#15: Auto Qualifiers

As the Eurovision semi-finalist rehearsals are underway in Lisbon, the EuroWhat chats about the six auto qualifiers for this year’s Grand Final. Will Portugal be a repeat winner? Will a Big Five country take the crown? Why so serious, Europe? After a brief check-in with the first semi-final rehearsals—get well soon, Mikolas Josef!—we take a look at the jury who will provide half the Eurovision points. Could a hologram performance of “Waterloo” be in the near future? Also, before we talk about the Big Five, we speculate on whether France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom are at a disadvantage as auto qualifiers. Along with host country Portugal, we dive into the last six entries of the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest in preparation for the big events next week. GET EXCITED! Episode Summary * Rehearsals underway (2:00) * Judging the Juries (7:31) * ABBA reuniting! (10:10) * Is the Big Five at a competitive disadvantage as auto qualifiers? (12:07) * The last six Eurovision 2018 entries (21:06) * Programming notes (55:40) Eurovision 2018 Auto Qualifiers * Portugal – Cláudia Pascoal – “O Jardim” (21:06) * Spain – Alfred and Amaia – “Tu Canción” (26:59) * United Kingdom – SuRie – “Storm” (33:20) * France – Madame Monsieur – “Mercy” (39:18) * Germany – Michael Schulte – “You Let Me Walk Alone” (45:06) * Italy – Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro – “Non Mi Avete Fatto Niente” (50:02) Links * Jury List (Eurovision.tv) * Explaining the New Jury Rules (ESC Insight)