Day 5: Dihaj completes second rehearsal for Azerbaijan – PREDICTION & REVIEW

ESCXTRA are live from Kyiv for day five of rehearsals ahead of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest! For the first time, we can bring you live audio from the press centre television screens that show each rehearsal. The countries rehearsing today, in chronological order, are Sweden, Georgia, Australia, Albania, Belgium, Montenegro, Finland, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Moldova, Iceland, Czech Republic and Cyprus. Furthermore, read our handy guide for a more detailed look at this contest’s rehearsal schedule.

In addition, for our immediate reactions to every single rehearsal, you can follow our live stream from the press centre at the International Exhibition Center by visiting our YouTube channel. Also, you will also be able to listen live to each rehearsal as it happens and give us your opinions in our live chat.

The next artist to take to the stage for their second rehearsal is Dihaj from Azerbaijan. We have just watched her first run through of Skeletons live from Kyiv and here is our reaction.

Staging overview

Dihaj is in her black box with chalked words, with a man wearing a horse head on the stepladder. The whole thing is so cohesive, so modern, so out-there and I think this is potentially the best rehearsal so far for me – I was not here for the first rehearsal on Sunday. The choreography performed by Dihaj and her backing vocalists is simple yet stunning. The LED backdrop changes from red to a city skyline. Dihaj’s vocals weren’t perfect but they were certainly competent.

Qualification prospects

I think this has a 95% chance of qualifying, and Wivian agrees that it is a certainty.

Press centre reaction

There was some applause for this in the press centre and all the journalists were certainly paying close attention.

Watch the rehearsal!

Stay tuned for our reaction to Salvador Sobral’s sister Luísa as she rehearses Amar pelos dois next for Portugal. Meanwhile, remember to tune in to our live stream from the press centre. There you can see our instant reactions to each rehearsal and listen to live audio to judge for yourself!