Live from the heart of the Mediterranean, its Junior Eurovision time and today it was the first day of rehearsals for eight countries. As reported earlier Bulgaria swapped with Armenia and the latter rehearsed in the afternoon instead as originally scheduled on Monday morning. The remaining eight nations that will rehearse for the first time tomorrow visited a number of schools and enjoyed a tour around the island.
The Netherlands – Julia – Around
Julia was the first artist to go on the massive stage which on the television screen looked amazing. The fifteen year old Dutch singer was surrounded with four talented dancers who were doing great moves to this upbeat song. The stage performance was almost the same of that in the national final and there were some good steadicam shots going around the performers on stage.
Sweden – Julia Kedhammar – Du är inte ensam
It was time for another Julia. The Swedish girl was accompanied by another four girls who were dancing in the background. Julia’s vocals were flawless and she appeared to be highly concentrated on her singing while the dancers moved around. There were some flashing lights and some aerial shots taking place in the hall.
Bulgaria – Krisia, Hasan and Ibrahim – Planet of the Children
Next on stage was one of the favourites to win on Saturday. Krisia had to sing playback for her first rehearsal because she was sick. The talented Bulgarian girl was in the middle of the stage moving a bit while singing her entry. Hasan and Ibrahim were on each side of the stage, playing the piano. The background used for the song is stunning as a fairytale castle is projected on the screens.
Russia – Alisa Kozhikina – Dreamer
It was time for the cute little girl Alisa who stood alone on stage and gave a sweet performance. There were a lot of patterns swirling around on the background screens. Russia always tend to score high in the junior contest and this year it may not be an exception, even when considering that on Saturday, Alisa will sing on number 13.
Italy – Vincenzo Cantiello – Tu primo grande amore
After a one hour break it was time for Vincenzo who also stood alone on stage. The young Italian star is not giving his full performance due to some illness but there is no doubt about his vocal capabilities. The musical arrangement of this song is very strong and it looked amazing on the screens in the press centre. This can be the winner from the Maltese tele-vote.
Ukraine – Sympho-Nick – Spring will come
The sixth act on stage was the trio from Ukraine, Sympho-Nick. The introduction of the song is very similar to the Ukrainian entry in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest. Two girls started their performance on each side of the catwalk while the third girl walks through the middle of the stage. They quickly joined together and the background at the end of the song is based on blue and yellow, representing the national colours of Ukraine.
Armenia – Betty – People Of The Sun
The jolly Betty was next on stage. She stood on a circular platform and five dancers came out from the platform after Betty’s introduction of the song. The upbeat Armenian entry and the colourful background is very appropriate for a junior contest as I can see the crowd going crazy for this entry on Saturday.
Cyprus – Sophia Patsalides – I pio omorfi mera-The most beautiful day
The last artist to go on stage was Sophia who gave a tremendous performance even if she was alone. There were some good camera shots going on and the background switched to different themes. In the end the background showed some virtual rain drops and thundery lightning. Sophia’s vocals were very good even though she was moving around the stage. Infact the Cypriot girl was the first artist to use the catwalk in full.
Meanwhile you can watch some footage in this video report on the first day of rehearsals.
