Here are my initial reactions to the seven entrants who get an automatic pass to the Finals. They are the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK) who are the largest contributors to the European Broadcasting Union, the host country (Austria, this year), and Special Guest Entrant Australia.

At first glance (and probably second and third, too), there are way too many “power ballads” this year. Very few of the songs stand out. One would think that with forty songs, there’d be much more variety.

Especially when you consider what we’ve seen in the past two years (“Cake to Bake“, “No Prejudice“, “Calm After the Storm“, “My Słowianie“, and “Cheesecake” from 2014; and “Kedvesem“, “Tomorrow“, “Alcohol is Free“, “It’s My Life“, and “Marry Me” from 2013).

Anyway, here’s the rest of 2015:

Guy Sebastian – “Tonight Again” (Australia): Jazzy pop. Not bad.

The Makemakes – “I Am Yours” (Austria): “Makemake” is the name of one of the dwarf planets in the Kuiper Belt. It was named after one of the gods in the Rapa Nui mythology of Easter Island. That is probably more interesting than the song (even with the flaming piano).

Lisa Angell – “N’oubliez pas” (France): Not bad, overall. My French is rusty, so I’m not sure who she’s singing to about not forgetting D-Day. I can check the lyrics later.

Ann Sophie – “Black Smoke” (Germany): Nice rhythm. Potentially danceable.

Il Volo – “Grande Amore” (Italy): Let’s play “Spot the Movie Reference”!

Edurne – “Amanecer” (Spain): The video is a trashy romance novel cover come to life!

Electro Velvet – “Still In Love With You” (United Kingdom): HOLY COW! Contemporary swing! Someone is trying something different!! Unless the UK didn’t get the memo about submitting a power ballad this year, or they are intentionally trying to lose (which they have been accused of in the past).