Read back: The liveblog for nine shows on Saturday the 17th of February

Another packed Saturday night, with nine shows which will all follow for you in this liveblog. At the end of the evening, we will have another entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, from Montenegro.

We give you updates from all nine shows. Have the favourites performed according to expectations? Are there any big surprises or eliminations? All the results in the Eurovision world can be found here in one liveblog.

Below you see the schedule for tonight, with links to all shows, so you can watch along with our editor Dennis.

Ukraine, second semi final, 18:00-22:35
Sweden, semi final 3, 20:00-21:30
Montenegro, national final, 20:00-22:00
Slovenia, semi final, 20:00-22:00
Lithuania, heat 6, 20:00-22:10
Latvia, semi final 3, 20:25-22:35
Hungary, semi final 2, 20:30-22:45
Estonia, semi final 2, 20:35-22:35
Iceland, semi final 2, 20:45-22:20

Liveblog for Saturday the 17th of February

23:00 – Closing the liveblog

Thank you for joining us on this special Eurovision night. We will leave you with the song that has been picked for Lisbon on behalf of Montenegro, and hope to greet you again at ESCDaily very soon!

22:49 – Two Latvia qualifiers for the final of Supernova

We have our winners in Latvia for tonight as well. Lauris Valters and, as expected, Laura Rizotto will be in the final of Supernova next week!

22:41 – Results in Ukraine out as well

Tayanna was 3rd in the public vote, Melovin topped it, which means Melovin qualifies top from this semi in Ukraine. Tayanna comes in second place and Kadnay qualifies as third.

22:36 – Gerli Padar qualifies after televote result in Estonia

Gerli Padar and Eliis Pärna have made it to the final of Eesti Laul after all. The duet is the fifth and final qualifier after the televote results came in.

22:33 – Tamas Horvath is the final qualifier of A Dal

The wildcard in A Dal has gone to Tamas Horvath ! He is the fourth and final qualifier of tonight in Hungary

22:23 – Gerli and Rolf depend on televote in Estonia

Frankie Animal, Evestus, Girls in Perals and Nika already qualified for Eesti Laul final. The lot of Gerli Padar and Rolf Roosalu is now depending on the televoting.

22:17 – Aron Hannes qualifies in Iceland

The first qualifiers of tonight in Reykjavik are known! Aron Hannes, Áttan and Dagur are through to the final of Söngvakeppnin. One last wildcard will be handed out to one oftthe six eliminated acts.

22:15 – Full results of heat 6 in Lithuania

As expected Ieva Zasimauskaitė and Monika Marija have qualified in Lithuania for the next round tonight. Check out all qualifiers in Lithuania here.

22:14 – AWS, yesyes and Viktor Kiraly through to A Dal Final

The jury in Hungary made up their mind. Only one wildcard left:

AWS – Viszlat nyar – 46 points
yesyes – I Let You Run Away- 45 points
Viktor Kiraly – Budapest Girl- 42 points
——–
Ceasefire X – Satellites – 40 points
Tamas Horvath – Meggyfa – 38 points
Odett – Aranyhal – 37 points
Nikoletta Szoke, Attila Kokeny and Robert Szakcsi Lakatos – Eletre kel – 37 points
Cintia Horvath & Tomi Balogh – Journey – 36 points
Tamas Vastag – Ne hagyj remenyt – 36 points

22:10 – Laura Rizotto top favourite in Latvia

Laura Rizotto and her light-jazz song ‘Funny Girl’ was amazing tonight in Supernova. Yes, the competition is tough and there are only two tickets, but the closing 7th song should be a qualifier we think?

22:01 – ManuElla AND Tanja Ribic out in Slovenia!

Slovenia says goodbye to two former Eurovision artists after the semi final of EMA. Both Tanja Ribic and ManuElla have been eliminated. Boy group BQL are still in the race among the lucky 8 for next week’s final:

Ina Shai – “V nebo”
Indigo – “Vesna”
Lara Kadis – “Zdaj sem tu”
BQL – “Ptica”
Proper – “Ukraden cvet”
Marina Martensson – “Blizu”
Nuška Drašcek – “Ne zapusti me zdaj”
Lea Sirk – “Ne, hvala!”

21:57 – Ieva Zasimauskaitė slays in Lithuania

Ieva Zasimauskaitė is back after a five week absence. Her staging and camerawork is even more impressive. This song “When we’re old” has to be the Lithuanian entry in a couple of weeks? Judge Monika Linkyte is even crying after the song has been performed.

21:50 – Ukraine continues their show

Madame Monsieur is guest performing in Ukraine now. Which means Vidbir has started again after a long break. The results will come in the upcoming hour as well.

21:48 – It’s Vanja Radovanović for Montenegro!

Our reporter was right in his gut feeling: Vanja will sing for Montenegro.

21:40 – AWS first qualifier in Hungary

With just two acts to go, AWS can not finish lower than the third place, thus they are the first qualifier in A Dal semi 2 of tonight. Current standings:

AWS – Viszlat nyar – 46 points
Viktor Kiraly – Budapest Girl- 42 points
Tamas Horvath – Meggyfa – 38 points
Odett – Aranyhal – 37 points
Nikoletta Szoke, Attila Kokeny and Robert Szakcsi Lakatos – Eletre kel – 37 points
Cintia Horvath & Tomi Balogh – Journey – 36 points
Tamas Vastag – Ne hagyj remenyt – 36 points

21:30 – Semi 2 in Iceland is better than semi 1

Earlier this week, our editor Ani looked back at the first semi in Iceland and she was not impressed. Tonight, the level of competition is better. “Dagur Sigurdarsson seems to be among the Icelandic 3 qualifiers as well. He he is flawless with his vocals and brings a strong performance show,” she says. Now Aron Hannes has to perform again, due to technical issues in his original performance.

21:24 – Jessica Andersson in the final on Melodifestivalen 2018!

Jessica Andersson has also made it to the final of Melfest 2018, next to Martin Almgren. So far she is the only woman in the final thus far in the competition. Moncho and Méndez are sent to Andra Chansen. More info on Sweden here!

21:22 – AWS still on top in Hungary

Current standings in A Dal semi 2. The best three acts qualify for the final immediately. Still five acts to go.

AWS – Viszlat nyar – 46 points
Viktor Kiraly – Budapest Girl- 42 points
Odett – Aranyhal – 37 points
Cintia Horvath & Tomi Balogh – Journey – 36 points

21:17 – Martin Almgren qualifies in Sweden!

‘A Bitter Lullaby’ by Martin Almgren is the first through to final.

21:16 – Gerli Padar “gave a credible and good performance”

In Estonia, Eliis Pärna & Gerli Padar sung a beautiful musical song, “Sky”. “During the duet, they were singing towards eachother in the mirror. It was a credible and good performance and beautiful song,” says Robin Tas who it watching Eesti Laul for us now.

21:14 – Threesome as a qualifier for Iceland?

Update from Ani Shahoyan, who is watching Iceland: “Stefanía, Agnes & Regína bring a retro disco mood in Iceland with sparkly retro outfits. Their show is quite memorable after which they receive good reaction from the audience. this may be one of the qualifiers.”

21:11 – Halfway in Lithuania

In Lithuania, the first seven songs of the 6th heat of Eurovizijos has been performed. The big hitters Monika Marija (The Voice-winner) and Ieva Zasimauskaitė will be up in the upcoming 45 minutes.

21:07 – Three acts left in Montenegro

The top three acts in Montenegro will perform again. Katarina Bogićević, Vanja Radovanović and Lorena Janković are still in the running. According to Brandon McCann, Vanja has a nice chance to go to Lisbon.

21:06 – Another returnee in Iceland

In Iceland another artist Rakel Pálsdóttir from last years Söngvakeppnin presented her song. Rakel is alone this year presenting a ballad while last year she came with Arnar Jonsson as a duet. Her vocals are strong and good for this song.

21:04 – Dotter and Barbi Escobar are gone in Melfest

Barbi Escobar and Dotter are the first to be sent home in Melodifestivalen tonight.

21:03 – First song in Latvia has been sung

A long start of the night, but in Latvia the seven songs are now being performed. Jenny May was first with her summer latino-pop tune ‘Soledad’. A bit dated, but not bad.

21:00 – AWS score 46 points in Hungary

Only two acts have been seen thus far, but rock group AWS appear to be straight to the final of A Dal, after their score of 46 points.

20:59 – Will 2018 be the year of Rolf in Estonia?

Robin Tas is following Eesti Laul for us. After many perevious attempts, Rolf Roosalu impresses tonight in Estonia. He just sung some sort of pop/musical song, really nice.

20:56 – Aron Hannes looks and sounds like a qualifier

Aron Hannes is back in Iceland. He oppened the show with the pop funk song ‘Golddigger’. He was confident with 5 dancers in casual clothes. Though the vocals could be better, our reporter Ani thinks he will qualify for the final of Söngvakeppnin tonight.

20:54 – All songs in Sweden have been performed

Just like in the first semi final, our editor Allie Lindo is not impressed with the level of quality in the third show of Melodifestivalen. Read back her liveblog here.

20:46 – A long break in Ukraine

The second semi final in Ukraine is now on a big break. When that is over, we will get the results and the next three finalists. Our expert Sadie Trent would put her money on the likes of Tayanna, Mélovin and Kadnay to qualify.

20:45 – Iceland gets the last show of the night underway

The second semi final of Söngvakeppnin 2018 is underway. Three qualifiers of last week will be joined by another three acts. And a special wildcard will be handed out to one of the eliminated acts at the end of the night. The name to watch tonight is Aron Hannes, who took part in Iceland last year as well. These are the six acts of tonight in Reykjavik:

Aron Hannes – “Golddigger”
Áttan – “Hér með þér”
Dagur Sigurðsson – “Í stormi”
Stefanía, Agnes & Regína – “Svaka stuð”
Þórir & Gyða – “Brosa”
Rakel Pálsdóttir – “Óskin mín”

20:36 – All songs in Montenegro been performed

Thta’s how you make a quick Eurovision show! All five songs in Montenegro have been performed. Read back our analyse of the five hopefuls here.

20:35 – Gerli Padar returns in Estonia tonight

The second semi final of Eesti Laul is underway. The most known names for Eurovision fans are those of Gerli Padar (ESC 2007) and Rolf Roosalu, who has his seventh attempt to represent Estonia at Eurovision. There are five tickets for these ten contenders in Tallinn:

01. Marju Länik – “Täna otsuseid ei tee”
02. Rolf Roosalu – “Show a Little Love”
03. Frankie Animal – “(Can’t Keep Calling) Misty”
04. Eliis Pärna & Gerli Padar – “Sky”
05. Indrek Ventmann – “Tempel”
06. Evestus – “Welcome to My World”
07. Karl Kristjan & Karl Killing feat. Wateva – “Young”
08. Metsakutsu – “Koplifornia”
09. Girls in Pearls – “Spellbound”
10. Nika – “Knock Knock”

20:30 – AWS top favourite in second semi final of A Dal

Rock group AWS impressed in the quarter finals of A Dal in Hungary are now a top favourite to make it to the final next week. There is tough competition though, with the likes of Viktor Kiraly and Adam Zsabo (yesyes). Three acts will qualify thanks to the jury, a fourth and last final ticket will be handed out by the Hungarian public. We will keep you posted with standings during the show.

20:25 – No more chaos in Latvia, hopefully

Last week, Markus Riva looked to be eliminated from Supernova. A result which was later overturned due to errors in counting the votes. If this does not happen again tonight, we will have the last two qualifiers for the Latvian final from the acts below:

01. Jenny May – “Soledad”
02. Ed Rallidae – “What I Had with You”
03. Katrine Lukins – “Running Red Lights”
04. Lauris Valters – “Lovers Bliss”
05. MIONIA – “You”
06. Kris & Oz – “Morning Flight”
07. Laura Rizzotto – “Funny Girl”

20:18 – A good start in Sweden and Montenegro

The night starts with two decent performances. Brandon writes that Nina Petković in Montenegro was great and Allie says Martin Almgren isn’t a bad song to start the night the night off with.

20:00 – Lithuania, Slovenia, Sweden, Montenegro underway!

We currently have five shows that are live right now!

19:50 – Jessica Andersson and Mendez return to Melfest

A couple of familiar names are back in Melodifestivalen tonight. Mendez (Adrenaline is all you need, baby!) and Jessica Andersson (Eurovision 2003 with Fame) return in Malmö, but there are of course more contenders tonight. Follow everything with the in-depth coverage of our Melfest-expert Allie Lindo.

19:45 – Ieva Zasimauskaitė tops the jury vote in Lithuania

Ieva was the only artist to win both the jury vote and televote after the first round of each song in Lithuania. She also won the jury vote when she performed her song for the second time in the competition. Tonight heat 6 will air at 20:00, with the Voice-winner Monika Marija and former finalist Greta Zazza also on the list. Below are the jury results for tonight:

Ieva Zasimauskaitė – When We’re Old – 12 points
Saulės kliošas – Įkvėpk ir nepaleisk (Man gaila) – 10 points
Monika Marija – The Truth – 10 points
Audrius Petrauskas – In My Bones – 7 points
The Roop – Yes, I Do – 6 points
Gabrielius Vagelis – The Distant – 5 points
Greta Zazza – Broken Shadows – 4 points
Ruta Loop – Positive Thoughts – 3 points
Elizabeth Olshey – Bejausmis – 2 points
Živilė Gedvilaitė – Melody – 1 point
Agnė Michalenkovaitė – Going On – 1 point
Marija – This Love – 0 points

19:40 – Five contenders in Montenegro

A nice short show of Montevizija tonight. Five artists will sing their hearts out and one of them will win the ticket to Lisbon for Montenegro. We expect the results around 22:00 and have a special in-depth blog about the final by Brandon McCann. These are the five hopefuls in Podgorica:

01. Nina Petković – “Dišem” (I breathe)
02. Vanja Radovanović – “Inje” (Hoarfrost)
03. Ivana Popović Martinović – “Poljupci” (Kisses)
04. Katarina Bogićević – “Neželjena” (The unwanted)
05. Lorena Janković – “Dušu mi daj” (Give me soul)

19:30 – A Slovenian comeback in Lisbon?

There is a chance that Tanja Ribic (ESC 1997) or ManuElla (ESC 2016) will once again represent Slovenia at the Eurovision Song Contest. At 20:00, the semi final of EMA takes place. 16 acts, 8 qualifiers for the final next week. BQL, runner-up of EMA last year, are also taking part again.

19:17 – Two more former acts in Ukraine

Kadnay is back in the Ukrainian preselection and they went back to their ethnic rock roots. They got a great reaction in the hall. Yurcash performed a Ska-song way back in 2005 and are now also back on the Eurovision stage in Ukraine.

19:01 – A new style for Tayanna

Tayanna, the runner-up in Ukraine last year, is doing something completely different when compared to her ballad ‘I Love You’. Het new song ‘Lelya’ is more of a dance/pop sound much more up tempo than what her last entry was. Besides Mélovin, she could surely be the second qualifier in the field of tonight indeed.

18:35 – Mélovin confident for a reason?

Our editor and Ukraine-expert Sadie Trent is watching the second semi final of Vidbir. Later this week you can read a review, preparing you for the final. As of now, she is confident that Mélovin will qualify for that final. “He will qualify for sure, but perhaps is a bit too sure of himself…”

18:15 – Counting down to 20:00 CET

It is a slow start of the night, as Ukraine got us underway for the evening. Most shows will start between 20:00 and 20:30 CET, when this blog will get more regular updates of course.

18:00 – Fireworks in semi 2 of Vidbir in Ukraine

A great line-up tonight in Ukraine, for the second semi final of Vidbir. The show starts at 18:00. The runner-up and number three of last year in Ukraine will return to the stage. Can anyone stop Tayanna and Melovin from qualification for the final? There are only three tickets for the nine acts of tonight:

01. Ingret – “Save My Planet”
02. Mélovin – “Under the Ladder”
03. Julinoza – “Hto ya?”
04. Tayanna – “Lelya”
05. Kadnay – “Beat of the Universe”
06. Yurcash – “Stop Killing Love”
07. Mountain Breeze – “I See You”
08. Illaria – “Syla”
09. Dilemma – “Na Party”

17:55 – Welcome, nice that you join us!

We are excited for another big night in the Eurovision 2018 season. Tonight we will get to know the song for Montenegro, Melodifestivalen, A Dal, Supernova and Eesti Laul will get closer to their conclusion and I will keep you posted on Lithuania, Iceland, Ukraine and Slovenia as well!