#POLAND: Live blog of Tu bije serce Europy! from 17.30 CET

Poland dangles a golden ticket to Liverpool this afternoon. Ten acts will be competing for the right to head to the United Kingdom in May. We’re blogging the action to you can see what we at Eurovision Ireland think. And can we pick a winner? All times are in GMT (CET-1).

You can watch the action HERE.

18.20 – So congratulations to Blanka. Her song Solo will go to Liverpool. Thanks for tuning in. Did the right song win? Tell us what you think. Thank you, and goodbye

18.18 – Dominik is third. Who’s won? It’s Blanka!

18.17 – The top three are Jann, Blanka and Dominik Dudek

18.16 – We’re getting more results now.

18.10 – Edyta is performing for us now

18.05 – We still have public votes to go, so in the meantime it’s ads.

18.03 – We’re getting jury votes now. The like Blanka

18.01 – Voting lines are closed. Ten minutes of public voting is probably enough for any national final.

17.57 – It’s Ochman now. He did good things in Turin/Torino last year with his River.

17.55 – We’re getting the usual recaps now

17.51 – And with that, the voting for the public is open.

17.50 – He sports a rock look, but has a mid-tempo song. It’s all about being positive, being upbeat and being happy with your life. There’s another catchy repetitive chorus too. Anthemic? Not quite, but pleasant all the same.

17.47 – The last song – song ten – comes from Yan Majewski. It’s called Champion (well, if we can have a gladiator…)

17.46 – Another dancey track, but with hint of slower beat to it. This is nicely catchy and inoffensive. It bounces along nicely and might even do well in Liverpool – if it gets there. But whilst it’s nice and pleasant and catchy, it might not stand out enough.

17.42 – Song nine is Solo by Blanka

17.40 – The next song isn’t competing either. It’s Roxie Węgiel with her JESC winner.

17.36 – A quick word from our jury now

17.35 – Jann goes for the leather look with bare midriff. He has an interesting vocal range. The verse builds to a very electro chorus. This will appeal to the young fan base he obviously has. But his individualistic look might prove divisive.

17.31 – Song eight is Gladiator by Jann

17.30 – This has its own set. And camera effect. Off stage in fact. This has a beat to it and choreography to within an inch of its life. There’s clubby elements, and rappy elements. It crams a lot into three minutes. But the chorus has a very good hook that could make the different this afternoon. But it does end quite abruptly. Hmmm

17.26 – Song seven come from Maja Hyży. It’s called Never hide

17.25 – Another band. We see fours once the dry ice clears. It’s student rock but not that bad student rock. The song flits between English and Polish and is very in your face. And there is a pleasing key change towards the end. It’s OK.

17.21 – Song six come from Felivers. It’s called Never back down

17.17 – Not the next song – It’s Efendi singing Mata Hari (AZ21)

17.15 – We get a quick word from the jury now.

17.14 – Ballad time. Alicja has a long dress and dry ice around her feet. Her voice is of the smokey variety and she can definitely carry a tune. This builds nicely, and with just a piano accomopaniment (off-stage) it draws you in. The lyrics also mean something, perhaps especially if you’ve recently fled your homeland. She’s popular

17.10 – Song five is New home by Alicja

17.09 – A band accompanies Dominik. And no dancers. He has a rather nice hat/kapelusz which makes an impressions immediately. This song is a very nice effort, with a good sing-a-long-y foot-tappy chorus. The verse hangs together nicely too. This is the best so far. I could imagine the Estonian band Traffic singing something like this.

17.06 – Song four comes from Dominik Dudek. It’s called Be good

17.04 – Ahlena is in an outfit to remember. It’s got a repetitive lyric for the chorus, and a very high verse. She has dancers too, but they don’t really get in the way. Her English works, but the song might struggle.

17.01 – Song three is Booty by Ahlena

16.57 – Sara James (JESC, PL21) is on next. She’s not competing.

16.55 – This one is much better. Kuba has blond hair for the occasion and has dancers. It has a nicely contemporary sound and his English accent is pretty credible. The choreography is slick too.

16.52 – Song two comes from Kuba Szmajkowski. It’s called You do me

16.51 – Natasza arrives from the stage ceiling. It’s a heavy dance number, demonstrated by the dancers flanking her. There’s a lot of dancing in this. Think Sekret from Albania last year. It’s a challenging song, and it definitely challenges Natasza in places. It’s good, but we’ll probably see better.

16.47 – Onto song one. It’s Lift y up by Natasza

16.44 – Kalush Orchestra are here. Nice. With Stefania. The song, not the Greek singer.

16.41 – Edyta is looking well.

16.38 – We get introduced to the jury, which includes Edyta Górniak (PL94).

16.37 – We have three hosts. Ida,  Małgorzata and Aleksander

16.34 – And we’re starting with Stefania. The Greek singer, not the Ukrainian song. Do you see what they did there?

Author: John Stanton

Source: Eurovision Ireland