Reaction to Rehearsals: Day 3: Part 2

So this afternoon 4 more entries took to the stage. Belarus, Portugal, Ukraine and Bulgaria. There has been a lot of discussion around these so once again here we go:

Belarus - Rehearsal Video
I never got a chance to review Belarus's entry to Eurovision (It would have graded as a B-) but I was uncertain about which version of the song that they would sing. They've gone with the disco version which unlike many people online I think that this is a very good interpretation of the song. The yellow and black background really helps this song and this looks set to have some very dramatic staging. I still believe that the song is lacking something and I'm on the fence about this qualifying.

Portugal - Rehearsal Video
Say what you like about the Portuguese entry this year I think that they have hit the nail on the head with this one. This is working as well as it could at the moment on the stage. Vocally this was good. The background is really fantastic and the whole performance makes for a lovely break between Belarus and Ukraine. This may not qualify but I will look forward to this.

Ukraine - Rehearsal Video
Vocally this was a joy to watch and to listen to. The song might not be the best we've had from Ukraine and the performance might have looked better if you never heard of Shady Lady but overall it looks and sounds really good and should qualify with ease.

Bulgaria - Rehearsal Video
This rehearsal was fine bar her often missing her cue. Some people have mentioned that as a result of having nothing else on stage with her the visual on the screens is really dull as a result of a lack of variety on stage. Vocally it was good. I cannot see this as a qualifier though.

More tomorrow.

It's Tina Turner - Or Is It?

Every year a couple of Eurovision acts come along that remind us of stars we know from outside of Eurovision. Sometimes these general resemblances start to err on the side of "that's a bit to close for comfort" and this year the award for doing this goes to Gaitana from Ukraine.

#NationalFinalMemes: I cannot go on further without mentioning that Ukraine held their national final at 10:30 in the morning (Irish Time; 13:30 Ukrainian Time). 10:30! - I wasn't even out of bed (actually I wasn't awake that day until 12:00).

So anyway Ukraine decided to send Gaitana with her song "Be My Guest". It's a strong song, it works really well but I'd say that it might be hard for the average Eurovision audience to take in. Without a doubt the song has some similarities with Tina Turner. These I think could actually go against Gaitana. I suspect that the voting public may over look her on the those grounds, but these are really concerns which should remain hidden until the final, really this song is strong enough to come about 6th-8th place in the semi final.

It's success in a very tough semi-final is dependent on the songs ability to attract votes from the pool of non-ballads votes in semi-final 2. The question of how the song will do is the songs ability to get votes from better countries songs running later in the draw. So I'm not convinced.

Verdict: This is a strange song. Anyhow it is what it is but it doesn't do it for me. I can't see this doing well but it is Ukraine after all so we shall never know.

Grade: C


P.S. For some strange reason I cannot get thinking fully linearly tonight. 

The Next Four Eurovision Songs

 My, that was a busy day. This is my reaction piece to the finals that were held today. The reaction piece to the semi-finals is here. So here we have the four songs that were selected today:

At no earlier than 13:00 GMT Ukraine selected their entry sung by Tina Turner impressionist  Gaitana with song "Be My Guest" it is rather good too.

Next up is Croatia Nina Badric, with the song Nebo - I am unsure about this song but suspect this could be one of the weaker songs from the Balkans this year. (I wonder is she still off sex too).

Then Latvia delivered a disappointment of a result by sending Anmary with the song "Beautiful Song".

And finally late in the day, Italy came out with an excellent song by Nina Zilli. She was selected with the song Per Sempre. However it is not known if this is her song for Baku. I would love to see it in ESC.