As any ESC fan knows, there are mediocre songs which suddenly shine on stage, just as there are favourites that don’t get a favourable treatment. So let’s find out how things are looking on stage in Kyiv when it comes to the last of the automatic finalists!

See the bottom of this post to find out how the total scores are calculated, as well as other detailed explanations.

France
Alma – Requiem

Judged by the full clip of the semi-final performance

Total score for France: 6.5 (out of 40)

They do everything to distract from the song. Why?! She sings it rather fine, she looks great, it’s a nice dress, but the environment is all kinds of wrong. The backdrop, floor graphics and the camera movements are constantly spinning and moving and you really lose “hold” of the song, as she loses hold of the stage. She appears lost and you can’t help but thinking that her singing the song on the one hand, and what happens around her on the other, doesn’t have any slightest connection.

Germany
Levina – Perfect Life

Judged by the full clip of the semi-final performance

Total score for Germany: 13.0 (out of 40)

My home country Germany has finally learned a lesson or two… at least about the “vision” element of “Eurovision Song Contest”. This is one of the weakest songs of the year, but could hardly have asked for a better staging.

Ukraine
O.Torvald – Time

Judged by the full clip of the semi-final performance

Total verdict for Ukraine: 10.5  (out of 40)

How do you perform a rock song at Eurovision? To be fair, not much differently than what you’re seeing here. But whatever creative idea they had about the staging: It doesn’t come across, it doesn’t contribute anything.

Winning these three: Germany

Who would have thought! Despite being German (or because of being German?), I am always very critical about my home entries and the selection processes that determine them in first place. I was convinced we’d come last, but now I’m not sure anymore, and the main reason is this staging. What an elegant and modern setting in which Levina can find herself. Amazing camerawork on both sides, the camera and Levina; however, her vocals and her overall performance still have room for improvement.

And before we get to the Germany video: This completes my stage verdict series for 2017. Despite working from home, I really enjoyed doing this rehearsal blog format, and can’t wait to do it on location whenever I can next be back at the Eurovision Song Contest. I hope you found some of my verdicts interesting, even though I’m sure you won’t have always agreed with my opinion. No matter what, I’m looking forward to your feedback: So if you’d like to, please leave me a comment further down on this page, and hopefully see you next year for the stage verdict 2018! 🙂

Explanations

What the categories mean

Concept: Meaning the idea behind what the performers are actually doing on stage, ignoring how well their performance is executed.

Look: Hairdo, clothes, but also attractiveness or likability play a role here.

Stage: Use of backdrop, lights and colours.

Camera: The camerawork, judging by the official snippets.

Performance: How well the concept is executed. Movements, facial expressions, finding cameras.

Vocals: Well, how well can the entrant actually sing?

What the stars mean

1 star – Counterproductive, doesn’t do the song any favours
2 stars – Mediocre, doesn’t help nor ruin the song
3 stars – Decent, supports the song well enough.
4 stars – Literally outstanding, unique in the context of this year

How the total score is calculated

1 star = 0 points
2 stars = 1 point
3 stars = 2 points
4 stars = 4 points

For the total score, “Vocals” is weighted x5, “Performance” x3, the other four categories x0.5.