Day 5 | Second Rehearsals | First Semi-Final | 🇲🇰 🇮🇪 🇨🇾 🇳🇴 🇭🇷

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

Through some kind of futuristic miracle, I'm able to follow rehearsals from my very own colourful home, and I will attempt to take you through the second run-through of the rest of Semi-Final 1, except Malta, as I refuse to cover boot-malfunctions. After learning what Jordy made out of the first rehearsals, and Yair's fresh eyes on the first segment of second rehearsals, let's see what my (fresh?) fish eyes will make of the rest of today's bunch.

🇭🇷 | Croatia

Albania Albina starts off by pretending to fire off some coloured (pink and blue, of course) light lines around her, similar to Samra's flames in 2016, but sadly (or probably luckily, for Albina's sake), Croatia isn't quite Azerbaijan when it comes to rehearsing these things for months to get it exactly right, so the lines appear on the background a bit below or above her hand or half a second too early or too late. So it doesn't look quite as cool as they probably hoped.

Which generally is how I'd describe this entire entry and performance, really. There's not much wrong with it per se, but when none of the ingredients are quite up to standard, we're just gonna end up with an average cake (or is it a traditional Rachel trifle with peas?), aren't we? The song isn't quite there, the colours are used by several others, the background graphics are a bit non-descript, the dancers have too much clothes, and there's no teddy bears.

The main selling point is Albina herself, but I can't see her saving this singlehandedly. I tried to come up with a comparison for this package, and the best I could come up with was Jestem - that's not great news, is it...

🇳🇴 | Norway

Patriotic hat (or headband, rather) on? Nah, I've been quite ambivalent to this entry all season, really, and nothing in this rehearsal changes that. We also all know what we're getting, since this is the exact same performance as in MGP.

He managed to tell the story behind the act and entry well in the very good music video (alternatively, thought of a nice story afterwards, that he could clonk onto to the act and entry...), but hardly anyone watching will have any clue of that of course, so this will just be a nice ballad with lots of nice keychanges, performed, for no good reason at all, by some guy dressed like a pimp and hiding behind sunglasses. I expect juries to be put off by the unfitting act, or by the nice, but extremely basic, tune (it's essentially a dansband song in that respect, isn't it?), so it's all in the hands of the televoters - will those that find the wings and stuff so Eurovision! add up with those that like the song, or will the mismatch put everyone off?

Vocally I'd say it's perfectly adequate (which may or may not be thanks to some hidden help, no clue), and visually it also works decently - the highlight for me is for the big NOOOOO in the last chorus, when the colour scheme goes from cold, dark and blue to a warmer gold with some added clouds, creating some needed development. I'd say it's a qualifier, but by no means a certain one!

🇨🇾 | Cyprus

I was a bit worried they'd over-egg this, like I felt they did with Tamta two years ago, but I'd say they've kept it relatively simple, and yet with some nice touches. I particularly like the way the dancers, red from head to toe, are mirrored on the backdrop - it somehow makes you slightly doubt if they are real, or if the ones in the mirror are real, or if any of them are real, or if none of them are real. Is Elena real? Am I real?!

One thing I think the performance is missing, is a little visual variation (particularly for the POW as the chorus kicks in!), as it pretty much looks exactly the same throughout - except when Elena decides she's some kind of bug and goes all bendy and backwards on us. When she's the right way, however, she's surprisinlgy likeable and personable, at least compared to how I expected her to be from the video, and she sounds decent too.

Oh lo and behold, just as I was asking for variation, have they introduced a key change for the last chorus? It sounds a little higher and different at least - I approve!

🇮🇪 | Ireland

I've been quite interested to see this, as the descriptions from the first rehearsal sounded potentially interesting if they get it right, plus I've liked the song a lot all along. The whole "set-up" is there for the first half of the song, with various paper "scenes" right in front of the cameras so she's walking around in a supposed paper landscape and every now and then interacting with it in various ways - picking up a piece of paper from right by the camera, extending a hand towards us (and someone else's coming towards hers?!). It looks quite cute, and certainly different from the rest, but I'm not sure she's comfortable enough with it all to make it work - she seems a little stressed, and the singing is... hmm. It's not really bad, but just a bit shouty here and there, disturbing the flow of the song a bit.

For the second half she "escapes" all the scenery, and walks out to the satellite stage, with the backdrop suddenly bathing in warm orange as if she's in Lion King, while the entire set-up is still very visible around and behind her. I can understand the choice of showing it all, but it makes it look a bit messy. Her singing and general appearance is much better in the second half, which makes sense as she's probably far more relaxed and at ease.

The main verdict I'm left with is why?

🇲🇰 | North Macedonia

Starts off in darkness with just Vasil's face and some little, growing light shining from his chest - it almost feels like one of those special powers you'd see in a 90s timetravel TV show for tweens. His special power keeps growing (cue Michael Scott) until it explodes, and eventually he reveals his Dotter-like shirt. Did they miss that bit where they're meant to project lights at the Dotter-shirt to make it all reflecty, though...? He seems to mainly just stand there with a proud "Look what I can do!"-attitude, but then isn't doing... anything.

The song is obviously an overblown piece of nothingness, but considering North Macedonia's staging history (or HANG ON, North Macedonia actually got it right 100 % of times, is it FYR Macedonia that's been the problem?!), I'd say this is actually about as good as could be expected for it. The colour scheme (just darkness with orange) makes it a bit different from all the pink and purple, and he's not acting quite as ridiculously over the top as he did in the video. I'd throw in five visible backing singers in a corner to make it feel a bit more proper though.

Question: What is that word he's singing in one of the first few lines?? Crack? GREK? Craic...? Is Ireland his favourite...?

Second rehearsal: Macedonia to Finland

Finland

The I ain't scared part was so high pitched that only winged chipmunks could hear it. Was this intended? (answer: still don't know, but it kept happening in the next runs). Saara herself is in good vocals, the colour scheme stands out in this semi, but the backwards fall in the end is still not symmetrical (which annoys my pseudo-OCD to no end)

Greece

So, no prop. It's just her in a sea of blue. Her hand is blue too, as if she's been playing with gouache. But some of the smoke and light effects look really nice. How does this sound? No idea, I watch the first run in the arena and it was full of loud Greek fans. Back in the press centre for the next two runs, there's some ouch notes there near the end.

Austria

Stopped the first two runs during the first chorus because of technical issues ("the rope was in front of my legs"). Third run and Cesár still not looking comfortable for some reason, there's also a diagonal split screen effect that feels out of place. This looked better in the first rehearsal. More technical issues, this time with the lift, and they stop again. A full run, finally, but there are still camera issues, and he is seen releasing his own cable. Clearly there is some work to do.

Croatia

There's some kind of smudge camera effect, not sure it's intended (update: it's not). This comes off as professional after Macedonia, but I'm very sleepy during this, as is much of the press centre.

Macedonia

It may not be the usual Macedonian car crash, but it's still all a bit unprofessional, with some Barbara Dexism going on with the backing singers and Marija's post-change outfit. Lost is very much the right word here I'm afraid.

Day 2 of first rehearsals - Macedonia to Greece

Time to eat. So far the food in Portugal has been super delicious. This is what Yair and I had last night:

Greece

Yianna is alone on stage, wearing a long white dress with extra fabric that goes down to the floor at the end of the sleeves. It covers everything except a small rectangular peek gap at the waist and a circle in the back. A mainly blue stage makes it all extra Greek in combination. A lot of blinking lights going on. Slightly shaky on the vocals at the end.

During the second run the vocals were good all the way through. And either I got used to the blinking lights, or there was not as much of that.

The last run was just hacked by a Macedonian press conference! They like skiing in the Austrian alps apparently. I just like Austria.

Austria

Cesár, wearing a sweater and trousers in three shades of silvery grey, starts off standing on a big platform. The effect of that and a hologram of his face made the press people here go Oooohhhh! This also got the best response in here from what we have heard so far. I was quite affected by it too!

I got goose bumps during the second run through as well. Such a great performance (and song)!

Croatia

Franka seems very confident and sings the song very well. The performance gave a well rehearsed impression. Her dress is a black fitted long one, made of  lace with a lot of different patterns and many see through parts... See through lace - another theme for outfits this year! And there's a wind machine.

The second run through was spot on as well.

Macedonia

After about 30 minutes of waiting, we finally got to see Eye Cue rehearse. Unfortunately we just got the last run through. Something was weird with the sound, at least in the beginning of the song, a lot of extra echo. If it was intended, it is a bad idea... Marija's in a cute pink short dress with a lot of extra fabric in the back (back and jacket details seem to be the thing of this year). The stage was blue and yellow, and sometimes just blue, she was dressed in . Nothing that stands out really, not great, not bad.

Tourist information is all we are getting in the press centre at the moment, so here's a little taste for you - another photo from our historic tram experience yesterday.

First rehearsal: Macedonia to Greece

Greece

Pre-opinion: This stands out for me in this semi line-up, in a good way. But it will need to be staged with an 'atmosphere', and it won't be simple with this kind of stage.

Set up: Yianna is in a clean white dress with flappy sleeves that reach the floor.

First run: Oh. :-/
She's all alone on stage (more hidden singers..), which I think wasn't a great idea as she doesn't carry it visually by herself. She just flaps her sleeves about and looks robotic. Vocally fine until the last few lines, which made us squirm a bit.

Second run: Some improvements here, vocally and visually. The blue background and white dress make it look very Greek, at least. There's some light effect projecting on her dress during the drummy bit. She still looks lonely there, but they're on the right track with the vocals, at least.

Third run: We only got a few seconds of it, then the feed switched to the Macedonian press conference. Overall, they still need to work on the sound mix during the last chorus, but should probably sound good on the night. This is roughly how the whole thing looks:

Austria

Pre-opinion: I really like this one, but it depends on a strong backing choir for this to do well. And it better be visible too, because Cesár hasn't looked too comfortable on his own so far. ORF have a good record for doing their homework lately, so I guess I don't need to tell them that.

First run: Fabulous. He's on a futuristic platform that reveals itself dramatically, backing choir sounds great (they're behind the platform, we can only see their heads). Silver shirt that flatters his body really well. Giant hologram of his bust and face appears. He jumps off the platform and walks about during the bridge. Some wows and an enthusiastic applause from the press centre.

Second run: I should add he's wearing a neck mic and shakes his arms during the "I'm shaking til I fall down" part. The platform is quite a thing, it's a two-level device that lifts, both parts have lights. The top part looking like an alien spaceship. I both love it and fear green men will emerge from it and invade me.

Third and run and still looking and sounding great. If I were to say something negative about this, it would be that Cesár needs tighter trousers.

Croatia

Pre-opinion: There's not a lot of opinion, really. Most of us struggle to remember it's there. Can they do anything to change that?

First run-though: Dark stage. Backing singers are off-stage. Franka sings well, but not a lot happens, apart from a wind machine. I guess they're planning the focus will be on her facial expressions, trying to look 'crazy', but in this run-through it's all very mechanic.

Second run: First shot is on her stretched hand, slowly revealing her face. She uses the mic stand until the 'talky' bit, then she pulls it out, walks about for a bit, then goes back the stand. Some yellow lights in the back. The camera shows her from every possible angle, when it runs out of angles it does it again. Sound mix is absolutely fine, it sounds a lot like the studio.

Third and last run: They're trying a sound effect during the talky bit that makes her sound like she's on a walkie-talkie. There's also smoke that shoots from behind the camera when she goes 'skyyyyyyyy'.

To sum it all, this is... fine

Macedonia

Pre-opinion: One of my favourites this year, finding the change of styles fascinating. But well aware that this is a difficult song to sell, and adding Macedonia's staging track record and the live performances of this I've heard so far, chances are against them.

(still not started, on our screens at least, we're getting views of Portuguese forest bike trails)
(screens are on, looks like we get to see the last runthrough only)

So, it's not the carcrash many feared (hoped?). A standard Pop performance, with Marija walking about and interacting with Bojan and the drummer, and sometimes joining the three female backing singers/dancer in the chorus dance from the music video. Vocals are ok most of the time. Best part for me: the backings snap their fingers! It's very loud in the sound mix, so possibly an added sound effect (guess that's allowed...?)

The routine and outfits very much remind me of Karma's final performance from Dora 2003 .


Bom dia

Lisbon is so lovely! The historic trams aren't just a sight, they also take you to nice neighbourhoods your foot probably won't. If you're a smoker, however, you're never allowed on the metro.

Quick guide to using our blog

Greetings from beautiful Lisbon! The city is lovely and welcoming, but one issue already: The airport has a 'generic' sign at baggage reclaim for all delegations, but a special sign for Macedonia. SCANDAL?

Elin and myself plan to deprive ourselves from our beauty sleeps in order to beat the accreditation queue and report for you from the Azerbaijani rehearsal onwards. The press centre coffee better be stronger than cannoballs.

As every year, we'll have a rolling rehearsal blog where the newest is on top. You can use tags to search for the country that interests you most.

And if you have any question, request, complaint or compliment, you can reply on here, on our Message Board, or tweet us @escnation.

And thanks for tuning in!

[LIVE] Semi 2 : Dress Rehearsal 1 - live reporting

That's it for this rehearsal, people!
Was really fun to see how everything clicked together.

Me signing off!!

OUTRO
The 10 winning songs are being shown once more.

GOING THROUGH
-Israel
-Serbia
-Bulgaria
-Belarus
-Malta
-Ireland
-Austria
-Croatia
-Romania
and finally...
-Switzerland!

FAKE QUALIFIERS
Volodymyr announces Jon Ola Sand as the Mr. Miyagi of Eurovision. Does that also mean he can catch flies with his chopsticks? Before Eurovision once again turns into a cut-throat business, Volodymyr reminds the performers how amaaayzing they are and how great it is that they were allowed to perform in Kyiv.

INTERVAL ACT
The interval act is something dance-y. It's all very interpretative but looks slick because everyone is wearing black clothes with some red ribbon accent. In background of the predominantly percussion backtrack you can hear female voices singing Tatar-style melodic lines. Ukrainian horns warn us of Ruslana's arrival, but luckily for us, for the time being, she's not showing. Then it all ends.
Before we are officially introduced to the leftover finalists for next saturday, Timur gets to chat to Belarus.

VOTING COUNTDOWN
'They say time flies when you're having fun' Time was very slow today, I felt. Maybe there's a button to speed up time in a special app. The Eurovision App isn't the one though. After the countdown, they're talking to Macedonia.

VOTING REPRISE 2
Just before the second reprise Poland is being interviewed. Nothing earth shattering happening here...

VERKA II - The Rise
We now see Verka and mom live the independence of Ukraine, Dana International and eventually her taking part in Eurovision. Again, some of the years mentioned in the captions don't add up, but don't let that spoil your fun watching this.

VOTING REPRISE
Oleksandr and Volodymyr are bantering away as their life never depended on it. In any way the reprise soon follows.

HOST COUNTRY: UKRAINE
O.Torvald are bringing their show with gusto. They really enjoy performing out there. A bit screamy here and there, but I'm glad this type of song is in this year's final.

BIG FIVE: GERMANY
Same story for Germany in the camerawork department. But at least it starts really interesting enough. Sadly it quickly descends into dullness. Although I really like the stark architectural backdrop they've gone for, I feel a splash of ONE extra colour could've lifted it a bit. In this run there was new pyro too.

BIG FIVE: FRANCE
Alma is a bit breathy in the English bits during the first chorus. I feel that the camerawork could've been much tighter on Alma. The graphics are impressive in themselves, but do nothing to emphasize or help how amazing the song is. Instead it's almost off-staging the French entry.

ISRAEL
Imri's big hurdle throughout all of his rehearsals has been getting the vocals right. In this rehearsal he's much more in key. Occassionally 'just' getting away with sloppy singing. But dancing and singing at the same time is a challenge after all. If he repeats this in 6 hours, he'll be qualifying with ease.

ESTONIA-AH-A
What can I say, I love the 80s throwback. Koit seems to have finally mastered his cues and the entire thing is, to paraphrase mister Sofabet, a Telenovella fest. And they'll all repeat it on Saturday.

LITHUANIA
Victorija is wearing very long razorsharp white fingernails. If she would have a blackboard she could torture us all by scratching those of it. Instead she's singing her song. She sings it well though, and it's well performed. Well, as in, fully committed to annoy us for three minutes.

BULGARIA
I wish Kristian would stop hiding his mouth behind his microphone. Just keep it a tad lower. Still not sure of the line graphics that appear on-screen. I don't feel they add much. The more I hear the Bulgarian song, the more I feel it's a dull dirge. But he's quite good, being such a young singer.

BELARUS
The sound mix is off here once more. The male voice sounds much clearer. Kseniya is also a bit more shaky on the vocals. I would so love this to qualify, but they will need keep everything much tighter.

BREAK
Timur again singing his prepared script.

SWITZERLAND
That yellow... thing. Someone get me a bucket of anthracite gray paint now. Vocally she's fine, though in the high notes she clearly lacks power. Or confidence. I like this song in fact, but the dress isn't helping her. After the bridge, she tries channel Mariah, but sadly only Isaiah shows up. Luckily only us press center fanalists are the one subjected to it. Gosh. Not sure about this one.

NORWAY
Joust and his song 'Grab The Moment' is of course the streetcred that Eurovision has been craving ever since the mid 70s. However after Croatia it just seems a bit too mellow. The boys themselves are doing it fine, but I feel myself getting annoyed by the long fast sweeping cameracrane shots. Also not helping Norway's chances is the mumbling during the bridge. At this point in the show, it comes across as filler.

CROATIA
If San Marino was the appetizer in the car crash department, then Croatia is a full-on three course meal. But I adore it. Hope it qualifies, because I feel saturday night needs this. To be honest, I don't think Croatia's camerawork has improved since the last rehearsals. Still Jacques pulls it off. What 'it' is exactly, still remains to be determined.

SAN MARINO
They are very good! 'Nuff said.

IRELAND
Brendan is not doing well vocally. He sprinkles his performance with singing 'just' under the melody. The backing vocals are also all over the place. He was MUCH MUCH MUCH better during last rehearsal session. At least he's a way better body language performer than some of his age cohorts in this competition. It felt as something was wrong in the sound mix.

DENMARK
The backing vocals open the song a capella and the vocal balance is not there. The female voices in there just sound too shrill. Anja is moving professionally on stage, selling the song well. A bit slippery on some of the end-notes, but she's a great singer anyway. Songwise it's such a shame, just because she is so great. Pyro-curtain to end off the song.

HUNGARY
Joci Papai still looks a bit 'Blanche-y' when he starts his song. But I feel that he, just like Blanche, seems to have found his comfort zone on stage. And at the latest by the rap bit he's actually winning me over with his performance. Happy for him, but not feeling the song. But that's only me.

BREAK
Gosh. Timur's English is horrible. As he rambles off his Eurovision facts, he sings his phrases in a totally artificial manner. Luckily his bits are being kept to a minimum.

NETHERLANDS
Talking about vocal powerhousing. Although one of the sisters starts a bit early. The trio seem a bit more nervous than they have been throughout rehearsal week. And it's a bit audible in the voices. By the bridge they've all composed themselves and are vocally back on track. I seem to have noticed a few faintly flat notes. But nothing to be worried about.

ROMANIA
Finally! It's Romania. And nothing too soon. Not really fond of Alex's sleeveless jacket. Nor am I wild about the child letters that spell 'Y - o - d - e - l - i - t' on the big screen. It's harmless, unpretentious fun until the bridge, where they show that vocally they mean business. This is sailing through.

MALTA
We got the wrong credits. Those of Romania.
Claudia still has her breasts projected on the gigantic videowall behind her. This is Slovenia 2017 territory. Competent, yet somehow sleep inducing.

MACEDONIA
Macedonia's postcard has a bit 'NOT FOR AIR' message slapped over it, meaning this isn't the definitive version for the show tomorrow.
Backings aren't pitch perfect, but to the untrained ear they'll sound okay. I think Jana is doing well in this rehearsal. The entire package isn't in the top tier though.

AUSTRIA
Nathan is his impish self throughout the entire performance. I feel that he'll go full on energizer bunny once the arena is filled with a responsive audience. For now the rehearsal is almost faultless. A bit slidey on the wailing, but apart from that smiles all round.

SERBIA
Tijana starts and the sound mix in the press centre is off. The music sounds way too harsh. She looks great this rehearsal. I wonder if the hair will stay the same. Vocally on the cusp of being shouty, but still powerful enough. Ok, now she does cross that line into shouty territory. She ends her song with overemphasizing the last 'p' in deep.

INTRO
The host boys are on stage now. Oleksandr takes the word. And again the guys try to be funny. They'll get it right by tomorrow evening. Also, they're still heavily relying on their cue cards.

Next they 'freestyle' with some musical instruments. Oleksandr is quite good with his flute. Volodymyr likes to handle an accordeon.

Hahaha! They're Ukrainifying some of Eurovision's best known hits. :-)
Awww... a glitch in the sound tape and they have to restart. Volodymyr calls out for his accordeon. Henrik keeps his cool as always. They restart.

Oleksandr's flute is called sopilka. Whatever you say Oleksandr. But keep playing it please.
So, the Eurovision hits... first Euphoria, which is actually quite nice and epic in traditional music style. Next up is Fairytale, which already sounded quite folksy. So not too much of a stretch there. Third hit is 'My Number One'. Think the male choir in 'Moja Stikla'. That kind of singing.
Wow. Even 'Rise like a Phoenix' gets a treatment. It's nothing short of impressive! I like!

As this is the first dress rehearsal, they get to do this intro act a second time. As the production team sets everything up for the second go, Oleksander occupies himself with the logistics of swapping his musical instrument with the cue cards. Quite ingeniously he suggests that one of the Ukrainian grannies has them stuffed in their skirt. It sounds more ridiculous than it is, really.

During the second go, 'Rise like a Phoenix' gets pyro during the final.
A few more hiccups in the transitions - The choir has to leave the stage immediately. But that's what rehearsals are for. Did you know that you can vote using the Eurovision App? It's like a Eurovision party.

16:05
The show starts with traditional dressed young Ukrainian ladies similar to Semi 1. I 'think' they're different but I can't be sure.

16:02
Still waiting. What did I rush for?

15:57
Right. So a bit later than usual.
I'm by myself this afternoon, so it won't be a verbatim report. Only the stuff worth mentioning.
Think performance, camerawork and the likes. For a description of the postcards, well, you'll have to wait for a bit more than a day.

Day 6 - 2nd Run Through : MKD / MLT / ROM

ROMANIA

We start, Alex does his first part, then Ilinca announces "I can't hear my ears at all, they're not working!"

So, take two! Alex is showing us his arms this time while Ilinca is dressed in a tiny red number. Vocally neither of them is blowing anyone's mind although the yodelling is still good. The canons are revealed and they are now sparkly! And Alex can kinda ride the one he pushes on stage. Unfortunately EBU have refused the requests of TVR to have confetti blasting out of them due to clean up time. Also refused were two fire cannons. Due to this, the camera shot at the end of the song is wide, which does not really suit in this occasion. I can understand the frustration of the TV station in this case since that visual would have helped them a lot.

2nd Run - Actually maybe the request being turned down is not such a bad idea. Throughout the rehearsals we've seen the cannons on more than one occasion pointing quite directly at Ilinca's head, so whether it be confetti, or worse fire, she might be glad that Alex's cannon-pushing skills are not putting her directly in danger. Although it would be entertaining.

3rd Run - Alex has just talked to me: "Now what’s the use of being so confused, of doing all this work you really don’t want to be doing?" These songs actually make sense when you read the lyrics. Sometimes. No, no - I joke! But the run itself was same as the other two, this time the cannon was at a safe angle and all in all good enough to qualify.


MALTA

Claudia also decided to change her costume for this rehearsal. Although similar to that worn on Tuesday, this one has an open cleavage. I guess we will know which one will be decided on in the dress rehearsal. Vocally Claudia shows us how it's done, especially with the trio we have before her in the semi (although I still believe Nathan was just having a bit of a bad day). No gimmicks as you know in this song, they wouldn't fit if there were. Unfortunately nobody at the table was facing the screen when the shot of the bosom-backdrop was due so we need to wait for the second one to see if it was kept or if the camera was changed to have it not so visible.

2nd Run - The bosom shot is still there, and Claudia stands right in between the girls. A very confident and competent rendition. Before coming to Kyiv I wasn't truly believing this could qualify but I am now converted and would be quite surprised if it did not.

3rd Run - No faffing about for Claudia, she's finished with one and on to the next! And another very strong rendition. And we're now off for a bit of yodeling! Hurrah!


FYR MACEDONIA

Gone is the green thing from Tuesday's rehearsal, Jana is now dressed in a black shimmery number with fringes - much better. But that is as far as the improvements go. OK, she's less $25 corner more $75 hotel lobby but still. Vocally we're still a bit squeaky in the beginning but she manages to bring it back later on in the song. Jana might not be dancing alone on the semi-final night but she probably will be hugging a bottle on Saturday while watching the contest on TV.

2nd Run - The vocals are still not convincing. The backing singers are clearly better than she is - and they are hidden which seems to be the way to do it this year. Nothing in this song makes you want to get up and dance - not sure if that is ironic or not considering the title. Here's hoping for some glittery masterpiece to be rolled out in the third try.

3rd Run - Unfortunately no glittery nothing, no pyro, no smoke, no nothing! Oh well, MRT will be happy for the refund on the hotel.


LUNCH

I know I mentioned yesterday that lunch has it's own section - but since I've not yet been to lunch there is not much to comment on it. I might even try and get some fruit! I'm assuming they're not going to add spices to THAT also. I mean, literally, everything is covered in spice here, even salads. Tasty spicey, but spicey! This Western type of stomach does not deal well with this constant Eastern type of food!

Day 3 - SRB-AUT-MKD-MLT

MALTA

Most things would have sounded vocally good after Macedonia, Claudia sounds amazing. The strong voice means you almost don't notice it's another woman in white with a blue backdrop.

Another one using images of her self on the backdrop. Including a very off-putting close up of her chest, it looks like she's standing in her own cleavage.

Unlike all the other singers alone on stage, Claudia doesn't look lost.

This feels very much like a potential qualifier. But they need to rethink the backdrop and maybe do something at the end. It just stops.


MACEDONIA

She does, indeed, dance alone.

To quote Paul - "it's okayish". In fairness, that's more than we were expecting.

Vocally she's getting worse each time, but is adequate.

The dance moves are as cheap has hell though. Looks likes she's auditioning for a job at one of the gentelemen's clubs nearby.

You have to hand it to Jana though - giving hope to amateurs everywhere.


AUSTRIA

Very few of this year's singers can work the camera like Nathan. Some excellent close-ups to start this when he is sitting on a crescent moon, with lovely purple storm cloud type backdrop.

After the first chorus he jumps off the moon and moves around a bit being cute and smiley.

Backing singers appear (YAY!) towards the end with Nathan back on the moon and then *gasp* runs on the air!

It's all very cute, maybe too cute? Nathan doesn't look very elegant when he mounts his moon, so need to work a bit on the camera angles.


SERBIA

She's in white and the stage is blue. On her own for a lot of the song, then open-shirted male dancer appears and flounces around.

Awkward moment at the start of the final chorus when Tijana manages to sing without even opening her mouth due to the unseen backing vocals.

This staging is very generic and unexciting, although there are a couple of nice overhead shots with swirling watery images on the floor. Tijana is singing as well as anyone can at 10 in the morning.

Feels like a very long three minutes. She's on her own on the stage for too long and when the dancer arrives he doesn't bring very much. On the positive side, Tijana does comes across as quite likeable/votable (despite some unflattering face contortions).


****
Good morning.

It's day 3 of rehearsals, and we'll get to see the first half of semi two. For the occasion the air conditioning in the press centre has been set to "Austrian mountain".

Day 6 - After Break: Ireland, FYR Macedonia, Lithuania, Australia, Slovenia, Bulgaria

BULGARIA
A great performance! Poli is playful with the camera and knows what she needs to do to gain the attention of the viewers. The errors that have happened (and there was a couple) where all technical in nature - mainly bad camera angles which either cover half the view or show the camera person walking accross the stage. The backing dancers come out as they did in the first rehearsal but this time they are clad in black. Unfortunately no light-up chevrons for them however.


SLOVENIA
Hope and Glory are still trying to escape but seem quite stable where they are. The stage seems to have changed however there are still undertones of blue and pink. We had to stop the first run through but the second one went through fully. Not much to comment about this apart from the dancer is hot as but even though his talent is great, it is not going to help them get through. They are just above the Swiss in the betting odds, and there is a good reason why.



AUSTRALIA
Dressed in the same dress as the first rehearsal, this went quite well apart from the fact that Dami needed help to get off the box. However, even thorough this misshap, her voice did not break at all which shows her professionalism. Waiting to see what happens in the next two.

The holographic images still do not work since they are being mistimed by Dami. We can still see the guys taking her off the podium but hopefully there is another camera angle which hides what is happening on stage.

In the third run-through not only do we see her being taken off but also we see the podium itself being quickly rushed off stage back. We were not supposed to see that - althogh it was very entertaining for the gathered press.



LITHUANIA
After two false starts, both of which were technical, we had one full go. Donny's hair is a bit, well, interesting - I wouldn't personally choose it. Donny is wearing some random jacket with a bunch of writing on it, again, not my choice. He does a summersault through some CO2 bursts - and nearly trips on the landing. This could go wrong on the night. Vocally he is quite flat but it could be that he is just saving himself.

The second run-through and he has a different jacket. Not that it was very much better but still better than the first. Although it is expected to qualify, it is unlikely to be high up on the right hand side of the board.

The third run-through and we have yet another jacket, this time white leather. Out of the three we've seen, this is the best however would have preferred black.




FYR MACEDONIA
Staged beautifully, Kaliopi is wearing a mainly black dress with a white flowy underskirt. Four backing vocalists to her right and a drummer to her left (remember, mirror image if you're looking at her). Much use of the spotlights to a great effect. For the chorus this changes to tones of red and orange. We know however that the Macedonian team is perfectionist and they probably will be looking at this, going through it with a fine toothbrush in order to piont out any perceived inaccuracies. Kaliopi however is also saving her voice a bit, consciously deciding to not try and catch the high notes even though we know she can do so with ease. She is not hitting the money-makers alight with qualifying expectations and I would tend to agree but it is definitely not a showing due to her part but rather the fact that there are other, better songs in this semi final.

Ooh! Something happened mid-song of the third run-through. Kaliopi therefore has a fourth run though, we therefore assume the issue was technical rather than the fault of the delegation.
 


IRELAND
Not too much different from the first rehearsal. Unfortunately I do not think this will be the year that we will be seeing the Irish colours on the Saturday stage. Vocally Nicky is not the best and although the staging is good enough there is nohing that would make me want to vote for this song rather than any other which has before it. I don't think it would make too much of a difference to Nicky's carreer however maybe it will make RTÉ rethink their selection process. In fairness however, they have tried letting the public select the song, and done an internal selection this year so what they should be doing extra is really not for me to comment.

Day 3 - Last set - FYR Macedonia, Lithuania and Australia

AUSTRALIA

Before the rehearsal

The song has certain similarities with "Undo" and is the kind of powerballad that is normally quite easy to stage. The challenge is probably to stage it in a way that doesn't come across as something that's too similar to what has already been done before. Dami is a strong singer and I don't expect her to have any problems. I'm curious to see what they've chosen to do regarding backing singers.

Just had some secret information that Dami's backing singers are no other than Anna Sahlene and Dea Norberg. Dea being a very frequent backing singer in Eurovision, and Anna Sahlene simply being Sahlene :D Let's hope we get to see them.

Rehearsal

Dami is on the floor in a VERY sparkly silvery/white dress.
No, actually, it turns out she's not on the floor, but sitting on a large blocky pedestal. Which is also extremely glittery.
And. She has holograms projections (surprise surprise!) They're sort of random shapes that she moves around with her hands. For the last chorus she's helped down from the podium and walks around the stage a bit. Her dress is very princessy but pretty as it catches the wind machine. It has a very large shoulder piece on one side, and it makes her look a bit hunched sometimes. She may need to work on elongating her neck.

Vocally it's mostly fine. Towards the end there were some strained notes, but possibly just the result of Dami holding back for the rehearsal. The backing singers are pretty loud in the mix, but nowhere to be seen.

Second time around. The podium is is lit up and shiny front the start this time. And there's more lights on Dami too. It also shows off the dress better. But instead the hologram stuff are less visible. She hits all the notes even better this time. Unlike the studio version, there's a LOT of wailing going on in the last chorus. Dami is wailing, and the backing singers sing the lead melody. Which works really well.

My conclusion is that they've definitely managed to come up with a staging that's a lot more exciting than what power ballads of this genre have had in Eurovision before. The holograms are a bit unnecessary, but otherwise it's all looking really good. And sounding really good.



LITHUANIA

Donny starts off alone on a dark stage with a spotlight focusing on him. He sings the first verse rather shakily, while doing some spins and things. As the chorus kicks in the stage lights change a little bit. And he does a little bit of dancing. There's some starry-sky-looking backdrop effects. He remains completely alone on stage. The backing vocals can be heard very prominently, but not seen.
There's also a small trampoline that he briefly uses.

Vocally the first run-through was quite bad. There were a lot of off-key notes. Maybe he'll improve. But vocally it was probably the worst rehearsal so far today.
The performance itself came across as rather minimalistic. This is a prime example of when hiding the backing singers makes no sense at all. He could really have needed more people on stage to make this performance come to life. Right now it's just Donny running across an empty stage all by himself, and mostly it just looks as if they didn't make much of an effort with this.

Second time, and his vocals are a bit better. The stage graphics do look quite good, but there's just nothing very exciting about it. Except maybe for that one tiny jump on the trampoline.

One more run-through, and he changes his clothes. He's wearing a white oversized neoprene jacket that looks like something one goes jogging in. Not sure if he just got cold, or if it's part of what he's planning on wearing next week.


FYR MACEDONIA

Missed the first one, because we were out getting sushi and etceteras. But got back in time for the second run-through.

The stage is looking pretty nice but simple. There's some circular podium-looking graphics on the floor underneath Kaliopi that looks a bit like a digital donut (did someone misunderstand the title?). Or maybe it's supposed to be a Q?

Unlike many other singers, Kaliopi has decided to acknowledge that she has backing singer and has been polite enough to have them on stage with her. Four female backings are on the left side of the stage, and a drummer is on the right side. Kaliopi is in the middle and stays in position for most of the performance. She's wearing a black baggy top and black trousers. It's all rather shapeless and not doing any favours for her figure. So it better not be the real outfit.

The stage is first grey-ish, and then switches to gold, yellow and orange tones with flames on the screens at the back. For the second verse it then switches back to blue and grey. During the instrumental section the cameras pan over the audience and switches to different parts of what's now just empty chairs. But will probably look a lot more exciting once there's a crowd in Globen.

Vocally Kaliopi is mostly fine. In the second run she had problems with her earpiece and had to do the Zaleilah-point to get it fixed. It meant that she was very off-sync in the first chorus, but quickly managed to get back on track. She's a pro, after all. At the end she tries to do a high-pitched falsetto scream (similar to what she did in Crno i belo) but it seems as if she can't quite pull it off this time. But it might just be the rehearsal-effect. The backing singers sing well and also lift the song quite a lot.

Overall, the performance itself is visually nothing special. Not much happens, and just like the song, the staging and choreography could just as well have been in Eurovision 1992. But that's also what suits the song, and it's not trying to be something that it isn't. The focus is on the song and on Kaliopi, and that's probably what's best for this kind of entry. But just like with Ireland, it may still struggle with being memorable enough to make people pick up the phone and vote for it.

The not-press opinion - SRB, IRL, MKD, LTU, AUS

Australia

Blue city lights. She's wearing a silver dress and lies mermaid-style on a glittering blue box. The dress glitters as well. It sounds *perfect*. She lifts the key during the second verse. And then a high note before the second chorus. She's only just sitting there but it looks mystical. She's down from the box helped by two guys during the bridge. Perfect vocals and the high notes sound awesome. She's moving a bit forward. She has given it all, which is kind of risky, I think she will not strain herself as much in the other two. This is pleasing to the eye and the ear.

Looks like no-one else agrees with me. Not sure how biased I am about it, but let's keep going.

The 3D effects are just there, don't really see the point of their existence. That's the only "negative" thing I can say about it. It's really, really pleasing (apparently even more if it's one of your favourites anyway!).

A bit more expressive in the last run and held back vocally. She's also satisfied, a big smile.

Summary: What I wanted it to be like, could have had just a tad more movement from her (it takes too long to leave the box). And the projections stuff does not really give anything to the song and happens too fast to understand. Apart from all this, it is really convincing and certainly a challenger for gold. See the odds shortening the next few hours.

Lithuania

Donny Montell is around 5 years younger than in 2009. He's alone on stage and dancing awkwardly in the beginning. Everything's blue and some dots, supposedly stars, appear. After the second chorus, it suddenly becomes more colourful. A prop appears, but he doesn't use it (?). He hasn't been very good vocally so far, then he goes melisma on the last part and somehow sounds okay. I guess he is not good at holding a tune, but he is good at "inventing" tunes? Nothing much, really. It was basically a blue Ireland.

Shaky start again, and his moves are of a poor man's Måns :) He even has his legs a bit wider apart than normal. The performance is very energetic, but the energy is inefficiently used. No point in carrying a prop (a tiny trampoline) if you are going to use it for 1 jump. It was a bad idea to have him alone on stage, the backing vocals could have appeared towards the end, when he does his solo.

The vocals have improved, or in more honesty, he skips the notes he knows won't happen. The moves keep looking a bit out of place. And then the prop is finally used. He does a backflip and smoke comes off from both sides of the trampoline as he is landing. More smoke and then it ends.

Summary: A bad decision to be alone on stage, but if he qualifies again, all credit goes to him. Coming after Macedonia is a plus for them, but then there's Australia after them, of which a classier staging is expected. The vocals are not perfect, however they've managed to make it less noticeable. And the melismatic part was flawless all three times.

Macedonia

Blue background and black clothes for her, her 4 backings and her drummer. Very strong voice and it's well performed. She knows how to make a live performance; she isn't trying to imitate the studio version, but finds ways to give some more life to it. Unfortunately, these ways include a very bad wail at the end. It plans on making the song more impressive but it comes across a bit forced. Literally zero movement on stage, except for some hand moves, on which I'll focus in the next run.

Turns out that this was the last run (McDonalds is far more time-consuming than expected).

Summary: Can't properly judge it, but it looked flat and unexciting. They haven't done anything to try and improve its chances. It's a much worse song than her other effort, so I don't think they are qualifying, based on what I've seen.

Ireland

Nicky appears in a red beam of light behind him on stage, wearing a brown-red jacket and black pants. He's a bit shaky at first but by the chorus the backings do their job quite well. Some problems along the next verse again. Nothing's really going on on-stage, with a drummer, a guitar and a keyboard player standing around him. No sight of the very audible female vocalists. The stage is too red, almost Dum Tek Tek red. It comes across as a filler, unfortunately and his voice doesn't do them any favours.

During the second verse the backdrop turns blue (innovation alert) and then back to red. Vocals much better this time round. He walks on the catwalk towards the end, with the last shot being him standing with the fist in the air. Improvement overall.

The place where he stands in the catwalk for the last few seconds has a very flamy sun on. No more improvement this time.

Summary: It is a very ordinary performance and it will probably be lost in this semi. There's not much going for him, although the catwalk was an effort to make him seem somehow charismatic and audience-friendly; this doesn't work. He needs to relax, smile a bit more and manage to hit some camera shots.

Serbia

Arrived just in time for her second (?) rehearsal. Sanja's dress is gorgeous, is there an opposite of the Barbara Dex award? I hope she actually wears this. Her strange moves have been reduced and the performance is much less weird; or I'm getting too much used to it already. A blue flower/star shape appears on the floor during the chorus. The staging reminds of Molitva's a lot, as expected. There is also a male dancer who acts like he wanted to be a female backing singer. Sanja misses one high note but rocks the ending.

Last run. The concept seems to be that she tries to escape the guy. She makes good eye-contact with the camera, as long as her eyes don't make the weird things. The dancer's moves are a bit too "aerobic" for the atmosphere at some parts. She fails the high note before the last chorus once again and makes the final note once again. The backings are staged identically to Molitva towards the end.

Summary: Well, it is much more polished and much less busy than I expected. She appears to be cool on stage and they are doing something that they've tried before and won. It should be safe, however the twice missed note is a bit concerning. Hopefully she will make it on the night (or they can skip it otherwise, because there is nothing else really wrong with this).

SEMI FINAL ONE - THIRD DRESS REHEARSAL

Apologies, got in a bit late today. No, I'm all here after the fantastic Israeli party but just was having a bit of a lie in. At the party yesterday we had Amber, Kurt Calleja, María Ólafs, Il Volo, Michele & Anita, Elnur (who sang part of Hava Nagila) and some others. Always a party not to miss.

So, what have we seen up to now today:

MOLDOVA
Still sings competently well. Qualifier - likely.

ARMENIA
THEY GOT THE CIRCLE! THEY GOT THE CIRCLE! And it didn't look weird! Now let's hope they can repeat tonight. Qualifier - likely

BELGIUM
Another greatt rendition. Qualifier - likely

NETHERLANDS
Trijntje is in the same dress as yesterday afternoon - so we assume she's keeping this now. Qualifier - unsure.

FINLAND
I have decided to refrain from commenting on this. It seems whatever anyone says about this it ends up being taken too much to heart by people so it's not worth the drama. Qualifier - you decide.

BREAK
Interview Loïc and Trijntje.

GREECE
Much wind, many light, breath. Qualifier - yes.

ESTONIA
Well, it seems the crying is part of the act since she cried again now! No need to worry, it's all part of it. Qualifier - yes.

FYR MACEDONIA
Again, this is not bad. It's just not attractive enough to make it an easy qualifier. Unlikely.

SERBIA
Gone are the days when clothing ripped off during a performance magically disappeared from stage. Bojana's white robes litter the ground making it look messy. Beauty may not lie but cleanliness is supreme. Qualifier - too close to call. It could go either way.

HUNGARY
Nothing else needed - yes.

BELARUS
Just like with FYR Macedonia, this is a decent enough song, just not strong enough in the semi. Unlikely.

RUSSIA
Absolute belter! Top 3 in the final is hers, or it's ROBBED!

BREAK
Talking to Elina and Stig. Elina shows she doesn't only sing cute puppy-eye songs. Then off to Bojana.
Reminder again for the DVD and CD and #eurovision.

DENMARK
One of the other difficult ones to judge. It's Danish enough to make it work but in a year like this will being "Danish enough" mean anything? 

ALBANIA
i assume she's saving her voice. Did not sound as good as it has been in the past rehearsals. She did the same yesterday so there is a trend. I would like to say yes but it also falls in the question mix.

ROMANIA
All over again. The more I watch and listen the more I realise how I have no fecking clue of what is going to happen with half of these songs. The message is good, the song is mediocre. Hungary beats Romania on the combination of the two - but is Europe willing to have two of these on Saturday?

GEORGIA
Finally, something that doesn't make me judge my capabilities of having my own thoughts and opinions. Not that my thoughts and opinions are much different to anyone else's on this song but at least I know it's a qualifier. Unlike yesterday, she sings it as it should be - last warm up before the big night. 

RECAP
Slight glitch with the graphics which had the rolling 'telephone numbers' sequence going on when the voting hadn't been opened yet. No need to redo so we continue with the actual recap once the voting is open.

Noting different to yesterday so just read that one if you need. No hiccups, no champagne, no petits fours, NOTHING!

"QUALIFIERS"
01. Greece

And again a technical issue.Mirjam is a lier. Apparently.

So now...

01. Moldova (reminds me of Igor's voting method)

02. FYR Macedonia (this time with FYR mentioed)
03. Hungary
04. Georgia
05. Estonia
06. Belarus
07. Armenia

Small talk for suspence.

08. Greece
09. Denmark

Last finalist from the first semi final of 2015.

10. The Netherlands. Les Pays Bas.

RECAP
Again, in order of appearance not announcement.

End of show. Only a few hours until the show begins!!!

 
 
 

Interview: FYR Macedonia

Our final interview from Semi 1 contestants. This time the lovely Daniel Kajmakovski. This guy is amazing, don't know where he gets his energy from. If I only had half of his I would be quite pleased with myself. Unfortunately we didn't get to do the quick round questions but let's see what he had to say for our other ones.

Daniel Kajmakoski - Facebook

Daniel Kajmakoski (@Kay_Makovsky) | Twitter

Daniel Kajmakoski (@daniel_kajmakoski) • Instagram