ESCXTRA.com are live for day 5 of rehearsals ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 taking place at the Pala Olimpico in Turin, Italy!
It’s time for the second rehearsals for the majority of the artists in the first semi-final! The countries rehearsing today, in chronological order, are Albania, Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland, Slovenia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Netherlands, Moldova, Portugal, Croatia, Denmark, Austria and Greece.
The latest artist to rehearse is Lum!x feat. Pia Maria from Austria who are performing the song ”Halo”.
Follow every rehearsal live
Below, you’ll see our written review of each rehearsal. If you want more, you can follow our live stream where our team will be reacting live to every single rehearsal as it happens! Furthermore, read our handy guide for a more detailed look at this contest’s rehearsal schedule.
Rehearsal review
Stage presentation
Lum!x and Pia Maria are situated in a giant halo of lights centre-stage. Two hidden backing vocalists are also providing support through the song. Lumix does ad-lib a few MC lines to hype the audience, making him part of the act – which is a huge difference from previous DJ-led entries (Poland 2018 and Finland 2019).
The lights are red during the verse, white during the chorus – and by the middle-eight, there is a full flag colour effect on the halo, with strobing red lights. The slow lead-in to the final chorus sees Lum!x come out from behind his decks and join Pia in clapping with the audience. Throughout this entry, the camera work is clever and effective and we really like the use of dry ice. Smoke cannons are also added in the choruses with fire during the slow lead-in to the final chorus and throughout the final run.
Costumes and styling
The duo are dressed in modern black streetwear, which works nicely with the red and white lights from the staging.
Vocal quality
Considering the question marks that had persisted through the preview party season, it is good to hear Pia Maria sing this entry confidently. There are two live backing vocalists, and we do have further questions about the mixing of these three vocal lines into one, as they don’t quite blend perfectly yet. This could still become a strong live entry by the dress rehearsal next week, but we’d like to see them review the mixing of live and pre-recorded vocalists supporting Pia Maria.
Overall impression
“Halo” brings the party to Turin, there’s no doubting that. One of the most enjoyable things about this is seeing Lum!x coming out from behind the decks, as this is a big difference compared to other acts in this genre at Eurovision.
If they bring as much energy as the tempo on the track, this could make the arena explode during the live shows.
Watch the rehearsal
Stay tuned for our reviews for the rest of today’s rehearsals at the Pala Olimpico. If you want to know what to expect from the rest of the day, check out our rehearsal schedule. Meanwhile, remember to tune in to our live stream for instant reactions to every rehearsal!
