Our predictions for the second semi-final

After watching rehearsals for the second semi-final this is who the ESC Nation bloggers predict to qualify tonight:

	SM	EE	CZ	GR	AT	PL	MD	IS	RS	GE	AL	PT	BG	FI	LV	CH	DK
Ben	X			X			X	X	X			X	X	X		X	X
Jonas	X			X	X		X	X	X				X	X		X	X
Jordy	X			X			X	X	X		X	X	X	X		X
Roger	X			X	X			X	X			X	X	X		X	X
SamB	X			X	X		X	X			X	X	X	X		X
Sild	X			X	X		X	X			X		X	X		X	X
Yair	X			X	X		X	X	X		X		X	X		X

Full marks for San Marino, Greece, Iceland, Bulgaria, Finland and Switzerland. Mixed feelings about Austria, Albania, Moldova, Portugal, Serbia and Denmark. At least two of those twelve of course will definitely miss out.

We're unanimous in predicting Estonia, Czech Republic, Poland, Georgia and Latvia will not make it to the final.

Are we up for a shock though? We'll know in about six hours. Enjoy tonight's show!

Fishy Predictions for the Second Semi-Final

A last-minute, foolish decision to kick out Sweden in favour of Romania in my prediction for Tuesday's semi-final resulted in getting 9/10 right, instead of my first ever 10/10...

So can I make up for it today, I wonder? Unlike Semi 1, I've been thinking for weeks that Semi 2 has ten quite clear-cut qualifiers, and while some have improved or gotten worse during the rehearsals in Rotterdam, I don't think any of these changes have massively affected the qualification chances. Hence there are no weirdass, last-minute alterations in the list below - now watch that being the foolish decision...

I find it a bigger challenge to dig out a semi winner among this bunch than ten qualifiers, as I don't really think anyone has it in them (except Denmark, of course! 🕺). There's about four that feel like they should come 3rd, so I guess it'll just have to be one of those.

1 Bulgaria | It's not really for me, but it clearly is for many others, and I can't fault the performance, so here we are.

2 Iceland | Just to make sure I don't get disappointed when this does better than it deserves, let's just make sure I expect the worst, eh? I truly couldn't stand Think About Things last year, so it was no big surprise this was equally awful, seeing as it's pretty much the same content in the same wrapping. There was a couple of months of glorious relief when far less people seemed to take to 10 Years than to Think About Things, but then somehow people were sold again as soon as they stepped onto the Rotterdam stage and did exactly what everyone knew they would because they always do, dressed exactly like everyone knew they would because they always are. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3 Switzerland | I never quite saw this as the winning candidate that the odds suggested a few weeks ago, but after seeing it in full in the dress rehearsal yesterday, I also don't think it's any less of a winner now than it was before, despite the somewhat controversial staging, outfit and hand-move choices. Maybe the staging somehow fits it perfectly, and finally shows off the song for what it always was? I'm not entirely sure what that is, however...

4 Greece | Great songs shine through no matter what, but there was no need for that complicated staging.

5 San Marino | I don't think Mr Rida's appearance is making much of a difference as such (whether he's famous, unknown, a has-been or what, would any of those lead to people voting en masse either way?), but it does seem to make Miss Hit very happy and cheerful that he's arrived, which I do think might make a difference.

6 Austria | It's just good, and it shows.

7 Finland | This will certainly have its audience, even if it'll probably have shrunk considerably by Saturday.

8 Albania | Unsurprisingly I've loved this for half a year already, and for once it seems I'm not completely alone in appreciating a shouty and dramatic Albanian lady. Could it be because they've included a [gasp!] tune and a [double-gasp!] structure for once?!

9 Moldova | Quite varied reports from rehearsals, but I'd say it's a strong enough song in its own right. And considering the people behind it, I'm expecting some calls to have been made.

10 Denmark | Pretty please?! 🥺

11 Serbia | I wish they'd gone a bit more overboard with this, for something as loud and chaotic, it comes across surprisingly boring on stage.

12 Portugal | Yes, it looks very good on stage. But let's not forget it's still a godawful song with a godawful voice and a godawful ponytail under a godawful hat.

13 Poland | There are some bits of the song I really like, but no no no. So amateur and average I don't even think UK would've sent it.

14 Latvia | I can easily imagine any of these last four ending dead last - it really is about time we get a four-way tie for last place like in the sixties, isn't it? This one is both awful and glorious though, so might manage to convince some freaks to vote for it. It could even be me 😳

15 Czechia | The sooner he doesn't qualify, the sooner we can elope 🥰

16 Georgia | Feels almost too obviously last to end last.

17 Estonia | Most things would seem bleak after Senhit and Flo's colour explosion, but it's as if they've arranged meetings to think of ways to make this as bleak and forgettable as humanly possible, and even forgot to attend those meetings. I challenge you all to hum this tomorrow at lunch. I'd offer a reward for those that manage, but it feels way too hypothetical to bother.

Day 7 | Second Rehearsals | Second Semi-Final | Second Half | 🇬🇪 🇦🇱 🇵🇹 🇧🇬 🇫🇮 🇱🇻 🇨🇭🇩🇰

This will be a rolling blog, each country in running order, so please refresh to update.

Good morning from Amsterdam (or well .... the Otherdam). Today it's my big pleasure to update you  - on the second rehearsals from the remaining countries in the second semi-final from home, while Jordy will be hanging around in the arena.


🇩🇰 | Denmark

Another upgraded version of the NF performance. They even wear the same outfits. What's new is that there are backings on stage that get their own shot clapping after the word 'dansegulv', which is a nice touch. Also the stage looks amazing. In the same colours we were used to, pink and green/turquoise, but there's a nice animation that makes it looks like they're standing on an even bigger stage. During the bridge Jesper runs towards the sattelite stage, but he also returns quite quickly.

No notable changes in following runthroughs, only the pyro at the last not when Laurits joins Jesper on his mini-stage. The act looks finished and fun as always.

🇨🇭 | Switzerland

Totally not the staging I was expecting for this, but that isn't a bad thing at all. As you know Gjon is standing on a white 'thing' and even has some sort of choreography. We see some very close close-ups and Gjon looks into the camera. He's selling this pretty well, vocally it also sounds more than fine.

During the bridge however for some reason his face is lit with purple light which looks a bit odd. But that's the only thing negative to mention here. This is definitely still a contender.

On the backdrop at times we see some sort of silvery water effect, which looks pretty cool. During the song part of the object he's standing on is being slightly transformed. During the last chorus white spots are lighting up from the background and the floor. It looks great and sounds amazing. It's only the purple bit that seems a bit out of place, but that's not going to break this.

There were small some technical flaws here, the shadow of a cameraman was visible and also a stagehand changing the structure on which Gjon stands in the middle of the song was shortly visible. But these are things that they should be able to fix.


🇱🇻 | Latvia

We didn't get to see the first run, but Jordy just informed me it was stopped in the middle of the song for reasons apparently not obvious. The second run went fine, she and her three backings on stage (yay for that) all in green (backings with the well-know head pieces) and a quite busy yellow-golden abstract backdrop which is also projected on the floor. I was actually positively surprised, expected it to look and sound much more hopeless than it did. Even though it's hard to make something of it and in this semi it is facing quite a hard task. 

Samanta starts at the back of the stage, a bit alike Georgia, but now in green lights. After that she joins the backings center stage. Near the end there's a nice shot from above after which they make the well-know crown gestures. The crown also features as part of the background animation, which as stated above is mostly abstract and busy. Perhaps busy enough for the singers wearing green to get a little bit lost on stage. But all in all, a very decent performance. Is it qualifying? That's probably not the case.

🇫🇮 | Finland

Yay, it was about time for some action, and we get it. The performance, as was to be expected, isn't really much different from what we saw in UMK, but an upgraded version, due to the stage being a lot more impressive. The lighting is mostly red and white. with lots of rays of light in all directions. 

Hardly anything new to tell about this one except that it looks solid and will obviously qualify. And what happens there depends on a lot of other factors, but it could actually get pretty high.

In the third run there's also (modest) pyro effects during some of the choruses. Not the most original song in its genre but well executed.

🇧🇬 | Bulgaria

So Victoria is sitting on this cliff/island thing you've all already seen. With a picture next to her which at one point she emotionally looks at. Stage is all golden lights and golden stars. Much gold in other words. And at one point there's golden sand coming from above gliding through her hands. There were some pretty odd and probably unintentional camera shots in the first runthrough. Also I wasn't fully convinced by her vocals, which seemed to be off at times. But it also seemed she wasn't trying very hard. 

Second run is much better. I called it a cliff/island what she's sitting on, but it's hard to tell what it is. It's floating in a sea which has golden refelctions in the water. And it somehow seems to be turning around during the song. 

They apparently had to cut a bit from the intro and the beginning now sounds a bit odd to me. 

All in all, I'm not feeling the winner vibe some others seem to get, yet. Which may also be because of a bit messy camera work, too much movement, I think it would have worked better if they focused a bit more on Victoria. 

🇵🇹 | Portugal

Performance starts of in 4:3 black and white, and stays like that until the end of the first chorus. The screen widens and we get colour. On the backdrop we shortly see what I suppose is meant to be Amsterdam, then we see silhouettes of an orchestra playing, including a huge piano, all this with a golden background. Near the second chorus a woman appears on the LED wall. At this point the singer walks to the sattelite stage with the woman 'walking along' with him on the transparent LED screen, which is well thought of. Stage colours are very warm (mainly gold and some hints of blue) and well suited to the song. There's also a projection of a big golden heart at one point.

His voice may not be what everyone likes, but he sounded fine for how he sounds. At least the first two runthroughs, there were some pretty ugly notes in the third ...


🇦🇱 | Albania

OK, this looks pretty amazing, from the first second. Anxhela is all alone on stage an wearing a glittery silver dress. On the backdrop we see a lot of red 'explosions', later it becomes a mix of red and turquoise / greenish blue, which may sound odd, but it looks great. During the last minute this turns into a cloudy sky. There's also some smoke on stage. Vocals are totally fine here too, as the artist must realize this *may* be what Europe actually gets to see and hear. Some reporters say 'Iveta' (Armenia 2016) and I can see some similarities indeed. Very well done, and as it was already a borderliner I feel this performance has probably pushed them to that side of the border they want to be at.


🇬🇪 | Georgia

So we're having breakfast with Tornike. Perhaps not the most exciting start of the day, as not a lot happens. Unlike reports from last Tuesday, he is now singing the song as we know it, and it sounded decent enough, even if I feel that the (recorded?) backings are a bit too loud in the mix at points. At the beginning of the song Tornike comes through the stage doors which are lit in white. They close when the starts singing and the backdrop turns into a what sort of resembles a night sky with many moving golden stars.

Coming after some heavy up-tempo stuff, the calm beginning may make this stand out. There's a box on the stage on which Tornike is sitting for the second verse. This is when we see part of the lyrics appear as projections on his face. All in all it's hard to compare as it's the first thing I've seen in full. Also the stream got cut off halfway the second runthrough ....  

I think the opening is effective, and this is important. But I'm not convinced it keeps the attention for long. Also I can't help thinking Tornike feels pretty bored by it himself.

All in all, decent, and not chanceless, but also not very eventful.

Second rehearsal: Russia to Georgia

Georgia

Small improvements on the camera angles, but they still look like it's their first time on TV. Think of this, only with a better song and better vocals:




Australia

The dress is still here. Still too many camera switches (at some part of the song, every time the drum beats), and some ouch notes there. I still really like it, but their best hope is that juries are as forgiving to Australian vocals as they were last year.


The Netherlands

I still don't like the song, the routine, or anything made of leopard, but here's a few things it has going for it:

1. Waylon's voice
2. Waylon's eyes
3. The six packs on some of the dancers

Moldova

Didn't improve, because it didn't need to. People loved it.

Russia

Watching this in the arena, in which the acoustics made everything sound good so far, but not this. More focus on the three backing singers this time, and there's an on-screen exploding snow effect during the first chorus. Three people applauded. Julia is rolled out with her volcano as the Moldovan prop rolls in.


I won't wake

Last night did not go well. Food ordered at 20:30 and arrived at 22:00, bill took another hour. This country has a pace of its own. Then I got an urgent message from the Belgian press that I left a mouse and a sock at the press centre. Oops.

First rehearsal: Georgia to Hungary

Hungary

Pre-opinion: This has been the love or hate song of the season. I'm on the love camp. And I'm pretty sure there's enough of us to take this to the final, the main question is how far they can go there.

Set up: Lead singer in bare feet.

First run-through: Guitar player is on one bridge, lead singer crossing the other and runs about screaming. Lots of camera attention to the drummer with the nice arms. STAGE DIVE (the guitarist). Post-keychange chorus sounds a bit different from what we know (missing the recorded female singers), but not too different. This is going to look awesome with audience and pyro.

Second run-through: Running with bare feet isn't easy. Doing that wearing a jacket that looks like it was last washed in 1996 should make this even more uncomfortable. But this is all adding up to the incredible energy of this. Very positive reaction in the press centre.

Pyro run-through: Flames during the choruses, all around the stage going in different directions. Fireworks during the bridge. Fire geysers are added to the last chorus. Smells like a semifinal winner to me (and like feet).


Malta

Pre-opinion: I've heard this several times and still don't remember how it goes, except the repeated parts, peated parts. I would write this off if it were in Semi 1, but...

Set up: There's a 4m high box thing (which could be a shower). Heart screen effect, not the 💗 heart, but the kind that has arteries (!)

First run: Well, a lot of €€€ was spent on this. The shower complex is made of LEDs, there's lasers, on-screen effects, you name it. It's impressive if you like this kind of thing. Once Christabelle leaves the shower, a woman dancer replaces her. There's a lot going on, especially on the screen (from humans to tigers to stones), and I don't really notice Christabelle herself.

Second run-through: They're struggling with the on-screen effects a bit, now the heart is in her mouth. Oops. There's so much going on, they're really doing their best to distract from the lack of song.

Last run-through: Heart's still not in the right place, this time in the right side of her chest. Pyro flames are added to the already too busy stage. Press around me is divided on whether this is amazing or too much. Vocals are ok.


Poland

Pre-opinion: I'm no fan of songs with instrumental chorus, unless the instrumental bit is amazeballs which is not the case here. But this kind of song has its fans, so if done right it can make it out of this semi. Expecting a lot of (empty for now) audience shots here.

First run-through: Black stage at starts, in the first chorus the DJ stand and stage arches turn purple around the edge (think Zbudi Se). Pyro geysers in the first chorus. Lukas doesn't get much vocal help, so he'll need to do better than we've heard him so far. Gromee is the real star of this, making little hand dances to the camera.

Second run: Lukas walks the bridge and around the outer circle, high-fiving an imaginary audience member. Vocally better now, but he could still do with help with the higher notes.

Last run-through: We're promised more pyro. We didn't get it. It's coming along though, overall it's doing what it's supposed to, within the vocal limitations.

Georgia

Pre-opinion: One of my favourites this year, but this could easily go from gorgeous and atmospheric to Mižerja #2 if done wrong.

First run-through: They're standing and singing in a row, the extreme two have instruments (keyboard and guitar). Not really finding the cameras (but that's what rehearsals are for etc. etc.). This sounds really good but visually underwhelming. Reminds me of Questa Notte for some reason.

Third run-through: We were promised pyro, but didn't get any. Another one coming soon with waterfall (yay)

Last run: Starts with dry ice (they're over the Nina Sublatti trauma, good), colourful lights on the dry ice look really nice. Running Scared pyro curtain in the very end, revealed dramatically by the camera.

These guys are true music professionals, although they seem to lack experience on large televised stages. It's far from convincing right now, but can do wonders after the a few more rehearsals and director instructions.

Day 4 of first rehearsals - Georgia to Hungary

Hungary

Hungarian metal (if you are allowed to call it that when it has a key change?) in bare feet. Surprisingly well received in the press centre, which I personally don't get. To me it was what I would have expected for this song, a lot of energy, sreaming, high frequency blinking using all the lights, headbanging and running around on stage. Apparently there was a stage dive too, which I missed. Must have blinked or fallen asleep for a second or two.

Second time around I missed the stage dive since it wasn't timed right with the camera shots. I'm starting to fear that I'm never going to get to see it.

Third run and pewww, I caught the dive this time. Now I can relax and watch the flames being tested. Looks like Hungary's not only using all the lights but also all the pyro. I like it much better with all the pyro!

Malta

During the set up I just went "ewww". They seem to be preparing a fire-y heart - in the actual shape of a anatomically correct heart.

Why!?

We are in a part of the rehearsals that contains a few personal favourites of mine in a row, Malta is one of them. This performance was well thought through, with tall boxes displaying different visual effects, which makes it stand out from the other performances in a good way, I think. Christabelle sang the song well. The heart looked like it was about to be eaten by her at one point, but I'm sure that will be adjusted!

Impressions of Malta.

Including the flames from the last run.

Poland

We get some "fuldans" (hard to translate, but let's call it less perfect dancing) from Gromee, but he does it with a big smile and a bit of irony, so I just find it charming. This is a song that I enjoy a lot when it comes up on my playlist, but there's some struggling going on here vocally unfortunately. But overall it's a charming number still! 

I do believe Lukas sounded a little better second time around.

Third run about to happen, with full pyro (we had some fire sparkles in the second one). The "tell me wheeeeere toooo goooo" is back to sounding awful this time, and actually, there was no pyro... something must have gone wrong there.

Georgia

I very much like their spacey in a modern way collars! Vocally I thought it was perfect. This act stands out from the other songs to me, when it comes the the actual song. I very much approve and like.

Second run was just as good, if not better.

The third will have pyro and a waterfall, we are promised! The pyro was a nice fire rain curtain at the end of the song. However, the waterfall was just dry ice, I wouldn't call that a waterfall, but it looked a bit like this, which I suppose resembles a misty watery place:

[LIVE] Semi 1 : Dress Rehearsal 1 - live reporting

CLOSING THE SHOW
The three presenters are on stage as are the qualified artists. A few general questions are asked in usual Eurovision style and then the show is closed. And that is also where this blog entry ends.


RECAP OF FINALISTS
The recap is in order of announcement.


FINALISTS
- Armenia
- Czech Republic
- Greece
- Finland
(six places remain now and I can feel my heart racing)
- Albania
- Slovenia
(our seventh finalist is)
- Australia
- Moldova
- Iceland
- Belgium

Congratulations!


RESULTS
'The yoda of the Eurovision Song Contest" (not my words) is introduced and Jan Ola informs that we have a valid result - or maybe he will, depending on if he can say so or not. If there is a valid vote, he will tell the two guys to "take it away".

"This is the moment of truth, the countries..." and that's where we currently end. The boys are just looking into the camera wondering what to do next.

Back, "the countries will be announced in random order".


GREENROOM
As a filler, Timur goes to the green room and interviews Australia, asking them why they are taking part. Volodymyr later also goes to the greenroom and interviews Manel from Spain. After the quick chat, we get the snippet of the song. The next artist to be interviewed is Lucie from the UK. Timur asks her how her experience of X-Factor has helped her for tonight. Volodymyr then moves on to Francesco Gabbani. It could be that they arm wrestle since "he's stronger than he looks!". The gorilla also gets a nod. We need to know more about the gorilla's movement.

Timur is then back informing us that that was three of the big five and Ukraine. If it weren't for him ...


JAMALA (AGAIN)
Jamala passionately performs another song (unfortunately we did not note the title) alone on stage. Dressed in what looks like a white poncho with multi-colored fringes.


VERKA SERDUCHKA
We start seeing views of Kyiv and a Ukrainian flag fluttering, the camera pans out and we see that it is being held by none other than Verka! Not to spoil it for you who are reading - you must watch this! It is actually quite funny! It's basically a clip of Verka and her mother, together with some other friends and family getting into comic situations in different parts of Kyiv and also a visit to Dolce & Gabbana.


VOTE WRAP UP
Apparently people from all over the world are voting! I thought it was only Europe and Australia but maybe they know something we don't! Only 60 seconds left. "All acts desperately want to be the new champion!" Who comes up with this? Oleksander and Volodymyr then start the countdown in Ukrainian from 10-6 and English from 5-Stop Voting Now! Again *eye roll*


INTERVIEW JAMALA
It's a bit confusing which microphone to use since apparently the one Jamala is holding is for singing, not talking - or so Volodymyr thought. We're therefore not sure what questions will actually be asked - or if Jamala is actually interested in answering them.

Another reminder of the artists which have performed tonight.


JAMALA
Oleksander and Volodymyr are on stage and they remind us of last year when Jamala won. She will be with us tonight with a special version of her song. Before that however, we see a montage of the voting and the 12 points to Ukraine.

9 dancers surround Jamala who is centre stage. From her nine roots are projected, each reaching a dancer. String instruments feature more heavily in this version of the winning song. Jamala does not move from the centre of the stage. No tree bursting out of her this time.


VOTING GUIDELINE
Let us just say that French does not seem to have been Volodymyr's best subject at school. Once we get the usual spiel of how to vote, and something which should resemble French, we go to the first recap of the 18 competing songs.


ITALY
Henrik is requesting some cleaners on stage. We do not know what happened and probably don't want to ask.

It seems we have a few minutes before we can continue so since apparently Jan Ola Sand has many jokes, we go to him. He's not ready yet but he'll have some for later. We're nearly done with this delay, and Henrik is asking the audience to help with the dance.

Performance: Francesco is delivering it today. With his cheeky smile he's making sure the people at home will want to jump up and dance with him. There are many shots where the audience is involved, and since it will be the fan zone you know there will be plenty of volunteers to be seen on tv. Although it was practically a given before we even stepped a foot in Kyiv, the more we go on, the less likely it is that anyone can take the trophy away from him.


UNITED KINGDOM
Since we've already seen the (Italian) postcard we can go straight to the song. However we would if we could. The United Kingdom's shell is not possible to get set up in 40 seconds, which means that the UK will have to come after a break.

This is taking a very long time so Henrik is informing that as in Stockholm, these will be 1 minute snippets of the Jury Final rehearsal. Timur is now taking over since we have "tecnical issues". He has "many questions in this emergency card". The poor guy doesn't really know what to do - it's a very long break. He therefore goes back to Alex who wants to thank his mum, but Timur says he should also thank his "daddy". Well now!

Performance: Visually this is working extremely well - could it be that the UK appear to have actually understood how to stage a Eurovision performance? Surely not! Lucie does not appear to only be the 26 year-old she is. She may be saving herslef slightly vocally in order to be able to belt out later on in the jury final however by no means failing to deliver. The only comment we could make would be that the tattoo on her right arm should be covered up but since it hasn't been yet all week, it is unlikely to be later on.


SPAIN
Spain's postcard isn't ready so they're showing Italy's postcard now. In fact, all postcards from now on are going to be Italy. It's Francesco being in a postcard with all different Francesco's (as a waiter, as a chef, as a dining guest). The fun and playfull character that he is exudes here. What Manel's postcard will be will be anyone's guess. Apparently for tonight's jury rehearsal they'll just show Italy's postcard for all countries.

Don't be fooled, this is still as wrong as it always was, we're just getting used to it more. If this was the first time we'd be seeing it the comments might be a bit different. The group still seems like they should be a supporting band rather than actually in the competition but it is what it is. Manel pokes out his tongue to the audience during the chorus. Not sure we wanted to see that.


LATVIA
Latvia's postcard is a mixture of some of the members doing rope skipping, make-up powder tasting and roof-top sightseeing.

Agnese seems to be taken by surprise that the camera is on her. I'm sure she's done this before but oh-kay. Vocally we've had better and the backing is taking over. The group are using as much of the stage as is left due to all the props but there is possibly a bit too much going on on stage. Sometimes less is more.


SLOVENIA
Omar wants to seduce you with sunglasses. He's visiting the Sports Palace where he took part in 2005 and relives some of his memories there. He then finds a cafe to have well earned drink. Hope it's not spiked. He'll need all of his wits after Armenia.

And it's already nearly over! Omar said that his experience might help him over some of the younger competitors since he has learnt things over his career such as flirting with the camera's etc. He clearly can sing and the staging complements him very well. There are some shots which could have been better reviewed but again, we need to see them with a full audience. At the end of the day, he is confident and knows what he wants - it's just a question of if the people at home want the same thing.


ARMENIA
Artsvik is in an air balloon. Not a warning for hot air though. Nice vistas of Armenia in the background.

Still sticking to the claim that this song could have done so much better with more dancers. The mystical emotion from the music video is missing from the stage performance. Vocally you can't fault her but the backing dancers are (or she is) not always in correct place so some visuals are a bit of a miss. The ending also has had a change to it. No longer is the digital eagle coming from Artsvik herself but the screen goes black and the eagle from the darkness. Not sure we approve of the change. It will still qualify however.


CYPRUS
Hovig has his head down, but then looks straight into the camera. We see him hanging in the park with his bros but also practicing hard on the dance moves. He's having fun while doing it.

This started off as being quite cheesy and bad but over the past week Hovig must have really practices his choreography and it is now looking quite good on tv. He is also singing quite well, another case of 'bringing it when it counts' and answering his critics from the first rehearsals. Also, coming after the Czech Republic is not hurting his chances. Closing the song the backdrop no longer sees a digital Hovig in mid-air, again, very good move since it did not work. With this new package, it is a likely qualifier.


CZECH REPUBLIC
Martina decided to drive to Czech TV's studio and discuss her participation with the delegation team. They then sit outside drinking juice and celebrating their inevitable win in Kyiv. Martina practices a bit in the studio, but you know she's already won... or so the postcard says.

Well, we forgot about this. Lindita has some competition for Barbara Dex. Fierce competition. This unfortunately just does not work. The colours are just no, the golden jump-suit, the half-naked people in the backdrop ... vocally Martina is reasonable enough but unfortunately we cannot see how this can turn up enough votes to see the final.


BREAK
Oleksander and Volodymyr once again flog the app. They both appear to know the inside of a gym and in this rehearsal they're only wearing tight fitting t-shirts. Very pleasing to the eye.

Break-bumper again. And Timur has nestled with fake Finland-artist (aka volunteers).

Timur is doing some emogic (emoji + magic, get it?). It goes all downhill from here as the rehearsal grinds to a halt. Some tech guy jumps into frame to hand something. Oh. They're re-doing it now. The mic seemed dead. that's been fixed now. The bit doesn't go down any better second time round. *sigh*

Luckily he now doesn't dwell and moves on to Moldova's booth. More of the knowledge tidbits. This time a relevant one - they refer to Sergej's YouTube meme-fame as the epic sax guy. And now it's Martina Bárta's turn.


ICELAND
Svala is siting on hexagonal mirrors. She didn't break any though. So she can go home and sip some coffee and sing a bit in her home studio.

Although looking like some character from a superhero comic (we're not sure which side of good she'd be on however) Svala is on point with her vocals today. Hopefully the same will be true tonight when the juries will be viewing. She does look quite lonely on stage though but add a large dancing audience and it should be fine. There are a number of wide shots and she's playing around with that cape like I used to when I was dancing around my room also pretending I was on the Eurovision stage. Good times. After a couple of years out, could this see the return of Iceland to the final?


MOLDOVA
The guys are out for a quick walk and then they go and select vinyl records. They end in a restaurant and clink their wine glasses. Then they're in Kyiv, performing for the gathered crowd.

The question we're all asking ourselves, are all three skirts going to work. We know the guys have been solid throughout the rehearsal week and their confidence is showing. They feel at ease on stage. Solid. And YES! All three skirts worked. And also the choreography is getting much better, the team must have been practicing a lot during their time here. A good reaction from us and Europe (and Australia) will likely agree.

POLAND
The Polish postcard shows the Kasia with the dogs. She's the one who let them out!!! After she decided she doesn't need them back, she goes to listen to a rehearsal of a classical concert.

The violinist behind Kasia is a bit more visible than before and there are more shots of him too. Kasia is still trying to escape from her dress but the pressure must be doing something for her since she is belting this out well - or it could just be the post-Demy effect. Kasia was in the right place again when the doves fly out from each side of her. A good reception is heard.

GREECE
Demy is in her hotel room, sipping a coffee. Next she's walking in a park as she spots some dancy guys she quite fancies. But she's not deciding yet. She first wants to explore the Greek country side a bit.  But yeah, in the TL-lamp hallway she's brought them along.

Demy still looks like a dear in headlights when the song starts. At the beginning of the first chorus the vocals go quite wrong. She tries to recover but the damage has been done. There is a very wide shot when Demy gets off the podium which works fine but then the waterfall projection Demy is very close up - a bit too close, you can practically see her womanhood! No one needs to be seeing that on a family tv show! Messy end to the song and not a great response.


BREAK
Oleksandr and Volodymyr are seeing that the social media is being whipped into frenzy. They're now reading fake tweets. Not telling you lot what they are, but they do remind the viewers of the hashtags are.


PORTUGAL
Smattering from the press centre as Salvador seems to have managed to get a postcard produced. We see him in Lissabon. Smiling a lot, but also singing and riding the tram. First performance for him on stage.

And the first time we actually see Salvador and not his sister Luísa singing. He's dressed in a black suit with black shirt and red handkerchief in left pocket. He's also wearing his accreditation but that is likely to be taken off during the show - unless we have another 2016 Moldovan dancer moment. The vocals are decent enough however they probably would have been better if he had been doing the rehearsals since in some areas they are not the best. However this simple song gains a huge reception here and it is likely to have the same in Europe.


AZERBAIJAN
Dihaj gets some cheers from the press center. She's out in the streets, but then visiting her favourite spots: Where she likes to rehearse, where she likes to hang out with her friends, where she likes to get tattooed. We also get to meet her kid (?).

Diana has her covered in a black tightened scarf which is the first time we've seen this. She is trying to be softer on the fake walls while she's banging them however it makes her looks uncertain of her strength when the song demands her to be confident in herself. Once again, amusement at the 'horse-man' having a fit on the ladder while "thorns" is being written on the wall. Azerbaijan always manages to pull stuff when needed however. The whole show is looking a lot better than what we've seen previously and again another good reaction from the gathered (fan)press.


FINLAND
Buildings seem to be sparse in Finland. The two have found some urbex site where we can see them promenading through the abandoned rooms. Oh, and of course a piano is being played.

Leena is pitch-perfect again. Even though we mainly know the show from back in UMK, it's simplicity and harmony is all it needs. It draws you in, making you want silence in the room in order to be able to appreciate it in its entirety. The camera shots being used have been clearly chosen and they bring much to the table. There is a huge applause by almost everyone present. It would be an injustice if this did not make it to Saturday.


BREAK
Oleksandr and Volodymyr are still trying to flog the Eurovision app, and its amaaaaazing features: Voting, downloading the songs and finding bios and lyrics. They just still have to mention the telephone number and you'd be forgiven to think that you've accidentally switched to a teleshopping channel. After the break bumper, Timur is quickly introducing some of the countries that already have performed. Georgia, Australia, Sweden and Albania. He tells a few politically correct facts about these.

Oleksandr and Volodymyr introduce Norma John, and thus the Finnish post card.


MONTENEGRO
Slavko is a theatre animal and shows off his spiritual home. But he's also excited as drawings of his Eurovision outfit are being made. Dancing, performing in the theatre. It's all part of who he is.

One thing you can't fault Slavko on, is his attention to the fans and his willingness to do any piece of PR he can. For his performance however, well, the beginning starts off harmless enough but there are too many elements which do not seem to make Eurovision sense. Yes we know the fans love it, however the juries will not look favorably on this entry and the regular Joe's at home will need a reason to vote for this. The vocals are not great and the spinning pony tail is still as distracting as ever. We will have to wait and see what happens with this entry.


BELGIUM
Blanche is wearing a lacy dress in the first shot. She's still a schoolgirl, so we get to see that. We also get to see that she has to juggle school with being an up and coming artist. So lots of press and gig-shots. She looks frightened in the live shot just before she's on.

Blanche is dressed in black, like her heart. The camera work is a bit shoddy, a lot of frontal shots and many many wide shots. Vocals are what we have got used to. She still doesn't look at the camera when she should. The robotic arm movements are still there but a wide camera angle helps mitigate the issue - slightly. This is however her best performance since we've been here. And there was an applause in the press centre to encourage it.


ALBANIA
Lindita shows us her fingered heart. Lots of cuts here: she's dancing performing, working out, enjoying the Albanian country side while jogging, fitting her dress, singing, playing violin... she's multi-faceted of course. Let's hope her performance is up to scratch.

Who is Lindita trying to fool with that white veil? The whole ensemble is debatable. Could this be a contender for Barbara Dex? Forgetting the attire, Lindita is singing well and the backing singers compliment her rather than overpower. The backdrop visuals may not be as appealing as some other entries' but this package seems to be getting slicker than we had seen it before - or it could be just the problem of having seen it multiple times that you just get used to it.

AUSTRALIA
Australia's Isaiah gets up - he overslept probably. And speeds in his car to his next gig. Everyone's already left (we never get to see the audience at the gig place) but they decide to shoot him performing anyway. He reaches out to us before he too appears in the now familiar TL-lamp hallway.

For the first time since we've been here, Australia has actually followed Georgia on stage. A more-confident Isaiah is trying his best but there is something missing still. It's a decent enough package with the singer connecting with the camera and vocally pretty decent but the visuals are slightly distracting - especially the one commented before when Isaiah gets swallowed by his own eye-ball. Luke-warm reception in the press centre, cheering mainly heard by the Aussie fanpress.


GEORGIA
Georgia's postcard then. Tako Gachechiladze wants us to know she's very much into transparent fabrics. It's all about make-up and fashion with her. But also about her as a singer/performer. So we see her in the studio. The TL-lamp laden hallway is the recurring theme for ALL the participants it seems.

A big pause before the song however - who wasn't ready for this? The fog is now on stage and we start closing in on Tako. Her hair still seems to be a bit of a mess, maybe she's half-way through getting it ready for tonight when it actually counts. Her vocals however are here and present. Girl can sing. Visually, like many others, this needs a large audience to be present to make it more appealing but but grand dramatic show is already enough to get most of the visual across. Another likely qualifier.


SWEDEN
Robin is being shown as he prepares but also during his pass-times, being on a motorbike. Next he suits up and finally readies himself with his dancing cronies in a TL-laden hallway.

Robin is dressed in his favourite fitted suit while the backing dancers are again in their grey/black combo. Slight error on the lighting of the front two dancers when the treadmills work them however this was quickly rectified - but noticeable. That however seems to be the only mistake made. Robin is looking like he's enjoying his time and the dancers are on form. No real worries for this entry.


16:18
They thank Sweden in their best and almost cute Ukraidish. Next they acknowledge the fans.
They banter on for a bit. Timur is going to be the greenroom Cinderella. Since he's the Eurovision nerd. Or so it is claimed.

Next they give an overview of the countries taking part in this semi final. They also mention the Eurovision app and tell the viewers not to vote just yet.

After it is established that Kyiv indeed is ready, the first postcards roll.

16:17
An out of breath Monatik announces the hosts and now we get to see them (Oleksandr Skichko.
Volodymyr Ostapchuk and Timur Miroshnychenko) for the first time. They of course say 'Good Evening Ukraine and Europe' as well as the now more familiar 'Australia'. Planet Earth also gets a mention. Though it is morning over there. You can't claim that you haven't been informed. As a side note, we don't know which is which, and to try to explain who exactly of the three is doing what over a rolling blog is like trying to explain Australia taking part in Eurovision: A futile exercise.

16:14
It took a while for the repeat to start. In the beginning of the dance act a female dancer dressed in white has the spotlight on her and this goes on and off a couple of times before Monatik appears from behind her. The female dancers are all clad in white while the male ones are in black. In total we count five female dancers and three male. "Heads are spinning!" If you say so dear. It's not the worst opening act we've seen.

16:09
Repetition of the opening act and the hosts this time will actually come in.

16:06
Monatik : Spinning - The first dance of the event. Monatik Sergeyovich is the full name of the artist. There are a number of dancers on stage with him. He thanks Eurovision Song Contest 2017 and then introduces the presenters.

16:04
Young girl dressed in Ukrainian traditional garb falls into screen. More Ukrainian female beauties of different ages all dressed in traditional garb from different areas of Ukraine end up gracing us with their presence. They represent the diversity of Ukraine. Doesn't last very long however and we are soon in the arena.

16:04
Stand by everyone!

16:03
We're getting clearance from the track that they're slowly getting ready!

16:00
Henrik is explaining what is going to happen - he seems quite excited about it all. We're not 100% sure what he's going on about but from what we heard even though now there's only 7 (somethings) when there was 25 (somethings) he doesn't mind because he's still getting paid.

15:58
We are a couple of minutes late but that is fine, gives us more time. There are some postcards which aren't ready so we're going to have Italy instead "because they paid the most money" Henrik informs.

15:56
Jon Ola Sand is there.
Henrik warns us with the final countdown.

15:55
Platforms are being wheeled on and off the stage... The press center is a lot more busy than it has been for the past week. It's almost as if something is about to happen.

Day 5 - 2nd Run Through : SWE / GEO / ALB / AUS / BEL

BELGIUM

Blanche is on screen before she starts her song. She does not seem very confident or happy. Dressed in a white number with embroidered butterflies, she starts her song quite badly unfortunately. For a song which was so praised prior to the contest (or rather, prior to the preview parties) it is falling like a lead balloon. She looks nervous, talks her way through the song, is robotic in the very few movements she needs to do and has areas where she actually seems to be in the wrong key. This to me needs a miracle.

2nd run - Well, more of the same really. Not much more to say - without ending up being unnecessarily mean. I know, I know, hasn't stopped me before, but it's like kicking Bambi just after he aw his mother being shot.

3rd run - Well, it actually can improve! Slightly, but improvement none the less. Blanche seems to be less traumatised by the stage and there seems to be a bit of better camera work. Not sure what was said during the long pause between the runs but they should keep it up! Maybe they've been showing funny cat videos on youtube or something! That always cheers me up when I'm having murderous thoughts (basically, my whole time in the press centre up to now has been watching funny cat videos).


AUSTRALIA

Oh Isaiah! Not really sure how to take this. Vocally he's ok, not giving me goosebumps but adequate enough. The staging is pretty simple and I'm not sure what Sasha was supposed to be choreographing since there isn't much going on but I guess SBS thought it's worth the money. Isaiah stands on a platform which also turns which he uses in part of the song before stepping off in order to use a bit more of the stage but, just like a kitten not happy with big open spaces, he returns to the comfort of the platform to end.

2nd run - Slightly dodgy camera angle meant that for the first line of the second verse we didn't see the singer at all. In the middle eight there is a shot where the backdrop (which throughout the song involves many Isaiahs) has real Isaiah being 'swallowed' by digital Isaiah's left eyeball. Not sure what to think of that. Another decent run through but could this possibly be the Aussie's first NQ?

3rd run - You know you're going to enjoy it when you know it's starting by Henrik saying "pyro!" And there you have it - pyro curtain from ceiling, pyro spurts from the floor ... what more could you want?


ALBANIA

Hmm... well... She begins dressed in a white shimmery number with veil and all. Veil gets removed early on (thankfully) and then she is free to belt out her number at will! And at will it is, since she decided not to in a section the chorus. Let us just say it did not seem to light many people alight here. The backdrop is very busy with those ships from the music video. Unfortunately not really seeing this fighting for a top 10 spot.

2nd run - She sang the full song this time, however the vocals are not great. We know she can do better. She looks smiley though so she can't think she's doing that badly.

3rd run - There's heavy fog on stage! And it actually works quite well to be honest. In fairness, I do personally like it, but I realise I might not be in the majority here - and in the semi-final which people are saying is the harder one (although from the first rehearsals this may not be the case) it will need to pull a lot of cats out of bags in order to be performed on Saturday night. That is all. Next, Australia.


GEORGIA

Bless. Tamara asks a couple of questions in the beginning of her song. We would also ask, "Who told you that that hair was acceptable?" Clad in a red cape before the first chorus, this gets removed to reveal a breast-accentuating number in skin and red. Vocally though she is flawless and this is not an easy piece to belt out. Staging and camera is working well with the main hues being red and white with some black accentuating. Georgia is delivering a package and Europe will be very willing to accept I believe. Two songs down, two goodn's.

2nd run - Apparently we're not allowed to see this one. Or someone forgot to press the button to show it in the press centre. Whichever one it is - this is not on!

3rd run - The cape is no longer closed - therefore you can see the dress from the beginning, or maybe you always could. I'm not very good at this observation stuff. Learn what your talents are and work on what you could improve.

Clap clap, it's over for today for Georgia, but due to "what we like to call, the Sasha syndrome" (I told you Henrik is on fire!) we now have Albania. We should have Australia, but we instead have Albania. Sasha is referring to Swedish choreographer Sacha Jean-Baptiste who is the choreographer for both Georgia and Australia and therefore cannot be in the viewing room and in the arena at the same time.


SWEDEN

Robin needs to talk to someone in make-up. He looks very shiny - which I guess is to be expected when you have a bazillion watts of lighting on your face ... but still, no one likes shoddy work. The choreography is a copy-paste job of Melodifestivalen so you can't really fault it since he's been practicing since mid-last year. Vocally I wouldn't say he is the strongest but he keeps himself up there and he is representing Sweden so that also gives him points - at least from the eurofans. Not being too bad on the eye can also only work in his favor. Will it qualify? Quoting our dear Verka Serduchka, "it's not a question".

2nd run - "What can you say - fucking beautiful!" Not my words but those of floor manager Henrik von Zweigbergk. We agree sir! We agree!

3rd run - Henrik is on fire! "Applause, bow and off!" Someone is running a tight ship here and ain't taking no backtalk from no one! Another good round from Robin and team, no falling off treadmills, no missing cues, no looking into wrong camera's ... oh well, at least there's Hovig to look forward to later.


Before we start

Well! To be fair to Roger, and to have a possibly different opinion, it is now my time to blog! Contain your excitement dears! But back to business. Let us get ready to see who has improved, who has stayed the same, and who has clearly had a mental breakdown since realising that they may be a bit out of their depth in this contest! Oh Eurovision, how we love you so! Let the games begin - and may the odds be ever in your favour!

Day 1 - SWE-GEO-ALB-AUS

AUSTRALIA

So, what will Isaiah be sitting on? He said it will be something he's never sat on before...

And it's a round bit if moderately elevated podium that rotates. So that was an anti-climax. Hoping it will do something else in later run throughs.

Towards the end here there is a great overhead shot, with the round podium in the middle and some great lighting/graphics. Other than that this is all a bit meh. And there are some distracting close-ups of Isaiah on the backdrop.

I take that back, some of the images of him look really good. But this one disturbing moment which zooms in on his eye.

He's dressed in black with a long grey coat, for those who care. And he's in fine voice.

Final run through - now we have pyro. A whole damn pyro curtain, and then some.

Now - lunch!


ALBANIA

They've swapped rehearsal order with Australia. Something to do with a choreographer.

Some graphical elements from the video, ships in the sky, clocks and dials. And for those of and old-fashioned persuasion - backing vocalists in view!

Lindita is clearly feeling the song. But she's also clearly not a morning singer. The backings are great though.

Still, the main problem is the lack of actual song. Last place maybe?

GEORGIA

Tamara centre stage, starting with mic stand before she starts getting more physical with her singing. Lots of red, fairly non-descript lighting and graphics.

But yeah, start #2 *and* red/black staging. Ouch.

Fashion update: In jeans and a t-shirt, so presumably not her final outfit. But for the second run through she was in a red cape. But not really a superhero cape. More like a net curtain.

She can sing though, and lovely backing vocals too.

SWEDEN

And we're off on time. There's no sound on the screens here (told you so!), but we have a picture and - gasp! - it's just like the MF performance.

Sartorial note: Robin forgot his socks.

Those of you with a certain inclination will be disappointed to learn that there are no steps for Robin to ascend as he enters the stage, resulting in a less enjoyable rear view.

We now have sound, and it's sounds just fine (another shock). The lighting is maybe a tad pinker than in MF, but other than that you're know what you're getting here.

*****
Good morning from the press centre.  It's the first morning of rehearsals and I will be blogging my impressions today. They come with the usual caveat that I am generally wrong.

Now let's see if we start on time. Five minutes to go...

Close to the borderline? A Semi 2 Prediction

I found Semi 1 quite difficult to predict, as my 'results' showed, with only seven correct out of ten. In Semi 2, however, I see far fewer surprises, and am quite in agreement with the bookies.

There are nine entries that are considered safe qualifiers by the bookies, and they're the nine I would put in without hesitation too. The only question that remains for me is around Georgia.

Until rehearsals, the Georgian song was considered a complete outsider, with no chance of qualifying. And despite really liking the song, I was fully on board with this. But rehearsal reports have suggested that it looks fantastic on stage, and several bloggers have placed it among their qualifiers for tonight.

I'm still not so sure. I still think it's just too difficult, too inaccessible, too 'not Eurovision' to get through a semi-final. A great visual performance can lift a song, but it's all too easy when watching rehearsals to forget to judge songs as just that - songs. We get so familiar with them, we end up evaluating them as 'better than before' or 'better than I expected', and losing sight of our initial impressions. And my initial impression of Georgia was 'great but doomed'.

So, on to my prediction

1. Ukraine - I never really saw this as a winner, but I've been talked around by the bloggers during the last week, and am now feeling it could pick up a big swell of votes during the semi (I still don't see it as a winner on Saturday though)
2. Australia - I always found this bland and overrated, and no doubt I'll be underwhelmed by it tonight, but it seems to be pressing the right buttons for people in Stockholm.

3. Belgium - a really tough prediction for 3rd, it could be any of Belgium and the three below it here.
4. Latvia
5. Serbia
6. Bulgaria - I don't quite think Bulgaria have Same Heart-ed this up, as much as anything because Poli has a lot more about her than Mei Feingold did, and a much less disjointed song in the first place
7. Israel - seems like an obvious qualifier now, so I'm pleased that I had faith in it when it was out at 3.1 to qualify
8. Poland - kinda predicted by default here, I'd be quite happy to see it miss out, and not shocked either
9. Lithuania - what I said for Poland
10. Norway - I'm still really curious to see if this works. I think it's great, and it should do well, bu it really could fall very flat, particularly if Agnete doesn't nail it vocally. And that then opens the door for Georgia or one of the others.

11. Denmark - hoping my instinct on their live performance will be right
12. Macedonia - it sounds like she's been nailing it through rehearsals, but I still doubt that's enough for such an old-fashioned (though amazing) song
13. Georgia
14. Albania - boring but has friends
15. Slovenia
16. Ireland - boring and doesn't have friends
17. Belarus - seriously, who's going to vote for this? Yes, it's got gimmicks, but when they're this ridiculous and the song this bad, do people vote for gimmicks, or just laugh at them and move on?

18. Switzerland - not so much the last of her kind, just last.

Day 6 - After Dinner: Denmark, Ukraine, Norway, Georgia, Albania, Belgium

Sum Up
And with this, we wrap up another long day at the press centre. Nothing left to do than pack our things, check our holes and go get food, glam up and go to the Euroclub! Good times!



BELGIUM
The sparkliness of that top!!! Laura is accompanied by her four backing vocalists/dancers who are dressed in white with a black sparkly line going down their arms and legs. The staging is like it was in the first rehearsal, although some of the camera angles have been improved. There is still one shot where the previously discarded 5 handkerchiefs are visible which is a bit random. Vocally I would say Laura was not as good as she was in the first rehearsal but still good enough to not need to doubt qualification on Saturday.


ALBANIA
LOOK AT THAT DRESS! You can see the videos/pics so take a moment to go and see them. Eneda is looking fierce in it - yes I know I had said I would not write that any more but I may have possibly lied. The issue however is that her staging used a lot of golden tones which in a way makes it too golden. Vocally, although she is decent enough, I would not say she is exceptional, nor would I say that the staging is anything to write home about. Neither would I say that we shall see this again on Saturday. The bookies agree.
 


GEORGIA
I think this has been one that has grown on me the most - song wise anyway. I don't hate it as much as I did before. But then again, I had not heard it much before coming to Stockholm. The presentation of the song however is still extremely visually confusing. Lots of strobe lighting and cut-away shots and mirror imaging. A bit too much I think - I never know where I'm supposed to be looking, no idea of what is going on on stage in full. Having said this however, there is usually that one random entry which completely blind-sides everyone. If this is the one I don't know but I do know a particular member of the ESCKaz team who will be ecstatic about it if it happens!



NORWAY
Did not hear this from the beginning since we were advised on the loud speaker of the delayed Danish press conference. When we do get to hear the audio in around line three of the first verse, the camera shot shows a cameraman. SVT really need to work on these, there shouldn't have been so many shots going wrong at this point - almost all of today's songs have had some technical or visual issue.

Agnete however is singing ok-ish, and is looking relatively pleased with herself. The dancer seems to be missing by the end of the show but that could just be my bad attention to detail. Nope, it is for sure, in the second run through I made sure to pay attention and can confirm the dancer is no longer there by the end of the song. In fact, she disappears after the bridge which is sung with a close up of Agenete.


UKRAINE
This one gave us goosebumps the first time round and we are just hoping that we get goosebumps again. Jamala is still favourite to qualify from semi final 2. Will we be just as affected by her performance this evening?

Well, dressed in a dark blue dress with trousers underneath, Jamala did not fail to impress us. Singing with much more passion that she did on the first rehearsal, the room was just captivated by her voice. Although there were still slight misjudgements of positioning on the stage, this is not something which cannot be overcome with the time that is left in order to preform. The effect with the tree of life coming out from the struggle and blood of the land is still an amazing effect - even for those who have seen it more than once. For those who will be watching it for the first time, and if the camera angles are on point, then the effect should captivate the breath of those who are watching it just like it did ours for the first time. I personally do not think that there is any other country who can beat this in the semifinal - this after thinking, before coming to Stockholm, that it could even possibly not qualify due to the difficulty, then perceived, of conveying the message which is trying to be told by the song.


DENMARK
What a difference a few days can make! This has improved a hell of a lot over since the previous failures we were watching on Thursday. Although Johannes is still the only one who drops his microphone stand, the rest of the song is quite flaw-free. Could we have been too quick to dismiss this song? Let us see how the other runs are!

Second tun through and all the microphone stands are still upright!! HURRAH!

Day 4 Afternoon - Norway, Georgia, Albania, Belgium

BELGIUM

Rehearsal
Laura and four backing singer/dancers come on stage waving hankies - eacg is single colour however there are black, yellow, and red. The stage is made to look very disco-ey. Laura is having the time of her life. Before the last chorus, she walks the bridge to the satellite stage where she is later joined by her crew. Very warm applause by those gathered. Qualifyng - YES.

Second run - The presentation really want you to join in. Unconsciously everyone is tapping along. Laura has improved a lot with her choreography and is now just part of the group. I admit I was one of those who scoffed this entry when it won eurosong 2016 but I must eat my words now - a great ending to the second semi final.


ALBANIA

Rehearsal
And Albania have decided to go for the instrumental version it seems! Even though Eneda is there, there is no audio coming from her mic. We stop.

And starting again. Eneda does not move much on stage, seems to standing in one place. There are visible backing vocals which is not so common this year. The stage starts off in blue tones which later turn golden. Very simplistic staging which might come as refreshing after the Georgians before. Unfortunately for Albania however, Elhaida she is not. In fact, for the gathered europress she seems to just be fading in the background, like the music you hear while having dinner and chatting with friends. You wouldn't notice it was there unless someone pointed it out.

Third run - it started but stopped quite quickly due to a clearly flustered Eneda. Issues with the in-ear it seems. We must start again. And again, it came, it was sung, it was forgotten.


GEORGIA

Rehearsal
There is lots going on in the staging for Georgia. Not sure it fully works but I will admit, for something which I did not like at all, it grabs my attention. Not sure what I am watching exactly but I am drawn to it. There is a lot of mirror-image usage and lots of fast changing camera shots, which could all be there just to distract you from the song. Vocally it did sound quite similar to the studio version, which could just mean that they did not do much work on the studio.

Second run - It apparently was on :) Did not notice any difference.


NORWAY

Before the Rehearsal
The question we seem to be having is - will she actually show up? Agnete has been having a few mental health issues and it is therefore also probably in a fragile state. We have been told that there will not be any interviews and it could be possible that the meet and greet will also not happen.

Rehearsal
Wearing the same costume as in MGP, Agnete starts singing. The dancer is no longer in some random box but is instead on a slightly elevated platform on stage. Staging as you can imagine is in blue tones and lots of ice visuals. Agnete herself is standing on what appears to be a large ice crystal. Vocally she appears to be ok, she is not belting out anything major but there are no traces that she is feeling uncomfortable on stage either.

Second run - The dry ice is heere now - a bit too much of it. One of the shots which should have been a close up of Agnete did not work since she was enveloped in the smoke. The CO2 columns are also making an appearance for the chorus. Again, a good performance but not lighting anything in the room. A solitary clap by one enthousiastic member of the gathered europress is all it achieved.

The not-press opinion - BUL, DEN, UKR, NOR, GEO, ALB, BEL

Quick overview
Two great rehearsals from Ukraine (already shows in the betting odds) and Belgium (biggest improvement). Bulgaria and Norway delivered with neither positive or negative surprises. I'm reading negative comments on Poli's outfit but in the actual performance it's quite okay. Georgia made a good impression and their camera effects allow them to keep their hope intact. Albania was mediocre and static and Denmark was overly boring and with vocal issues.

Belgium

Aha. Much dance. She appears with 4 dancers, 2 males 2 females and they walk towards us as the stage is filled with yellow circles and many colours, but not blue! The circles are more like small suns (red in the centre). There is a lot of things happening; the dancers stand on two pairs of stairs as Laura really rocks it! She is dancing either alone or together with the dancers in a pyramid shape. Vocally she manages to keep it going, with some few weak notes, because of being out of breath. The stage is yellow-orange the whole 3 minutes. She is great during the bridge ("Come on, Stockholm!"). The dancers recede to the left side of the screen and join her for a quick little dance move as it ends. Good reaction from the centre. She was really good. It was hard writing about this, there's really a lot going on, but it's not too much somehow.

Had to watch this closer to the screen carefully and update you after I organise my thoughts. The best parts are when she's singing and the backing singers&dancers are around her. It comes across very natural and fresh. This time she added another line to the bridge as she was walking down the catwalk to get her final position ("I want to see all of those hands!"). The camerawork is also well thought out, with all the important moves being captured and shown nicely. Vocally... she strains quite a lot of notes, she was worse than the first time. Maybe this won't play much role during the performance. I couldn't tell if they have another backing singer hidden somewhere.

Same again. Very up-lifting. The choreography is very complicated and she is doing around three quarters of what the dancers do. The little ending dance is really cool and should look great with the audience.

Summary: Great performance, making the small vocal problems secondary. Also, she doesn't really miss any notes or have any bad moments, the only issue is that she sounds very strained sometimes (and also looks that way in a few cases). It's a pity this comes after the similarly coloured Albania, because otherwise it would be even more obvious how much it stands out from the other very similar backgrounds. In conclusion, they 've really lifted this two classes above what it was and they are totally qualifying. One of the brightest rehearsals of the week, for sure.

Albania

Her mic is muted and the music stops after 10 seconds. She is wearing a white jacket, with a floral blouse underneath and black pants. Could that be the real outfit? She holds the mic in her right hand, standing in the centre of the stage interacting (well) with the camera. She's totally static. The floor has some yellow dots (stars?). The vocals seem to be an issue during the high notes in the first chorus. A quick shot of the backings (the stage position of which I can't really spot). Better but not flawless vocals in the second chorus, while the backings are doing some "ooh-ohh"s (or are they "moo-moo"s?). And then it ends. Meh.

I've come to like the outfit. Some (maybe too many) hand moves in the first verse. This time I spotted the backings on her right side. Again problems with the high notes in the chorus. She's all alone in those. Literally, she is standing in the same position at the centre of the stage for 3 minutes. The stage is also quite static, with just some minor parts regularly changing from the usual yellow/gold colour to purple/blue. Not much else to write about this.

Watched it closer this time. I don't understand why such a static performance was not matched with a microphone stand.

Summary: Similar staging to last year, a bit worse song, a bit better singer. She has her good camera interaction to go for her. But then, everything else about it is really toned-down. As vastly different from preceding Georgia as it may be, I doubt it will make an impact to the average viewer/jury member.

Georgia

There's something. They are using camera effects that deform the picture (imagine deforming mirrors in an amusement park). It is certainly interesting to say the least. Apart from that, black and white turning to pink and blue, a typical staging with three guitar players, one being the singer and a drummer. He throws the hat and nothing much happens during the faster part, except a total epilepsy alert with yellow, light blue and green beams of light all over the stage. More camera effects and then it suddenly ends in pink and light blue lights.

The deforming effect is better implemented this time. Serious epilepsy alert during the fast part. Then, for the instrumental, the camera turns to a pan from above, showing pink patterns (square and diamond shapes). The ending is extremely abrupt. I'm not sure it will look good with the audience, as the fast part gives in to a very slow and motionless ending.

Nothing different. A bit painful for the eyes to watch 3 times in a row.

Summary: They have come up with something interesting and that's progress. I don't think anything like this has ever happened on the ESC stage at least, so it is quite original. All the visual noise distracts from the audial noise, but I'm not sure that's enough for someone to vote for them. It's good that they are trying and they managed to at least not get ruled out after this rehearsal.

Norway

Here for her second run. I expected this to be the same as in the NF, but it's not. She starts in a white dress, slightly glowing in the bottom. A dancer is to her right, about 5 metres away. They are standing on square platforms. Agnete leaves her own at the end of the verse and sings the chorus in generally close shots, while the dancer is visible to her right in the background. Perfectly finds the camera every time. The stage is blue with white light beams filling it during the chorus. The bridge is really good, as the camera slowly approaches her before leaving her during the high note. More white light beams and a star pattern on the floor. Really good vocals. The end is simple, with just her in the middle of the stage. Missed when/if the dancer left the stage.

The squared platforms have small white lights on them. A small Georgia 2015 Final problem, as the dry ice drowns both Agnete and the dancer. I do believe that the act might be relevant to her condition, as the dancer acts weirdly, in response to Agnete's moves. More dry ice during the ending. She was a bit tired vocally this time, however she looks comfortable and it's very pleasant seeing her happily smiling after it's over.

Summary: I've liked it from the start and I'm positive to the change in the staging. Even though it's not as impressive from the first moment now, it is much classier and fits the song better. Also, no way this will come across as cheap, like an actual prop might have been. She's good with the camera and there doesn't seem to be any problem of different nature with her. I hope she does well, she both needs it and deserves it.

Ukraine

Wait, is this Zlata? Similar hair and pose for the beginning. After the first few lines in total black, some colour finally on-stage! She is standing on a flower-shaped graphic with yellow, green and other colours. For the second verse it turns red and the backdrop is black-blue with medium-large red shapes (supposedly blood drops). The camera moves really slowly. The wow moment comes for her shout. The red shape slowly goes colourful again and during the high note it quickly becomes white and rises, creating a tree/fountain effect in the backdrop. Very very impressive! The end shot is just her, as the backdrop has turned dark again. Vocals perfect, I have a feeling she held back for the high note though.

Second run and some more effects for the first few lines. It appears there is a watery effect behind her in a light shade of blue (almost turqoise). Not entirely fitting, but attractive to the eye from the first second. The way she slowly moves her body and the way the camera follows that move is magical. The high-note effect is clearly a tree (yellow branches with blue flowers at the very ends). End shot of her almost smiling and looking beautiful.

More of the same. The watery beginning is more like a square water box that she's walking out from. The flower pattern is yellow in the centre, blue-green points in the circumference and red endings (representing Ukraine bleeding, I may guess?). Not holding back vocally at all this time. The backings are good as well. The tree is visibly collapsing in the background towards the end, before the final shot.

Summary: This has reached the peak of what was expected from them. Graphics were stunning and she connected with them and the camera in an excellent way. Predictions are tough this year, but I can't see this missing top-5. Could be winning the semi as well.

Denmark

Everyone here is delighted, as the song first doesn't start and then gets cut exactly when the chorus kicked in! Well, it finally starts again and they are there with the white neon microphone stands. Vocally some problems in the chorus (at the high parts). Oh, the stage is as blue as it has ever been, by the way. Seems it is an identical performance to their NF, with roughly the same camera angles as well. For the last chorus they are using the catwalk, but totally not to the rhythm. Very weird dancing while on the final square of the catwalk which shows expanding squares. Very unimpressive and very similar to Ireland, bar the microphone stands and x3.

Second run and trying to find something more positive to right. Well, the vocals are getting better and the ending makes a bit more sense, though still very sudden. They smiled somewhat more as well.

Final chance for them to improve. Vocals keept getting better but they are still not convincing. At times they are covered by their backings. They are good at making all the camera angles. But then again they've been doing this since February. Some more jumping during the last part after the catwalk.

Summary: Really boring, identical to the NF performance and average vocals. This is pretty much everything about it. A huge downpoint after Bulgaria. They need to fix their dancing after the catwalk part, it's very out of rhythm and they are not synchronised at all. Lots of issues and lack of energy.

Bulgaria

Close up shot of her and she is wearing huge ear jewellery in her left ear that reminds me of the "accelerate" signs in racing games. She's dressed in black and her hair drops to her right side only. The shot widens and the backdrop is mainly blue/black but filled with little starry dots (think the 2010 logo) so it is lighter. Poli is all alone on stage, accompanied only by figures dancing on the backdrop during the chorus. She does a weird move with her legs every time the chorus starts (there must be a name for it, but the only thing I can compare it to is the Las Ketchup last move during the chorus of Asereje). Some close-up shots seem to work well on-screen, although she doesn't hit most of them. For the last chorus, the backings appear from the right side of the stage and join her as they sing together. What initially looked as knee protectors turns out to be white neon lights that are turned on for the last part. It ends a bit abruptly, but people here react very well.

The dancing is not "diva-esque" at all, rather comes across as simple and contemporary. Better camera-work and manages to hit all the shots. Vocals are really good as well, a bit breathy at parts, but that's reasonable. They are trying for the backings to be a bit lower in the mix (both in volume and in tone). Not sure this works that well, although it gives an interesting result. The end pose is left fist in the air for Poli and the five backings placed in a straight line.

The close-up shot a bit different this time, with her having closed eyes and not openin them until the shot changes. Don't like this change, cause it takes too much time for her to have the first eye-contact with the camera. Oops, a backing came in one sec too early. Some green lights this time, before and during the second verse (not sure if they were there before). It's impressive that the dress is that long and complicated and yet doesn't bother her dancing, actually helping her do some moves. The backings are again low in the mix in the last part, which is short but again I'm not really sure if it's correct, it steals some of its power.

Summary: Great first rehearsal, it appears they've managed all they wanted to achieve. Everything about it is very thought through and yet avoids coming across as too calculated. It lacks the 'wow' factor though. The lighting knee/shoulder/thigh-protectors thing is not so noticeable, certainly not after having seen it once already.

(A much more crowded fan zone at the press centre today. Sitting a bit farther away from the screen compared to other days, so expect me to miss even more!)