Former Eurovision Finalist Rooting For Ireland’s Chances

Only ten will qualify for Saturday’s Grand Final.

“I think the staging is going to be much simpler, much more pared back, it is not going to be the huge LCD screens we have seen for the last few years”.

Ryan O’Shaughnessy’s attractive ballad “Together” won over the Lisbon crowd, as well as the voters watching at home around Europe, not to mention Ireland’s competition commentator Marty Whelan, who had his own brilliant reaction to the qualification.

His Together doesn’t sound impressive on first listen – a cliche-stuffed love song (“I thought we’d be together ’til we die”) – but in Lisbon it soared, a real tear-jerker.

The contest has become known as a celebration of diversity in recent years, and has featured everything from an on-stage same-sex wedding to a bearded drag icon.

The second semi-final will be on Friday May 11, from 5am AEST and features our girl Jess up against 17 other nations for a spot in the Grand Final.

Mauboy said she had tweaked her energetic dance moves for the live show and was quietly confident a crowd, as opposed to an audience of cardboard cutouts placed for the rehearsal, would only better her performance.

Lisbon’s Altice Arena erupted in cheers for Ryan’s calm yet memorable performance, which the voters clearly were just as pleased with. You’ve got to let them out.

“The same thing has happened to Mans Zelmerlow and Conchita Wurst, both of whom went on to win Eurovision“, Metro adds, hopefully. Instead we meet the two persons who take all the voting calls from the viewers and say “thank you”.

Another curious sight backstage at the competition has been United States actor-comedian Will Ferrell, who surfaced behind the scenes at the Altice Arena this week.