Rehearsal

Epic Sax Guy is back. Moldova have a slick dance choreography and a modern backdrop. They have three girls as backing singers, they toned down the bridesmaid outfits from National Final Performance and I think that's the right choice. For the latter part of the performance the girls join the guys in a line. It's an uplifting entry.

The second country to rehearse today is of course Poland. Kasia Moś wears a long white dress with one open shoulder and leg. The backdrop is mostly blue, with some flashes (not surprised obviously) and birds flying to the sun. At the end of the song the word 'FREEDOM' appears on the led's in big capitals with translations in several languages written smaller.

On stage she is joined by a violinist but there is no interaction between them. Kasia seems in good shape vocally as always but wasn't really making much effort the first time. Later on in the song she used a different melody for the second part in the chorus which I hope won't stick.
In the second run the vocals already sounded a lot better but still the melody changes don't work for me.

Comparing to the studio version I still think a bit of the magic is lost as there it sounds a lot more subdued, more subtle. Then of course, it's not a relevant point as most of the viewers will not have watched / listened to that version of the song. She had a good rehearsal and it looks good on stage, but I can't help having lots of mixed feelings here.

Poland is a revelation for me. Angelic image, zodiac signs in the backdrop, and Kasia looks classy in a white dress. She is wearing little make up and it just works perfectly. Fragile, innocent, this has so much improved from National Final performance. Poland has really gone up in my estimations today.

Here we go. 2nd day of rehearsals and we are starting with Greece and the highly anticipated Fokas staging.

Demy starts on a pedestal in front of a backdrop of raining stars. Visually it is as clean as Demy's skin. The raining stars turn into golden drops of water and Demy is joined by two topless dancers, doing excercises in a little water pool, a water fountain hologram starts shooting out of the pool.

Vocally the harmonies of the chorus don't quite work yet, but that could be due to the soundmix and probably not something to be concerned about just yet.

Another day at the press centre has just begun with the Greek rehearsal. Already the first runthrough got a modest applause from those present in the hall and I have to say it looks really good indeed. Demy's wearing a long golden dress and focuses mostly on her vocals.

She starts alone on stage against blue sparkly background. During the chorus she steps on a platform that then rises up and dancers appear to join her and the colour scheme changes into golden. Lots of great visual effects of water everywhere. Maybe a reference to the original lyrics of the song 'rain falls from above'?
Especially during the verses she sounds great, later in the song could be a bit of an issue.

After having seen 2,5 runthroughs (as part of the last one wasn't shown on screen) I would say that Greece can do very well this year. One thing that needs to improve is the vocal mix as the backings make it all sound off key instead of improving. All in all, a great start of the day!

Luisa stepping in for her brother, and there is not a lot to take from this rehearsal as her interpretation of the song is different.
A lot of slow camera movement and a peaceful backdrop of a forest will be quite a relief for people still disturbed by Azerbaijan's anxiety.

Well, what to say about this? Next week there will be a different performer on stage so obviously a lot will still change. As was already known, the Portuguese performance will be on the small satellite stage. It is really the most simple performance of the day and probably of all countries yet to come, but in this case anything more would be making fun of this entry.

Luisa sounds and looks fine, but for me doesn't bring the same emotion to this song as her brother does.

It took me a while to appreciate this song but I like it more and more and can't wait to hear it live in the hall next week.

Only two rehearsals left today with Azerbaijan being one of them. Dihaj just had her first run. During a big part of the performance she's singing against a black wall with some words in white (from the lyric) written on it. There's also a ladder used as a prop, with a man on it, which is a thing I totally didn't get.
Vocally it sounded fine except the long notes in the chorus hurt my ears most of the times. Hoping for improvements in the next runs!

The second time I noticed this wall I mentioned is actually more some kind of box, and she also writes on it. Later the box is brought down and the man on the ladder with the horse mask takes off his mask. At this point the backings become visible as well. Still not sure about the soundmix, the backing vocals are a bit too loud in my opinion but these kind of things are often to be arranged in later rehearsals.

I must say the first part of the song when the camera is zoomed in on the box looks really good on camera.

Some words on the outfit: Dihaj is wearing a long beige rain coat that she takes off in the last part to reveal a black / golden top and black pants. I have the impression the backings didn't wear their full costumes, but they will most likely be in black with long coats as well.

Finland's staging resembles what we have seen in UMK. LED floor reflecting the backdrop the only addition.

The atmosphere and intensity of this entry works particularly well in contrast after Montenegro's campness in the running order.

Finland has failed to qualify two years in a row, a streak that might come to an end this year.

The Finnish stage show is basically the same as in the national final, so there's not really much to say about it. Some camera shots need a bit of work and also the sound mix wasn't perfect during the first run, but otherwise great. It's one of my personal favourites this year so I'm glad it seems to go well this year. The only thing I'm afraid of is that it might be too big a contrast after Montenegro. It's two completely different worlds.

Not really much to add from the next runs. Still sound issues but it's hard to say whether that's just in the press centre or if it'd transfer on screen as well.