Eurovision 2022 semi-final 2: Jury show review

Photo Credit: EBU / Andres Putting

Early this morning the jury show of the Eurovision 2022 semi-final 2 took place.

These performances are what each national jury vote on ahead of the live show for televoters tomorrow.

The jury show can make or break some contestants, so let's take a look at how the entries went:

Nailed it

Australia

Photo Credit: EBU / Connie Cumming

Perhaps we are a little biased but this was the best run we've seen from Sheldon yet and he ABSOLUTELY SMASHED IT! The lights hit the smoke on stage and it is like thunder and lightening rumbling around his feet - it looks bloody awesome. The vocal itself is commanding of respect and attention - easily one of the strongest performances of the night. Great reaction from the crowd when removing the mask.

Poland

Photo Credit: EBU / Andres Putting

They've toned down the camera effects and to a level that Eurofans can reconnect with the song again. Ochman's vocals were honestly sublime - so clear with effortless sounding control. He appears towards the end of the running order and the spot suits him well after Estonia and before Montenegro. He could be a potential jury winner with that performance.

Sweden

Photo Credit: EBU / Andres Putting

Another consistent performance from Conelia, she's got a great balance between singing with more clarity and moving into the more "gritty" vocals towards the end of the performance. Amazingly almost everyone in the crowd kept their lights off to help the staging in the parts were the camera is facing the audience. The pyro does work but also not sure if it's even needed really.

Lifted for the juries

San Marino

Photo Credit: EBU / Andres Putting

Absolutely bonkers from Achille Lauro this morning - there is SO much pyro and fire that I thought the stage would either burn down or just disintegrate at one point. Honestly the smoke created from the pyro made it hard to see him at times. Overall though there is a cracking and compelling stage show here.

Israel

Photo Credit: EBU / Corinne Cumming

Michael has been extremely consistent from rehearsals to now giving strong falsetto and stage craft. He's vocal was on point this evening and really popped on stage. There are a lot of excellent male vocalists he has to contend with this year - but not many can do the range he can PLUS choreography.

Azerbaijan

Photo Credit: EBU / Corinne Cumming

So many excellent male vocals tonight but Nadir was a surprise package this evening. He delivers a final minute of vocal gymnastics that is extremely impressive, strong and definitely a shout out to the juries. The staging has some compelling moments overall with the "Nadir Double" and moving staircases. Generally this has lifted significantly from the studios.

Could be a struggle with juries

Belgium

Photo Credit: EBU / Andres Putting

Very much a stand and sing sort of performance - Jérémie delivered a solid vocal with a small blip towards the end. Overall in the sea of flashy male vocalists this year and Belgium's standing in the running order, this gets a bit lost and forgotten.

Georgia

Photo Credit: EBU / Corinne Cumming

Circus Mircus just feels a little too much on their own plant of creativity to nail down a jury members' attention. A solid performance from the crew with lots of colour. No major vocal or stage issues.

Malta

Photo Credit: EBU / Corinne Cumming

'I Am What I Am' is certainly an entry geared towards the juries - but we have reservations on if it's actually worked. The performance itself does feel a bit X-Factor meets Junior Eurovision. The running order gobbles up Emma as well. The vocal was good this evening but perhaps not her best, it feels like the juries have other more appealing options to vote for.

Finland

Photo Credit: EBU / Andres Putting

Our show opener The Rasmus had a good performance compared to rehearsals! Frontman Lauri Ylönen's voice was much improved, however, still showed quite a bit of strain. It sounds like they've turned his mic down a little from rehearsals too. Overall it came together nicely with more cohesive camera angles.

Your country or favourite song not listed?

It means they did a great job! It was an incredible show and all 18 did a great job. These are just some of our ones to pick out.

The live semi-final 2 will be broadcast tomorrow at 5:00am AEST on SBS.