🇩🇪 Germany

If you've seen the NF performance, this is more or less the same concept, but just bigger. Malik is joined on stage by a full set of instruments, including a big piano and a drumkit, neither of which he ever touches. The idea was obviously to create a 'living room' feeling, there's even a carpet on  the floor.

Malik starts off 'playing' the keyboard, but quickly decides not to play any of the instruments on stage and talk/sing to the camera instead occasionally playing the guitar, that for a big part of the song is hanging on his back.

It's a very personal song, but somehow it feels like Malik is too busy with his stage routine to actually get the message across. It gets better near the 'restart' part. Waiting for a second run now. 

Okay, that's more like it. The camera work is totally focused on Malik, which makes totally sense. It circles around him, and we're with him in his living room. There's quite a bit of smoke on stage, and the atmosphere created suits the song very well.

Between rehearsals we see his stage director (I suppose) giving all sort of tips to him, which unfortunately we can't hear. It's not like anything noticeable has changed for the last run. Except that a weird shot of Malik's feet is gone. I suppose it was never supposed to be there anyway. I'm a bit annoyed by the way by Malik's hand gestures when he's singing about 'thinking' or 'remembering' he points to his head all the time. But maybe that's just me. 

It does what it does quite effectively, and it should get some jury love at least. But it's hard to tell what televoters will make of this. They should give it some love too really, but not so confident they will.

That's it for today's rehearsals. Now watching the UK press conference. They just drew (\o/) second half!