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!
Bringing you all the news and gossip from the rehearsals in Vienna
Saturday, 7 May 2016
Day 6 - Albania, Belgium
Belgium
This is a total standout in this semi final.
I didn't really like the song originally, but on stage it all just suddenly "makes sense". Laura is cute, bubbly and is ha ing a lot of fun. The backing singers/dancers as well, and it's nice how they made them part of the act. It's retrp bit still fresh. Thr only problem is that Laura's shorts are still very ill-fitting.
But basically, it's a great end to the show, and I am sure it's gonna do a lot better than most people expected back when it was selected.
Albania
Peach/beige tight dress that works nice with her ginger hair. The floor graphics match the dress nicely. And the backing singers are visible.
Visually it's very nice. And she sings it ok. It comes across as rather boring though. Nothing really happens during the performance. The stage is pretty static and so is Elhaida. I can't really think of any reason why somebody would find this exciting enough to vote for it.
Day 6 - Denmark, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ten years ago Ukraine sent "Show me your love" by Tina Karol to Eurovision. I thought it was a really dull song. Until I saw the live performance. Then I loved it!
I think Ukraine has managed to have the same effect on me this year too. I originally though 1944 was a bland melody-less song. But just having seen Jamala sing it, it won me over!
She sings it perfectly. And the vocal arrangement with the backing singers (who are on stage \o/) is really nice. I have a feeling that this will do a lot better than I originally thought.
Denmark
The boys are looking a bit tired. No surprise, as they were at Euroclub until quite late last night. Vocally they are a lot stronger today though. They don't seem to struggle much at all. The performance is the same and not very interesting, but it's very different from everything else and might just really benefit from being quite simplistic.
Day 6 - Australia, Slovenia, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
The song starts with a very very close close up of Poli's face. Almost like Trijntje last year. Her lips are dark blue. Has she been sucking on Rykka's hair?
There are no chipmunk vocals in the song now, it's all been replaced by the flute. And vocally they are all singing quite well. But the chorus doesn't quite sounds as "big" vocally as in the studio version.
I like this performance though. She pulls off owning the stage all by herself, and it's effective when the backing singers join her at the end. They really look like they're having a lot of fun.
Slovenia
It's visually quite pleasing. The stage has nice colours and ManuElla looks good. Not sure why she puts her hands together as if she's praying during the Aliyev-parts though.
Vocallt it's fine. The male pole dancer is there but is quite disconnected to ManuElla.
I suspect this performance won't be enough to make this stand out. Its innthe middle of a segment of three entries with female solo singers. And a segment of four songs in a row with singers who are (mostly) alone on stage as their backing singers are mostly hidden. And between those songs, Slovenia's staging probably is the least memorable, even if it's pleasant enough.
Australia
The staging is even better today. It's a lot brighter and the holograms work better.
Last time I watched thia rehearsal I couldn't hear the sound very well. But today I'm seated at a better location. Which made me notice that she's actually a bit out of tune here and there. And her facial expression doesn't really change at all during the song, so ahe doesn't look like she's enjoying herself. Hopefully both of that will change once she's performing for real.
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.
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.
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