Rehearsal

Joci Papai takes the stage again. The performance is strong as always and Joci channels the emotional song very well. They they still have the fathers' floating heads, and there's a yellow tree starting off at the floor and then moves to the background. This one ooses class. The stage is covered in gold, which looks great with Joci's black outfit. In the last run of rehearsal, we had the rain of firework at the end of the performance.

Zala and Gasper impressed almost everybody in their first rehearsal so the expectations are high. Zala had some problems with her earpiece, sounded a bit weak and looked distracted. Maybe somebody went last night to an Independence Day party and partied too hard...

Polish rehearsal had to be stopped after a few seconds. It seemed the camera work was all over the place. It's also the 2nd rehearsal I noticed they are using the wrong flag, specifically the flag of the country that is to perform afterward. The 2nd attempt was better. There are a lot of zoom in shots on the band members and the camera also cuts to the audience in the part of clapping. I love the song! but will admit it lacks an extra oomph to stand out.

Sebastian Rejman and Darude take the stage. I've heard word Sebastian is not feeling well, and that might explain the weak vocals. He's walking on the catwalk, which I either missed in the first rehearsal or they've simply changed the staging in that way. Everything else looks the same. The dancer does a good job, but overall and ironically the whole act seemed low on energy.

Montenegro 2nd rehearsal didn't have many changes. The guys sounded well and the staging remained the same. They got rid of the loud shout in the middle of the song, which is good, but they still need to find a better way to end the performance; they just dance with each other and it looked very weird, almost like a school play. At the last note, they're holding one of the girls, as if she's about to fall. Rizo was moved to the front at the last shot.

A powerful opener for the first semi. We can finally hear Tamta, not just see her. Live goes smoothly, even though there seem to be some sound problem and vocals tend to sound shouty. I’m afraid after seeing all the first rehearsals, this is not a contender for victory… We get to see the camera work which is quite effective and moves quickly from one frame to the other. It seems more energetic

Chingiz is alone on stage, he's wearing a short sleeve grey shirt. He's standing in front of a triangle prop with blue neon light. Two robotic arms are scanning him. In the chorus, he walks to the center of the stage. The camera work is very good, there are a lot of effects, including a beating heart video that is screened on his chest and his image ascending at some point. Toward the end of the song, Chingiz gives a Mugham part, which is really beautiful and add some warmth to a rather cold staging.

Tamara Todevska takes the stage to perform her emotional ballad, "Proud". She's wearing a pageant like dress, in turquoise. Behind her are a few mirrors that show her from the back. Yes, just like in the Russian performance. The video art shows mothers and daughters in black and white. Tamara sounds perfect vocally.

It's now the turn of the favorite to win according to the bookmakers, Duncan Laurence. He's sitting beside a small keyboard and plays, wearing a purple suit. The stage is dark, with lights of blue and purple. The video art is showing us a storm, also in blue and purple. At the c part, two projectors lighting on him from two sides. The camera focuses on the audience at the last chorus. In the last few notes of the song, the camera comes back to focus on him and zoom out slowly, which once again makes the stage look huge and makes Duncan look like a small town boy in a big arcade.