Chris' Finals Recap, Pt. 2

12. Sweden

What is The Ark's singer wearing? It looks like a metal bib. Good pop from the crowd for them, but this performance really lacks energy. I was wrong in my preview, by the way: this does sound like ABBA. It sounds like "Waterloo" covered by a glam band. This would've won in 1977, but I don't think it has a chance thirty years later. I like the swirling spinning lazy susan the vocalist rides on near the end, though.

13. France

They're dressed in pink and black. This is supposed to be cute and funny, but instead it's just frantic and grating. There's a brief sample of Belarus' opening riff in the middle. Really bad.

Ooo, a shushing librarian segment! Actually, the librarian hisses more than shushes. Is that how they do it in Finland?

14. Latvia

Where's my wine? I need some right now. Although they're singing really well tonight. I'm still concerned it will do well, but man, I hate this song.

15. Russia

As mentioned, we had to watch this during the replay because of our connection problems. "Song #1" is a complete guilty pleasure song. It's staged pretty straightforwardly, as if it were a rock concert performance. There's a little choreography and a lot of posturing, and great use of the electronic backdrop. This was a lot of fun for me.

16. Germany

Very Vegasy. The electronic backdrop has "ROGER CICERO" displayed in giant letters, with RCs all over the place on stage. Roger's performance is so smooth. I don't know if he even remotely has a shot to win, but I thought he did a great job.

17. Serbia

The staging of this is anti-staging. They really let Marija and the song be the stars. She is giving me chills. I can't see anyone (not even Ukraine, who are the favorites) winning this besides Marija. Brilliantly done.