Last night, the first of two semi-finals of the Hungarian national selection A Dal saw four contestants moving forward to the final next week. Tonight four more artists joins them.
After three heats and two-semi finals we now have the finalists of the Hungarian national selection A Dal 2017. One of them will be selected next Saturday as the representative for Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Let’s find out a bit more about tonight’s songs, the winners and the unfortunate disqualifiers.
The Songs
Ádám Szabó – Together
First up is the act who was selected from the second round of televotes during the 2nd heat of A Dal. Ádám’s vocals tonight aren’t quite as strong as they were two weeks ago unfortunately. The song has some catchy bits to it, but it would struggle to make a big impact on the Eurovision stage in my opinion.
Mrs. Columbo – Frozen King
Second up is Mrs. Columbo with the song Frozen King. This looks a lot more polish than the first performance. The outfit and hair have been updated. The song sounds better with the second listen too. Overall I big improvement.
Roma Soul – Nyitva a ház
This is incredible in so many ways. This song mixes different genres, great vocals as well as beatboxing. Gergő Oláh who was my favourite during last year’s national selection carries the vocals through for this tune.
Peet Project – Kill Your Monsters
Just like their previous performance, Peet Project brings a fun swinging performance with Kill Your Monsters. Very good vocals from the lead singer and a strong presence on stage from all of the band. The problem I have with this though is that it’s just not a song that is strong enough.
Kállay Saunders Band – 17
Watching this for the second time, this could be the one to win. It’s very current and sounds like the type of song that could play on the radio today, and looking back at what Hungary typically sends to Eurovision, this would fit that category.
Zävodi + Olivér Berkes – #háttérzaj
Next up is time for Hungarian soul music. I have to say Olivér Berkes has an incredible voice. I think the trouble I have with the performance though is that too much is happening. You have the piano catching on fire in the middle of the song, and you have a lot of interesting visuals in the back, but I am just not sure all of it works well with the song itself.
Leander Kills – Élet
Next up is Leander Kills with the song Élet (Life). Watching it now, I am not quite sure how this made it to the semi-finals, the song is quite generic rock and the lead singer barely makes eye contact with the audience. I can only imagine that the song has a strong message resonating with the Hungarian public.
Gabi Tóth & Freddie Shuman feat. Begi Lofti – Hosszú idők
Gabi is up next. Just as last week she is serving some intensity with her performance which works quite well. The staging and look overall of the performance has been updated. The dancers really bring something interesting to this performance however I still feel there’s an amateurish element to it that needs to be addressed, maybe it’s because there is too much happening on stage with smokes, fires, lazers, etc.
Benji – Karcok
Last but not least is Benji with his song Karcok. Funny title for English speakers but it actually means scratches. This one unfortunately is rather boring, not exactly the best way to end the show. Benji delivers song great vocals but the song is just nothing special.
The Show
The last semi-final for A Dal 2017. As usual, the 9 acts received critique from the four judges after each performance.
In terms of scoring, each judge provide a score out of 10 and the public also give an average score on 10 for a maximum of 50 possible points. The top 3 automatically advance to the final. A second round of televotes determine the 4th entry to move forward.
The interval act tonight was Magdolna Rúzsa who represented Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki. She performed her current single Jel.
The Results
The top 3 qualifiers:
- Gabi Tóth & Freddie Shuman feat. Begi Lofti
- Leander Kills
- Zävodi + Berkes Olivér
The second round qualifier:
- Kállay Saunders Band
Check out the top song of the week Hosszú idők:
