Mika Newton's (Ukraine) performancein the semi generated
an outstanding positive reaction from press and TV viewers
13 May 2011. DUSSELDORF. Yesterday Mika Newton from Ukraine became afinalist of the Eurovision 2011 qualifying with 9 other entries from hersemi-final to perform on the 14th of May in the Grand Final. Duringthe winners' press conference Mika Newton drew a lucky number 23 and will singher song Angel followed by Serbia andGeorgia.
Mika Newton's performance was a real surprise to everyone who had beenfollowing her rehearsals. Her powerful emotional delivery appealed to theaudience - the Esprit Arena exploded by the end of Mika's performance and gaveher a standing ovation.
The performance of Mika Newton last night generated a strong positivereaction to her entry among the journalists in the Press Center of the Arenaand among fans of the Eurovision.
"Mika's voice and delivery really came out perfect at the right time onthe semi-final stage", - journalist from Germany.
"I was very impressed. Obviously since you qualified it means it was good.Ukraine's performance was rather special, it really stands out. When we see thevideos sent by different countries we get some idea of what's going to be onstage. Nonetheless, only after rehearsals and the live show itself you can geta true measure of evaluation. It looked really good on TV. Song had a reallynice build-up and the animation completed the story. It was an original andintelligent performance and that is the most important thing", - radio journalistfrom Australia.
"Angel is a very nice ballad, Mika is a very pretty girl and she had ona beautiful dress", - TV correspondent from Spain.
"Eurovision is a great event and Mika is quite simply awesome!" -Vodafone employee from Germany.
"I liked it very much, she looks beautiful on stage, we enjoyed not onlyher song, but also the show overall. The originality of the performance takesit over the top", - journalist from Iceland.
"I am not only familiar with your ESC song this year but know yoursinger very well. I followed her for a long time. This song is out of characterfor her, so the transformation must have been a tall task, but Mika handled itsupremely well. She did an awesome job on the stage. In modern show businessit's very important to have an appealing TV look and Mika definitely has it.Her vocals were flawless. Performance looked modern and dynamic", - Headof Delegation from Georgia.
"Ukrainian performance really built up over the last two weeks, I thinkwhat we saw in the semis is probably very close to as perfect as you will get.Mika feels more confident and it shows in her vocals, she sounds so muchstronger now. Her dress is right on the edge of being a bit over the top forEurovision, but she gets away with it beautifully. The technical aspect thatyour delegation has had so much struggle with, seems to be under control nowand resulted in Ukraine delivering one of the strongest, best looking performancesof the evening. Before the semis there were about 5 favorites. I think thatlist expanded to 7-8 countries and I think Ukraine is on that list now. If Icould advise something it would be - don't take risks and pre-record the sandanimation. It's nice to realize that it's live, but I wouldn't take chances inthe final, the stakes are too high and I'd rather be on the safe side. Eitherthat or I would emphasize the sand artist and make the live aspect more clearfor viewers", - Ewan Spence, ESCInsight.com, Scotland.
Mika Newton from Ukraine will be rehearsing three more times before sheproceeds to her final appearance on the stage of the Eurovision tomorrow.