Bringing you all the news and gossip from the rehearsals in Vienna
Friday, 13 May 2016
Dress Rehearsal - Final
SHOW ENDS
This rehearsal has overrun by nearly 45 minutes so there is no time to rehearse the end. The showing in the press centre ends abruptly.
TELEVOTING RESULTS
The 16 lowest-ranking televoting countries are awarded their points.
Then after a confirmation of the top 3 we get the top 10 results.
Måns and Petra are drinking out of the same cup. Both of them look quite tired now.
The system of suspence until the end might not work. Armenia has 188 points and is yet to receive televote points. We know that we are over the 100 mark so with Belgium currently leading with 281 we know Armenia won.
Croatia came second in 'televote' with the United Kingdom winning it.
Armenia, Belgium, Sweden, United Kingdom, Malta, Czech Republic, Israel, Azerbaijan, Austria and Latvia are top 10 with Serbia finishing last with 126 points.
JURY VOTING ORDER (at least in this rehearsal):
Austria, Iceland, Azerbaijan, San Marino, Czech Republic...
Petra is looking knackered! She sits down for a bit and then it seems that there is a break.
We now go back to the votes for the Czech Republic. But there is no communication between the two.
We just noticed that we now have country 38 appearing on thescfreen and this apparently should be Poland however we were informed that the capital city will be Vilnius. Unless Warsaw has changed place we believe this could be a mistake.
39th will be Slovenia.
After all countries vote, we get the Jury scoreboard presented by Måns.
VOTING TIME!
Petra, dressed in a beaded rose dress informs us once more that there is no real change in the way the voting took place just how the voting is presented. We go to Jan Ola Sand who confirms the Jury votes are all confirmed and we will go through them while the televotes are being verified.
The spokesperson only gives the 12 points. 1-10 are on screen immediately.
MÅNS - FIRE IN THE RAIN
Måns and his four dancers are on a personal motorised scooters (aka. hoverbards). He sings Fire in the Rain and then we should be going into Heroes but it seems there is an issue. Måns is off the board and we now stop the rehearsal.
The second run through and this time it seems to be going to the end of the segment. We are asking ourselves however - how long will this broadcast be? What, if anything, will be cut?
COUNTDOWN & LINES CLOSED
"Europe! Stop voting NOW!"
THE NERD NATION
We now *do* have the third and final segment of mockumentary.
LYNDA WOODRUFF
Lynda Woodruff does a question and answer section. Unfortunately not the best we've had from Lynda. We would have expected more.
SKIT
Apparently, all Eurovision winners have been taken to Switzerland and have been scientifically experimented on. We then get the steps to win Eurovision. Rybak makes an appearance. During the step for 'costume', Petra's dress gets ripped off to reveal Charlotte Nielsson's (as she was then known) outfit from 1999. Måns is wearing Dima Bilan's white ensemble. The show has a number of former acts - Russian grannies, Polish butter churner, Carola's flag bearers, Molitva's heart... the whole press room erupts in laughter. We also see this getting the biggest applause for the whole show!
PETRA MEDE
Petra says that another 26 acts have taken to the Eurovision stage and goes to show how the right singer and the right song can create a carreer. She therefore starts to 'sings' The Power of One by Céline Dion. Drowning cats have been more in tune. We know she can sing, so this is for comic effect.
DESTINY CHUKUNYERE
Destiny is introduced by Måns who also informs that Malta will be hosting the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
2nd RECAP
Time for another recap
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
Or rather, it will be him, we did not have him. 7 minutes long.
Swedish Music Success
OK, so I was a bit quick in saying it was the mockumentary and go bathroom when in fact it was a mix of Swedish music success with lots of quick cuts of Swedish music hits.
GREEN ROOM
Måns is in the green room. He tals to 'Justin Timberlake' who is at Eurovision because SVT paid for his 1st class ticket. He has been a fan since Mekado sang 'Wir geben 'ne Party'. Sure he has.
LINES OPEN + RECAP
We get informed of how to vote, how many times you can vote and the recap starts.
BEFORE VOTE OPENING
Petra is wearing a green monstrosity.
Sir Ian McKellan and husband Sir Derek Jacobi are then seen sitting on the couch at home watching the contet. Sir Ian is tired and asks how long they have been watching since it feels like it has been all night. "5 minutes" replies Sir Derek.
ARMENIA
What an ending to a show! Whatever issues Armenia have brought on themselves due to the flag-gate issue, they still managed to get the closing spot! And a great closer it is. Iveta also chose to not wear make-up for this rehearsal but is still looking stunning. The rehearsal goes without a hitch and there is a final applause from the gathered europress. Now time to see the parts of the show we have not seen before.
UNITED KINGDOM
As I mentioned numerous times, I unfortuantely do not get the hype of this song - which again, is mainly hype by British fanpress. The staging could be better, the 'choreography' is forced and the bouncing is off-putting. It will gather enough points to not need to worry about being bottom 5 but I do ot expect it to be much higher than that. No applause after they finished.
AUSTRIA
Zoë is back! Hurrah! She has captivated the eurofans this year. Everyone wants to her song to be played - so that we can all join in the singing (which murders it)! After the first semi final, Zoë was at the Euroclub until the early hours. We also know she liked her partying in London - she looks all innocent but she is not. Odds are saying that Austria will be in the top 10, and we tend to agree. Even though it would not be something that I would personally want to have on a repeat loop, once in a while is enjoyable, and it could be a good rest track for while you're on the treadmill - enough to get your breath before having to do another run.
GEORGIA
It was clear yesterday that this would have qualified so we are unsure why there is the surprise that they are on the stage tomorrow. The camera works, the vocals work and the show works! The odds are now in favour of Georgia doing a good showingl, however unlikely to win.
MALTA
Coming after Ukraine might not have been the best draw for Malta. It was revealed today by a local Maltese newspaper that the team had an unlimited budget for Eurovision this year. The reaction of the Maltese is generally one of not being impressed. It would therefore have been a disaster if this did not qualify and heads would have definitely rolled! Performance wise, it is good but non-spectacular. There has been an addition of some on-screen effects but unlike the case of Italy, they do not really seem to be working. Oh well, thank goodness for that budget!
UKRAINE
And it is time for the one and only song that is giving me goosebumps this year. Still getting them even after hearing it countless times, watching it countless times, clapping for it countless times. Jamala gives another impeccable performance. A strong contender for the crown. And Kiev is extremely cheap! We wouldn't mind going there in May 2017.
LATVIA
Another good performance by Justs. If he partied last night it doesn't show. The vocals and choreography (if that is what you could call it) is as good as it was last night. Possibly top 10 finish.
SPAIN
Why does Barei's dress say 03? Did she not realise that having a number on an outfit during Eurovision might make people think you're the entry of that number. The backing vocals are a bit off and Barei is doing ok. The camera angles are a lot better than it was before and now the split screen is making sense when you imagine the crowd cheering GUAPA!
RUSSIA
And time for Russia's Sergey! Slight slip of the foot this time but no falling. Apart from that a performance that cannot be criticised - vocally sound, visually good and that face of an angel which will make mothers accross Europe want to have him as a son-in-law. Top 3 if not winner.
CROATIA
Vocally leaving to be desired, we're not sure if Nina is suffering from the Eurovision flu or if there is something else to it. Unfortunately it appers vocally this is the worst performance we've had up to now. The rest of the performance is reasonable enough but if she sings like this tonight and tomorrow then we doubt many points will be coming Nina's way.
LITHUANIA
As usual, my prediction after the semi in which Lithuania take part is a 9/10 due to this country. I am starting to get annoyed but I guess it is not their fault. I should just completely reverse my gut instinct on them. The hair, the jacket, the choreography, the jump, the singing - what made Europe vote for this is still a bit of a question mark but apparently they did. Wearing his black singlet for the somersault we're seeing Donny's arms which is a decent sight - shame about the hair which ruins it. Not expecting this on the left - and the bookies agree.
SERBIA
Sanja went for the non-make up look for this rehearsal. Looking stunningly fresh and performing amazingly well apart from a slight missed high note. Good top 10 finisher - not much else to say.
CYPRUS
How many points will Cyprus get this year now that Greece is not there. Answer: A decent few more than they would have! Francois is not trying to get the howl right this time - probably to save himself for tonight. The guys have been seen often at the Euroclub so they might be feeling a bit worse for wear - still a decent enough performance. Difficult to place but I would say bottom left or top right. Now see it win the whole thing!
AUSTRALIA
Back to the contest for the Australian entry. Back to good use of camera angles to help the artist in dodgy moments. It needs an audience however, when the arena is empty the atmosphere is not the same. There are still issues with Dami not knowing exactly where and when to interact with the stage but this clearly did not influence the voting public too much last night and there is no reason to think that it will tomorrow either. Another top 10 finish for the land down under.
BREAK
Petra likes the colour of Michał's jacket. Don't worry "just 14 songs to go" says Petra. We then go to find Måns at the Tele2 arena where there is a huge Eurovision party going on. His microphone however doesn't work so we can't hear the script. Loreen and Carola will be with him. They select their favourite songs from Eurovision, Måns chooses 'Nor Par (Jan Jan)' which might have not been the best choice considering the issues with Armenia currently - and would Azerbaijan approve?
POLAND
Well, to all those who doubted Poland - Michał showed what he is capable of! Vocally he is still very good, and the simple song in strong in this year with a lot of technology-requiring numbers. Whether this will mean he will be on the left hand side of the board is another matter but the Poles have learned that they are all around Europe and their collective voting is capable of giving a good rank to their entry.
FRANCE
And another Big5 entry is on stage. There is something missing still. Although we were told the reasonings behind Amir being alone on stage and the choice of staging, there is a collective thought that this could have been staged so much better. Although still 4th in the betting, the odds for France have been getting larger - meaning he is losing strength with them. We agree - and would not be surprised if this ends up quite low on the final score board.
GERMANY
After the German postcard Måns and Petra are back on stage and chit chat to fill time. We then have the German postcard again.
And the mystique which comes on stage with the staging and the dry ice works very well - in my humble opinion. "Thank you so much" says Jamie-Lee with a little shy smile. We like her, even though her outfit selections are sometimes questionable! Lots of people are commenting that this will end in the bottom 5 again, I really hope they are wrong. I don't expect it to set people alight but it would be nice to have Germany in the top 15.
SWEDEN
Well, it's still something which I do not understand. Due to this there is not much I can comment on since I do not believe I could give it the justice it probably deserves. What we are sure of however is that Sweden will be receiving the 24 points from the five Nordic nations which are not in the Final this year - the rest of Scandinavia plus Estonia.
BULGARIA
The question now is - will her lower right leg chevron light up! It is the one that has been playing up a bit over the rehearsals but worked when needed. And nope - it doesn't They should try and fix this before tonight/tomorrow. It must be a wiring issue, something went loose due to Poli's continuous gyrating! Vocally impeccable and the staging working well - but would it be enough for us to meet in Sofia next year?
ISRAEL
This was going great, until a slow stage hand didn't run fast enough and was caught in camera shot running off with the microphone stand! They need to ensure this does not happen on the night - Hovi will not be happy! Got a decent clap from the gathered europress.
ITALY
Francesca doesn't even start. Saying "No! Sorry! No" and then we see there is some problem with her in-ear. Maybe no sound at all or something irritating. She is not happy.
Back on track and there is nothing to worry about. The singing is pitch-perfect. The scene is exactly as we've been seeing online. It seems however that there is someone who is possibly handing her the apple at the end since she doesn't have a look of struggle to take it off as she normally has. The camera angles also go very close to her and she is on the left hand side of the screen when it happens - all angles to hide the person on stage at that time. You will see this in the top 5.
HUNGARY
Oh Freddie! As I'm sure many others feel, if only there was a quiet room we could have a chat! A simple choreography, good staging and a husky lovely vocal wrapped in a beautiful package. We think he will do well. "See you in the evening" says Freddie as the lights go out. Yes you will Freddie! Yes you will!
AZERBAIJAN
This is really not worthy of the final. This should have been Iceland and Greta but the result is what it is. Samra still can't sing apart the parts where it's actually Sahlene that is doing all the work. Will still get points from their 'friends'. The staging however is still amazingly good - it shows that sometimes you can distract enough with wow factors that the singing does in fact become secondary.
THE NETHERLANDS
Well, this was one of the ones I did not predict right. It seems obvious in hindsight but that pause seemed so awkward. Douwe has been relaxing since last Tuesday and performs well as he always does. We still prefer the camera eyefucking game that the guitarist is giving us. Alsjeblieft! Dank je wel!
CZECH REPUBLIC
First time the Czech Republic will be on the final stage and it is a lovely little number. Gabriela might not have been lucky with the position she was given but it is likely just the fact that they are in the final is enough to light the flame of Eurovision in the nation. She sang beautifully and would be a deserved top 15 placing but you never know what can happen with this contest.
BELGIUM
From closing act in the SF2 to opening in Final, Laura is still a little star. You would have expected she might have 'celebrated' a bit last night but her vocals are good and choreography still on point. We need to start learning the choreography since this will be a classic in the euroclub for years to come. It has been played countless times this year - sometimes up to 5 times in one night! Delightful!
HOSTS INTRODUCTION
Petra welcomes us to the grand final - she makes a mistake. We then have Måns also speak and back to Petra - who makes another mistake. She doesn't have her glasses on so maybe she can't see the prompter.
The joke about the Eurovision party and Petra not being hit on is back. We then get told how to vote.
We then get told that although the way the televoting happens has not changed, the way the votes will be announced has in order to make it more exciting. Petra appears to have partied a bit too much last night, she keeps on not managing to get the words out.
THE OPENING
The opening sequence is a mix of artists getting ready in the tunnels, the audience, the show control room. It ends with the countdown to the show cue to start. Models then start walking on stage which is a catwalk with an artist behind each one - in running order. We have a bit of a musical pause after Italy to then get back into the beat for Israel. The models are all dressed in different white ensembles. When the name of the country is mentioned, the colours of that country's flag are projected on the costume and in some cases on stage. Another short interlude after Lithuania to get back in the groove for Croatia. You will enjoy the costume of the Croatian model! Zoë has changed from a young innocent looking girl to a street urchin boy! (maybe she just wasn't ready on time).
Before we Start
And here we are - the moment we have been waiting for! 20 semi finalists have been chosen to take part in the grand final and we are mere moments away from seeing their first dress rehearsal. The running order was announced last night and it could be a bit unfair that the opening act is from yesterday's show while the next SF2 finalist is on at number 7.
Thursday, 12 May 2016
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.
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.
Download the scorecards for tonight's semi final here!
Today SVT will present the second semi final to the world (and Norway). Which means that every self-respecting Eurovision afficionado should make sure to have these nifty scorecards printed out and ready for judging tonight's show.
You can download the scorecards here
Oppholdsvær prediction, part dos
Or I guess this is part uno of the oppholdsvær prediction, as the Tuesday one was a rainy one...? Either way, it's Eurovision today!!
I correctly predicted 8/10 in Tuesday's semi - annoyingly, the two qualifiers I missed out on (Croatia and Azerbaijan) were entries I've seen as obvious, safe qualifiers for months, but got convinced by rehearsal reports were a bit doomed. Their qualifications were fully deserved, and I changed my mind again while watching (and then managed 9/10 – still thought Iceland would do it instead of Malta). Croatia in particular sounded much better than I expected, and much to my amazement she'd suddenly developed personality! And Azerbaijan was far from as horrible vocally as reported, and it looked really good – excellent use of the screens.
So, how wrong will I be tonight? Let's have a look!
1 Ukraine | Don't think this is a Eurovision winner, but should be able to win tonight. Might be a bit divisive for some at home, but televoters don't have negative votes, after all. And pretty sure the juries will wet themselves (even if the Russian one might disagree on Saturday, periscoped or not...).
2 Australia | This is all a bit bland and disappointing for me, but it seems to work.
3 Bulgaria | Not seen any clips of this, and only one (very dubious!) photo, but even if they're not nailing the staging, the song itself is strong enough this should work reasonably well. Vote vote vote!
4 Latvia
5 Belgium | Very lucky draw for this, and I doubt it'll do much in the final, even with a similar draw there, but even I am starting to not hate it... :-o
6 Israel | I've had this as a likely (if borderline-ish) qualifier ever since we got the new version of it (well, new song, really, several bits of the melody is actually completely different), and most others seems to have followed suit during rehearsals, so upgrading it to a safe 6th.
7 Lithuania | This has seemed relatively safe all along, but I've also had a little bet on it to not qualify. As much as anything, it's one I can't really see who will care about, even if it's pretty strong and performed well. Also, LOSE THE PERM, DONNY.
8 Poland
9 Serbia | I assume the juries will love this, but not quite as sure about the televoters.
10 Norway | Hm. Thought it was a safe qualifier and possible top 10 in the final when it was chosen, but have since gone off it a bit. Not that I think she won't perform it well, or that her lack of promo will matter at all, nor do I think the tempo change really ruins it, it's just that I don't really think it's quite strong enough as a song. I would've predicted it out had Romania still been in, but I think it's sneaking through now. Only to do a Tooji in the final or so, perhaps...?
11 Macedonia | Kaliopi is obvs giving this her all, presumably securing reasonably good jury support, as well as a good bunch of friendly televotes, but I don't think her song is good enough this year to make it. Maybe a platypus version would help?
12 Albania | I looooved the original version, and quickly grew to loooove the new one too, but I'm sadly not expecting the world to agree :-(
13 Denmark | So inoffensive I'm offended.
14 Georgia | Reports seem to suggest this is doing much better than previously expected, but then 'previously expected' was about 19th, so...
15 Belarus | Will probably manage to scrape up some points just for being a bit... Belarussian.
16 Slovenia | Aww.
17 Ireland | Who's going to vote for this, seriously?
18 Switzerland | Smokey armpits, great idea there, The Rajkka...
I correctly predicted 8/10 in Tuesday's semi - annoyingly, the two qualifiers I missed out on (Croatia and Azerbaijan) were entries I've seen as obvious, safe qualifiers for months, but got convinced by rehearsal reports were a bit doomed. Their qualifications were fully deserved, and I changed my mind again while watching (and then managed 9/10 – still thought Iceland would do it instead of Malta). Croatia in particular sounded much better than I expected, and much to my amazement she'd suddenly developed personality! And Azerbaijan was far from as horrible vocally as reported, and it looked really good – excellent use of the screens.
So, how wrong will I be tonight? Let's have a look!
1 Ukraine | Don't think this is a Eurovision winner, but should be able to win tonight. Might be a bit divisive for some at home, but televoters don't have negative votes, after all. And pretty sure the juries will wet themselves (even if the Russian one might disagree on Saturday, periscoped or not...).
2 Australia | This is all a bit bland and disappointing for me, but it seems to work.
3 Bulgaria | Not seen any clips of this, and only one (very dubious!) photo, but even if they're not nailing the staging, the song itself is strong enough this should work reasonably well. Vote vote vote!
4 Latvia
5 Belgium | Very lucky draw for this, and I doubt it'll do much in the final, even with a similar draw there, but even I am starting to not hate it... :-o
6 Israel | I've had this as a likely (if borderline-ish) qualifier ever since we got the new version of it (well, new song, really, several bits of the melody is actually completely different), and most others seems to have followed suit during rehearsals, so upgrading it to a safe 6th.
7 Lithuania | This has seemed relatively safe all along, but I've also had a little bet on it to not qualify. As much as anything, it's one I can't really see who will care about, even if it's pretty strong and performed well. Also, LOSE THE PERM, DONNY.
8 Poland
9 Serbia | I assume the juries will love this, but not quite as sure about the televoters.
10 Norway | Hm. Thought it was a safe qualifier and possible top 10 in the final when it was chosen, but have since gone off it a bit. Not that I think she won't perform it well, or that her lack of promo will matter at all, nor do I think the tempo change really ruins it, it's just that I don't really think it's quite strong enough as a song. I would've predicted it out had Romania still been in, but I think it's sneaking through now. Only to do a Tooji in the final or so, perhaps...?
Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Dress Rehearsal - Semi Final 2
END OF THE SHOW
Unfortunately we do not get to see any remainder of the show due to the time. They need to start letting the people in for the dress rehearsal of the evening. Therefore this is where the transmission, and in turn, this blog, ends.
UNITED KINGDOM
Jake & Joe are in a basement bar on a stage getting ready to perform, and then they're suddenly in football kit on a field in a stadium. Though when they start playing it turns out it's actually rugby. Then we see some random British street at night time and the word United Kingdom (with the hashtag #GBR) appears.
Stage Director: "We will have the same problem tonight [...]. There is too little time between UK and Italy to take all the things in and out".
They are wearing their garbs from the second rehearsal. The stage lighting has changed a bit which seems to work better for them. The choreography however is still looking a bit too forced - Joe can't do choregraphy and Jake jumps about aimlessly. The British are all over this but I am not sure anyone apart from them is seeing what they do.
ITALY
Francesca's postcard shows her playing the grand piano and walking around inside a very fancy building and outside by the water. It seems to be in Venice as there's a lot of canals and things.
And something is not right so the stage director is telling us that this will be what is being recorded but it will work when needed! We hope.
Francesca is wearing the same as she did in the first rehearsal. There is still a shot where you see a cameraperson walking slowly off stage, no rush dear! Vocally flawless, Francesca still appears a bit flustered once she finishes her performance. Still received a loud applause from the gathered press.
GERMANY
Jamie Lee is in a flower shop. Lots of plastic flowers everywhere. Then she's doing some arts and crafts to make a new hat for herself. Eventually she goes outside on top of some building where she dances with an umbrella.
Jamie-Lee's micorphone is higher than in previous rehearsals. The stage is also a bit darker, the trees are illuminated in deeper pink . Although her outfit is the same as before, the footwear has slightly changed. In this rehearsal there is no dry ice covering the stage floor. Although some of the mistyque of the song is added with the new colours of the stage, the dry ice definately is needed in order to add to the effect.
INTRODUCTION OF DEU, ITA, GBR
Petra says that as a single woman, the choice of Man vs Machine is not an option. Laughter erupts!
Måns introduces Jamie-Lee in German, Petra does Francesca in Italian and Måns again for Joe&Jake in a strong queen's British accent. More laughter.
It's then all about numbers - information about Eurovision in numerical form.
INTERVAL
A metallic robot is on stage. But that is all we see, this scene has been stopped.
And it's back on. And it seems there should have been a dancer on stage also. This robotic hand dances with the human - no idea what this is all about. The machine then offers a banana to him. Two more identical robots rise on the stage. The three machines interact with each other via laser beams.
More dancers come on stage and there is a dance-off between human and machine. Electronic versions of hit (non-Eurovision) songs are done. The act name is now on screen "Man vs Machine".
The scene ends with one of the humans unplugging the machine and these go silent, in the darkness and cold of the stage.
LINES CLOSED
We are going through the counting down numbers again.
(Smalltalking in Swedish)
Petra: You said you couldn't count down from 20.
Mans: There's only one more week.
We have to do the countdown again. Petra says "thunder and lightening it's getting exciting". Should there really be a reference to a competing song in the dialogue?
PRESENTERS & SECOND RECAP
Petra and Måns are back on screen. Måns says that people are talking about the show and Petra's accent, to which she in turn mocks Måns' fake American one. The joke goes wrong however so they have to repeat it. We then get a second recap.
POST RECAP + MOCKUMENTARY
Petra is loving the fact that the fans are so respectful. She went to a Eurovision party last night and none of the guys came on to her. She asks if it's the same for Måns - to which he moves swiftly on from the topic.
We then have the second part of the mockumentary we started yesterday.
BREAK
Belgium won 30 years ago with Sandra Kim's J'Aime La Vie. It turns out Sandra was only 3 years old when she won - amazing talent!
Europe, and Norway, start voting NOW!
BELGIUM
Laura's postcard mainly shows her being bouncy in various locations. No specific theme or red thread.
Bouncy, bouncy Laura. She has grown extremely since when we saw her in Antwerp all those months ago. She is no longer the shy girl of before, but a confident young woman who knows how to grab the audience and make them dance with her. The staging, lighting and choreography is just screaming qualifier.
ALBANIA
Eneda's postcard shows her running around the Albanian countryside with a little girl (possibly her daughter) and we see images of flowers and vinyards.
The performance begins and she's in the same peach-golden fin-dress as before. Her hair is straight and parted in the middle, and seems to be shorter than it was before. Vocally there's some notes that aren't quite 100 %. Not sure if it's mainly Eneda herself or if it's the backing singers. They all seem to be slightly off-pitch a lot of times. But the stage is gorgeous and complements Eneda's look perfectly. Still, the most exciting thing visually is probably one of the backing singers who has a dress with huge Mickey Mouse-ears on her shoulders.
GEORGIA
Nika Kocharov and the Lolitaz are rehearsing together somewhere in Georgia. To take a break they go outside to have a barbecue in some park, and we finally see a view of the city from some hill as the letters appear to form the word GEORGIA.
Although everything including the kitchen sink has been thrown at this, it strangely is growing on a lot of people. Is this because we've been through it so often that we are now oblivious to it or is it actually that we were too quick to judge it? Georgia is always one of those countries who do well with weirdness (well, apart from Joker). Wouldn't be surprised if we see it on Saturday to be honest.
NORWAY
Agnete has at least not turned down being part of her own postcard. She's driving a snow scooter across northern Norway and then lits a bonfire in the evening. Next morning she's dressed in a traditional Sami outfit and is joined by the whole village. Nobody can possibly miss the fact that she's from the North.
Agnete was doing quite well but failed at the last hurdle. The last verse was very weakly performed. If any of the Scandis qualify it would be this one but it is not very likely to.
UKRAINE
Jamala is in the streets having fun with some people and then goes into a bakery to make chocolate cakes. Then she takes us to some village and gives us her best smile before the graphics appear.
Jamala is wearing her navy-blue dress. Vocally flawless, she manages to give all her emotion into the song. Leaving goosebumps and a large applause. I would possibly scratch my comment of Australia, this is also a big contender for the win.
ARTIST TALK
We go to talk to the artist with Petra, who is loving the ensemble of the stage help dressed in black, and black, and black!
Petra would love to sing Wild Dances but cannot, due to legal reasons, according to her producers.
BREAK
Måns is now on screen. He thanks Denmark and Bulgaria, with the song If Love Was A Crime - and informs us that in many countries love is still a crime and that he would like that to change.
The it is off to Petra who talks to us. She unfortunately has no script and is therefore a bit confused on who she is, who is standing and when people should be doing something else.
DENMARK
The Danish boys invite us to their apartment (they clearly all live together) where they first pose on their balcony and then serve some croissants and play the guitar. Eventually they go on a bike ride. Only one of them is wearing a helmet while the other two clearly prefer to ride together without protection.
Johannes still seems to be having issues with his in-ear. He at least has learned not to throw the mic stand down with his over-enthousiasm. It is likely that this year will be the first year no Scandinavian/Nordic country will be in the final (apart from the host).
BULGARIA
Poli's postcard shows her in a cobble stone street in some old village. Eventually she finds a tattoo artist and gets a tattoo and then goes on a wild car drive with her three girlfriends (who are possibly her backing singers?) and end up in the mountains. Lastly she's in a square somewhere where a bunch of children are running around her feet. (They are possibly not her backing singers)
Poli is owning the stage. Vocally she is on point and has not made any errors. There is a bit of heavy breathing in the break before the ending chorus which adds to the suspense of what is to happen next. Cue the lighting of her LEDs and the chorus commences. Out come the backing vocals and we have a party on stage. See you on Saturday!
SLOVENIA
ManuElla takes her black poodle out on a biking trip by a river and then goes to drink some unidentified beverage together with a bunch of teenagers in school uniforms around a round table. To end the postcard she shows us her skills as a majorette, as she's doing a baton twirling choreography along with a bunch of other people.
Coming after Australia this feels a bit missing. ManuElla is ok vocally but the backing vocals seem to be off and the gymnast just seems to be standing on stage for most of the time he is in shot. Unfortunately not enough oomph in this to draw much of the voting public to dial for song number 11.
AUSTRALIA
Dami is in a tunnel inside an aquarium and tries to interact with the fish. Then on her way home it's raining quite heavily so she goes to a greenhouse and takes selfies with koalas. (Did they run out of kangaroos?) Eventually the rain stops so she heads to the beach. And then the sun sets and we see a big bridge and the graphics appear on screen.
They have helped Dami with the ill-timed hand-movements by making the circles larger. They also made them more conspicuous. The moment where Dami needs to get off the pedistal is counteracted with the camera angle which is a long aerial shot so you can't really see her. Vocally flawless she receives a major applause in the room. Possible winner of the semi final.
LITHUANIA
Donny has decided to first take us to church, and then let us join him with his wife and child at Trakai as they are by a pond feeding the ducks. Last but not least he ends his day with playing basketball.
Keeping the bad hair, he decided for the white jacket which we commentated earlier was the least bad of the ones he had. This gets removed during the "oh oh oh" moment, just before he does his jump through the smoke. This leaves him in his slim-fit black t-shirt. Also another good vocal performance, and the diaspora will help it along without a doubt.
FYR MACEDONIA
Kaliopi is leaning against a lamp post in front of what looks like some newly constructed ancient monument. Then she's inside a museum with old pottery and artefacts. (Are they supposed to be from the ancient Macedonia? Scandalous) Eventually she's in a tourist souvenir shop until the graphics appear on screen.
Kaliopi is floating on molten lava - or at least that's what it seems like - wearing the dress from the rehearsal on Saturday. She belts the song out with the performance of a diva - she has been holding back up to now. Even the high note is pitch-perfect. We may have dismissed this earlier due to the strength of the semi final but it could just come through and pull it for Macedonia.
IRELAND
The theme for the Irish postcard is first football. Nicky puts on football trainers and then plays some football inside a large football stadium. Then he moves on to a vinyl record store where he plays some music. He's pretty well dressed in the postcard. But worse is to come...
Ironic that a song called "Sunlight" has quite dark staging. Some of the angles chosen do not give anything to the song. In the second chorus, Nicky is "playing" with the camera but it just looked like he was being attacked by Greta's shadows which we cannot see. Vocally not the best however stronger than we've seen him yet. Still wouldn't advise to put money on him.
SERBIA
Sanja's postcard features her first inside a cinema, and then she's on top of a hill next to the Danube. Then she's in a school writing something on a blackboard. The postcard didn't seem to have any particular theme, except maybe showing us that Sanja is an intellectual person.
Well, it appears Albaniagate did not affect the stage presentation for the song. We still have red, black and more black. Apparently some lights have changed but not noticeable to all. Vocally Sanja is delivering well. No doubt that this will sail through to the final.
BREAK
Petra thanks Ivan - and she cannot get the words out correctly. We move on to the Eurovision Taxi. Mr. Lordi is the one that joins the taxi rather than Verka. Not much room left in that car!
BELARUS
The Belarussian postcard of course has.. a wolf? It's quite possibly just a dog though. Ivan is out in the woods, but then goies into town (possibly Minsk) where he meets lots of people (and a baby) and gives them flowers. Are these supposed to be the people who later appear on stage with him as holograms?
First false start. The song didn't commence but we need to relisten to the cue music.
The holograms which should be behind Ivan being infront of him are still off-putting. Ivan is wearing the same garmets as in the second rehearsal. Vocally he is getting better until the bridge before the final chorus where he cannot reach the notes he needs to. We still do not understand the baby (or most of what is happening on stage).
ISRAEL
The Israeli postcard starts with Hovi out walking a dog in the Tel Aviv beach front. Then he goes bowling and ends up posing with a bowling ball before we're taken back to the beach where the letters appear forming the word ISRAEL.
The face on the stage floor has been slightly changed, as have the camera angles for it. Hovi is dressed in the same attire we saw in the rehearsals before - as are the acrobats in the hula hoop. Vocally impressive, visually attractive, there is a slight issue in one of the camera angles where you see a stage hand helping the acrobats since the back of the stage is lit due to the pyro curtain. Hopefully this gets sorted before tonight.
SWITZERLAND
Rykka (who'se blonde) is on top of a Swiss mountain. Then she's ice skating and eventually goes indoors (lucky for her, she didn't look like she was wearing very warm clothes). The theme is clearly snow, ice and the Alps.
The off-putting vapour is still there. Vocally this is getting worse - the first verse is being sund in a key lower than it should be. The hair is back to being curly. The song itself we're getting so used to that it is quite bareable but for the people at home watching it for the first time, this will not be the case. The pyro curtain at the end is ot enough to save it.
POLAND
The Polish postcard has Michal in various locations in Poland. The theme seems to be spring, and we see a lot of spring flowers and happy people in parks. There's also a squirrel eating a nut.
We've chosen the red jacket it appears. The camera angles appear to be mainly the same. Vocally it was going strong but there was a bad note right before the last chorus. No one is really paying much attention to it but don't discount it.
LATVIA
The Latvian postcard shows Justs on top of some tower. Then he's in the streets of Riga with his guitar. And then on a skateboard. Eventually he starts playing a piano and smiles into the camera as the letters forming LATVIA appear.
Justs changed his oversized t-shirt to black from the marroon he had before. The rest of the outfit is the same - black leather jacket and ripped jeans.Vocaly he is nailing it and a good applause from the room. Qualifier.
START
Parts of the introduction are as they were in semi final 1 but there are other scenes added into it. A beat introduction for Petra and Måns. He dressed in a shiny grey suit while she is dressed in a sparkly dress. Petra is wearing her glasses however unlikely this will be her look tomorrow.
The newcomers must be wondering what the hell is going on. Good jokes - the Swedes are doing this well. They then move on to a singing number. "Story of ESC" with lyrics of "bankrupt the hosting tv station". 12 dancers dressed in black joing them on stage. They "fail to live to riverdance" and start dancing it. The lyrics then start going into all the languages which have graced the Eurovision stage. This is an extremely attractive number - pyro, dancers, the lot! If this is the start for the second semi final, the final must be amazeballs!
We then get told how to vote - but you can't vote for your own country, SHOCKING!
Before we Start
Well, after the surprise, jubilation and commiserations from last night, myself and J are here trying to inform you of what will be happening on your screen for semi final 2.
Unfortunately we do not get to see any remainder of the show due to the time. They need to start letting the people in for the dress rehearsal of the evening. Therefore this is where the transmission, and in turn, this blog, ends.
UNITED KINGDOM
Jake & Joe are in a basement bar on a stage getting ready to perform, and then they're suddenly in football kit on a field in a stadium. Though when they start playing it turns out it's actually rugby. Then we see some random British street at night time and the word United Kingdom (with the hashtag #GBR) appears.
Stage Director: "We will have the same problem tonight [...]. There is too little time between UK and Italy to take all the things in and out".
They are wearing their garbs from the second rehearsal. The stage lighting has changed a bit which seems to work better for them. The choreography however is still looking a bit too forced - Joe can't do choregraphy and Jake jumps about aimlessly. The British are all over this but I am not sure anyone apart from them is seeing what they do.
ITALY
Francesca's postcard shows her playing the grand piano and walking around inside a very fancy building and outside by the water. It seems to be in Venice as there's a lot of canals and things.
And something is not right so the stage director is telling us that this will be what is being recorded but it will work when needed! We hope.
Francesca is wearing the same as she did in the first rehearsal. There is still a shot where you see a cameraperson walking slowly off stage, no rush dear! Vocally flawless, Francesca still appears a bit flustered once she finishes her performance. Still received a loud applause from the gathered press.
GERMANY
Jamie Lee is in a flower shop. Lots of plastic flowers everywhere. Then she's doing some arts and crafts to make a new hat for herself. Eventually she goes outside on top of some building where she dances with an umbrella.
Jamie-Lee's micorphone is higher than in previous rehearsals. The stage is also a bit darker, the trees are illuminated in deeper pink . Although her outfit is the same as before, the footwear has slightly changed. In this rehearsal there is no dry ice covering the stage floor. Although some of the mistyque of the song is added with the new colours of the stage, the dry ice definately is needed in order to add to the effect.
INTRODUCTION OF DEU, ITA, GBR
Petra says that as a single woman, the choice of Man vs Machine is not an option. Laughter erupts!
Måns introduces Jamie-Lee in German, Petra does Francesca in Italian and Måns again for Joe&Jake in a strong queen's British accent. More laughter.
It's then all about numbers - information about Eurovision in numerical form.
INTERVAL
A metallic robot is on stage. But that is all we see, this scene has been stopped.
And it's back on. And it seems there should have been a dancer on stage also. This robotic hand dances with the human - no idea what this is all about. The machine then offers a banana to him. Two more identical robots rise on the stage. The three machines interact with each other via laser beams.
More dancers come on stage and there is a dance-off between human and machine. Electronic versions of hit (non-Eurovision) songs are done. The act name is now on screen "Man vs Machine".
The scene ends with one of the humans unplugging the machine and these go silent, in the darkness and cold of the stage.
LINES CLOSED
We are going through the counting down numbers again.
(Smalltalking in Swedish)
Petra: You said you couldn't count down from 20.
Mans: There's only one more week.
We have to do the countdown again. Petra says "thunder and lightening it's getting exciting". Should there really be a reference to a competing song in the dialogue?
PRESENTERS & SECOND RECAP
Petra and Måns are back on screen. Måns says that people are talking about the show and Petra's accent, to which she in turn mocks Måns' fake American one. The joke goes wrong however so they have to repeat it. We then get a second recap.
POST RECAP + MOCKUMENTARY
Petra is loving the fact that the fans are so respectful. She went to a Eurovision party last night and none of the guys came on to her. She asks if it's the same for Måns - to which he moves swiftly on from the topic.
We then have the second part of the mockumentary we started yesterday.
BREAK
Belgium won 30 years ago with Sandra Kim's J'Aime La Vie. It turns out Sandra was only 3 years old when she won - amazing talent!
Europe, and Norway, start voting NOW!
BELGIUM
Laura's postcard mainly shows her being bouncy in various locations. No specific theme or red thread.
Bouncy, bouncy Laura. She has grown extremely since when we saw her in Antwerp all those months ago. She is no longer the shy girl of before, but a confident young woman who knows how to grab the audience and make them dance with her. The staging, lighting and choreography is just screaming qualifier.
ALBANIA
Eneda's postcard shows her running around the Albanian countryside with a little girl (possibly her daughter) and we see images of flowers and vinyards.
The performance begins and she's in the same peach-golden fin-dress as before. Her hair is straight and parted in the middle, and seems to be shorter than it was before. Vocally there's some notes that aren't quite 100 %. Not sure if it's mainly Eneda herself or if it's the backing singers. They all seem to be slightly off-pitch a lot of times. But the stage is gorgeous and complements Eneda's look perfectly. Still, the most exciting thing visually is probably one of the backing singers who has a dress with huge Mickey Mouse-ears on her shoulders.
GEORGIA
Nika Kocharov and the Lolitaz are rehearsing together somewhere in Georgia. To take a break they go outside to have a barbecue in some park, and we finally see a view of the city from some hill as the letters appear to form the word GEORGIA.
Although everything including the kitchen sink has been thrown at this, it strangely is growing on a lot of people. Is this because we've been through it so often that we are now oblivious to it or is it actually that we were too quick to judge it? Georgia is always one of those countries who do well with weirdness (well, apart from Joker). Wouldn't be surprised if we see it on Saturday to be honest.
NORWAY
Agnete has at least not turned down being part of her own postcard. She's driving a snow scooter across northern Norway and then lits a bonfire in the evening. Next morning she's dressed in a traditional Sami outfit and is joined by the whole village. Nobody can possibly miss the fact that she's from the North.
Agnete was doing quite well but failed at the last hurdle. The last verse was very weakly performed. If any of the Scandis qualify it would be this one but it is not very likely to.
UKRAINE
Jamala is in the streets having fun with some people and then goes into a bakery to make chocolate cakes. Then she takes us to some village and gives us her best smile before the graphics appear.
Jamala is wearing her navy-blue dress. Vocally flawless, she manages to give all her emotion into the song. Leaving goosebumps and a large applause. I would possibly scratch my comment of Australia, this is also a big contender for the win.
ARTIST TALK
We go to talk to the artist with Petra, who is loving the ensemble of the stage help dressed in black, and black, and black!
Petra would love to sing Wild Dances but cannot, due to legal reasons, according to her producers.
BREAK
Måns is now on screen. He thanks Denmark and Bulgaria, with the song If Love Was A Crime - and informs us that in many countries love is still a crime and that he would like that to change.
The it is off to Petra who talks to us. She unfortunately has no script and is therefore a bit confused on who she is, who is standing and when people should be doing something else.
DENMARK
The Danish boys invite us to their apartment (they clearly all live together) where they first pose on their balcony and then serve some croissants and play the guitar. Eventually they go on a bike ride. Only one of them is wearing a helmet while the other two clearly prefer to ride together without protection.
Johannes still seems to be having issues with his in-ear. He at least has learned not to throw the mic stand down with his over-enthousiasm. It is likely that this year will be the first year no Scandinavian/Nordic country will be in the final (apart from the host).
BULGARIA
Poli's postcard shows her in a cobble stone street in some old village. Eventually she finds a tattoo artist and gets a tattoo and then goes on a wild car drive with her three girlfriends (who are possibly her backing singers?) and end up in the mountains. Lastly she's in a square somewhere where a bunch of children are running around her feet. (They are possibly not her backing singers)
Poli is owning the stage. Vocally she is on point and has not made any errors. There is a bit of heavy breathing in the break before the ending chorus which adds to the suspense of what is to happen next. Cue the lighting of her LEDs and the chorus commences. Out come the backing vocals and we have a party on stage. See you on Saturday!
SLOVENIA
ManuElla takes her black poodle out on a biking trip by a river and then goes to drink some unidentified beverage together with a bunch of teenagers in school uniforms around a round table. To end the postcard she shows us her skills as a majorette, as she's doing a baton twirling choreography along with a bunch of other people.
Coming after Australia this feels a bit missing. ManuElla is ok vocally but the backing vocals seem to be off and the gymnast just seems to be standing on stage for most of the time he is in shot. Unfortunately not enough oomph in this to draw much of the voting public to dial for song number 11.
AUSTRALIA
Dami is in a tunnel inside an aquarium and tries to interact with the fish. Then on her way home it's raining quite heavily so she goes to a greenhouse and takes selfies with koalas. (Did they run out of kangaroos?) Eventually the rain stops so she heads to the beach. And then the sun sets and we see a big bridge and the graphics appear on screen.
They have helped Dami with the ill-timed hand-movements by making the circles larger. They also made them more conspicuous. The moment where Dami needs to get off the pedistal is counteracted with the camera angle which is a long aerial shot so you can't really see her. Vocally flawless she receives a major applause in the room. Possible winner of the semi final.
LITHUANIA
Donny has decided to first take us to church, and then let us join him with his wife and child at Trakai as they are by a pond feeding the ducks. Last but not least he ends his day with playing basketball.
Keeping the bad hair, he decided for the white jacket which we commentated earlier was the least bad of the ones he had. This gets removed during the "oh oh oh" moment, just before he does his jump through the smoke. This leaves him in his slim-fit black t-shirt. Also another good vocal performance, and the diaspora will help it along without a doubt.
FYR MACEDONIA
Kaliopi is leaning against a lamp post in front of what looks like some newly constructed ancient monument. Then she's inside a museum with old pottery and artefacts. (Are they supposed to be from the ancient Macedonia? Scandalous) Eventually she's in a tourist souvenir shop until the graphics appear on screen.
Kaliopi is floating on molten lava - or at least that's what it seems like - wearing the dress from the rehearsal on Saturday. She belts the song out with the performance of a diva - she has been holding back up to now. Even the high note is pitch-perfect. We may have dismissed this earlier due to the strength of the semi final but it could just come through and pull it for Macedonia.
IRELAND
The theme for the Irish postcard is first football. Nicky puts on football trainers and then plays some football inside a large football stadium. Then he moves on to a vinyl record store where he plays some music. He's pretty well dressed in the postcard. But worse is to come...
Ironic that a song called "Sunlight" has quite dark staging. Some of the angles chosen do not give anything to the song. In the second chorus, Nicky is "playing" with the camera but it just looked like he was being attacked by Greta's shadows which we cannot see. Vocally not the best however stronger than we've seen him yet. Still wouldn't advise to put money on him.
SERBIA
Sanja's postcard features her first inside a cinema, and then she's on top of a hill next to the Danube. Then she's in a school writing something on a blackboard. The postcard didn't seem to have any particular theme, except maybe showing us that Sanja is an intellectual person.
Well, it appears Albaniagate did not affect the stage presentation for the song. We still have red, black and more black. Apparently some lights have changed but not noticeable to all. Vocally Sanja is delivering well. No doubt that this will sail through to the final.
BREAK
Petra thanks Ivan - and she cannot get the words out correctly. We move on to the Eurovision Taxi. Mr. Lordi is the one that joins the taxi rather than Verka. Not much room left in that car!
BELARUS
The Belarussian postcard of course has.. a wolf? It's quite possibly just a dog though. Ivan is out in the woods, but then goies into town (possibly Minsk) where he meets lots of people (and a baby) and gives them flowers. Are these supposed to be the people who later appear on stage with him as holograms?
First false start. The song didn't commence but we need to relisten to the cue music.
The holograms which should be behind Ivan being infront of him are still off-putting. Ivan is wearing the same garmets as in the second rehearsal. Vocally he is getting better until the bridge before the final chorus where he cannot reach the notes he needs to. We still do not understand the baby (or most of what is happening on stage).
ISRAEL
The Israeli postcard starts with Hovi out walking a dog in the Tel Aviv beach front. Then he goes bowling and ends up posing with a bowling ball before we're taken back to the beach where the letters appear forming the word ISRAEL.
The face on the stage floor has been slightly changed, as have the camera angles for it. Hovi is dressed in the same attire we saw in the rehearsals before - as are the acrobats in the hula hoop. Vocally impressive, visually attractive, there is a slight issue in one of the camera angles where you see a stage hand helping the acrobats since the back of the stage is lit due to the pyro curtain. Hopefully this gets sorted before tonight.
SWITZERLAND
Rykka (who'se blonde) is on top of a Swiss mountain. Then she's ice skating and eventually goes indoors (lucky for her, she didn't look like she was wearing very warm clothes). The theme is clearly snow, ice and the Alps.
The off-putting vapour is still there. Vocally this is getting worse - the first verse is being sund in a key lower than it should be. The hair is back to being curly. The song itself we're getting so used to that it is quite bareable but for the people at home watching it for the first time, this will not be the case. The pyro curtain at the end is ot enough to save it.
POLAND
The Polish postcard has Michal in various locations in Poland. The theme seems to be spring, and we see a lot of spring flowers and happy people in parks. There's also a squirrel eating a nut.
We've chosen the red jacket it appears. The camera angles appear to be mainly the same. Vocally it was going strong but there was a bad note right before the last chorus. No one is really paying much attention to it but don't discount it.
LATVIA
The Latvian postcard shows Justs on top of some tower. Then he's in the streets of Riga with his guitar. And then on a skateboard. Eventually he starts playing a piano and smiles into the camera as the letters forming LATVIA appear.
Justs changed his oversized t-shirt to black from the marroon he had before. The rest of the outfit is the same - black leather jacket and ripped jeans.Vocaly he is nailing it and a good applause from the room. Qualifier.
START
Parts of the introduction are as they were in semi final 1 but there are other scenes added into it. A beat introduction for Petra and Måns. He dressed in a shiny grey suit while she is dressed in a sparkly dress. Petra is wearing her glasses however unlikely this will be her look tomorrow.
The newcomers must be wondering what the hell is going on. Good jokes - the Swedes are doing this well. They then move on to a singing number. "Story of ESC" with lyrics of "bankrupt the hosting tv station". 12 dancers dressed in black joing them on stage. They "fail to live to riverdance" and start dancing it. The lyrics then start going into all the languages which have graced the Eurovision stage. This is an extremely attractive number - pyro, dancers, the lot! If this is the start for the second semi final, the final must be amazeballs!
We then get told how to vote - but you can't vote for your own country, SHOCKING!
Before we Start
Well, after the surprise, jubilation and commiserations from last night, myself and J are here trying to inform you of what will be happening on your screen for semi final 2.
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