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rehearsal

Iceland - 2nd rehearsal

Eran on Thu, 05/09/2019 - 14:27

Hatari's 2nd rehearsal! The Icelandic hopefuls are back with their hateful song. Klemens improved vocally, but still, need to step his game up a bit. Matthías is on point as always. More or less the same performance as it was in the first rehearsal. A grey version of Matthías' head appears at the last part of the song, with thorns or spears coming out of him. There are also smoke coming up from across the stage.

Norway - First rehearsal

Eran on Tue, 05/07/2019 - 12:44

The KEiiNO three are on stage all dressed in black. Tom and Fred are standing on different sides of the catwalks. Alexandra is on the main stage. The video art takes us on a journey through what seems to be a Scandinavian scenery of mountains at night, with northern light glowing. The color of the video art and stage changes from white, black and blue to different shades of gold towards the end of the song. It's also the point when the two men meet Alexandra at the central stage. They sound good and the whole atmosphere is very heartwarming and exciting. Many people were afraid of what the stage is gonna be like, I think they can set their mind at ease now.

Latvia - First rehearsal

Eran on Mon, 05/06/2019 - 09:23

It's Latvia's turn, which has replaced places for the rehearsals with Moldova. Carousel is taking the stage. White and bright yellow are the colors for this performance. All the band members are dressed in white and black, with the lead singer wearing a white dress. The video art is of a big wheel on a bright yellow background. This gives vibes of a performance at the American Country Music Awards. It all looks very clean and neat but might be too mellow for qualification. At the last part of the song, the video art changes and looks like a shiny starry night. Lead singer vocals are on point, she has a beautiful soothing voice.

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.

Slovenia - First rehearsal

Eran on Sat, 05/04/2019 - 11:40

Slovenia has one of the most unique and enchanting songs this year. Zala and Gašper are on the stage by themselves. They are wearing white outfits, much like they had in the national final. The atmosphere is intimate and spacey video art works very well with the mellow melody and dreamy singing and production. Video art is also featured on the floor. Nothing much going on stage, it's a very minimal stage performance, as it should be. Vocals are on point, and I was thinking for a second I was listening to the studio version. Would love to see them in the final.

Day 4 review

Desiree on Wed, 05/03/2017 - 17:01

So all semi-finalists have rehearsed once now. Today we got to see the second half of the second semi-final, starting off with some of the songs that are not viewed as the biggest candidates for the top positions this year. San Marino comes across professional, both singers are good performers but the song is still a big question mark. Croatia was completely over the top, in my opinion it looks great but it's still a very cheesy song, might do better than we all think (and maybe hope?) but it could also be disregarded for being just too much.

When it comes to Norway, Estonia and Lithuania - they gave similar performances to the national final, solid for what it is but maybe not enough to stand out. Disappointments for me were Bulgaria which feels a bit cold but has some really nice graphics and Israel where a lot more can be done with the choreography, as long as the vocals are kept into account as well.

I can't say too much about Switzerland as we have hardly seen it, it's colourful and bright but maybe a bit too much. Then finally to my highlight of today, Belarus. Songwise it stands out for me being sincere, happy, upbeat, warm and it was so much better on stage than I had imagined it would be.

So from tomorrow I will spend a lot of time in the hall as the second rehearsals begin and we can see and hear what it sounds like from there. I'm excited, can't wait so stay tuned for tomorrow!

Israel First Rehearsal

ChrisB on Wed, 05/03/2017 - 15:22

I really like the first 30 seconds of Feel Alive's staging. Imri has the superstar looks and introduces himself with some very polished camerawork, from two different perspectives.
Unfortunately it falls apart a little after that. It seems like he's not getting enough vocal backup. And the choreography isn't anything special, which is unfortunate because he is clearly a very good dancer.

Estonia First Rehearsal

ChrisB on Wed, 05/03/2017 - 14:39

I really like the monochrome stage visuals for Verona.
They had a similar concept in Eesti Laul, but this looks much bigger.
The backdrop shows a light fountain.

What I don't understand is the choreography. Is Koit just getting a bit confused with where to stand on the stage or are they literally trying to communicate they are lost in Verona?