Montenegro
Montenegro are now in their actual outfits. The random woman is on the satellite stage and is not wearing any trousers whatsoever. Which the camera captures really well by filming her from below right up between her legs. Thank god her panties aren't as sheer as Samra's outfits though.
The guys are dressed mostly in black. A lot of faux leather and lose-fitting stuff involved. But it's hard to get a good look at their outfits or even the faces of any of the people on stage, because the lights keep flashing really quickly (the UK broadcast will clearly need to tell viewers with epilepsy to turn he TV off) and the camera shots never really seem to focus on their faces long enough for them to make any eye contact with the viewers.
Azerbaijan
Samra is on her costume now. It's basically a white swimsuit with short sleeves. Reminds me a lot of the outfit Magdalena Tul was wearing for Poland in 2011. Except this one is about 50 % see-through. Or at least gives the illusion of being see-through. It even has a see-through bit right in the crotch. But we can't see anything there, so it's probably skin-coloured fabric covering it. It basically looks like she's wearing a slutty diaper.
The backing singers/dancers are in shades of white and gold. And Samra's vocals are all shades of off-key.
The may claim that she's still sick. But right now it's more or less on the Lisa Andreas end of the scale of bad singing.
Second run-through. And now she changed her outfit. It's a full-coverage skin-coloured catsuit with lots of glittery stripes. It basically looks as if she's naked with random lines of silver paint on her body. And it's looking a bit unfinished in the crotch-area, as if they attached a camel-toe on the outside of the costume. Maybe lumpy fabric labia is a fashion trend in Azerbaijan, but I think it looks quite terrible.
The battle for the Barbara Dex Award victory is gonna be really tough this year.
Estonia
Jüri is in his blue suit and the stage shows images inspired by cards (like, hearts and clubs and things). Again, he's all alone, the backing singers can be heard but not seen. It doesn't look bad, but it just makes it look very similar to a lot of other performances that also just has a solo singer alone on stage.
The magic card trick passes by quite quickly. If you blink, you'll miss it. Which I managed to do both times so far.
Vocally he sings it without any problems. The suit isn't very flattering, but he looks handsome and comes across as rather charming. But the performance just neither enhances or ruins the song. It's just there. So I suspect it's qualification chances will have to depend on the song itself.
Bringing you all the news and gossip from the rehearsals in Vienna
Friday, 6 May 2016
The not-press opinion - FIN, GRE, MLD, HUN, CRO, NED, ARM, SMA, RUS, CZE, CYP, AUT, EST, AZE
Posted by
Nikos P.
OK, this was it for me. Nothing to do with Samra and my ears. If you want my opinion and some (badly written) info on the rest of Semi 1, refer to my previous blog post. If you prefer well-written posts, then try the other bloggers of this website. Will be back for the other semi and the songs I missed from them.
Azerbaijan
First live performance, like in the actual stadium, ever for me was Samra Rahimli performing amazing Miracle. Certainly not the wisest choise I've made. But since I really love the song... And then again, she improved each time, also having very weak moments though. Loved the pyro show in any case.
Estonia
I expected something darker from them, but instead they went city-lights and Casino Royale. The camera closes in on him and then there's some prop with a card appearing and disappearing a couple of times, before he throws it to our direction. The end shot is a close-up on his face, but he obviously doesn't know what to do with it. He tries to be still, then smiles, then does a half-wink (like something is irritating his eye). I need to see this once more to be more descriptive.
Initial shots are well thought of, he appears to the right side of the screen before walking towards us, while the camers pans from above. Some far shots are closing in on him from the side. He has some issue timing the hand moves, they are looking a bit weird. Far shot closing ing again for the second verse. Camera then rolls around him slowly. Then he does the card thing. The card is thrown better this time. A nice red spade/heart shape on the floor. Nicer ending shot.
Austria
Long break followed Cyprus, I think we won't see this many times actually. Camera zooms to her smiling face. Then approaches her again from afar as she's walking towards us. Another close-up during the first en chante. She's a bit breathy. Many close-ups again, usually zooming out and showing the wonderful flowery backdrop. It comes across very optimistic, but then she misses some notes and the feeling is gone. Camera switching from far to close shots regularly. Then some more mid-distance ones. For the last sentence, it zooms out quickly. From some point on she looks really straining with keeping up with the notes. Not very sure about this.
Last run and nothing much changed. A cute thing is her interaction with the backdrop during the second verse, where moving her hands creates red roses in the back. Vocals again a bit strained (but then this is her third run, so she is tired). For the bridge, the camera rolls around her and she makes good contact with it. The last part was really shouty and strained unfortunately. Must improve to qualify, I see it just missing out as it is now.
Day 5 . Russia, Czech Republic, Cyprus and Austria
Posted by
Jonas
Yesterday I spent the day at the Euro Fan Café / Euroclub (it really is just the same thing this year, just different names depending on the hour of the day) and watched some meet & greets. More about that later. Now back in the press centre to watch some rehearsals.
Austria
Another singer who is completely alone on stage although we can very clearly hear her backing vocals. The staging backingdrop is interesting though and she carries it off alone pretty well. But there's also no reason whatsoever why the backing singers couldn't just as well have been somewhere on stage. It would have worked nicely with this staging. And would have made it stand out a lot more among all the solo singers being completely alone on stage.
Zoe's pink strapless princess dress suits her well. It would have been awkward in any other performance, but in this fairytale backdrop world it looks nice. The performance is visually memorable, but the question is whether it's really exciting enough to give the song that extra boost.
Cyprus
The song starts with a close-up of Francois. So close that we can even see him spitting while singing. But he's handsome and he's got nice arms, so all is forgiven.
He's wearing a very lose flowy knee-lenght black sleeveless cardigan, over a tank top and black trousers. It looks very modern and fashionable, yet suits the rock feel of the song. The other members are mainly in black as well, but they're in the dark most of the time so we don't see them a lot.
Vocally it sounds fine, but it's hard to hear in the press centre as the volume is low and there's a lot of noise coming from San Marino's press conference.
Second run-through, and we can hear things a bit better. Basically, he's not the best singer in the world, but it's perfectly adequate for the song. Of all the rock-inspired entries this year, I think this will be the most approachable to the general viewers. As it has a very distinct and memorable melody. And the staging isn't too weird or gimmicky, so it might stand out among all the technically advanced entries.
There's a lot of armpit flashing going on. And (unlike Moldova) he's kept just the right amount of hair there. It's trimmed, but not clean-shaven. And no stubble.
Czechia
The colours of the stage really look great. Blue and pink. She has an interesting necklace that looks like a robe with some sort of big rock crystals attached to it. The dress is a plain white top with a peplum around the hips. And a white flowy bottom, which catches the colours of the lights.
She sings it more or less perfectly, even if holding back a little bit. Everything is simply both very pleasing both for the eyes and the ears. I dare to say that of all the pop ballads this year, this one works the best on stage.
As so many others, this one hides the backing singers. But unlike most of the others that like to pretend that their singer can produce 6 different voices at the same time, I think it kind of works for this one. Due to the darkness of the song and due to how the stage is lit, it doesn't come across that weird that she's alone on it.
Russia
It's pretty much the same as before, with the difference that Sergey is a lot more sweaty today. I still think the performacne is way too much. Especially as the projection screen doesn't always work perfectly. The "steps" that are supposed to be invisible, are very much visible. And the projections are a little bit off-sync sometimes. Still time to fix that though.
If this performance had been in any other year, it would REALLY have stood out. But since about half of the entries this year are using some kind of 3D projections or holograms, this staging may not come across as impressive as they had hoped. But Sergey does really manage to sing it well enough in spite of all the climbing he has to do. Something not everyone using similar staging effects manage to do. And I'm pretty sure it's by far competent enough to get the votes of everyone who already love Sergey and the song. In the countries where he's already popular I can't see him getting much lower scores than a 12. The problem is though, so far I haven't really heard anyone who isn't a Eurovision fan or a Sergey fan say that they like the song... And will this performance convince them?
Austria
Another singer who is completely alone on stage although we can very clearly hear her backing vocals. The staging backingdrop is interesting though and she carries it off alone pretty well. But there's also no reason whatsoever why the backing singers couldn't just as well have been somewhere on stage. It would have worked nicely with this staging. And would have made it stand out a lot more among all the solo singers being completely alone on stage.
Zoe's pink strapless princess dress suits her well. It would have been awkward in any other performance, but in this fairytale backdrop world it looks nice. The performance is visually memorable, but the question is whether it's really exciting enough to give the song that extra boost.
Cyprus
The song starts with a close-up of Francois. So close that we can even see him spitting while singing. But he's handsome and he's got nice arms, so all is forgiven.
He's wearing a very lose flowy knee-lenght black sleeveless cardigan, over a tank top and black trousers. It looks very modern and fashionable, yet suits the rock feel of the song. The other members are mainly in black as well, but they're in the dark most of the time so we don't see them a lot.
Vocally it sounds fine, but it's hard to hear in the press centre as the volume is low and there's a lot of noise coming from San Marino's press conference.
Second run-through, and we can hear things a bit better. Basically, he's not the best singer in the world, but it's perfectly adequate for the song. Of all the rock-inspired entries this year, I think this will be the most approachable to the general viewers. As it has a very distinct and memorable melody. And the staging isn't too weird or gimmicky, so it might stand out among all the technically advanced entries.
There's a lot of armpit flashing going on. And (unlike Moldova) he's kept just the right amount of hair there. It's trimmed, but not clean-shaven. And no stubble.
Czechia
The colours of the stage really look great. Blue and pink. She has an interesting necklace that looks like a robe with some sort of big rock crystals attached to it. The dress is a plain white top with a peplum around the hips. And a white flowy bottom, which catches the colours of the lights.
She sings it more or less perfectly, even if holding back a little bit. Everything is simply both very pleasing both for the eyes and the ears. I dare to say that of all the pop ballads this year, this one works the best on stage.
As so many others, this one hides the backing singers. But unlike most of the others that like to pretend that their singer can produce 6 different voices at the same time, I think it kind of works for this one. Due to the darkness of the song and due to how the stage is lit, it doesn't come across that weird that she's alone on it.
Russia
It's pretty much the same as before, with the difference that Sergey is a lot more sweaty today. I still think the performacne is way too much. Especially as the projection screen doesn't always work perfectly. The "steps" that are supposed to be invisible, are very much visible. And the projections are a little bit off-sync sometimes. Still time to fix that though.
If this performance had been in any other year, it would REALLY have stood out. But since about half of the entries this year are using some kind of 3D projections or holograms, this staging may not come across as impressive as they had hoped. But Sergey does really manage to sing it well enough in spite of all the climbing he has to do. Something not everyone using similar staging effects manage to do. And I'm pretty sure it's by far competent enough to get the votes of everyone who already love Sergey and the song. In the countries where he's already popular I can't see him getting much lower scores than a 12. The problem is though, so far I haven't really heard anyone who isn't a Eurovision fan or a Sergey fan say that they like the song... And will this performance convince them?
Day 5 Afternoon - Armenia, San Marino, Russia, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Austria
Posted by
Tom B.
AUSTRIA
Unfortunately still so sweet it gives you cavities. I can definitely see why some people really like this however I cannot say that I am one of them myself. I wold not be so totally surprised if it does not make it to Saturday and neither would the bookies. No sign of a treadmill anywhere.
CYPRUS
The cages have remained (which I don't believe was actually up for debate). In-ear still appears to be an issue for some acts. There are hardly any graphics of wolves appearing any more which is a good thing. Vocally not completely there but it works fine for the song. Is it enough or not however that is another question.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Wearing the dress from the first rehearsal, Gabriela is lit up a bit differently. Still vocally on cue. The song presentation is spot on. It will be really unfair if the Czechs do not see the stage on Saturday.
I know the post is small - but there is not really much to say about the entry - it simply works. J has written more so also check that blog to see comments!
RUSSIA
There are some evil people in this room. There was a large applause due to the technical mishap of Russia. The song started about four to five seconds before the technical image which meant that it was all out of synch. The song was stopped before the first chorus starts since there is no point continuing. Remember, each act has a specific amount of time and can do as many runs as they wish, however, once time is up, it is up. How long before Russia are back up and running?
Second run and this one goes a bit better technically but there are some mistakes which can be seen. The camera angles need to be exact in order for the effects to work but this is not happening yet. Likely however that these little tweaks will be done before Tuesday. And well, would this be in doubt even if there are some errors in it?
SAN MARINO
Well, Iveta he is *not* but he is still having a great time. The backing dancers are clad in silver while Serhat is in a maroon suit. He keeps on doing it so we believe it will happen - at the end of the song Serhat throws his hat into the crowd. We expect it to be on ebay within the week. What we unfortunately do not expect is to see him on stage on Saturday.
It seems that the afterbiib will consist of one goers. Russia on stage now.
ARMENIA
Iveta is lookin HOT! Hot and FIERCE! (OK, I promise that is the last time I write that). The projections to me are still not working but it has received a warm applause by the gathered europress. I am needing to start counting since to me they appear to all be qualifying now. Armenia however is not only qualifying due to my dubious taste but because it is a good song which is well produced and presented extremely well. The videos you will be watching soon will reveal the staging and the outfit and enough will be said.
Only country to only perform once. The screen came back up but it was definitely not Iveta on screen.
Unfortunately still so sweet it gives you cavities. I can definitely see why some people really like this however I cannot say that I am one of them myself. I wold not be so totally surprised if it does not make it to Saturday and neither would the bookies. No sign of a treadmill anywhere.
CYPRUS
The cages have remained (which I don't believe was actually up for debate). In-ear still appears to be an issue for some acts. There are hardly any graphics of wolves appearing any more which is a good thing. Vocally not completely there but it works fine for the song. Is it enough or not however that is another question.
CZECH REPUBLIC
Wearing the dress from the first rehearsal, Gabriela is lit up a bit differently. Still vocally on cue. The song presentation is spot on. It will be really unfair if the Czechs do not see the stage on Saturday.
I know the post is small - but there is not really much to say about the entry - it simply works. J has written more so also check that blog to see comments!
RUSSIA
There are some evil people in this room. There was a large applause due to the technical mishap of Russia. The song started about four to five seconds before the technical image which meant that it was all out of synch. The song was stopped before the first chorus starts since there is no point continuing. Remember, each act has a specific amount of time and can do as many runs as they wish, however, once time is up, it is up. How long before Russia are back up and running?
Second run and this one goes a bit better technically but there are some mistakes which can be seen. The camera angles need to be exact in order for the effects to work but this is not happening yet. Likely however that these little tweaks will be done before Tuesday. And well, would this be in doubt even if there are some errors in it?
SAN MARINO
Well, Iveta he is *not* but he is still having a great time. The backing dancers are clad in silver while Serhat is in a maroon suit. He keeps on doing it so we believe it will happen - at the end of the song Serhat throws his hat into the crowd. We expect it to be on ebay within the week. What we unfortunately do not expect is to see him on stage on Saturday.
It seems that the afterbiib will consist of one goers. Russia on stage now.
ARMENIA
Iveta is lookin HOT! Hot and FIERCE! (OK, I promise that is the last time I write that). The projections to me are still not working but it has received a warm applause by the gathered europress. I am needing to start counting since to me they appear to all be qualifying now. Armenia however is not only qualifying due to my dubious taste but because it is a good song which is well produced and presented extremely well. The videos you will be watching soon will reveal the staging and the outfit and enough will be said.
Only country to only perform once. The screen came back up but it was definitely not Iveta on screen.
Day 5 Morning - Finland, Greece, Moldova, Hungary, Croatia, The Netherlands
Posted by
Tom B.
THE NETHERLANDS
Unfortunately Douwe is not wearing his costume which he went swimming in on Wednesday. The stage has a big clockface with the hands slowly going anticlockwise. The five-piece band accompanying him are working well in harmony. The 10 seconds of silence are currently a bit 'out of place' but this will be filled nicely with the audience cheering him on. Another song which I do not see not qualifying for Saturday.
CROATIA
The 'dress' is still there! Nina is looking a bit nervous. The Barbara Dex award gets ripped with the help of the backing vocals to reveal a silvery number with a 'tail' coming from each sleeve. It is better than the first number but Nina's shoulder tattoo is showing and also, in one shot, her large back tattoo which would need to be covered up. The song/dress combination does not really match the look of her ink. Vocally a bit weak but she really only needs to get it spot on for the Jury and televised shows. Currently in 6th most likely to qualify will she be able to keep this spot?
*Second run-through was a lot better vocally. Good sign.
HUNGARY
Wearing the same attire as the first rehearsal, Freddie is seeming confident on the stage. The three backing singers are also doing well but the drummer unfortunately is not convincing at all. The husky voice still works amazingly well. Only two runs were done for Hungary due to the time it took between them but they were good enough. I predict it will qualify (bookies agree).
MOLDOVA
Well, the dress is different but it's still a NO! I don't believe we will be seeing it on Tuesday either. It is just to help promote some local dressmaker. Lidia also sang part of the chorus in French which is new but took a while to realise it. The dancer is in a new silvery outfit but is not fooling anyone on being a real astronaut. Vocally sound and the song is catchy enough but good enough to be in the top 10? Needs work to get there.
"Houston we have a problem" says stage director. We need to wait for the second run it seems.
Oh, I made a mistake, the French is in the second verse not the chorus. The song could do with Lidia dancing more. She is quite static in her spot which for the kind of song she sings is not the best. Her dancer is very active so it becomes quite confusing visually when your brain automatically expects her to start doing a chorographed dance with him.
GREECE
We finally get to hear this! The group appear to be wearing what could possibly be their outfits for the show. Christina and Maria are in loose white dress pants and top while the male members of the band and dancer are in white shirts (sleeveless for the dancer) and beige pants. Vladimiros seems to be concentrating too much before the moment he has to jump into the Greek dancing. Vocally not catching fire but I wouldn't rule Greece out ever in this competition. Dancers' shirt came off - not sure if this was intentional or not but appreciated none the less by many here.
Konstantinos starts the song off playing the Pontian lyra but, he stares into the camera and is a bit scary. Also in the bridge, the guys are all surrouding Alexandros (the tabor player) and the camera shot is from above. There is something a bit off with the picture just because Alexandros is in the centre of a sun motif and the two guys are on the edge of it. No problem there however the girls are inside this 'circle' making it look just not right. The dancers' shirt is back off for the third run but his microphone wire (and tape) is clearly visible. I am thinking this is not on purpose.
FINLAND
Wearing the same blue catsuit as the first dress rehearsal. We don't seem to be the only ones who are not good at the early start. Sandhja is a bit weak vocally at the moment. And another audio hiccup in the area - this is starting to get on our nerves. Although the performance is slicker, it seems to be missing something from what we had seen in the national selection. The bookies are also not convinced we will be seeing the Finnish colours flown on Saturday.
Before we Start
This early time of the morning should not be allowed - especially after a party. Last night we went to the Vodka Bar which had ESC Bubble as guest DJs. At some point Lighthouse X (sans Johannes) came along - which was just coincidental. Also, today the accredited fans and press are allowed into the arena so we are sure there will be much more video content online. The prospect of a dark and (hopefully) warm room however is very appealing.
Unfortunately Douwe is not wearing his costume which he went swimming in on Wednesday. The stage has a big clockface with the hands slowly going anticlockwise. The five-piece band accompanying him are working well in harmony. The 10 seconds of silence are currently a bit 'out of place' but this will be filled nicely with the audience cheering him on. Another song which I do not see not qualifying for Saturday.
CROATIA
The 'dress' is still there! Nina is looking a bit nervous. The Barbara Dex award gets ripped with the help of the backing vocals to reveal a silvery number with a 'tail' coming from each sleeve. It is better than the first number but Nina's shoulder tattoo is showing and also, in one shot, her large back tattoo which would need to be covered up. The song/dress combination does not really match the look of her ink. Vocally a bit weak but she really only needs to get it spot on for the Jury and televised shows. Currently in 6th most likely to qualify will she be able to keep this spot?
*Second run-through was a lot better vocally. Good sign.
HUNGARY
Wearing the same attire as the first rehearsal, Freddie is seeming confident on the stage. The three backing singers are also doing well but the drummer unfortunately is not convincing at all. The husky voice still works amazingly well. Only two runs were done for Hungary due to the time it took between them but they were good enough. I predict it will qualify (bookies agree).
MOLDOVA
Well, the dress is different but it's still a NO! I don't believe we will be seeing it on Tuesday either. It is just to help promote some local dressmaker. Lidia also sang part of the chorus in French which is new but took a while to realise it. The dancer is in a new silvery outfit but is not fooling anyone on being a real astronaut. Vocally sound and the song is catchy enough but good enough to be in the top 10? Needs work to get there.
"Houston we have a problem" says stage director. We need to wait for the second run it seems.
Oh, I made a mistake, the French is in the second verse not the chorus. The song could do with Lidia dancing more. She is quite static in her spot which for the kind of song she sings is not the best. Her dancer is very active so it becomes quite confusing visually when your brain automatically expects her to start doing a chorographed dance with him.
GREECE
We finally get to hear this! The group appear to be wearing what could possibly be their outfits for the show. Christina and Maria are in loose white dress pants and top while the male members of the band and dancer are in white shirts (sleeveless for the dancer) and beige pants. Vladimiros seems to be concentrating too much before the moment he has to jump into the Greek dancing. Vocally not catching fire but I wouldn't rule Greece out ever in this competition. Dancers' shirt came off - not sure if this was intentional or not but appreciated none the less by many here.
Konstantinos starts the song off playing the Pontian lyra but, he stares into the camera and is a bit scary. Also in the bridge, the guys are all surrouding Alexandros (the tabor player) and the camera shot is from above. There is something a bit off with the picture just because Alexandros is in the centre of a sun motif and the two guys are on the edge of it. No problem there however the girls are inside this 'circle' making it look just not right. The dancers' shirt is back off for the third run but his microphone wire (and tape) is clearly visible. I am thinking this is not on purpose.
FINLAND
Wearing the same blue catsuit as the first dress rehearsal. We don't seem to be the only ones who are not good at the early start. Sandhja is a bit weak vocally at the moment. And another audio hiccup in the area - this is starting to get on our nerves. Although the performance is slicker, it seems to be missing something from what we had seen in the national selection. The bookies are also not convinced we will be seeing the Finnish colours flown on Saturday.
Before we Start
This early time of the morning should not be allowed - especially after a party. Last night we went to the Vodka Bar which had ESC Bubble as guest DJs. At some point Lighthouse X (sans Johannes) came along - which was just coincidental. Also, today the accredited fans and press are allowed into the arena so we are sure there will be much more video content online. The prospect of a dark and (hopefully) warm room however is very appealing.
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