The first of two semi-finals of A Dal 2016 was held tonight with nine acts who previously qualified from the first three shows. After votes from the public as well as the show’s judges, a total of five acts will move on to the final. Next week’s second semi-final will see five more contestants joining them for the final showdown on February 27th.
We are only two weeks away from finding out who will represent Hungary at the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest as the winner of A Dal 2016 is closer to being known. Nine songs from artists who qualified in the last 3 weeks were performed tonight. As some of them had received constructive criticism previously, they were able to update their staging for this week’s show.
The Songs
Reni Tolvai – Fire
Finishing fifth in the first heat of A Dal, Reni is ready to fight back with Fire. The first major improvement from the previous performance is the outfit, much better than last time. She also used a very long scarf to probably represent fire. Overall much better than the first performance.
Petruska – Trouble In My Mind
Petruska did great in last week’s heat by finishing first with 42 points. They added an even better stylized performance tonight by performing in black and white with only the backdrop screens showing colour. The lead singer still is as charismatic as before with great vocals, but I can’t see this doing so well in Eurovision.
Szilvia Agárdi – It Is Love
Szilvia did great in last week’s heat finishing second overall. Szilvia looks beautiful and the staging is done very well. But as the competition gets harder, I think this might be forgotten in the middle of stronger songs.
B the First – You Told Me That You Loved Me
B the First performed their song You Told Me That You Loved Me last week and finished in 4th place. Again, this is a fun performance with a charismatic lead singer, but I can’t see it doing well at Eurovision.
Gergő Oláh – Győz A Jó
Gergő performed his song in the second heat of A Dal and tied for second place with André Vásáry. Gergő Oláh is probably my favourite entry this year from Hungary. Luckily, as if our previous comments about his outfit had been heard. the wardrobe problem had been corrected for this performance. I can honestly say this is my favourite performance and song of A Dal 2016.
Benji – Kötéltánc
Benji performed in the first heat of A Dal and finished 2nd overall. Again, Benji delivers outstanding vocals on his song. As the competition gets tougher however, this one seems a bit more forgettable.
Kállay Saunders Band – Who We Are
Also performing in the second heat of A Dal, the Kállay Saunders Band finished first overall. Not surprising coming from the popularity of Andras Kállay Saunders and his previous A Dal victory in 2014. The performance is similar to the first one, Andras still shows he’s very comfortable on stage and this time delivers even better vocals.
Karmapolis & Böbe Szécsi – Hold On To
Karmapolis and Böbe Szécsi also performed in the second heat of A Dal, but finished fifth overall. Not much has changed from their performance, Böbe still delivers beautiful vocals, but overall the performance is a bit boring in the middle of such great ones.
Mushu – Uncle Tom
Mushu was one of those very original acts who performed back in the first heat of A Dal. Mushu again are quite outstanding for their originality on stage, this is a fun and interesting song, but it’s lacking something for it to be truly great.
The Show
Similar to the first three shows of A Dal, the semi-final showcases nine artists from the first three heats to perform their entries one more time. Some of them decided to update their staging following criticism from the judges in previous weeks.
The voting here works the same as before with each judge providing a score out of ten, and the public acting as a fifth judge and providing scores from one to ten for a total potential score of fifty.
Unlike the first three heats, this time, only four acts will move on to the final from the first round of results. A second round of public voting will determine a fifth artist from the bottom six to move on to the final on February 27th.
The Results
| Artist | Song | Points | Results |
| Reni Tolvai | Fire | 33 | Out |
| Petruska | Trouble In My Mind | 43 | 1st round qualified |
| Szilvia Agárdi | It Is Love | 39 | Out |
| B the First | You Told Me That You Loved Me | 35 | Out |
| Gergő Oláh | Győz A Jó | 42 | 1st round qualified |
| Benji | Kötéltánc | 33 | Out |
| Kállay Saunders Band | Who We Are | 41 | 1st round qualified |
| Karmapolis & Böbe Szécsi | Hold On To | 35 | Out |
| Mushu | Uncle Tom | 39 | 2nd round qualified |
A Dal Acoustic
All thirty contestant songs have now been performed in acoustic versions. Here are the ten songs from last week’s heat.
- Viki Singh – Katonák
- Petruska – Trouble In My Mind
- Parno Graszt – Már Nem szédülök
- Nika – Emlékkép
- Ív – Love Kills Me
- Juli Horányi – Come Along
- Bálint Gájer – Speed Bump
- B the First – You Told Me That You Loved Me
- Olivér Berkes & Andi Tóth – Seven Seas
- Szilvia Agárdi – It Is Love
Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest
Since 1994, Hungary has taken part in the Eurovision Song Contest thirteen times and been placed in the top five twice. In 1994, Friderika Bayer finished fourth with the song Kinek Mondjam El Vétkeimet? and twenty years later, in 2014, with Running by András Kállay-Saunders resulting in fifth place.
Check out our highlights of Hungary in the Eurovision Song Contest from 2011-2015 – you might see clips you’ve never seen before!
