Junior Eurovision 2022: Snippets Reaction, Final Ranking & Prediction

Here's my reaction to all the recaps that have been posted. Keep in mind that the recap clips between the "First Look At Rehearsals" videos and the actual mandatory video can be different. Where they are, I'll point them out and note the differences. But for the most part, this is again a direct port from the thread I wrote on Twitter. I'll go by running order.

Netherlands: her enunciation a bit unclear. Vocals are alright, but ever so slightly off. Honestly this is really screaming for quick cut shots, but I guess we're not getting any of that. It also stays on the big "La Festa" graphic on the LED too much. Even the Junior Songfestival staging had better camera angles, at least in the snippet section.

Poland: what's up with the microphone echo? The planet transition is kinda funny, but otherwise it's okay. Vocals are alright. Do wish Laura was a bit less static though.

Kazakhstan: ugh that head voice C6 is VERY noticeable. He needs to learn to transition better between head voice and chest voice. Did he sing "make a trite" instead of "make a try"? Oops, a little off-key. Don't know how to feel about the long shots. The shot where David is barely visible behind the fog is also questionable. And I don't know why they chose an uninteresting part of the song for the recap. Maybe they're not really going for televote to begin with.

Malta: cool graphics, cool ending shot, but the rest is just kinda meh? Sings alright, outfits are kinda interesting, but it doesn't stand out. Plus the colour scheme is done to death. I also feel like they could've capitalized a lot more on the two claps in the chorus in terms of camera angles.

Italy: too many long sweeping shots for an upbeat track. The transition between Gb5 and A5 could've been better. She's still iconic though.

France: I'm sorry but I think this is dead...questionable vocals, VERY questionable. Jesus that last note is VERY sharp, ew. That was the First Look At Rehearsals snippet, but the mandatory snippet isn't much better, especially that bit where Lissandro moves away from the mic when he was supposed to sing. Jury marks? Good luck with that.

Albania: Kejtlin sounds excellent, but the camera's a bit static, and again it's a shame the song goes nowhere. Might rack up a few jury points though.

Georgia: Mariam sings very well, but the outfits are questionable. Really not sure what the squared bit at the top is supposed to represent. The camera angles and lighting also don't really do the song justice.

Ireland: now, through EXCLUSIVE intel, also known as Eurovoix live blogging, I found that Sophie's prop did actually arrive, and it was a pair of wings. However, one press person told me that the wings didn't look that good nor even open fully, so they scrapped that. Nonetheless, she still dons an extra cloak. Onto the rehearsal itself: TOP vocals, absolutely flawless, but the Db6 does get very slightly shouty? And I feel like more effects could've been used at the key change. But still excellent. LEDs are nice as well.

North Macedonia: not bad but I wanted to see the #LoveMyGirlfriend shots. Lara sings very well, but it's still funny that Jovan is effectively a dancer that comes in to rap and front flip.

Spain: again, they used different snippets. For the FLAR one: doing the Slo Mo trick of not singing the repeated parts I see, the lighting for the chorus is surprisingly monotonous. And for the mandatory snippet: at least he's singing the yayayayayayaya's this time, but now he's suffering from Levi Diaz syndrome of running out of breath and instead shouting some variation of "come on". Yeah, not very promising. Camera angles aren't great either.

United Kingdom: obviously I can't judge the vocals, but the attitude/sass, lighting and camera angles are top notch. Well done to Dan Shipton. Recreates the music video atmosphere perfectly while maintaining a live performance feel.

Portugal: love the voice, LEDs are quite nice actually, but for the love of God increase the mic volume, because right now he really sounds like he's struggling for air more than anything. I'm still voting for him though because he'll need it.

Serbia: Katarina sang very well, I don't know if the 2 seconds of robotic movement was really warranted though? Should have had more emphasis on the trombone during the solo section TBH.

Armenia: high note ON POINT, I feel like the dancers could be illuminated better? But this is solid. Another one where the snippets were different, and I must say the choreography in the mandatory snippet looked slightly...childish? compared to what we had seen in the music video. Still, ignore the Armenian diaspora at your peril.

Ukraine: maybe it's just me, but she sounds a tiny bit sharp? Also she sounded a bit breathless in the build up to the climax (which wasn't in the mandatory snippet). Cool LEDs, but why does "воля" stay up for so long?

So, here's my ranking of the songs after seeing those snippets:

1. United Kingdom

2. Ireland

3. Armenia

4. Georgia

5. Poland

6. Portugal

7. Kazakhstan

8. Netherlands

9. Serbia

10. Ukraine

11. Spain

12. Italy

13. Malta

14. North Macedonia

15. Albania

16. France

And my final, final prediction, right before the show:

1. United Kingdom

2. Armenia

3. Netherlands

4. Georgia

5. Ukraine

6. Kazakhstan

7. Ireland

8. Spain

9. Poland

10. Serbia

11. Portugal

12. Italy

13. France

14. Albania

15. Malta

16. North Macedonia

Yes, my personal ranking shifted from the Twitter thread. No, I will not elaborate. And FYI, I'll be voting for UK, Ireland and Portugal. Again, Portugal needs my vote. Armenia really doesn't, despite being in my top 3. Oh, and the Twitter thread is here:

But again I already ported almost all of its content onto this blog post so does it really matter?

And that's my final post before JESC2022! I'll react to the voting live, but not the songs or interval acts because I'll be tweeting those @BlueRigel4. Or I'll try to make it live anyway. If the streaming doesn't work, I'll record it and upload that as soon as the show ends. After the show, it'll be a while before my next video, most likely (over-)analyzing the results. Still have exams until the 20th.

Also, as you probably know, Freya Skye is poorly, with a sore throat. Rumour also has it that Sophie Lennon also has a cold and a chest infection (and still managed to do *that* for the snippet). I hope both of them get well soon.

And now I'm gonna get back to writing my notes for my exams. Just finished watching Argentina v Netherlands (what the hell was that Messi-bootlicking referee???), and I've got an exam on Monday. Yes, the literal day after JESC, although it's in the evening so I'm not losing much sleep by watching Junior Eurovision. On the subject of football, real chuffed for Croatia, beating out THE favourites this year. Although I guess not all underdogs can win. An excellent game from the Dutch nonetheless. Right, I'm off. See you on Sunday, if you're not on Twitter.