Rehearsals Day Four
So welcome to rehearsals - day four. We'll be kicking off with Georgia before hearing from Poland, Malta, Hungary, Latvia, Sweden, Montenegro, Slovenia and Ukraine. We'll keep you abreast of all the news as it happens.
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So welcome to rehearsals - day four. We'll be kicking off with Georgia before hearing from Poland, Malta, Hungary, Latvia, Sweden, Montenegro, Slovenia and Ukraine. We'll keep you abreast of all the news as it happens.
Joci Pápai is on stage now for a second rehearsal. It all sounds and looks very solid and it is nice to have some ethnical songs as they are in a very small minority this year. The only thing that strikes me as less fortunate here is that the screens don't make clear why Joci has a milk can on a stand next to him. In the hall we can see that during the first instrumental break he drums on it, but the camera then mostly focuses on the violinist and the dancer, with Joci seen in the background, so the first time viewer probably won't notice him at that moment.
Two possible solutions: either get the milk can away (don't think it adds value to the performance) or show better why it is on stage.
(Update: on the second run I did see Joci playing the 'drums' clearly - they may have picked up on it or I missed it in the first run as the screens with the feed in the hall go on and off).
Some words on the backings - they're still in gold with silvery/white doves shown on them, looks really nice. Just before the rap the dance features pyro.
Joci with another passionate performance. The camera could be a bit more dynamic, but perhaps it makes sense to go with that approach since the song is modern with ethno elements and coukd be pretty difficult for first-time viewers.
The backdrop is very subtle, which is good I think.
Flawless performance from Joci...
Here's my day 3 review:
The big winners of 1st half 2nd semi for me today were:
- Romania.
This is an easy one. The overall package is much more fun than what we have seen in the Romanian National Final.
What they can improve: More camera focus on Ilinca as Alex takes too much space at the moment.
- Denmark.
Just a superb performer in every run through. I can not believe how well she handles the camera interaction.
What they can improve: Change her outfit so it fits better to the color scheme of the backdrop.
The losers of today:
There weren't any losers today. Serbia did not get a lot of love from the press centre, but it was early morning and I have praised for them for the current and clean look of their staging.
So congratulations to all delegations today! Good job!
Joci Pápai from Hungary is the next on stage. Vocally he is very stable. The staging is largely the same as the other performances, with a backdrop that starts almost completely black but then turns into golden. As we have seen before, he has his dancer with him, as well as his violinist who performs on the small stage. Some of the camera angles, especially during the rap, still need some work.
The song is completely different from anything else we have on stage this year which is already a plus. I start liking this more and more each time I see it. The last run also reveals pyro all around the major part of the stage while Joci and his dancer dance in the middle, very passionate!
Hungary's presentation resembles the National Final performance. The difference is that the violinist is on the satellite stage, which gives some lovely wide angle shots here.
Joci puts a lot of heart and passion into every run through. And there are certainly a lot of fans of the Hungarian entry in the press centre today as Joci picks up a decent amount of cheering.
I'm hoping viewers on the night will realise what a humble and honest personality Joci has, despite the rapping for the middle eight.
Mike;
Finland No
Greece No
Moldova Maybe
Hungary Yes
Croatia Yes
The Netherlands Yes
Armenia Yes
San Marino No
Russia Yes
Czech Republic Yes
Cyprus Maybe
Austria Yes
Estonia Maybe
Azerbaijan Yes
Montenegro No
Iceland Yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes
Malta Yes
So someone will miss out from my predictions, and sadly I think it will be Austria
From Daniel;
Finland No
Greece No
Moldova Maybe
Hungary Yes
Croatia Yes
The Netherlands Yes
Armenia Yes
San Marino No
Russia Yes
Czech Republic Yes
Cyprus No
Austria Yes
Estonia No
Azerbaijan Maybe
Montenegro No
Iceland Yes
Bosnia and Herzegovina Yes
Malta Yes
Some slight disagreements here, but more or less we agree this year
Anyway what the hell do we know.....though we usually get 7-9 out of 10
Freddie told that there is a new album on it's way. Freddie was also asked about his look. But for Freddie his looks has nothing to do with it. He just want to perform and do his best. And hope he'll do well.
Hungary;
Comes on, delivers the song, really showing his emotions today. Which is exactly what this song needs. That said I still get a very bored about halfway through. And it did not get any better for me by the third run though