Reaction To Rehearsals: Day 2: Part 1 Israel-Denmark

A very good morning to everyone! (Or Afternoon if your in Baku). It is time to start viewing the tapes again and go back to the rehearsals in Baku and see what is coming out of the Crystal Hall. This post will be updated as the day goes on.

Israel - Rehearsal Video
There has been a definite lift in support over the last month for Izabo, who have gone from being a marginal qualifier to a likely qualifier on some peoples lists. While the song might be good I think that the performance might just be lacking the killer blow to push this into the final. It remains a very strong song but there is something more that the performance needs. That said the staging is still good with lots of strange clocks in the background and the backing singers are very strangely positioned which might aid the entry.


San Marino - Rehearsal Video
No one is expecting San Marino to really improve their odds of qualifying drastically. The song is still pretty poor, but the general reaction to her first rehearsal is that it was rather strong, it still was not quite to the standard that we've seen from Iceland and Romania yesterday but overall I think that this vocally good. This song is 7/1 to qualify to the final - surely those odds will shorten just a little today. The problem I felt that was there today was I wondered would people really "get" the song if they are not told explicitly that it's about Facebook?

Cyprus - Rehearsal Video
Vocally I think that this has certainly proved us wrong. Vocals are still a bit lat but it is certainly not the car crash that was expected. The backdrop does have echos of their 2007 entry. I don't fully understand why people are so into this entry and I think that it is one of the weaker entries in this semi-final however there does seem to be a broad expectation that this will qualify. I'm unconvinced though. I haven't seen the camera angles and when there is so much choreography involved you really need to see how it looks on camera. I'm going to sit on the fence for a bit on this entry.

Denmark - Rehearsal Video
There is a very interesting choice of background here and it is a good improvement on the national final. Vocally I think that this is great. The whole package has come together really, really well and I suspect Denmark are most likely going to win this semi-final at this point in the rehearsals. Some have complained that there is too much going on onstage but I think that this is a spectacular performance. Anna Bergendahl comparisons might be on the rise but I think that they are totally out of place here. 

A Surprisingly Entertaining Song. Denmark: The Review

I think it was a little surprising for fans to see that Soluna Samay is to go to Eurovision for Denmark. In my opinion this was a little more surprising given that she was 6/1 before DMGP but odds are not everything. When I first heard this song my reaction was to skip onto the next one. It was very anonymous and didn’t really stand out. However I did note in my initial review that it would all come down to the live performance and it worked. The song came to life on stage, from the various backing singers and that girl playing the drums the whole song just seems to come together as a whole and be the best it can be. The staging of the song is an integral part of its wonderfulness. The staging must be continued to Baku but I don’t know if they will be allowed to keep the falling leaves.

Overall the song is high quality, and has huge potential for Eurovision. Every year since about 2008 the Danes have sent a song which is very radio friendly. This has led to very strong placing in the last two years. In my view this is probably going to continue.

Fan reaction to this song is that it is good but there have been many comparisons to Anna Bergendahl. This reaction is justified. The songs style is similar. However in response I would argue that it is more mainstream than Anna’s song and the staging is will make it more memorable. I think Soluna is less likely to be nervous on the night and her passion for the song which she discussed with escXtra will carry her into the final. Anna’s song was different from what we normally would expect from Sweden while this is normal for Denmark.

Verdict: On a personal level I loved this song after about a week of listening to it. It is not a good thing that it is a grower rather than instant but I tend to be slow to recognise songs that I really like. While I don’t like saying this at this early stage I reckon that this could come as high as second place.

Grade: A