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Kiev 2017: All rehearsals Day 6
Erik Bolks (The Netherlands)
In this article you can find in-depth analysis of the rehearsals of today. Three countries from semi 1, five from semi 2 and the six straight qualifiers for the first time. If you want live updates of everything going on at the press center, please follow our Live-Blog with all the other news as well!
Armenia, Slovenia and Latvia return for their second rehearsals for semi 1, from the second show we have Serbia up to Romania before the break and then we will continue with the six acts that are already in the final.
SCHEDULE FOR DAY SIX
Please note that these are the local times in Ukraine, which are CET+1
Armenia sticks to the ethnic influences of this song wearing traditional outfits with a modern twist. The pink backdrop remains as Artsvik is accompanied by two female dancers. The bridge is particularly strong as the girls perform in sync and walk towards the audience. The vocals are really good on this and on screen there are some extra effects of a phoenix taking flight towards the end of the performance. The camera angles work really beautifully throughout this performance and I think it should be a sure qualifier next week.
The Slovenian song is very dated, however the staging is really quite good on this entry. Omar makes full use of the chandelier as it is lowered to the level of the stage to create some sort of "cage" feel. He is standing alone on stage wearing a shiny suit, it has an element of grandeur yet it's somehow intimate. He seems to be struggling to find cameras in the arena though, and it's not clear to whom he is singing, the audience in the arena or the TV audience.
Full blown cybergoth outfits here for Triana Park, it's something to behold. Thigh high shiny pink boots and a white/black intricate dress made of plastic. She's wearing the full wig/make up also, it's very colourful and psychedelic. Camera angles are key in this performance and it's really working well on screen. the breakdown is really unique and she manages to play to both the audience in the screen and the audience watching on TV. The whole thing works very well together and it'll be a great spectacle on screen.
Tijana is another blonde woman wearing a white dress in front of blue lights, it's a shame that this upbeat and strong entry from Serbia follows the formulaic pattern which so many entries this year are following. She is joined by an acrobatic male dancer while lights flash and the camera pans out to shots of the audience waving flags. The dancing and interaction is good but I feel like Tijana is another artist who is struggling to find the camera. Upon watching all three run throughs of the rehearsal back on camera, that dancer is really just weird, at one point he writhes around on the floor. What even.
Don't do this to me Nathan, my poor wee heart can't take it. He's wearing all white and standing on the moon. The backdrop is of a dreamy night sky and the amount of charisma and personality he has is really coming off very well on camera. He's just so charming and adorable that I think he has a strong chance to qualify in this semi final. Vocally he's hitting all the right notes and although the arena is empty this morning, a packed crowd will really bring the energy to this performance.
Ouch. Those vocals are going down in history boys. This is a really great pop song but she's failing to pass vocally. The studio version is great but she cannot hold that song live, which is such a shame. She's wearing a black frayed short dress and dancing alone in front of a backdrop of black and white city lights and some shots of the music video. As true to the song, she is dancing alone, suffering from the now trending Eurovision 2017 "empty stage syndrome".
All looks moreeven more classy then the first round of rehearsals. The windmachine is blowing Claudia's long dark curly hair when the seond versus starts. Vocals are spotless.
There's more close-ups on both, but whereas the first roudn there was hardly any shot of the chemistry between the two, now it's a bit too much. Bring back the animations! The two cannons on stage now look a bit aggressive now there is much less colour.
Ukraine always have the best staging and this year is no exception, the band perform in front of giant head statue which has projections on it, the LED floor is also in full use as it makes up the shoulders so it gives the illusion of this statue coming out of the floor/screen, it's very cool. The band are dressed in black/silver and the vocals somewhat hold up, lyrically and vocally it's nothing to behold but the performance and the staging have hit all the right notes here.
Francesco is really struggling here with cameras, however the performance, gorilla, vocals, everything here is on point. There's a lot of running around with a camera and at points during his rehearsal he loses himself. Apart from that, the performance and song is flawless, you wouldn't even notice the second verse missing in this song, it just flows so well. There are four backing singers to one side of the stage who support Francesco vocally and the whole things is bright and colourful fun. Francesco is wearing a black suit and a silver neckpiece, it's identical to the performance at the San Remo, with the same colourful visuals in the background and the gorilla joining him for the second chorus. The dance also remains largely the same. The reaction has been good in the press centre for this fan favourite, lets hope the creases are ironed out throughout the rest of the rehearsal time here in Kyiv.
Manel has brought his band with him and they look like a boyband! They're all wearing tropical house shirts, literally Topman's SS17 collection. The boys look great together but they look so much like a band it's hard to distinguish Manel as a solo artist. The background is colourful and tropical, it's orange/purple, the whole thing is pretty cool and Manel looks great on camera; he has such a nice charm about him. He's also wearing his shirt buttoned down so low that at one point there was a nip slip, keep an eye out for that one lads!
Levina is wearing a futuristic grey top and a silver skirt. She's wearing her hair in a large quiff and the backdrop is futuristic and grey, she also makes good use of the LED floor starting out lying down and floating in the air. The vocal is pretty solid and there is some pyro towards the end of the performance but it's not a lot to lift a dull song.
Lucie starts the song in a mirrored shell, she stands alone on stage in a golden (mustard yellow) dress, the explosions from the music video are back and they work really well on screen. Vocally Lucie is very talented and she holds it together very well. BBC finally seems to have paid attention to staging and camera work in this performance, some shots are really beautiful. Again, the dress and some of the camera angles are all things that can be fixed. Let's hope all goes well.
Last on stage is France. Alma is wearing a very fashionable short black and silver dress but unfortunately like so many artists this year; she is alone on stage. Her backing singers are off to the side of the stage and it makes the stage look so empty. Vocally she's doing very well, however she did have a shaky start with her timing. The backdrop is black/gold and there are scenes of the Paris skyline. The whole thing is being marketed as very "French", which is good, and there is the Parisian style to the performance. However the performance is lacking in something, it feels a little "empty". There are also very many missed opportunities for camera shots here which could also be something the delegation are working on.
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