Since Saturday 4th all of the delegations and participants have been gracing the brand new Eurovision stage in Tel Aviv. For many of the acts, especially those chosen via internal selection, this has been the first time we've seen their stage setups. It also gives us a very clear idea about how confident the acts are and how good they are vocally. Of course this is not the be all and and all as over the 2 weeks of rehearsing, nerves and technical issues can ruin their run throughs so not all is lost. Anyway isn't getting things wrong and working through the nerves part of rehearsing? Better to get all that sorted early on I say !
In this mini round up I am going to look at the semi-finalists first rehearsals and comment quickly on their staging ideas as well as any sartorial cues we might be getting. As I will have only watched a few clips, less will be said about vocal performance - that'll probably be something of not to write about after their second go. I'll do a second post on Sunday or Monday where I'll look at the first rehearsal of the six finalists and make some bold predictions !
SEMI FINAL 1
CYPRUS
Tamta is in a tight black jacket and thigh high boots but there is a costume change early on revealing a rathery spangly bondange-esque leotard. She has 4 backing dancers dressed in black also but are sporting very wide hats which really put me off. The backdrop seems quite vertical and colourful but no distinct theme in place.
MONTENEGRO
Pretty predictable. All six of them are on stage, sometimes they sing to each other in pairs sometimes they are singing in a line across the stage. There also seems to be some dancing and fist-pumping choreography. Like in the video they are all wearing slightly different versions of the same white trouser suit with red embellishments..
FINLAND
Darude is static at his little mixing desk while Sebastian works the crowd by going and and down the V-shaped runways. They are also joined by a female dancer on top of what looks like a light up iceberg. The backdrop alternates between plain blue and different environmental videos. Sebastian's leather jeans are hopefully just for practising!
POLAND
The four girls are covered in large red veils which cover their faces for the first part of the song but their faces however appear on the video wall behind them They are dressed in national dress and large ornate floral headdresses. They are also spinning on a small platform which is the only movement on stage apart from swaying.
SLOVENIA
The dup are once again dressed in white, with Zala singing, Gašper on guitar and both of them behind a small keyboard. They are centre stage and seem very small on the large space. The stage is very dark with a deep galaxy feel. There is very little to the actual act and I get the feeling that the camerawork will be doing all the work for this one.
CZECHIA
Lake Malawi are having a lot of fun here. The bandmates have small platforms which look like photo frames. They are dressed in bright bold colour blocks which is mirrored in the backdrop. Albert, the lead singer, is having a lot of fun on stage and is moving around a lot and engaging with the wider crowd and catching the eye of the cameras too.
HUNGARY
Joci is dressed in black and is singing centre stage. The backdrop looks like small lines of stars or fire joining up into the far distance. There are pictures of fathers made upf of the small dots too. Joci seems very small on stage and with the dark staging and dark clothes he is almost invisible. Guessing more camera trickery for this.
BELARUS
The props seemingly have not arrived so are dancing around boxes. Zena has two male dancers and lots of unseen backing singers. Her styling and dance routine seems to have got a bit raunchier which is a bit of a shame. The backdrop is very odd which geometric symbols, random animals and a picture of Zena with a multicoloured head...
SERBIA
Nevena has changed very little visually from the national final. Her dress is a little more refined and has a bigger slit on her leg but she still has the odd trinkets on her hands and arms. Behind her, the backdrop is dark switching between storms and creeping frost. She is very static although she does a lot of emoting with her arms.
BELGIUM
The video wall switches between wide geometric horizons and wavy vertical lines. Eliot is joined by a male and female drummer who have two large drums either side of the stage but they also move around the whole stage and join in the chorus arm movements. Eliot does very little. He seems to have come dressed as a parachutist.
GEORGIA
Oto is centre stage with his 5 man choir visible on stage from the start. The backdrop shows clear blue skies and snowy mountains but slowly turns dark and begins to be engulfed by fire. All the singers are dressed in plain black and essentially do very little but the whole effect makes it quite menacing and dramatic.
AUSTRALIA
Instead of one woman up a pole - we have three - and in the biggest shock on the rehearsals Kate is one of them! Kate is wearing her trademark tiara and dressed in a white floaty gown whilst the other two are in black. The backdrop has another space theme but this time it gives the very powerful illusion that she is actually flying.
ICELAND
From the national final performance the only thing that has changed is that the two drums and a hammer has turned into a large cog/sphere being hit by a cat o nine tails. The performance is effectively the same, as is the backdrop and stage outfits, although I suspect some parts will be affected by camera angles.
ESTONIA
Another slot that seems barely changed from the national final. Unfortunately most of this rehearsal was taken up with the filming and re-filming and re-re-filming of the prerecorded insert with the computer aided background near the end of the show. That actually meant very little was done today which could be costly.
PORTUGAL
Conan and his dancer, João, have the same setup and routine as the national final but the visuals are a little different. The backdrop is very red and focuses of the rose motifs. Boh are dressed in lush emerald green pleated outfits. Conan's gold spoon facial adornments are gone and have been replaced with large black sideburns.
GREECE
Katerine is joined by 3 backing singers dressed in powdery yellow dresses and two female fencers with swords. On stage there is also a small gazebo-esque platform and lots of odd little props. Katerine is wearing a heavily jewelled white dress and everybody has big hair. The backdrop in lilac has the motif of petals and flowers.
SAN MARINO
Serhat is on a small platform centre stage with three female singers to his side. In front are two male dancers carrying light up megaphones, mostly used for the 'na na na' bits. The words of the song are also on the backdrop. I was hoping this would be a bit more interactive with the fans in the auditorium so maybe it'll look better on tv.
SEMI FINAL 2
ARMENIA
Srbuk is alone on stage and more high thigh boots are on show. There seems to be a fair bit of choreography but seems quite static. The video wall and lighting seems quite nondescript but wonder if there will be a change of mood during teh key change at the end. The whole thing looks very sparse and little.
IRELAND
On stage there is a table making the stage into a 1950's style diner. The back drop is very colourful with lots of primary colours, chequered and Lichtenstein inspired art work which follows the narrative of the song. Sarach is joined on stage by two female dancers who she interacts with. Wondering if too much is happening.
MOLDOVA
The Ukrainian Mystic Meg sand artist from ages ago is back! Anna is stood at the front of the stage in a white dress with one full length puffy sleeve. The actions of the sand artist (although it looks more like salt than sand) is projected onto the backdrop, although you quickly realise its not actually happening live which spoils the magic to be honest!
SWITZERLAND
Luca is dressed in a t-shirt and trousers and his backing dancers are dressed in red outfits. The backdrop is a bit messy and looks more like television interference than something that would emphasise the power of the song. There seems to be a fair amount of energetic dancing which might affect his vocals.
LATVIA
An almost identikit performance to the one during the national final. The band are spread out on the stage with the singer in the middle. The backdrop has the bokeh effects of lights and makes it quite atmospheric although very little happens on stage. I guess most of the tricks and magic will come from the camera lens.
ROMANIA
Ester starts sat on her chair centre stage but is soon joined on stage by two male dancers. She also has a guitarist at the side and some backing vocalists out of sight. The backdrop is very dramatic with an animation of crumbling buildings falling into pits of fire. She is dressed a bit like a couture victorian schoolgirl.
DENMARK
Another translation of its winning national final show. Leonora still has her big chair as well as the two ladder wielding friends, which I still don't really understand. This time she is joined by 2 female backing singers on the chair which does make for more interaction. The backdrop is full of skyscapes and sunbeams.
SWEDEN
John is dressed in black, although he looks a little more smart than at Melfest. His four female backing singers are also dressed in black but with nice spangly detailing. Their layout on stage seems unchanged as does their choreography on stage. He still has the Kanye light effect above him bit seems a little out of place here.
AUSTRIA
They have tried really hard to capture the intimacy of the music video on stage and I think this will look very effective on the television screen. There is barely any backdrop at times, instead is looks more like the slight shimmer of light on sequins. She is styled exactly the same as her music video and still has her blue hair.
CROATIA
Roko has traded in his fluffy white wings for a pair of gold metallic ones. He is also joined on stage by two mare chested dancers who also sport the same wings. Everybody is also dressed in white and around them is our first main use of dry ice. This effect is also shown by the clouds on the backdrop, giving a heavenly effect.
MALTA
They have brought their own alternate background this year to try and emphasise the 'chameleon' aspect of the song. Michaela is in white and is joined by 4 dancers whose clothing changes colour when in front of the multicoloured lights which is a good effect, however their actual dancing is rather odd and a little off-putting.
LITHUANIA
Jurij is alone centre stage with just a mic stand for company. The backdrop is mostly black with blocks of sequined light which comes in with the beat of the music. The stage feels very big and he looks very small. Jurij is also dressed quie darkly which makes him seems almost invisible, he has backing singers who are off stage.
RUSSIA
Rain and fake mirrors. Sergey sings most of the first part in a lit up box however his visage is repeated slightly differently on a number of different boxes scattered on stage. The backdrop is mainly storm clouds , thunder and lightning (2015 reference!). He, and all his mirror images are dressed in white.
ALBANIA
Jonida has a new dress which is black and floaty and has some interesting if not confusing gold embellishments on the front. The act seems to be quite static and she doesn't seem to have anyone else on stage. The backdrop is quite muted and dark but does give the effect of having steel pillars holding up the whole stage.
NORWAY
KEiiNO are dressed in black whilst the backdrop behind them shows a neon computerised mountainous landscape of blues and greens, mirroring the colours of the northern lights. They also have some dry ice and take it in turns to take the centre spot. There is a lot more movement than in the national final
NETHERLANDS
Duncan is seated at his keyboard for the whole song. The backdrop is a moody shade of blue and has a mottled effect like clouds with some lasers. Next to him the is a large globe light hanging up and a bright spotlight shining from the side. Not being able to see him sucks away every inch of it's power and now lacks individuality.
NORTH MACEDONIA
Tamara uses a similar effect to Russia with the backdrop made into a number of faux mirrors but this works much better as they are all doing the same thing and it is clear where you eye should be focusing. She is wearing a black and green dress which is individual but not over the top. She hs backing singers but are off stage.
AZERBAIJAN
Chingiz is stoon in from of a neon triangle and on each side of that there are two small robots. which also do some projections.Chingiz is wearing a strange half layered top which is slightly different shades of grey. The backdrop looks quite textured and seems to pulse and shake in time with the music. This will look great on camera.