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ESC2016

Live - Jury Final (Rolling Blog)

Welcome to our rolling blog of the jury rehearsal.

The contest kicks off with a lively haute couture catwalk featuring all finalists. The songs used are all dance anthems by some of Sweden's most popular dance djs (Avicii, Swedish House Maffia, Axwell, Ingrosso).

Mans and Petra have now appeared on stage, introduce themselves. They are also explaning Europe is going through dark times and hope tonight will unite Europe once more through music. The new voting system is being announced as well.

The running order for tonight:

Belgium: The last will be the first. Very slick performance from Laura, though she's sounding rather nervous tonight. The crowd however, are loving it. Let's hope Laura is back in form tomorrow.

Czech Republic:

The nerves seem to be taken over a little. Gabriela is not sounding as strong as she did in the semi earlier this week. Bit dissapointing, especially when the key change kicks in.

Netherlands:

Solid performance from Douwe Bob. The pause has remained,,, and the muttered I LOVE YOU words are going to swoon many viewers tomorrow evening. Could surprise!

Azerbaijan:

Oh dear... This had such potential before the rehearsals started, and while there was improvement Tuesday evening, Samra's vocals are all over the place tonight... she's sounding much worse than she did on Tuesday. Not even the backings can save this.

Hungary:

Again the vocals are pretty ropey tonight. Has everyone been out partying last night? Adequately enough, and one of the better acts we've seen tonight.

Italy

Francesca sings adequately and better than some of her predecessors. The act is nice enough to convey the message. Not entirely sure how does will do. Met with cheers from the press centre and audience in Globen.

Israel:

Italy could be a trouble though. Hovi from Israel completely outshines Francesca, with his vocals and staging. I would even say, the best vocals of the night by far too.

Bulgaria:

Poli needs to make sure she keeps her voice under control in the verses otherwise superb energetic entry which is going to do extremely well.

Sweden:

The home entry is met with a huuuuuge response of course. Not entirely sure about his vocals though, but Frans works the camera oh so well. Difficult to predict what this will do. For the first time it feels like If I Were Sorry drags on much longer than the 3 minutes it is.

Germany:

Jamie-Lee still has problems finding the cameras by the looks of it... Vocals are also sounding pretty nervous tonight.

France:

Amir's letting us down a bit. vocally it sounded okay but once the key change starts, the vocals are completely losing control. The empty staging is however the main point of concern.

Poland:

Michal Szpak on the other hand is giving flawless vocals tonight...well until the last chorus, then it gets a little shouty. Don't over do it, Michal...

Australia:

Dami Im... what a voice... Ok yes, there is some freestyling going on, but Dami's voice is strong and confident. Has pretty much blown everything in the competition away.

Cyprus:

Very shouty vocals for Minus One, out of breath as well... but a great reaction from the audience. Can't see this doing extremely well.

Serbia:

Easily the best vocals of the night so far. Literally wiped the floor with everyone so far... will be showered with points by the juries, and again tomorrow night.

Lithuania:

Donny Montell is very much in his element here. Vocals are being a little bit compensated but that's pretty normal considering there's a lot of dancing going on. Great staging for this too.

Croatia:

Shaky vocals which aren't as clear as we know from Nina. She hits the high notes in the key change though but then the freestyling goes a little bit wrong. Don't do the freestyling Nina...

Russia:

Great vocals and not a foot set wrong... Sergey may just have snatched the game back from Australia... Can anyone still take it from him?

Spain:

The build up for Spain to that first chorus is incredibly but that fall just ruins it... Barei also sounds out of breath and the whole production sounds really rushed... Slow down Barei.

Latvia:

You can not fault Justs for his vocals. He just sounds incredible. Whether that is enough to get him through, is another question though.

Ukraine:

Visually very strong and flawless vocals from Jamala. Spine tingling and full of drama. A contender for top ten, but not a winner.

Malta:

Adequate singing from Ira, but her song doesn't really have that extra push to go all the way. Radio friendly, which viewers at home will most definitely compare to the Naughty Boy and Emeli Sande sound.

Georgia:

Absolutely bonkers performance from Georgia... Deliciously alternative...

Austria:

Zoe from Austria has become an absolute fan favourite with her song Loin D'Ici... Even for me. I like everything about it. Confident sweet singer, who's come to Stockholm with a fairytale... Eurovision and Disney have always had a soft spot for each other.. I don't see any reason why this would be different.

United Kingdom:

Still some work on finding the cameras for Joe & Jake. Vocals get better as the song progresses. Lots of pyros in the performance too at the end. Sounds great in the hall, but doesn't really leave much impact on screen.

Armenia:

Iveta's staging and vocal capabilities are simply divine. Huge reaction in the hall and press centre. Keep an eye out of for this one.

This is where we end the our live blog roll for tonight's rehearsal.

Have a great night.