We had the 3rd and final heat of A Dal 2018 on the evening of Saturday 3 February (Hungary time). Once again it was 10 acts with 6 going through to join the 12 qualifiers from the previous 2 heats in the semi finals.
First things first, the stage is still fabulous and Freddie is still beautiful. Now on with the show…
Scoring was probably the most controversial in this heat with a more noticeable disconnect between the jury and public vote and a 3-way tiebreak for the 5th qualifier position.
Nova Prospect - "Vigyázó"
Felt like the lead singer turned up to the wrong party. She didn’t have the voice or the outfit for this rock song. A very flat opening to the night. Score: 7-7-8-7-8=37 (did not qualify)
Cintia Horváth & Tomi Balogh - "Journey (Break Your Chains)"
A blend of jazz and soft rock maybe? A nice enough song that was spoiled by some pretty bad notes along the way. Score: 8-8-7-8-6=37 (5th qualifier)
Maszkura és a Tücsökraj - "Nagybetűs szavak"
The public were right about this one, 6 is all it deserved. There’s a lot of strange “f” words in those lyrics. I suspect there may be a story that I’m missing with this one. Score: 8-8-8-8-6=38 (equal 3rd qualifier)
Roland Gulyás - "H Y P N O T I Z E D"
Roland could easily be mistaken for Freddie’s younger brother. A shame he sang this country/soft rock song like he was actually hypnotised, no emotion at all. The public must have been hypnotised as well as he got their second chance vote. Score: 7-7-7-6-8=35 (second chance qualifier)
Reni Tolvai - "Crack My Code"
OMG, watch this! Crack up laughing more like it. Although, the studio version is much better than what was served up tonight. Chinese restaurants must be a hoot in Budapest. Score: 8-7-8-7-7=37 (did not qualify)
Ham ko Ham - "Bármerre jársz"
These guys have recycled Joci Pápai’s milk jug and bought a few extra instruments along to come up with a jaunty little drinking song. It’s fun. Score: 7-8-7-8-8=38 (equal 3rd qualifier)
#yeahla feat. Viki Eszes - "1 Szó Mint 100"
Viki struggled with her vocal with this lounge/chill out song. She did not seem confident at all. Score: 6-7-7-8-7=35 (did not qualify)
Andy Roll - "Turn the Lights On"
In that outfit I think we need the lights turned off please. Apparently András is a seasoned performer in Hungary but he was another one who struggled with their vocals tonight. And lets be frank, the song is dated and deadset boring. Score: 7-6-7-6-7=33 (did not qualify)
Tamás Horváth - “Meggyfa"
To me it feels like a happier version of Joci Pápai’s ethnic song from last year. Tamás sings it well and adds a few tricks to the live version. If Hungary come to their senses and don’t choose those heavy rock songs, then this will be the winner for 2018. Lets just say those spoons are stirring something in me. Score: 9-8-8-8-9=42 (2nd qualifier)
Nikoletta Szőke, Attila Kökény and Róbert Szakcsi Lakatos - "Életre kel"
A lounge number straight from the ballroom of “Fairstar the FunShip”. The jury may have been on a cruise ship or two but the public can tell this one is the next Titanic. Score: 10-9-9-9-7=44 (1st qualifier)
Overall, a night of voting and vocal performances that were all over the place but I think we saw the A Dal 2018 winner tonight. Now back to Ronny for first semi final next Saturday.