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San Marino

Day 6 of rehearsals - it'll be a mixed day!

Desiree on Fri, 05/04/2018 - 09:46

In just about 15 minutes the first rehearsal of today will start, which is Armenia.
We start the day with the remaining 4 countries of semi final 1 who will each do their second rehearsal which will be blogged live from the arena like yesterday. The same goes for the first five countries of the second semi-final.

After all these we get to see the first 30 minute-rehearsals from the BIG-5 countries + Portugal. These rehearsals will go on well into the evening, so loads happening today, stay tuned!

San Marino first rehearsal

Desiree on Tue, 05/01/2018 - 12:07

OK, where to start with San Marino? Jessika is wearing a black cape which is taken off by two dancers, under it she's most likely not yet wearing her stage costume. The robots are back and even got company of a third one, and even better, some signs that cause huge hilarity - saying - "I am not your robot" and "Will you marry me?". Behind them on stage there are many flashing lights.

For the rap part Jenifer joins from under bridge, she looks relaxed but the rap doesn't sound very convincing.
Jessika is supported by backing vocals but it still doesn't sound all too convincing and the choreography by the dancers towards the end is ridiculously cheap. Suited for a workout, but not for a Eurovision stage.

However, huge round applause in the press centre, only not sure whether in the good way....

San Marino First Rehearsal

San Marino continue our third day of rehearsals. A hooded Jessika starts off proceedings with bizarrely, a few toy robots strewn about the stage. They end up becoming quite big stars of the whole proceedings by displaying slogans "I am not your robot" and "Will you marry me?" Two random dancers interspersed, lots of clustered lights and various other distractions before Jenifer raps away. Bonkers as it gets but they may as well give it a go given their place in the betting market and last year's single point in the semi-final that saw them finish bottom of the pile.

San Marino second rehearsal

Desiree on Sat, 05/06/2017 - 10:50

Still a good performance from Jimmy Wilson and Valentina Monetta. Both are still in the same clothes as in the first rehearsal. The song is still the biggest question.. not crazy about Valentina's outfit. I could hope that it's not her final outfit but since it matches to Jimmy, it probably is. No issues with the vocals and of course it looks very bright and colourful in the hall!

Day 4 review

Desiree on Wed, 05/03/2017 - 17:01

So all semi-finalists have rehearsed once now. Today we got to see the second half of the second semi-final, starting off with some of the songs that are not viewed as the biggest candidates for the top positions this year. San Marino comes across professional, both singers are good performers but the song is still a big question mark. Croatia was completely over the top, in my opinion it looks great but it's still a very cheesy song, might do better than we all think (and maybe hope?) but it could also be disregarded for being just too much.

When it comes to Norway, Estonia and Lithuania - they gave similar performances to the national final, solid for what it is but maybe not enough to stand out. Disappointments for me were Bulgaria which feels a bit cold but has some really nice graphics and Israel where a lot more can be done with the choreography, as long as the vocals are kept into account as well.

I can't say too much about Switzerland as we have hardly seen it, it's colourful and bright but maybe a bit too much. Then finally to my highlight of today, Belarus. Songwise it stands out for me being sincere, happy, upbeat, warm and it was so much better on stage than I had imagined it would be.

So from tomorrow I will spend a lot of time in the hall as the second rehearsals begin and we can see and hear what it sounds like from there. I'm excited, can't wait so stay tuned for tomorrow!

San Marino first rehearsal

Desiree on Wed, 05/03/2017 - 08:20

And we're back for another day at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv. We're starting the day with disco vibes from San Marino with Valentina Monetta and Jimmie Wilson on stage. Both of them are very experienced performers with a lot of confidence which immediately shows in the first run of their song. Vocally it sounds very well and it looks colourful with bright coloured moving bars (some sort of rainbow but not exactly those colours). The backings are on stage.

No big surprises on stage, no gimmicks, just two great performers who could've done with a more challenging song but it's obviously all about the fun. The press hall goes mental for this - but does it mean anything? After all it's the first song of the day and it is a good song to start the day with good spirits.

San Marino First Rehearsal

ChrisB on Wed, 05/03/2017 - 08:16

Valentina is back and brought Jimmie Wilson with her. The two are harmonizing quite well, and the press centre is clapping along.
Visually it looks like an eurovision entry from more than a decade ago. Valentina has a handbag with her and is wearing a glittery cap. But that is how you go clubbing in San Marino I suppose. Charming.