Eurovision fans were treated to a packed show last night at Amsterdam’s Melkweg, hosted by Cornald Maas and Dutch Eurovision veteran Sandra Reemer. As an opportunity to see most of Copenhagen’s artists perform with live vocals, there are usually a few interesting pointers ahead of May. A photo album is up on our facebook page and performance videos will be on our youtube channel. Here’s a snapshot view of our team on the ground at Melkweg:
Belarus
Simon: Smooth performance. He’s a decent showman.
Rodrigo: He is extremely charismatic.
San Marino
Simon: Confident performance, but doesn’t leave much of an impression.
Rodrigo: Great voice.
France
Simon: Love or loathe this, the boys do work the stage well. Very energetic.
Rodrigo: Potential last place!
Moldova
Simon: She can sure sing, microphone barely needed.
Rodrigo: I don’t remember the performance.
Albania
Simon: Beautiful tone and lovely clarity to the voice, but something needed in the presentation.
Rodrigo: She was vocally good but it wasn’t memorable.
Switzerland
Simon: One of those that’s much better live than recorded.
Rodrigo: He’s very charismatic, the song is memorable, I love it.
Azerbaijan
Simon: Classy. Pulled ear monitor out due to sound problems but didn’t faze her whatsoever. Vocals not perfect.
Rodrigo: Classy, but need to work on her vocals, in parts.
Latvia
Simon: Only two of them here tonight but confidently done.
Rodrigo: Surprising good!
Ukraine
Simon: In traditional Ukrainian style, this entry, originally a messy box of frogs, is coming together rather tidily.
Rodrigo: She can really sing except when pulled up by her feet, but surely this will be staged great and will do well.
Lithuania
Simon: No vocal issues, but does it work as a performance?..
Rodrigo: I reserve my comment.
Malta
Simon: My pre-bubble favourite from studio versions, and I wasn’t disappointed by the live performance.
Rodrigo: Greatly impressed, comes across really well. One to watch, potential dark horse.
Macedonia
Simon: Crazy lady, crazy performance. All in a good way.
Rodrigo: Love her glasses. Love the performance. Love her. Love the song.
Georgia
Simon: Impressive live vocals on the night.
Rodrigo: Does it really last for only three minutes (to Earth)?
Montenegro
Simon: Slick. He’s very tall!
Rodrigo: Remarkable performance but he should buy a jacket in his own size.
Greece
Simon: better live than recorded, not my thing but ticks the boxes.
Rodrigo: great energy, brilliant performance, potential winner.
Angela Merkel: another 12 points for Greece? We’re not ending austerity soon, are we?
Armenia
Simon: Big voice, big hands. I think it needs an ‘act’ though.
Rodrigo: Loses a lot in the live performance. Not as strong as you would think for such a “clear favourite”.
Belgium
Simon: Impressively powerful voice. But I still struggle.
Rodrigo: Oh God (not in the good way).
UK
Simon: Her tuning is great but there was waay too much echo on this and her vocal was turned too high.
Rodrigo: Whether it was the sound or her, the performance didn’t come across too well.
Netherlands
Simon: A beautiful song gets the vocal performance it deserves, but it left me wanting something.
Rodrigo: She carries him throughout the song. Need a lot of work if they want to qualify.
Romania
Simon: Right vocals, wrong dress.
Rodrigo: I actually quite liked it! What was she wearing?
Norway
Simon: See ‘Albania’.
Rodrigo: Sober, great vocals. Very heartfelt.
Portugal
Simon: Pure ibero-pop eurotrash went down a storm with the fans. Suzy throws some shapes.
Rodrigo: Amazing vocals, good fun. But this is not 2000.
Austria
Simon: Conchita went down an even bigger storm. Huge responses as expected from Eurofans, but it was a strong vocal too.
Rodrigo: Absolutely fabulous.
Spain
Simon: Even though most artists’ lead vocals were too high in the mix, Ruth didn’t sound shouty as I expected. Very good.
Rodrigo: Made everyone else look like an amateur.
Denmark
Simon: See ‘France’.
Rodrigo: Good fun; might pull a back-to-back.
Aoife: A very enjoyable show; a great atmosphere in Welkweg with a huge variety of performances! Great audience and artist connection. The stand-outs for me were definitely France, Greece and I must say, Latvia’s little Dutch jam after Cake To Bake! Great night!
