ESCXTRA.com are live for day 7 of rehearsals ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 taking place at the Pala Olimpico in Turin, Italy!
We continue with the final eleven countries rehearsing from the second semi final. The countries rehearsing today, in chronological order, are Australia, Cyprus, Ireland, North Macedonia, Estonia, Romania, Poland, Montenegro, Belgium, Sweden and Czech Republic.
The latest artist to rehearse is Cornelia Jakobs from Sweden with the song “Hold Me Closer”
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
Whilst there are no surprises here in the way this is staged, Cornelia Jakobs uses the production capabilities of the Eurovision stage in Turin to elevate the lighting for “Hold Me Closer”. The performance takes place on the main stage, with no hint of the waterfall.
There is a full green flash of the arena floor in the second verse on the drumbeat that fills the screen with bold colour; there is a gorgeous use of the full video screen back wall in deep red for the final chorus; there is a beautiful full strobe effect used twice in the final moments of the song.
It’s taking the already-finessed Melodifestivalen final performance and making it fit the huge Eurovision stage without feeling empty, despite the whole song being about Cornelia and her rotating circular prop. The middle eight and the final chorus have bursts of floor only pyro with one full firework flash when the full strobe lights first appear is unbelievable, and something we’ve never seen before at Eurovision.
Costumes and styling
Cornelia Jakobs wears an outfit similar to her Melodifestivalen performance but with added diamante tassels for further glimmers when she stands up and catches the lights on stage.
Vocal quality
Her gritty vocal is incredibly controlled and secure throughout the performance and it really does contrast from almost everything else we hear in this semifinal nicely.
Overall impression
Cornelia Jakobs really delivered an elevated version of “Hold Me Closer”, taking an already-polished Melodifestivalen performance and finessing it further to suit the giant Eurovision stage. This is clearly in contention for the trophy, with the unique small firework ankle-high explosions fully surprising us and creating a real moment on stage.
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!
