Hungary’s national final is now complete, with the addition of four more lucky finalists. Hopes are high in Hungary of another good result at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.The second semi-final of the Hungarian selection show, A Dal was held tonight. Three songs were selected by a jury and the fourth selected by a public phone vote
MTV continued its quest for success tonight, as a special jury and the televoters of Hungary selected four more finalists for the National Final next Saturday.
Our hosts gave us a brief outline of the procedure. A special jury of Kati Wolf, Viktor Rakonczai, Jenö Csiszár, and Philip Rákay would select three songs of the 10 to proceed to next week’s eight song final. Televoting and text (SMS) voting would select a fourth. Our jury again would give their scores (each out of 10) after each song.
Tonight’s songs were:
Monsoon – Dance – The first act of the evening was four cheeky chappies who gave us a cheerful, feel-good but slightly cheesy pop. The jury gave Monsoon 26 points
Péter Puskás – Csillagok – With possibly the strongest song of the night, Péter’s performance was emotional giving the whole thing added impact. The jury gave Péter 33 points.
Sophistic – Yeah, OK! – Sophistic were three ladies in quite short dresses. While there was absolutely nothing ‘sophistic’ about their song – standard girl group pop fare. The jury gave Sophistic 18 points
Juli Fábián & Zoohacker – Like a Child – Juli and chums did their best to sell a fairly monotonous mid-tempo tune. Juli’s dress was in the same shade of blue sported by Kati Wolf last year. The jury gave Juli and Zoohacker 35 points
Gina Kiss – Chasing Dreams – Gina sung her ballad with the aid of a group and backing singers. It sounded like a strong contender. The jury gave Gina 29 points.
Anti-Fitness Club – Lesz, Ami Lesz – They sound like a novelty act, but the four piece band presented a straight rock song with the aid of a couple of female dancers. The jury gave Anti-Fitness club 34 points.
Nika – This Love – Nika took to the stage with a strong and genuinely felt ballad. She could count herself unlucky if she wasn’t one of the four qualifiers. The jury gave Nika 38 points.
Tibor Gyurcsik – Back in Place – Tibor’s effort was a mid-tempo, acoustic guitar based AOR song that moved along steadily if unspectacularly. The jury gave Tibor 39 points
Renáta Tolvai – Élek a Szemeidben – Blond Renata entered the scene with a pop song which built into the chorus in the way a thousand songs before have, although it is still pleasant to the ear. The jury gave Renáta 30 points.
The Kiralys – Untried – Getting off to a slow start, the pace increased slightly soon after the beginning of the contemporary pop song. Vocal duties were shared among the trio. The jury gave The Kiralys 35 points
Therefore, Tibor and Nika qualidied for the final, as did The Kiralys after the jury has broken the tie with Juli Fábián & Zoohacker.
While the Hungarian public were voting, they were entertained by the band, Belmondo, who did a slower, rock version of Dschinghis Khan, the German Eurovision entry in 1979. They were followed by 2007 Hungarian representative, Magdi Rúzsa, who sung Unsubstantial Blues. After a bit of Green Room chat, the results were revealed. Having narrowly missed out on the jury vote, Juli Fábián & Zoohacker were reprieved as the public had voted them through to the final.
The Hungarian singer and song will be chosen in the final next Saturday 11th February.
