.50 to $10 as expected (juries won’t vote for them), as has Denmark from $7 to $17. You’d think the juries will ensure Israel can’t win, who are ranked fourth and stayed stable around the $12 mark.
In terms of shifts to better odds, Delta Goodrem has gone $9 to $5 to be second ranked overall. Romania from $30 to $17 and fifth rank. The biggest improvement in odds is actually by Finland, who were already at the top of the table. They’ve solidified their favouritism by going from a $2.50 chance to a $1.75 chance. Or, from 30% to a 43% chance. Delta Goodrem improved from 8% to 15%; Romania 3% to 5%. Against Delta is, of course, the terrible scores her home land typically gets from the grand final public. The scores have often been very low, and always worse than the jury score. Except for 2019, they’ve been much worse. If that resentment factor still exists, Delta can’t win. Top 5 for her would be a major achievement.
The running order is always a guide because the producers place the favourites favourably! They don’t want to hurt their chances, while songs of lesser regard, or even those they would prefer not to win, go early. Last spot is now traditionally something silly fun to end the show. In this case, it’s the hosts, Austria.
France and Finland are nicely positioned at 15th and 17th, and being close together gives a direct comparison in the moment. Delta Goodrem in 8th does not portend well, while Romania looks nicely isolated in the late position of 24th.
Prediction
01 Finland – Linda Lampenius x Pete Parkkonen – Liekinheitin
02 France – Monroe – Regarde
03 Romania – Alexandra Căpitănescu – Choke Me
I went for Finland last year (Erika Vikman) and in 2023 (Käärijä), so is it third time lucky and finally a second Eurovision win for Finland? They have all the ingredients of an impressive song that both the jury and the public will like, and excellent staging.
Mr Eurovision Australia 