Day 7: Jacques Houdek completes second rehearsal for Croatia – PREDICTION & REVIEW

ESCXTRA are live from Kyiv for day six of rehearsals ahead of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest! As every country has now rehearsed for the first time, there is no more need to mute our live stream. The countries that are completing their second rehearsals today are all in Semifinal 2. They are, in chronological order: the Netherlands, Hungary, Denmark, Ireland, San Marino, Croatia, Norway, Switzerland, Belarus, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Israel. 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 second 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 Jacques Houdek from Croatia. We have just watched his first run through of My Friend live from Kyiv and here is our reaction.

Staging overview

The LED backdrop begins with images of Jacques singing on them, while the camera angles keep switching depending on which side of the “duet” he is singing at that point. By the end of the performance, the LEDs have changed to the beautiful sunflower and rainbow backdrop you’ll have seen previously. Jacques is in a half and half costume, half suit, half leather jacket. His backing singers are in black suits, likewise his instrumentalists. His vocals are completely on point.

Qualification prospects

I think this is just a little too bizarre to gain traction with the mainstream, juries may appreciate the vocal quality and the televoters my appreciate the entertainment. However I fear that neither will appreciate it enough to qualify. 30% chance to qualify.

Watch the rehearsal!

We will bring you video footage from this second rehearsal as soon as we have it!

Stay tuned for our reaction to JOWST as he rehearses Grab the Moment next for Norway. Meanwhile, remember to tune in to our live stream from the press centre. There you can ask us your questions and tune in to some live stream interviews with special guests!