Sunday 7 May 2017

Haiku #8

Production choices
A second-half overload
Naked ape survives

Day 8 - 2nd Run Through : UKR / ITA / ESP / GER / GBR / FRA

FRANCE

And guess what, once more the frock is the same as in the first rehearsal! Alma had also worn it when coming into the Norwegian press conference yesterday after it ended and requested a selfie with Joakim and Aleksander! Back to the rehearsal however and Alma is not the strongest we've seen her. She is still delivering adequately but not as good as we've had. The camera angles work nicer than what we saw previously but still getting dizzy with the flyover view of turning Paris.

2nd Run - Adequate once again. Alma is not really bringing the best of herself to the camera but is trying to be playful. It will be a bit hit and miss on the night I believe.

3rd Run - And this concludes the second rehearsal for all countries. With Alma going off the stage, we are now done for the day. Who do you think did better than expected in this round? And who fared worse? You can always comment in the message board.


UNITED KINGDOM

Only Ukraine seems to have opted for a different look today. Lucie is also wearing her same dress from Friday. Camera angles have been worked a bit and now we have three of her in one shot - just like Croatian Jacques! Putting the multiple versions to one side, Lucie is delivering this song with the professionalism you expect from her. Pitch-perfect even though after performing she compains "my ears are so low!" Wouldn't have known unless she mentioned.

2nd Run - Another pitch-perfect rendition. Since there is no dancing there is not much that can go wrong with this. Possibly the UK's best result since 2009?

3rd Run - And more pyro! Not much but enough. This is looking like a very good package, and would be suprosed if it ends up with a similar result the UK has been getting in the past few years


GERMANY

No costume change for Levina today either. She's looking confident on stage and even though she doesn't have an entry with any belter moments, she does her best to give it the best she can. Unfortunately we think the song itself is not able to carry much weight when compared the the likely rivals that will be in the final - however, hopefully, this will not end last.

2nd Run (or possibly 3rd) - We could hear the backing track but the microphone wasn't very loud for the first couple of lines. The song itself is harmless and Levina is just doing what she can. She's singing well but she must know there are not very high hopes for her. This run had pyro which is why we were a bit confused on which run it is since we only saw two but it's always the last one that has the extras.

3rd Run - Germany has just changed the game! This third one did not have pyro! What are they doing to us? Don't they know the sacred rules? Joking apart, unfortunately there is nothing more to add to Levina's routine. It's well sung, confident and reasonable staging but at the end of the day the song is what it is and this cannot be changed regardless of camera angles and lighting effects.


SPAIN

So, the guys are still seeing the Earth from the beach they're supposed to be on while Manel sings the first verse. Nothing strange at all. The guys are wearing the same Hawaiian shirts they did on Friday but in fairness they're doing their best on stage. It's still likely ending last, but they try.

2nd Run - The team seems to be going through the motions. There's no real emotion being shown to camera and the other band members just seem to be doing their own thing without any real choreography being planned for them in most parts of the song.

3rd Run - As much as I hate myself for knowing that I'm going to write this, and it could be because I'm running on the last bits of energy I have left running in my body, but this is not seeming as terrible as it did just a couple of days ago. I'm attributing this to the 'seen it multiple times' effect which as we know makes anything with familiarity more appealing to the brain and therefore we have better feelings about it. Europe will not have these feelings.


ITALY

Francesco didn't start with the first line - did he just forget? The cameras have been worked on and, as to be expected, the package is working a lot better than during the first rehearsal we saw. The team is wearing the same attire they did on Friday and it is likely that this is what they will be wearing come Saturday. Francesco is loving it on stage and is good with the camera - although not perfect. Also, dad dancing is having a revival in Eurovision.

2nd Run - All the lyrics are available this time round. Camera is still being changed to view new angles and the backing singers do the Alé/Allez! And oh, no dad dancing this time but a statue-still Francesco with the dancing ape doing all the work. Another large applause from the people in the arena.

3rd Run - It seems we have the same person with 'issues' we've had a couple of times before this year. The video in the press was only switched on for the chorus so we have not seen the first half of the third run. Although we doubt anything major happened in the part that we missed, it is kinda the point of us being here to see these things in full and comment. But oh well, not like anyone was doubting this wasn't going to be good and further solidify the likeliness of an Italian win this year.


UKRAINE

Well, the giant head is still there but Yevhen at least has changed his costume from the first rehearsal. We're trying to check the others to see what they're wearing but the run was a bit fast. Again vocally this is doing quite well and visually it's appealing - apart from the scary eyes at the end.

2nd Run - Someone forgot to press the button so all we saw from the second run was the last three verses of the song. Not much we can do with this.

3rd Run - There aren't many close up shots of the other members of O.Torvald however we *think* they also have changed their outfit since last Friday. Another good rendition of the song and with home advantage it should see decent scores coming in howsoever should not be troubling anyone at the top of the leader board.


MORNING JOURNEY

Well, let us just say that possibly maybe I am still not yet to bed but since today is only six songs we should be able to get through this pretty easily. Coffee is aplenty and we'll also have lots of water to keep hydrated - even though the current situation may in fact lead to better comments.