09/05/2021
Following on from the first rehearsals for semi-final one (SF1), you can see my thoughts here, the countries from semi-final two (SF2) got their first impressions of the stage. They will be competing on Thursday 20th May for the remaining 10 spots in the Eurovision Grand Final. Needless to say, a good performance will go a long way in taking them there and these rehearsals provide a useful snapshot for any predictions in who might make it there. Let’s see how things are playing out!
Competing in SF2 we have:
- San Marino: Senhit – Adrenalina
- Estonia: Uku Suviste – The Lucky One
- Czechia: Benny Cristo – Omaga
- Greece: Stefania – Last Dance
- Austria: Vincent Bueno – Amen
- Poland: RAFAŁ – The Ride
- Moldova: Natalia Gordienko – SUGAR
- Iceland: Daði Og Gagnamagnið – 10 Years
- Serbia: Hurricane – Loco Loco
- Georgia: Tornike Kipiani – You
- Albania: Anxhela Peristeri – Karma
- Portugal: The Black Mamba – Love Is On My Side
- Bulgaria: VICTORIA – Growing Up Is Getting Old
- Finland: Blind Channel – Dark Side
- Latvia: Samanta Tīna – The Moon Is Rising
- Switzerland: Gjon’s Tears – Tout L’Univers
- Denmark: Fyr Og Flamme – Øve Os På Hinanden
These countries will all be voting this semi, alongside the remaining automatic qualifiers (who did not vote in SF1) namely France, Spain and the United Kingdom.
San Marino: Opening the show we have an absolute bop! Senhit is moving a fair bit on stage and her vocals seem to be largely holding. Accompanied by four dancers on a rotating platform (not too dissimilar from the one in her music video) I am intrigued to see how the full choreography plays out. That is without even mentioning her incredibly ‘avant-garde’ outfit that is sure to catch the attention of even the most casual viewer. In this rehearsal Flo Rida did not make an appearance but his lines did appear to still be being performed live, so we potentially have a shot of having Flo Rida still show up at the contest.
How could they improve: Well asides from obviously having Flo Rida decide to make an appearance, Senhit training her stamina consistently in the next few days will help a lot with juries, especially because the song is so energetic. I think dynamic camera movements could also help this song ‘Flo’ better, particularly in the transitions between Senhit and Flo Rida.
Estonia: Uku looks very comfortable on stage, and I think this should allow him to really convey emotions across as he performs. The styling and performance are not too dissimilar from what he had at the Estonian national selection Eesti Laul, which of course he won for the second year in a row, so hopefully for him the winning formula succeeds again.
How could they improve: Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing him sing the repeated lne of ‘better off alone’ rather than as this call and response because I think it would be a good way for him to show off his vocals and position the viewer as to where that line is coming from. Beyond that trying to incorporate a bit more movement might help avoid the song feeling one note.
Czechia: You can just tell Benny is having a ball on stage and his personality is so infectious. The dancers create a real club vibe and I anyway just want to join the celebration.
How could they improve: Once again breath control will be key and Benny seemed to be more focused on finding his way through the choreography. I’m pretty sure this will be fixed by the live shows.
Greece: Stefania is serving looks, in a stunning sparkly purple catsuit and seemed very much in control throughout. Even when the backing dancers aren’t on stage with her she manages to sell the song well. They seemingly have ditched the Greek mythological theme of the music video but the vision they have gone for here makes a lot more sense to me.
How could they improve: Stefania has a couple of big notes in the song which she will really need to hit to win over jurors. Her vocals seemed clean enough when she wasn’t dancing but when there was more going on began to become messier. I would hope she focuses less on the choreography (as she is already selling the song and has dancers there) and becomes more static – if it gives her the breath and confidence to nail those notes every time.
Austria: This is Austria doing what Austria does best, very much reminding me of other male power ballads they have sent in recent years. Vocally Vincent sounded very solid on stage and I can’t see jurors not loving his voice and the song. The staging also doesn’t look bad at all, because he is on a platform and in a sparkling jacket I can see this standing out more than other ballads.
How could they improve: With such a personal song as ‘Amen’ is, my biggest hope would be that the delegation manage to create an intimate feel on stage, preferably by giving Vincent plenty of moments to look into the camera.
Poland: This performance has a lot of pyro, dancing and interestingly lights strapped to the dancers hands, seemingly drawing inspiration from Slovenia 2007. It definitely cumulates to give the performance some much needed drive and dynamism.
How could they improve: Vocally this didn’t sound like RAFAŁ’s strongest performance. His vocals were a little shaky and this was apparent even with the backing vocals. As it is an initial rehearsal though, I’m hopeful he can relax a bit more in future runs and sort those notes out.
Moldova: Standing on a revolving platform… Déjà vu anyone? Natalia effortlessly pulls off those dance moves featured so prominently in her music video. Unlike San Marino however Natalia seems to largely stay on the same part of the platform and lets her dancers circle around her in a way that seems to be quite effective and helps distinguish it. Vocally the song also sounded pretty decent.
How could they improve: Without the dancing ice cream cones that were in the music video, the song is a lot less outlandish. I would like to see Natalia really give her all in almost acting the speaker’s part of the song just to emphasise that quirky tongue-in-cheek charm. I mean the song is called SUGAR after all!
Iceland: Gagnamagnið in space! The cartoony background LED is the best I have seen from Daði when compared to all his performances at the Icelandic national selection Söngvakeppnin. And of course it wouldn’t be a new performance from him without upgraded keytars, which look stunning.
How could they improve: The choreography in the verses feels a bit tame. I’m hoping the chorus elevates the whole performance enough to see Iceland do very well with the televote.
Serbia: Hurricane wearing themed monochrome outfits seemed to play to each other’s strengths well here. They command the stage and as a trio can distribute and swap singing and dancing roles between themselves, allowing them to focus on doing a really good job of whatever element they are leading at that time. The mirroring of the choreo is also pretty effective.
How could they improve: I am hoping for some close camera angles interspersed through this. The reason being it could really emphasise how well they have gelled as a group and make this look super sleek.
Georgia: They really went for simple staging here and it has its charm to it. With just Tornike and the almost ink blot inspired LED, I get a vibe of deep thinking and emotion where I just focus in on the song.
How could they improve: Tornike’s vocals were a little flat in the rehearsal, which is a pity considering how important his vocals will be in selling the track.
Albania: Keeping the traditional red staging of previous Albanian entries was a smart choice. Anxhela really stands out from a lot of the other more mellow ballads and gives a fiery performance. I think this could surprise a lot of people in Rotterdam but only time will tell.
How could they improve: With just her on stage it can feel a little empty, so getting good camera angles would go a long way and allow her to command the stage even more.
Portugal: What I love about this rehearsal is the care that has clearly gone into polishing this song. The beautiful LED orchestra silhouettes in the background, accompanied by the full band and jazz undertones of the song, gorgeous. It really gives an element of class.
How could they improve: I would maybe adjust the mixing a bit more (I mean it is a rehearsal so you expect that to be an area they look at). At times I feel his vocal is just a little too quiet compared to the backing.
Bulgaria: This stage show is shaping up to be beautiful. It can often be a difficult balance between keeping a song accessible and showing artistic vision but I feel like VICTORIA is on track to do that. Everything from the image of her father she has brought on stage, to what seems to be a visual metaphor for the sands of time is just beautiful and probably set to make me cry again (and many others for the first time).
How could they improve: This song I think is also nearly good to go and really my biggest concern was the echo from the mixing. Beyond that all I can suggest is maybe VICTORIA enunciating her words more could help sell the message, although I’m pretty sure it will come across anyway. This is a minor criticism though, especially considering she is singing in a secondary language.
Finland: Blind Channel successfully channel the atmosphere of a rock gig, even in this rehearsal, which is particularly impressive when you consider they have no audience to bounce their energy off of here. The movements of the two lead singers also add a dynamism to the performance and could allow for some cool camera shots.
How could they improve: Not all the harmonies felt as polished as they maybe could be, I think that will largely settle down with rehearsals though as they get more familiar with the stage and can focus on them more.
Latvia: ‘Getting envious, not my case’ Samanta sings but she looks fabulous in green nonetheless! Bringing back the backing vocalists from Still Breathing and the choreography from the music video, I’m sure this could have a lot of personality on stage.
How could they improve: The LED whilst metamorphosing before my eyes, is a bit less psychedelic than I expected. As a result of that, it leaves the four singers with an awful lot more to do on stage to keep it feeling interesting and if anything I need them to go bigger with their interpretations of the song, or have some effects hidden up their sleeves.
Switzerland: Well this was already a fan and bookies favourite and that staging just makes this song even more powerful. Jumping between what can only be described as a giant half-built Ikea shelf, Gjon’s Tears is set to have us all watching his every step as well as clinging onto each word of his song.
How could they improve: A couple of the higher falsetto notes felt a bit less confident. More practise singing doing the complex routine will probably help him deliver those all-important wow moments in the song.
Denmark: Keeping their choreography largely the same as in the Danish national selection (Dansk Melodi Grand Prix) was probably a good idea. The song retains all it’s fun dance moments and whilst many artist wouldn’t pull it off, Fyr Og Flamme can sell this retro schlager number in a light-hearted, enjoyable manner. Their vocals are also an awful lot better than what they presented at their national selection.
How could they improve: It is pretty polished at this stage but upping the energy could never hurt this performance in my opinion. Especially because they are closing the show, I just really want to see them go for it and get us ready to pick up the telephone!
If you still can’t tell, there are quite a few songs I think would make worthy qualifiers, based off of everything I now know to expect from them. The question is who will actually connect on the night to a wide audience. There is a lot of unpredictable factors in this semi and my one prediction so far is just that it will be a bloodbath, do you agree with me?
If you want to see these rehearsal snippets for yourself, be sure to check out the Eurovision YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWiAyvPLXUI&list=PLmWYEDTNOGUIhZlNlcxCNjIp8ZSgBiyjV&index=16