Five digits on VICTORIA's outstretched hand...
Times that by two and you have my mark for her out of ten
and the first perfect performance of Eurovision 2021!
We have had a few performances from the acts in the second half of SF2 that, in my opinion, were not the best they could be - there was a a big ray of light when Bulgaria came on screen though! I'll talk more about that when we get there but until then, join me for another journey of as much positivity as I can muster about the first rehearsals of the final set of SF artists that I watched today on the Online Press feed from Rotterdam. Direct Finalists are on Thursday - we saw eight semi-finalists today and as usual, any issues will be left for the delegations to sort out. All pictures courtesy of eurovision.tv and Thomas Hanses today - more beautiful images to choose from...
GEORGIA : Tornike Kipiani - "You"
Plusses
- For a guy that ordinarily screams and shouts his lyrics, this is one of the most controlled vocals I have ever seen at Eurovision
- Everything is effortless and Tornike has a calmness on stage that is reassuring, dressed in shirt and jeans
- The use of wording from "You" superimposed on him and the screen is an interesting visual effect
- The backdrop of clouds in vivid blue and the change to star effects at the end is delightful and a real wow moment
- The lighting around him is dark so the emphasis is all on him
The eurovision.tv footage gives a reasonable indication of this...
Despite those positives, this entry is so chilled and laid back, with such minimal staging, that the memorability of this has gone fairly soon after the end of the song - my scores here reflect this...
Vocal Capability 4.0/5
Stage Performance 2.0/5
Composition / Originality 2.5/5
Overall Impression 2.5/5
Score 10.5/20 (5.25)
I am not sure how much there is to come or whether what we saw today was it for Georgia. If it is, I cannot see this making the Final - the likely scenario is fighting for last place with Poland...
ALBANIA : Anxhela Peristeri - "Karma"
Plusses
- Anxhela has a superb live vocal, indistinguishable from the studio version
- She is a singer that holds her own on stage with this performance and is uber confident in everything she does, acting everything out effortlessly. She also connects with the camera at all times
- She is incredibly attractive and has a superb outfit for the performance
- The black and red colours used in the show really focus attention on her, due to her blonde hair and silver outfit
- The plume of smoke/water effects behind Anxhela gave a nice contrast visually to the darkness thoat otherwise prevailed through the performance
- The use of Albanian as a language is a positive this year and makes "Karma" stand out.
You will definitely see her stagecraft and beauty on the official video:
I knew from FiK that this lady could sing and knew her stuff on the stage but that was with four male dancers - this performance on the Ahoy stage was the best solo female show I had seen up to that point in 2021. That is why these scores are the best I have given to Albania all season...
Vocal Capability 5.0/5
Stage Performance 4.0/5
Composition / Originality 3.5/5
Overall Impression 4.0/5
Score 16.5/20 (8.25)
I would love to see Anxhela in the Final, continuing the run of Albanian language songs making it since Eugent kicked that off in 2018. She would be borderline though on my list so fingers crossed...
PORTUGAL : The Black Mamba - "Love Is On My Side"
Plusses
- It is always a delight to see a song that has a traditional vibe start off in black and white, swapping to colour as "Love Is On My Side" develops - this entry is nostalgic and that cinematic switch pays due deference to that
- The screens help tell the tale - the appearance of an art deco representation of an orchestra and a woman dressed from the 1920s fit in well with The Black Mamba's attire
- The performance itself is all about lead singer Pedro - every shot seems to include him and he makes himself even more the star when her walks to the satellite stage and plays guitar
- He has a great voice with that unique tone and he brings loads of his charisma to the piece
- It is a regular band performance and overall very classy
This is not dissimilar to their Festival da Canção winning show and you can tell from the video:
Pedro is the star and I appreciate his unique voice - the rest of the performance is good but not outstanding for me, reflected with these scores...
Vocal Capability 5.0/5
Stage Performance 3.5/5
Composition / Originality 3.5/5
Overall Impression 3.5/5
Score 15.5/20 (7.75)
I think that we have the complete show here already in rehearsal one - nothing to add and this is a borderline qualifier at the moment in my eyes. It would add to the variety of the Final but I think it would be destined for the bottom five...
BULGARIA : VICTORIA - "growing up is getting old"
Plusses
- I had my first Goosebumps moment of 2021 whilst listening to the first run we saw of "growing up" - the section where the orchestral arrangement really kicks in was incredible, a truly amazing moment
- VICTORIA sings this beautifully, with a delicacy and fragility that no other artist has this year - it is indistinguishable from the studio version
- She has this way of delivering emotional lyrics in such a way that you totally believe her and does so in a natural way, never seeming to need to act - the perfect story teller
- The staging adds to that narrative - she is sitting on a rock in the sea, sand coming down from the sky like an hourglass indicating the passage of time, with the stars of the universe behind her as she looks at a picture of her and her father
- It is all wonderfully lit as though it is the end of a glorious day
- The pacing of "growing up is getting old" is absolutely spot on
You will only get all of this when you see the whole thing - watch what eurovision.tv have provided for you for now:
If you were observant at the beginning of this article, you will know that I said that this was perfection and I meant it with my scoring...
Vocal Capability 5.0/5
Stage Performance 5.0/5
Composition / Originality 5.0/5
Overall Impression 5.0/5
Score 20/20 (10.0)
One of the best entries I have ever had the pleasure to listen to and watch at Eurovision - there is nothing that can be bettered with another rehearsal run. VICTORIA has to just repeat this time and time again - qualification is a given and 'growing up is getting old' should be a contender for the Eurovision crown. Whatever happens, it will be a pleasure to experience this again and again...
FINLAND : Blind Channel - "Dark Side"
Plusses
- This was much the same performance as UMK, which is a great thing given that it won Blind Channel the Jury and Public votes there
- We had effectively a song from one of their concerts - it looks and sounds as though it have been cut out of a gig and pasted into Eurovision
- The dual vocals were spot on and the singers each had their middle fingers painted red, a nod to the middle finger in the song without breaching any swearing rules
- This was full on intensity, all band members going for it 100%, all playing expertly and adding to the physicality of the piece
- The lighting was perfect for the performance - red and black suited the mood of the lyrics perfectly, and also allowed each band member to stand out
- I loved the chanting faces on the screen backdrop which added to the actual vocals of "Dark Side"
- You have to have pyros and we had them at the end - this was the ultimate rock concert at Eurovision
The footage will give a clearer picture - if you saw them at UMK, you know what to expect:
I have loved this entry from when I saw it in Finland, so it is unsurprising to see what marks I gave it...
Vocal Capability 4.5/5
Stage Performance 5.0/5
Composition / Originality 4.0/5
Overall Impression 5.0/5
Score 18.5/20 (9.25)
Not much to change here - tightening up of the vocals plus getting timings of jumps etc perfect is all that is needed. If it were down to me, this is a definite qualifier and a sure fire top ten in the Final at the very least - Eurovision isn't often kind to rock entries though...
LATVIA : Samanta Tīna - "The Moon Is Rising"
Plusses
- Samanta is one of the best vocalists in Rotterdam and she proved that singing "The Moon Is Rising" today
- She gives a slightly different take on how she sings the song each time which makes it interesting, and gives this entry huge amounts of attitude, like the Samanta of old we have seen at past Supernova
- It is a great tale about female empowerment and she tells her own story on stage with her backing singers
- The dress is beautiful, a lovely green colour.
You will see all these plus points in the eurovision.tv video:
I had Latvia in my pre-Rotterdam top ten due to what I had seen in the Official Video and live at a music awards ceremony - unfortunately, I let my preconceptions of what I hoped and wanted to see at Eurovision did not turn to reality, hence the drop in scores...
Vocal Capability 5.0/5
Stage Performance 2.5/5
Composition / Originality 4.5/5
Overall Impression 3.0/5
Score 15.0/20 (7.50)
I feel that I need to explain my comments above - I loved the staging of the Official Video and that live show. From how Samanta looked in her white 'space leotard', through to the help she had from her female dancers who showed off their crowns and helped her in her chant, and how all of that really tied in with the lyrics and the message about female empowerment. At the Ahoy we had nothing of this - we had no dancers but the three backing vocalists that were with Samanta in 2020 with "Still Breathing", plus a massive shift in how she and the backdrop looked. If you follow my radio show, you will have heard me talk about the series pre-Eurovision shown in Latvia called 'Kā uzvarēt Eirovīzijā? Samantas Tīnas ceļš uz Roterdamu', you may have even watched it yourself. We did see the green dress on the show and the backdrop prepared by CAD but because of the staging and look of the Official Video, I thought no more about it! The performance today was more like the classic Samanta - unfortunately I now no longer have Latvia as a definite top ten in the Final, I believe that she might miss out on the top ten in SF2. The Juries may still save her...
SWITZERLAND : Gjon's Tears - "Tout l'Univers"
Plusses
- As we all knew, Gjon's Tears has the purest male voice ever heard at Eurovision and we heard that on stage today
- The close-ups on him showed the intensity he always provides with his vocals - his face delivers his emotions perfectly
- The staging for “Tout l’univers” is not what I expected and is very bold in its design - the plain geometric shapes that pull apart later in the song give unexpected interest to the performance
- The lighting behind him and the shapes are beautiful - the white rippling effect adds so much to this show
- As the song builds in volume and pace, the lighting flashes match the rhythm of the music and suits the whole perfectly
I bet you thought he'd be sitting behind a piano singing like I did - trust me, he is not:
Switzerland were my #2 going into Eurovision rehearsals with just a mark or two dropped as we only had the shortened live performance (at a piano) from a Spainish tv show to go on. This new staging seems a bit alien to him as he is expected to do a small bit of what could be described as 'interpretive dance', the camera angles aren't great and his outfit is a big odd. This all adds up to a drop in two scores for me...
Vocal Capability 5.0/5
Stage Performance 3.0/5
Composition / Originality 5.0/5
Overall Impression 3.5/5
Score 16.5/20 (8.25)
Don't get me wrong, this is still a contender for the 2021 Trophy but the staging and choreography needs work - a lot of it. If he performs like he did today, the best I could see this getting would be top ten. We will see what second rehearsals bring...
DENMARK : Fyr & Flamme - "Øve os på hinanden"
Plusses
- This was much the same by Fyr & Flamme as the DMGP winning performance, just with bigger distances to cover from backstage to the front podium
- The vocals were as good as in Denmark, solid enough for the overall show
- This had exactly the same fun factor - Jesper providing the chaotic movement around the stage and a dash to the satellite stage and back. He still had the same fist in the air move and the stick microphone he used at DMGP, allowing him to move about and do that mid show dash
- Laurits is still the sea of calm in this performance, playing his guitar and smiling throughout. It is also great that we have the backing singers providing the claps in real time
- The backdrop and floor have the same colours of the National Final performance and retain that visual wow as before
Yes, it is very similar to the Danish selection show - look at the eurovision.tv video:
It makes me smile and it is still the same insanely catchy entry it has always been - the larger stage did cause some issue with timings and where Jesper had to be at times, explaining the slight decrease in scores...
Vocal Capability 4.5/5
Stage Performance 4.0/5
Composition / Originality 3.5/5
Overall Impression 4.0/5
Score 16.0/20 (8.00)
All of the minor problems today will be ironed out by the time of the second rehearsals, I am sure, leading to a very safe qualification, given they are closing SF2. Once in the Final, I would suspect that this will be a televote favourite and a possible top ten...
Andres Putting was on backstage duties today and got this picture of one of the vocalists of Blind Channel - I would still have them as one of my favourites, given that their performance differed hardly at all from UMK. The scores for today's SF2 nations?
Bulgaria 10.0
Finland 9.25
Switzerland 8.25
Albania 8.25
Denmark 8.00
Portugal 7.75
Latvia 7.50
Georgia 5.25
After all of the first rehearsals for SF2, this would be my personal top ten...
Fingers crossed that Romania have helped ROXEN
to have a better chance of completing
her performance with some breath left...