Eurovision 2019 Rehearsals: Day 7


Eurovision 2019 – With two weeks to go to the contest, daily rehearsals start this Saturday and of course the Eurovision Times will do its best to cover them; here’s for the second rehearsals to the second half of semifinal 2: pics and vids will be officially released and we get to discuss, debate, analyze, predict…

So this is how it’ll work for the next 10 days or so: we will resume the system from the last four years. There is an article for the day’s rehearsals published in the morning (or the night before) with the calendar (this year, tthe official site don’t seem to help look for rehearsals, so on this article you can see a recap). You can comment all day on it, based on all the info you can gather around and as soon as I can, I’ll get working on a recap article with links to pictures, videos, etc. However, I do work so I’ll do that at the latest in the evening, sooner if possible, depending. Usually, the girls are down there and as you know, this year the girls couldn’t make it to the Tel Aviv rehearsals.

So we’re all counting on you guys to post in the comment section all the links you find and discuss all material out there. Hope it works out great for everyone, and already a big cheers to all the sites who will post their own made materials.

Here’s tomorrow’s schedule: Semifinal 2 – Second rehearsal

  • 10:00-10:20 Croatia
  • 10:25-10:45 Malta
  • 10:50-11:10 Lithuania
  • 11:15-11:35 Russia
  • 11:40-12:00 Albania
  • 13:05-13:25 Norway
  • 13:30-13:50 Netherlands
  • 13:55-14:15 North Macedonia
  • 14:20-14:40 Azerbaijan

There will therefore be 9 countries getting their second taste of the stage. The second rehearsal is 20 minutes long.

This is how it works. As usual, in second go, countries reveal much more. It is also followed by an official press conference.The official site publishes photo sets from rehearsals and a long video of what it might actually look like on TV!

318 thoughts on “Eurovision 2019 Rehearsals: Day 7

  1. Lol I forgot poor Lithuania

    He looks a bit goofy at some shots and he is vocally at his max capabilities even a bit strained. This will be forgotten in this semi and is more and more an obvious NQ.

  2. Croatia seems hopeless
    Malta looks nice and a breath of fresh air coming after Roko
    Lithuanian what have you done? Colors are too dark and the light effects the worst :(
    Russia: in all honesty is using worn-out effects and he oversings to the point of screaming
    Albania looks better now and i like the song
    Norway is really improved. More vivid colors great camera work and there’s movement which is essential for this song.

  3. Stunning but NO MORE WIDE SHOTS for heaven’s sake. Whats with the director this year ? Anyway Duncan looks and sounds great, I like the color scheme. I hope they decide what they will do with this ball finally.

    • song is there but the staging and camera shots are not what they are supposed to be… I dont know how viewers will connect to it

      • I wouldnt have it staged any other way. The song and the voice are the focus and this is what made this the favourite, no tricks.

            • The thing is we heard the song but we also saw its video at the same time and they were a perfect match… The video carried the feelings to us so well but this staging simply did not. I would love him win but his team should have known better, they keep changing their minds every second showing they are not prepared enough

            • Then we disagree. I actually think this staging is stronger than the video as I can see more of Duncan and his passionate, heartfelt delivery.
              What did you expect ? A water tank in the middle with duncan diving in ? It was not going to happen, we all know it. Also experimenting with different things is a good thing but the core (lighting, Duncan’s posture, vocals, engagement) remains the same.

              And it provides such a stark contrast to the nauseating egocentric gimmicks of Russia it will stand out even more.

              Anyway this is the usual rehearsal drama, I am long over it. Duncan will win, it wont even be close.

            • “A water tank in the middle with duncan diving in ?”

              LOL that would be epic😛Btw, Russian staging is very low key compared to their usual standards 😄
              We dont have to agree guitar, I am just telling Dutch team worked hard for everything but the staging.This is my current thought on the snippet… Maybe I will like it when I see it as whole on TV next Thursday,who knows…

            • It would but then it would be neither Duncan nor “Arcade”, it would be another bad esc stereotype :-)

              And yes you are right they did say they will go for “understated” in order to bait the juries. I guess for Russian standards this qualifies as understated :-p

              I think they did work hard for the staging as well but they run into most of the issues other delegations seem to run as well with a really frustrating production crew there. Honestly I am tired of seeing this arena and not the artists in these rehearsal official videos ! I get it they are proud of the stage they made (why though ? We ve seen better imo) but no more wide shots please 😅

            • I am not sure to be honest 🤔 I dont think there are any major changes in my top 5 though for now. Slovenia and The Netherlands are my top 2 still most probably followed by Italy even if the first rehearsal was a bit underwhelming. Then at this point probably Sweden and Denmark.
              But Australia and Azerbaijan are rising as well (not to top 5 status but probable top 12).

  4. Well my top 7 still nearly the same
    1 NETHERLAND
    2 AZERBAIAN
    3 SWEDEN
    4 SPAIN
    5 SERBIA
    6 GEORGIA
    7 MALTA
    good I dont believe wtf acreditaded lol press saying I never did

  5. Odds upgrade :

    Sweden has started to threaten the Netherlands for first place.
    Russia is in freefall, currently at 3rd but odds are drifting.
    Azerbaijan steadily at 4th.
    France is in 5th place now.

    • Do you like Madonna’s new single? We have to ask Shevek too. It’s my favorite of the 3 released songs so far:

      • The problem with both I rise and Crave is that basically they are solid album tracks, but not songs enough to lift the whole album up. Medellín is my favourite of these three, relaxed with chilled Latin vibe and Maluma, but I still wouldn’t call it a great single. I still think it’s her best single since Jump. It’s not much of course, but still something 😃

    • It is impressive but, as predicted, a bit overhyped. The white lights in the back are blinding imo and hide Chingiz a bit and the effect they want to create imo. Dead certain Q and will do very well but not a winner.

    • Strange vocals but still OK. He seems a bit bored but I guess he is not interested about that aspect yet. I would say it looks good and it comes across as a top10 result as I always thought it would be. The gimmick is a bit overrated unless we haven’t seen everything yet.

      • Those hands with the help of light effects supposedly plant a bionic heart to mend poor boy’s scars of a lost love

      • Can someone explain to me what this thing with the camera angles is? I don’t get it lol, but so many are talking about it, what’s the problem?

        • The problem is they are making you fell like you are in the arena but you have the cheapest ticket for the show

          • It’s probably to do with the fact it’s such a small tight space this year. You’re either out wide or really up close and personal, there’s less mid points to put cameras.

            • Fans wanted Tel Aviv, the smaller arena was always the price to pay for that. Think they’ve removed the green room seating as well now due to security concerns.

    • Not too energetic performance, but I guess his saving himself for the semis. Horror shooting again and I frankly don’t get this staging at this point. We’ll see.

      Too much products in his hair. Keep it manly the way he usually has it. Bloody hairstylists!

  6. Just found time and gave a quick look at the videos… Russia seems to have the best camera shots so far I think staging going very well with the song

    • I have to remind to my dear Sergey that juries are not “so silent and innocent” either… and that he will scream his way out of their top 7…

      • Why do you think juries will ignore him? I would not rule them out.. It looks like it is not only a televoting magnet but but also jury one

        • It’s a dated musical track from late 80s – I can’t imagine it being played on the radio anywhere west of Minsk. Same problem with Germany and Israel (well that’s more like pre-WW II musical).

            • Disagree – juries prefer moder, radio-friendly songs. Ex-Soviet juries will probably love it but that’s just 20-35% of all juries. I think televoters are probably more likely to enjoy it esp. older or suburban types.

      • It will be a repeat of 2016, Russia wins the televote, but the juries kill it.
        The juries have never had a winner from Eastern Europe
        2009 – Norway
        2010 – Germany
        2011 – Italy
        2012 – Sweden
        2013 – Denmark
        2014 – Austria
        2015 – Sweden
        2016 – Australia
        2017 – Portugal
        2018 – Austria

        • He won’t win the televoting. Even you don’t support it much this year. It’s a pompous ballad

          • He has a brilliant staging show once again gives a strong performance of the song delivers it well, and there are 8 former soviet countries voting with no other stand out among them.

      • Bubble surely isn’t and same probably goes to quite many juries. Still should do better than ‘16 with juries. This will be one of the standout performances of the evening. It should turn into televoting.

  7. I don’t see Arcade losing to any other package this year. It’s the only song that will speak to people’s heart at the Grand Final when people get to listen to the entries for the first time. I wish us fans trusted our initial reaction more. Seeing the bubble betting frantically on Sweden and especially France right now makes me laugh. We all knew Italy wouldn’t win it after the San Remo performance but did people really forget Bilal’s average DE performance or how indifferent we felt to Jon’s song the first time it was released?

    • I really liked Jon’s song the first time i listened to it and thought it would win MF. I also believe “Soldi” has huge hit potential and will do well with televoting. I do agree The Netherlands is the most obvious winner,atm. It’s straightforward and emotional without trying too hard.

        • And then went on to be cerftified triple platinum in Italy and already charting in Switzerland and Greece.

          • Yes but that’s after the event. If you’re saying the winner doesn’t always go on to have the most outside success that’s true.

      • Liking Jon’s song doesn’t equal “Love it” though. And the MF line-up was so average this year that his song simply stood up there!

  8. The only contenders I see right now are Netherlands and Sweden. Duncan has the song and the performance to deliver it and Jon may not have the best song but it is by far the best live performance we have seen. It is warm and engaging from the first moment to the last and can grab viewers attention from the first moment which is important in esc. I think they will fight it out in the jury top 2 while the televoting may have a Lazarev invasion in the top 3.
    It is obvious the game is played in semi 2 to the point where semi 1 really feels irrelevant (well except Slovenia who I still hope will surprise and maybe Greece).

    • The only songs of semi 1 with a potential to break the top-10 are probably Iceland, Australia and maybe Greece and Slovenia for a lower top-10. Greece more than Slovenia,imo.

  9. About the snippets:

    Croatia: Weird dizzying effects towards the end and the realism of these wings (complete with feathers) is hillarious

    Lithuania: He is more than a little sun-burnt? He looks and sounds very confident but the stage is rather empty in this excerpt.

    Malta: She lost the box and the projections are now on the video wall. It is colourful but I am afraid there will be an overload (too many changes in the background too fast)

    Russia: Pompous staging for pompous song. There is Noah’s deluge and he gets into the box which does not protect him from getting drenched but multiplies him. The video stops at the most interesting part of the song (where it stops raining) so I would like to see more of that.

    Albania: I don’t understand the idea where she seems about to engulfed by flames beneath her. It’s the dress that should burn. Being epic straight after Russia doesn’t help.

    Norway: Looks less kitschy and awkward than their final? Darker stage works here. I don’t think they will have trouble with Q.

    Netherlands: It looks too cold and lonely like Bulgaria last year. He seems like the kindred spirit of Duska; we never see his eyes (worse: they look shaded) and he is always filmed sideways. The vocals are excellent in their sensitivity (which you don’t get with RUS or NMK) and so is the song. So him looking lost in outer space probably won’t matter.

    North Macedonia: That dress looks unflattering from every angle. She is very intense but again this looks like american talent show material.

    Azerbaijan: So this is the part where the robots scan him and show his heart in the background. The lights they chose are blinding and the camera movements slow and boring in this snippet at least. Also too many backing vocals throughout.

  10. Sweden gaining and gaining fast.
    I remember weeks ago saying that 19-1 odds were a bargain.

    It’s been stuck in my head. Best Swedish entry since Euphoria and would be a fine winner.

    But Azerbaijan is on the upswing as well. A trip to Baku for ESC would be a dream come true.

  11. So NMK almost won press vote on Day 4 but today’s ranking is the usual bubble stuff with Norway again in top 5 leaving “Proud” at 6th !

    1 RUS 75
    2. AZE 66
    3. NLD 50
    4. MLT 44
    5. NOR 35
    6. NMK 26
    7. HRV 11
    8. LTU 3
    9. ALB 2

  12. So after seeing the faffing on stage in the arena and the full 3 minutes on the big screen of what they will actually look like on TV I can only say where’s Henrik when you need him? We are hearing more and more delegations complaining about poor camera work, and not getting the shots they want and have rehearsed for. The wide shots cover for the fact they cant seem to do the quick switches & close ups fast enough. On the 6th run throughs today we were still getting camera shots on wrong parts of the artists, crew members dashing on to grab mics in shot, and technical issues. Russia is nearly there and looks good on screen. Netherlands is sooo dark and not good angles imo, I have no idea what is going on with the light. When it was on it was a mess. Albania looks good when it has all the floor lights on, you don’t get to see that in the arena very well. Norway isn’t really happening for me despite loving the song, and Lithuania doesn’t so anything exciting on screen either for 3 minutes tbh. I have a fear some countries could be let down by the cameras.

  13. I don’t understand how anyone can take press (*cough*) reactions to rehearsals seriously. The jury show will give us the first serious hints of what is going to happen, and at that point the odds might begin to show some substantial changes too.
    As for now, everything is just banter and chitchat imo.

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