Baku Live: Day Three Summary
Good evening from Baku and the end of day three Eurovision rehearsals, we’ve had eight rehearsals and here is the summary of the day:
Serbia:
Zeljko is onstage now – he is surrounded by violins, guitar, flute and drums. In a similar setup to what we have seen from Zeljko before, there is a mildly choreographed movement amongst everyone on stage, ending with all of the musicians together at the end. He is sounding good, bar a few bum notes here or there. From inside the hall Zeljko sounded good, a very powerful performance but it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. There are a few dodgy camera angles at the moment but they can be ironed out. It’s a good opener to the Semi Final and a definite qualifier.
Macedonia:
The performance starts very little light and a lot of close ups of Kaliopi, all of the band (guitarist and I think two people playing violins) are barely visible. Then we get into the uptempo part with a blast of light and would you believe, a black and white stage!! Just in the middle of the performance the sound came back on and it sounded very good vocally as expected. A strong performance indeed.
The Netherlands:
Well, Joan has shown up in her Native American headdress for rehearsal! She is joined by a backing singer and a violinist and her vocals are sounding good. They’ve added an enhanced instrumental that adds a bit of an Americana twang to the song even more. A few technical problems in the rehearsal there but overall it was a good performance. The band are on the catwalk to the left of Joan and there are some really good shots on screen of her looking over at them from afar!
Malta:
Kurt is on stage with a band (guitarists, drummer and a DJ) rather than backing dancers so it doesn’t look like a trashy entry…although there is a little bit of dancing from Kurt and his two guitarists. The breakdown is a bit of a letdown however, we just get two breakdancers while Kurt does his “eh eh eh’s” at the side. As we get into the last part of the song Kurt does a screamy high note which is very risky, mess that up live and it could be doomed! A good rehearsal overall but I feel the first part is a lot better than the second…
Belarus:
Belarus are now taking the stage with their second rehearsal. The sound comes through well, and stage configuration is quite similar to the Belarussian final, however the stage generally is alot darker. Although they aren’t dressed, it would seem they will wear the same outfits as well. They’re also using some HUGE mic stands…!
Portugal:
Portugal onstage now – Filipa is wearing a short yellow dress and heels, leading us to wonder whether this is what she’ll be wearing or whether it will be another sparkly dress they held up before. Her backing singers are in choreographed formation and they are sounding good. Though this is definitely strong, there’s the chance it might not stand out amongst the entries surrounding it.
Ukraine:
As expected Gaitana from the Ukraine has blown us away with her powerful voice. She performs in a white dress, against a festive looking multicoloured backdrop, which turns into a scene of a crowd later on in the song. She also has a troupe of dancers accompanying her, who dance energetically alongside her.
Bulgaria:
On the way back from the, erm, interesting Bulgarian performance we saw a group of men dressed in traditional Azeri outfits who we presume are going to be the interval act for one of the Semi Finals. Pictures on the way…
