Eurovision 2017 Semifinal 2 Predictions

After Tuesday's results and Wednesday's jury final, it's time to pick ten predicted qualifiers for Thursday's second semifinal. I got 9 out of 10 correct in the first semifinal, so hopefully the luck continues.

AUSTRIA
BELARUS
BULGARIA
ESTONIA
FYR MACEDONIA
IRELAND
ISRAEL
NETHERLANDS
NORWAY
ROMANIA








Austria and Ireland are my borderline picks. It was a choice between these and Croatia, Denmark, and Hungary. Six of the other eight were always definite qualifiers to me. Estonia is the typical fan fare that has a good enough draw to advance to the final. If Belgium could advance to the final despite initial concerns then FYR Macedonia can - the song is strong and very instant. So why Austria and Ireland? They are both boyishly cute solo boys with charming (not alienating) performances, and those always qualify (see Estonia 2016 for how it can go wrong). Bulgaria likely has the teen girl vote all wrapped up, but there's still room for some variety.

As always, good luck to all the performers!