After months of waiting and weeks of build-up, France’s Destination Eurovision finally exploded on our TV screens (and Facebook live streams). During the first semi-final Pheno Men brought Motown to Paris, Noée oozed French authenticity with her dreamy ballad and Masoé seemed to struggle with his nerves, despite having a song full of swagger. Enea brought some form of tropical house (deemed a caricature of a pop song), while Elha got the crowd clapping with a mid-tempo number that showed off that lovely voice. And in the end none of them made it.

The four qualifiers for the grand final are: Malo’ (“Ciao”), Lisandro Cruxi (“EVA”), Louka (“Mamma Mia”) and Emmy Liyanna (“OK ou KO”).

Destination Eurovision: Semi-Final 1

The pre-recorded show unfolded in a setting large enough to generate buzz and to induce adrenaline, but intimate enough to create a family feel: France is in this together.

The judging panel consists of Francophone luminaries Amir, Isabelle Boulay and Christophe Willem. Sitting opposite the stage and getting plenty of face time, they took their roles very seriously, with Amir mastering innuendo and delivering blows softly, Isabelle providing the sweetness, and Idol winner Christophe keeping it real. Their hilariously honest facial expressions (while at rest) were a highlight of the evening.

So much "resting bitch face" tonight in France — I love it! ?? #DestinationEurovision #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/UYChLWqzQw — William Lee Adams (@willyleeadams) January 13, 2018

Sweden’s Christer Bjorkman and the heads of delegation from Italy and Belarus — Nicola Caligliore and Olga Salmakhe — awarded 12, 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2 points to their favourite six songs of the evening.

The international jury put Lisandro on top with 34 points, followed by Emmy Liyanna with 30 points, and Noée and Malo with 20 points each. They ranked eventual qualifier Louka fifth with 14 points.

The international juries — Sweden, Belarus, Italy — awarded three #DestinationEurovision acts zero points. They would have sent @noeemusic through instead of Louka. pic.twitter.com/b5lO33z4l3 — wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 13, 2018

Sweden

Christer has spoken, and here are his #DestinationEurovision points pic.twitter.com/reNDNuC3uj — wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 13, 2018

Belarus

Italy

Two of the French jurors — Isabelle and Christophe — put Malo’s “Ciao” on top. Amir bucked the trend, giving his top marks to Lisandro’s “Eva”. Amir was also responsible for saving Louka from elimination, ranking him second. Those 10 points pushed him past Noée and sent him to the final.

Destination Eurovision: SF1 Final results

At various points in the evening, the show trended on Twitter, reaching #1 in France, #3 in Belgium, #4 in the U.K. and #5 in Spain (among other countries). Perhaps most exciting, it even reached #4 globally.

What do you think of tonight’s results? Did your favourites make it through? Is France on to a good thing with Destination Eurovision? Let us know in the comments box below.