Hungary – Join us tonight at 19:40 CET for our LIVE rolling blog of the first heat of A-Dal 2016.

10 acts will compete for a place in the Semi Finals. You can watch the show live here at 19:40 CET and just refresh our page here to get the views, comments and strangely unique points of view from Phil Colclough of OnEurope who you will know from us here at Eurovision Ireland and his sparkling charm and witty repartee should keep you entertained… or bored to hell, who knows!!

The 10 Acts Tonight 

• Benji – Kötéltánc (6)
• ByTheWay – Free To Fly (3)
• Egy Másik Zenekar – Kéne közös kép (7)
• Freddie – Pioneer (9)
• Fatima Mohamed – Ott leszek (2)
• Mushu – Uncle Tom (4)
• Odett – Stardust (1)
• Reni Tolvai – Fire (10)
• Jázmin Török – Power Of Love (5)
• Petra Veres Kovács – Singing Peace (8)

The results will be a combination of a Jury and Audience Vote where 5 entries will progress to the Semi Finals. The a sixth act will be solely picked by the televote from the non qualifiers.  The numbers in brackets are the running order for the song, I believe!!

So sit back and get ready for Dr. Phil to give you his spin on tonight’s Hungarian first heat of A-Dal 2016 – JUST REFRESH THE PAGE for the upto date comments – at your own risk!

ROLLING BLOG

Well i’m here and literally taken to my sickbed to do this – thank god for technology huh people!!!

My stream seems to be about a minute behind the rest of the world so  perhaps technology isn’t that good but i shall do my bestest for you all tonight.

The theme for A Dal is Boggie’s seminal winning song from last year, followed by some disco dancing.  No juxta pose there at all oh dear me no!!

We appear  to hurtle towards song 1 at speed, thankfully!

Song 1 –  Stardust – Odett.

Ethereal start here for Odett wearing a very weird dress.  Lots of lights on stage and she may well be singing in English but I really aren’t sure to be honest.  Very static performance is not helping this song though and, also, she seems to be slightly off key which also doesn’t help.  The Audience are lifting this though and they seem to like it but my stream doesn’t. Very repetitive song that doesn’t build just repeat the chorus quite a lot.  I can’t see this gaining lots of scores from the jury, but lets see.

Jury Scores (out of 10) :  6-7-8-8-5.  34 scored.

Song 2 – Fatima Mohamed – Ott leszek

It’s the swing quartet come to life on the stage now.  A light song of the 50’s-60’s mold with a double base on stage.  Fatima isn’t doing much to sell this song apart from not look into the camera which is driving me insane.  The 2 backing singers and 2 musicians are doing very little apart from swinging their pants and it is again all very static.  There is also a man at the back left that is not doing a great deal of anything…. until about 2 minutes into the song where he starts almost rapping for no reason other than he can.  This song is duller than Dull D McDull of Dullsville.

Jury Scores : 6-6 7-7-5.  30 scored.

Song 3 – Bytheway – Free to Fly

Boyband spoiler alert here… well 2/3.  The third member is clearly the less fit one and that gives hope to us all.  They seem a touch disjointed on stage which is a shame because it’s the first uptempo song and is clearly better than the other two that have been on but that really doesn’t mean much.  They have 3 female backing singers on stage with them and yet again some more rapping but it just looks wrong on stage and the audience didn’t look that thrilled either.   Sadly, though, I fear that this will score higher than the previous two although all three have been a pretty low, ear bleeding standard.

Jury Scores : 7-6-8-5-5.  31 scored

Song 4 – Mushu – Uncle Tom

Championed by Roy Delaney of other parishes, Mushu take to the stage with Uncle Tom.  This should easily qualify against this field I recon before I have heard anything and, even from the opening beats of Eurovision Rock it’s the best thing on stage this evening.  Imagine a 1980’s soft rock track transplanted to 2015 and that is what you have hear.  Thats not to say it’s a bad thing, it’s just a thing.  Lyrically it seems to be a homage to an old slave song talking about letting his people go.  The group themselves is all based on the lead singer and his “look”, whatever that is and the song has no ending to speak of but, in this very weak field, this stands out.  It’s not good, but it’ll do.

Jury Scores: 7-7-8-8-6 – 36 Scored.

Song 5 – Jázmin Török – Power Of Love

There is a Netherlands NSF vibe about this song.  It sounds like something that could have been One Good Reason part 2.  It is easy going and very staticly produced on stage although your singer, Jazmin, seems to think she has already won as she has sung through a shower of paper or glitter or something.  Again, it’s not a bad song but definitely forgettable.  It does, however, only have to beat 4 of them and it’s going to do that.  Her pink bodice, however, is the dress of the evening.

Jury Scores : 7-8-8-7-5.  35 Scored.

Song 6 – Benji – Kötéltánc 

Benji comes on next and, according to his bio, he is of Vietnamese origin.  A Viet-Magyar is something very odd I am sure and so is singing in a force 9 gale while leaves are being blown around you.  Finally, too, we have some light dancing in the background.  The whole set is now like a park with some street lamps and benches and finally something that feels thought out and not singing on the stage cos we have to.  Song is a slow tempo builder and Benji is selling it well to me, despite me not speaking Hungarian.  The orchestration of the song leave a bit to be desired but, beef up the strings in the background and you have a good one.

Jury Scores : 8-7-9-9-6 – 39 Scored.

Song 7 – Egy Másik Zenekar – Kéne közös kép 

So the first proper group comes on stage and its my first wtf moment.  The singer is singing in a bridesmaids dress.  Celine Dion has nothing on this and it looks all shades of wrong.  It’s pretty hard to describe her singing down the camera at me a rather ordinary song whilst having the band behind what seems to be a net curtain.   I really don’t know what this is trying to tell me or sell me but it’s leaving me colder than a penguin in a freezer.  ( and how it raised a 10 I’ve no idea!!)

Jury Scores : 7-4-10-9-6. 36 Scored.

Song 8 – Petra Veres Kovács – Singing Peace

Starts with someone winding up a music box on stage, only full life size….. that’s a bit weird granted, and then the song starts.  It looks like someone has said to Petra ” I’ll get these Christmas cards and make them into a background” – and the cameras are focusing on the two music box figures that have now come alive and the brace toothed Petra’s opening gambit is the chorus of the same line 4 times over (let’s keep on singing peace….).  She’s trying to emote but it just all looks daft to be quite honest.

Jury Scores : 6-5-7-7-7. 32 Scored

Song 9 – Freddie – Pioneer

For those that vote purely on aesthetics, you have a bearded man with big muscles.  However, when you couple that with a very ordinary song it really would be style over substance.  This song is trying to be Heroes part deux but without the talent and indeed the song.  Freddie’s song is very ordinary and facially he seems to be trying too hard and it looks likes he’s wearing a wrap around dress.  Sadly, however, this will score well.

Jury Scores : 9-9-9-7-8. 42 scored. (Not worth it personally)

Song 10 – Reni Tolvai – Fire

And to the final song and the first “fierce” woman of the stage singing in a PARACHUTE… I’m seriously not making this up ( This has won the Magic Mic award here… it’s ridiculous).  Lots of wrapping and American Footballers dancing around Reni…. well it must have seemed a good idea at the time but it is officially silly.  The song, frankly, takes 2nd place to the very daft dancing and the introduciton of the Turkish backbeat at half time is also silly.  Reni’s top, 3 sizes too small for her, also needs a special mention.

Jury Scores : 7-5-10-7-6.  35 Points Scored.

So, the final results from the jury are :

• Benji – Kötéltánc (39 pts)
• ByTheWay – Free To Fly (31 pts)
• Egy Másik Zenekar – Kéne közös kép (36 pts)
• Freddie – Pioneer (42 pts)
• Fatima Mohamed – Ott leszek (30 pts)
• Mushu – Uncle Tom (36 pts)
• Odett – Stardust (34 pts)
• Reni Tolvai – Fire (35 Points)
• Jázmin Török – Power Of Love (35 pts)
• Petra Veres Kovács – Singing Peace (32 pts)

There is a tie for 5th Place and the jury have to choose.  They chose Tolvai Reni…

You’re 5 direct qualifiers are shown above.  However the 6th will be determined from those not qualifying.  Unsurprisingly it was the boy band bytheway who have escaped the trapdoor.

Thanks to everyone who has tuned in.  I’ll be back next week!

So long! – Phil