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Rehearsal

Ireland - First rehearsal

Eran on Mon, 05/06/2019 - 08:54

The Irish delegation dropped their original plan of staging. The current concept puts Sarah at an American diner in the fifties, and it works quite well! Sarah looks good in a red dress, standing behind and then in front of a diner bar. She has two dancers in pink matching outfits. The style is low key Amy Winehouse, and the video art shows American comics. It's all very engaging, including marking the number 22 by Sarah doing a V sign twice. At the last part of the song Sarah lays on top of the bar, and the camera shoots her from above, as the video art on the floor is filled with stars.

Armenia - First rehearsal

Eran on Mon, 05/06/2019 - 08:23

Srbuk looks good, wearing a sexy black outfit and high boots. She's alone on stage, with dramatic video art of glass, breaking in the c part. The video art gives a cold and sharp feeling, which goes together with the slick production this song has. Srbuk sounds great on the high notes, but still needs to work on the transitioning parts from high to low notes. The backing vocalists sound very good. Visually I got France 2013 vibes, which is unfortunate, cause I need this banger in the final!

San Marino - First rehearsal

Eran on Sun, 05/05/2019 - 14:48

San Marino's performance is as colorful as one would expect! Serhat wears a stylish white suit with a gold chain. He stands on a small platform, that lights up in different colors. With him, there are 3 backing singers and 2 dancers that starts the performance from center stage. The vocalists move to back, while the dancers dance around Serhat. The video art shows the song's lyrics in different forms. It's light, fun, and the performance is somewhat bubbly. However, I don't think this will work for either the viewers or the jury (especially not for the jury).

Greece - First rehearsal

Eran on Sun, 05/05/2019 - 14:09

Katerine Duska brings her Florance + The Machine vibes to Tel-Aviv! The color for this one is pink. She wears a white dress, that looks like one of Lady Gaga costumes. It's very Victorian. She stands in front of what seems like a giant chair. 3 singers and dancers + 2 dancers are backing her up. The singers are floating their sleeves, while the dancers fighting with swords! The video art shows a blossoming pink flower, also on the floor. It's a nice and bright look, but the performance walks on a thin line of doing too much. At the end of the performance, the chair is covered with flowers.
btw, vocals are excellent.

Portugal - First rehearsal

Eran on Sun, 05/05/2019 - 12:59

Another anticipated contestant is Conan Osiris. The Portuguese singer wears a green kimono-like outfit. The dancer that accompanies him wears just green pants and gloves. The video art is in firey red, with a big red rose and flames. The bright green with the red goes well and reminisce of the Portuguese flag. Very good live vocally as well. Conan is on point, but I'm not sure this will be engaging enough for the average viewer.

Estonia - First rehearsal

Eran on Sun, 05/05/2019 - 12:19

What have the Estonians prepared for us? Victor Crone goes on stage with a buttoned-up shirt under a black leather jacket. The stage looks dark at first, just to be lit up afterward. The video art showing brown storm clouds, turning blue. The performance seems to be much like the national final one, which is a tad of a disappointment. Victor had a stand-in at the part that will be pre-recorded with a virtual storm done by a green screen. Overall, it was an underwhelming first rehearsal.

Iceland - First rehearsal

Eran on Sun, 05/05/2019 - 11:53

Iceland's turn. The Hatari members are on stage for their first rehearsal. "Hatrið mun sigra" gets an intense performance, as it should. The stage is lit with red and flickering white lights. With the group on stage are 3 dancers, one starts off in a round shaped cage. The third band member is on the cage. Some fire pyro is being used, as expected. Camera work is good, transfers the angry mood on stage. Matthías sounds very good, he sells the song. This will definitely stand out in the first semi and will slide to the finals.

Australia - First rehearsal

Eran on Sun, 05/05/2019 - 10:15

Kate's bringing her Electro-Pop number on stage, with a performance completely different from the one we saw at the national final. She's wearing a silver regal dress and wearing a crown, which seems to be another motive in this year's contest. The video art shows space, while on the floor a video art of Earth. Kate and her two backing dancers, who are wearing black dresses, are basically floating on air! It looks like they're flying above the planet. It has a nice effect. At the C part, the Earth is vanishing in the back, which creates a sense of movement. If you liked the song, you'd love this performance.