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Ireland

Ireland second rehearsal

Desiree on Fri, 05/04/2018 - 10:58

The staging for Ireland looks very dark from the hall. In the middle of the first run some strange things happen as there are sudden spotlights everywhere - looked more like a mistake than anything intentional. Ryan's vocals were good, however in the second verse a male backing vocal could be heard that sounded really bad. Let's see if this will be improved in the next runs.

The second run looked and sounded a lot better - still a pity though that people in the hall will hardly get what's going on on stage.

Day 6 of rehearsals - it'll be a mixed day!

Desiree on Fri, 05/04/2018 - 09:46

In just about 15 minutes the first rehearsal of today will start, which is Armenia.
We start the day with the remaining 4 countries of semi final 1 who will each do their second rehearsal which will be blogged live from the arena like yesterday. The same goes for the first five countries of the second semi-final.

After all these we get to see the first 30 minute-rehearsals from the BIG-5 countries + Portugal. These rehearsals will go on well into the evening, so loads happening today, stay tuned!

Ireland First Rehearsal

Ireland have just finished their first run-through for their first rehearsal. Ryan was in fine vocal form and the stage presentation consisted of a lamppost and two male dancers acting out relationship scenarios - much a similar thing as the video. Ryan often looked to his right to the piano that occupied that side of the stage. Low-key for one of the lower key songs of this year.

Ireland first rehearsal

Desiree on Mon, 04/30/2018 - 16:19

Ryan is wearing a black suit and stands in front of a blue background with a street lantern behind him.
As the first bridge appears, we see the female backing singer on a piano, but can't really hear her yet. There are also two backing singers further in the back. The second verse introduces the gay couple dancers, first on the bridge and later on the main stage. Their choreography is largely the same as in the video.

Vocally Ryan is as solid as we have seen in his earlier performancees, a good start for Ireland!

As the rehearsal continues, the performances continue to be pretty much what we already saw in the first run. The fake snow falling is not really needed though, and there are some shots of the dancers from the back that need improvement as well.

Day Two of the First Rehearsals

So, here we are for day two of the first rehearsals. A first opportunity to see Croatia, Greece and Cyprus, none of whom took part in the promo parties in the last month. We'll also be seeing how Macedonia, Austria, Finland, Armenia, Switzerland and Ireland have adapted their songs for presentation on the Eurovision stage. Stay tuned for updates throughout the day from the team.

The Netherlands Reception

Desiree on Sun, 05/07/2017 - 08:22

The Netherlands Party

Yesterday the delegation from The Netherlands held their reception at the sophisticated Premier Palace hotel in a nice atmospheric restaurant at the roof. The splendid weather and the attending delegations added all that was needed to make it a great evening. OG3NE really took their time to speak to all the press, both national and international as the sunset made the view from the rooftop even more stunning than it already was.

We also met with Slavko from Montenegro, Brendan Murray from Ireland and Martina Bárta from the Czech Republic and spotted Lindita from Albania who joined Slavko to sing for the birthday of Itai Eithan Shamir.

All in all a wonderful evening and we'd like to thank the Netherlands delegation for inviting us.

Check all our photos here!

The Netherlands Party

Ireland second rehearsal

Desiree on Sat, 05/06/2017 - 09:29

I've said it a few times before, but Ireland is another of those countries where the visuals look a lot better in the hall than on screen. It is very dark and my first association when I see it like this is an artic sea with icebergs in it, all be it that they are black in this case as well.

The balloon is still there and still adds nothing to the performance, other than it being a prop that people may remember it for. I hope in a good way though..

Vocally it seems ok in the hall, but it'll all depend on how it sounds on tv and of course on how well he will sing during the jury final and semi-final.