The singer in the mask and fake singers: these are the songs that will compete against Michael Ben David in the Eurovision semi-finals

Israel was placed as No. 2 in the second semifinal and Michael Ben David will perform his song IM not long after 22:00 on Thursday 12 May.

So against which songs will he compete in the semi-finals?

And do we still have a chance to overtake them and qualify for the finals?

Yaniv Dornbush makes order

Yaniv Dornbush

30/03/2022

Wednesday, 30 March 2022, 08:32 Updated: 08:35

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Yesterday afternoon it came as a complete surprise: the order of appearances in the semi-finals of Eurovision 2022 to be held in May in Turin, Italy has been announced.

Israel was ranked No. 2 in the second semifinal and Michael Ben David will perform his song IM not long after 22:00 on Thursday 12 May, right after the band The Rasmus will open the evening.

This is a great opportunity to review Israel's competitors that the MBD will have to surprise and defeat, when gambling, statistics and public opinion are not really in our favor.

So what can we expect at Eurovision 2022?

Mostly boring, flightless and irrelevant music.

Torino will host one of the worst Eurovision we knew, perhaps the worst of them all.

From time to time when I read TV reviews, I wonder if the reviewer even likes TV.

So much sourness, competition among the critics who manage to bring about more deadly and venomous tongue refinements that the critics seem to really suffer from in their work.

"What fun I write about what I love and make more money on it," I think to myself every Eurovision season.

Then came the year.

what.

It.

the thing.

this.

Yes, a dot after each word to emphasize the shock and the dumb.

A collection of generic songs at best, miserable at worst, drowsy in most cases.

And after I convince you to read this column, let's get started.

(* The data for qualifying for the finals refer to the Eurovision Song Contest from 2008 onwards, when the method of the two semi-finals was presented. The songs in the order of appearance in the second semi-final).

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01. Finland - Jezebel - The Rasmus

Finals: 7/13 - 53.8%

Highest: Winning in 2006

Last place: 9 times and twice more in the semifinals.

What a comeback to the band that 19 years ago we all screamed "O-O-O-O" when we heard In the Shadows played on the radio stations.

Unfortunately the band's lead singer continues to present a controversial haircut, but we're in a singing competition and I'm having a hard time seeing a situation where The Rasmus is not a world for the Eurovision final.

Great opening for the second semi-final, 16th place in the betting agencies.

02. Israel - Michael Ben David - IM

Finals: 9/13 - 69.2%, six consecutive finals

Highest: Four wins (1978, 1979, 1998, 2018)

This is not the first time that Israel chooses a bad song and manages to harm it in the remake.

Dana International did it back in 2011 with Ding Dong, when the bit of sting that was still in the song was taken from him and replaced for… for what?

Yesterday, with the announcement of the order of performances, Eurovision fans started lamenting about our fate in the worst placement, and they are not entirely wrong.

The last time song number 2 came up was in 2017 from the second semi-final.

The same thing happened in 2016, in 2015 song number 2 came up from the first semi-final, in 2013 also from the first semi.

We will not refer to floor years because previously the order of the songs was drawn and today the production determines which country will appear when.

The last time Israel was included in song number 2 in the semi-finals was in 2014 with Mae Feingold, and fans of the competition had not yet recovered from the terrible defeat at the time.

When a song is good he should not be afraid of the placement.

A strong song will advance to the finals whether it opens the competition, closes it, is between two strong songs, or is broadcast at a stage when everyone is already asleep.

Just a song that no one believes in is afraid of placement.

Is there a chance for a seventh consecutive final?

We will wait for the start of rehearsals, this semi-final is so bad that even if you were to compete you had a chance to sneak into the final and surprise, even though the betting agencies only give the 35th place.

03. Serbia - In Corpore Sano - Konstrakta

Finals: 9/12 - 75%

Highest: Winning in 2007

I saw articles on all sorts of sites that focus on the song talking about Megan Merkel's healthy hair and hand washing, but the song's message is a little deeper than running the lyrics on Google Translate.

In the first house, the singer sings about "an artist must be healthy" and Serbian amateurs say that there is a statement here about the health insurance of the artists in Serbia.

Another theory is that the song talks about the body being healthy while the mind is sick, but we need to look good on the outside.

Will this message be conveyed or will people concentrate on a singer washing hands for three minutes?

Serbia seems to rise again this year, 15th in the odds of winning at the betting agencies.

04. Azerbaijan - Fade to Black - Nadir Rustamli

Finals: 12/13 - 92.3%

Highest: Winning in 2011

Instead of wasting so many words like boring, bad, flightless, generic to die, you can just say "Azerbaijan 2022".

Fade to Black?

More Fade to oblivion.

Let's do a challenge: try to watch the song to the end without falling asleep.

This is Azerbaijan, so she can definitely make it to the finals as well.

18th place in the betting agencies.

05. Georgia - Lock Me In - Circus Mircus

Finals: 6/13 - 46.2%, last time in 2016

Highest: 9th place in 2010 and 2011

Last place in the semi-finals in 2014 and 2018

Do you know that there are just annoying songs?

So Circus Minkus brings just that annoying sound.

I get paid to write this column so I have to listen to the song to the end before I write "Good news for Michael Ben David - little chance of seeing a final".

You have no reason to do that.

32nd place in the chances of winning agencies.

06. Malta - I Am What I Am - Emma Muscat

Finals: 7/13 - 53.8%

Highest: 2nd place in 2002 and 2005

Last place: 3 times in 1971, 1972, and 2006

Emma Muscat won the pre-Eurovision of Malta when she gets the first place from all the judges and the audience vote and bypasses The competitors in the giant.

Shortly after winning the winning song was replaced with this generic piece.

This is one of those songs that can finish outside the top ten in the semifinals just as much as they might bore us in the final as well and finish at the bottom of the table.

22nd place in the betting agencies.

07. San Marino - Stripper - Achille Lauro

Finals: 3/11 - 27.3%

Highest: 19th place in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv

Aquila Lauro has tried to represent Italy three times already, the last time was at this year's Snarmo Festival, where he finished in 13th place.

In his light he did not say desperate and jumped to compete even in the strange pre-San Marino, where he won by one point.

The betting agencies rank San Marino 19th in the odds of winning, and there could be a fourth and third consecutive final here.

08. Australia - Not the Same - Sheldon Riley

Finals: 5/6 - 83.3%

Highest: Second place in 2016

After last year Australia was eliminated for the first time ever in the semi-finals, this year the far continent sends the singer in a mask.

There are all the Eurovision clichés imaginable here, a ballad that is supposed to excite, a queer who shouts that he is different, and all this in his new dress.

When he takes off the mask, Hobi Star is revealed, and in such a bad year, the gambling agencies rank this song in tenth place.

09. Cyprus - Ela - Andromache

Finals: 8/12 - 66.7%

Highest: Second place in 2018

Greece appears in the first semi-final with a soulless generic ballad without any Greek motif.

Thanks to Zeus, there is another Greece at the Eurovision - Cyprus.

The English houses fail to destroy the chorus in Greek.

The last time a song in Greek represented Cyprus was in 2013, it ended already in the semi-finals, this time there is no chance that Cyprus will not reach the 2022 Eurovision final. Betting agencies: 17th place in the chances of winning.

10. Ireland - That's Rich - Brooke

Finals: 5/13 - 38.5%

Highest: 7 wins in 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1996

Last place: in 2007 and 2013, last place in the semi-finals in 2019 and 2021

What can be said about the country that has become the champion of wins and the punching bag of Europe?

Already in the playback version, you can only imagine the fakes that will be live, and if your ears are already bleeding - at least there will be a classic Eurovision accident.

Ranked 34th in the betting agencies, our MDA can manage to overtake it.

11. Northern Macedonia - Circles - Andrea

Finals: 2/13 - 15.4% Poorest

Highest: Seventh place in 2019 in Tel Aviv

When the North Macedonian singer was chosen to represent her country she stated that the song would be in English because she wants all of Europe to understand the message.

The message I understand from the song is how lucky she is in the semi-finals of Israel, another mediocre soulless song that Michael Ben David can easily get through.

How the hell do three minutes last?

38th place in the betting agencies.

12. Estonia - Hope - Stefan

Finals: 7/13 - 54.4%

Highest: Winning 2001

Last place in the 2016 semi-finals

Chris Isaac was too expensive, so Estonia ordered one from Wish.

The betting agencies rank this song in 21st place in the chances of winning, and we have another example of many kinds in this half of songs that really do matter if they make it to the finals and crash in it, or finish in 12th place in the half.

13. Romania - Llámame - WRS

Finals: 9/12 - 75%, last time in 2017

Highest: Third place in 2005 and 2010

It's hard to believe I'm writing this, if already orders from Wish, it seems that Romania went for Michael Ben David from a cheap Chinese site.

Is he supposed to be sexy?

This is exactly how I imagine myself if they give me a microphone and choreography, what to do - I do not know how to move.

Also the Romanian singer.

It seems like a parody of something, not closed on what.

40th place in the betting agencies, and it is hard to believe that until 2017 Romania was considered a safe winner for the final.

14. Poland - River - Ochman

Finals: 5/11 - 45.5%, last time in 2017

Highest: Second place in 1994

Last place in the semi-finals in 2011

Similar to my Romanian half, the Polish half is also not satisfied with the Eurovision Song Contest from 2018 onwards.

It is precisely this ballad that manages to evoke in me some kind of emotional remnant, and after three consecutive failures, Poland's path to the eve of the grand final is already paved.

The betting agencies are also flattering with sixth place in the chances of winning.

15. Montenegro - Breath - Vladana

Finals: 2/10 - 20% embarrassing

Highest: 13th place in 2015

I guess there will be a number of Eurovision fans who will be angry that I did not stick to the facts and added an interpretation in the form of "20% embarrassing" in Montenegro's description, but next year I will probably write "2" / 11 - 18% humiliating ".

For you this is another song that will bore you to death, for Michael Ben David this is an opportunity to overtake another song in the final ranking, 37th place in the betting agencies, for me this is a reason to ask a bonus from my editor for surviving to the end.

16. Belgium - Miss You - Jérémie Makiese

Finals: 6/13 - 46.1%

Highest: Winning in 1986

Last place: 8 times

What a voice Jeremy has and what a groove.

Already when the song was first released I was able to listen to it to the end, and not for a fee!

And in such a dull year, it's one of the great compliments a song can get from me.

Something really unusual has to happen so that Belgium does not reach the final and the betting agencies rank the song in 12th place in the chances of winning.

17. Sweden - Hold Me Closer - Cornelia Jakobs

Finals: 12/13 - 92.3%

Highest: 6 wins in 1974, 1984, 1991, 1999, 2012, and 2015

Last place in 1963 and 1977

We will start from the end: third place in the betting agencies.

If there had not been a war in Ukraine and a tough politicization of the competition this year, Sweden would have been one of two contenders for the victory.

A simple song, without gimmicks, a singer with a singer's voice, a simple stage, and a polished Swedish production as we like.

18. Czech Republic - Lights Off - We Are Domi

Finals: 3/8 - 37.5%

Highest: 6th place in 2018

Last place in the semi-finals in 2007 and 2009

The second semi-final of Eurovision 2022 ends with a Czech party.

An energetic electro-pop that could definitely give the Czech Republic its fourth final.

Will Israel reach the final?

You know to whom the prophecy was given so I do not intend to gamble at this point, before rehearsals begin and see the numbers on the big music stage in the whole universe.

Still, a kind of forecast.

There are five songs I would not imagine the final without and they are, in order of performance, Finland, Cyprus, Poland, Belgium, and Sweden.

On the other hand, it's hard for me to see Georgia, Malta, Ireland, Northern Macedonia, Romania and Montenegro in the final.

This leaves us with seven countries competing for five tickets to the final, namely Serbia, Azerbaijan, San Marino, Australia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and, yes, Israel as well.

By the way, the statistics, in our opinion, Israel is ranked sixth in this semi-final in terms of percentage of promotion to the final from 2008 onwards.

The second Eurovision semi-final will be held on Thursday 12 May with the participation of Israel, two days after the first semi-final (Tuesday, 10 May).

On Saturday 14 May, the 2022 Eurovision final will be held, and all the broadcasts will be broadcast live from 22:00 here at 11. We will be in Turin and wish the Israeli delegation and Michael Ben-David to provide us with a busy weekend all the way to the final.

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