The Dress Rehearsal of the First Semi-Final ended a few minutes ago and now the fifteen participants know exactly what they need to improve, in order to be ready for their live performance tomorrow, which will determine their qualification in the final.
During tonight’s Dress Rehearsal, we watched the performances of the countries participating in the first semi-final, as well as the three countries that vote in it and have automatically qualified to the final, namely the United Kingdom, Germany and the host Sweden. The juries also watched the performaces anvd voted for their favorite songs. Their vote will be used as an alternative to the TV audience’s vote, if something goes wrong tomorrow night during the semi final.
What the Swedish have prepared (Part A’)
An explosive start to the Dress Rehearsal had been promised by the Swedish hosts and the one who could carry it through was the one and only Eleni Foureira, who put “Fuego” on the Malmö Arena stage with the song that won the hearts of all eurofans. Eric Saade with Popular and Chanel with SloMo completed the most iconic trio of artists that could open the first semi-final of Eurovision 2024.
The competitive part
What to anticipate
After two relatively “dark” entries (Cyprus and Serbia) Lithuania is on stage with Silvester Belt and Luktelk. The beat of the song is so addictive that everyone in the stadium sings along to its beat. Visually, the result is even more addictive and has raised the national final performance to a higher level, while maintaining the necessary freshness. Silvester Belt’s particularly good vocals make us feel that he will be sure to qualify for the final.
Fourth in the running order is the most controversial act in the first semi-final, Ireland ‘s Bambie Thug in a performance that masterfully handles all the technical means that this year’s stage has generously offered to all artists. Perhaps the use of “black magic” during the three minutes will put off – or even scare – a few, but surely by the looks of it, Ireland has already secured a spot in the Eurovision 2024 final. In the Media Center they got the biggest applause from the accredited journalists, but also in the arena there was another huge applause.
The fifth performance is Ukraine, one of the favorites even to win the whole competition, in such an ambiguous year as this year is. Jerry Heil brings out the full range of her voice, while alyona alyona raps non-stop, and it’s admittedly a duo that will be talked about a lot. The two bond very well on stage, while the use of the platform that elevates Jerry Heil “into the heavens” completes the performance. The differences with the national final are evident, as both have found their way on stage, but have also been inspired by Mother Teresa. It is an entry that will make it to the finals and will probably be placed in the top ten.
Then it is Croatia and Baby Lasagna. The Balkan country, since the rehearsals were completed, has moved into first place in the betting odds, while also being second in the bettors’ preferences, and the chances of taking the trophy back to Zagreb are increased day by day. The look of Ram Tim Tagi Dim will be a reminiscent from the recent past, with the visual effects not being used much and in their place we see fireworks. Certainly, the entry that excited the crowd in the stadium, who saw for the first time a bookies and fan favorite live on stage. Will it be enough for Saturday?
Below our expectations
In this category we could mention many of the countries participating in the First Semi-Final as the level of most of them is – to put it elegantly – average.
Poland appears with Luna and The Tower. The fairytale scenery that the Polish have set up this year doesn’t seem to work as they would like visually, with the result looking awkward except for the moments where Luna rides her horse, and vocally she herself seems quite weak. Several failed camera angles were captured on television, in contrast to previous participations.
An entry from a completely different era is that of Iceland with the lovely Hera Bjork. A golden backdrop, a podium, bright colors, uninteresting shots and a weak song set the right backdrop to lead the Icelandic delegation on Wednesday morning back to the freezing Reykjavik.
Apart from Hera Bjork who is returning this year, Natalia Barbu is making her reappearance on the Eurovision stage after 17 years on behalf of Moldova. Alone on stage in a white dress, she stands barefoot in the center of the stage while in the background some graphics unrelated to the meaning of the song, do not help an entry that will fight very hard to overturn the predictions and find themselves on Saturday’s final.
What the Swedish have prepared (Part B)
If Loreen is the queen of Eurovision, then Johnny Logan is the king. And as such, he made his appearance on the Malmö Arena stage in tonight’s Dress Rehearsal, which greeted him with a standing ovation as he performed his unique cover of Euphoria, the song that secured Sweden’s fifth victory in the Eurovision. Benjamin Ingrosso completed the interval act of the evening with a medley of his own hits.
Which entries are you looking forward to seeing in tomorrow’s first semi-final?
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