After a break it was time for the big favourite Emmelie de Forest from Denmark to rehearse her act on the stage here in Malmö. She will be followed by three more top candidates as Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands comes right after. This article will be updated after each of the rehearsals.
Remember to refresh the article to make sure you are kept up-to-date. We will update after each of the four rehearsals.
Earlier today Austria, Estonia, Slovenia and Croatia rehearsed as well. You can read about how that went in our part 1 article.
5. Denmark: Emmelie de Forest – Only Teadrops
The first Danish rehearsal was anticipated by all, being one of the bookmakers favourites. Keeping a simular setup as in the Danish national final, Emmelie starts singing, sitting on the floor before getting up and "marching" with the two uniformed drummer boys. The uniforms are more flashy now compared to the ones worn in the Danish final. Now with gold trim. The use of the two large drums towards the end of the song comes across well on screen, and adds to the atmosphere.
Emmelies dress for the semifinal is still going to be white, a good contrast to the deep reddish colours of the backdrop. A golden curtain of rain ending the performance makes for a great effect. The vocals of Emmelie were again very good and clear, and her pitch on the money. She seemed very comfortable on the stage, showing no sign of nerves. Her three backing singers placed on the right side of the round stage, were giving her plenty of support with their well matched voices.
6. Russia: Dina Garipova – What if
Next to take to the stage was fresh faced Tartar teen Dina Garipova with her rousing entry, the plea for peace, What If. She was sporting a long, flowing, rather frumpy peach coloured gown with lacy sleeves for today’s rehearsal which contrasted nicely against her dark locks. She is assisted by four backing singers, dressed in various vibrant colours – doubtful whether these will be their actual outfits on the night. Behind them on stage are a multitude of illuminated globes of various sizes, dimmed to make things more atmospheric. Paired with a myriad of colours in a prisma effect on a dark background, this combines extremely well.
Young Dina gave by and large a confidently comfortable vocal performance. A few minor bum notes here and there, but these were hardly noticeable. The main gripe with this performance was that the backing vocals weren’t audible enough, drowned out by the backing track. During the second run through, one of the backing singers dropped the globe he was holding. Dina also seemed to be looking at the wrong camera at times, which looked rather strange on screen. The stage bursts into light as the song reaches its climax and Dina manages to pull off the crucial final note without too much difficulty. On the whole, Russia should be extremely satisfied with their first rehearsal.
7. Ukraine: Zlata Ognevich – Gravity
The song starting with Zlata being carried on stage by the tallest man alive (2.57 m/ 8ft 5.5 in) is set in a forest theme. The earth moves by every step "the giant" makes . The entrance sparked immidate laughter in the whole press centre. The backdrop is showing a forest in the morning, with the sun shining through the treetops. Yellow butteflies wakes the forest to life.
Zlata is standing on a big stone in the middle of the stage giving the song a Beauty and the Beast feel. Backed by four backing singers, Zlata gives a rather strong vocal performance, although she a few times had to fight to keep her balance on the stone.
The stage clothes they are going to use for the semifinal have not yet been shown, so we will all have to wait for their next rehearsal to have a look at them.
8. The Netherlands: Anouk – Birds
Dutch megastar Anouk is the one to round off the rehearsals for the day, also bringing the string of favourites to a close. Hers is without doubt one of the most anticipated rehearsals today, taking into account her considerable experience as a stage artist. The melancholy mood is created by means of stark white beams of light projected against a dark background. Anouk looked very much at ease as she stood hands on hips wearing black trousers with some intriguing metal cased boots, set of with a short sleeved baggy black top, just about showing off her tattoos. As she progressed through each run through, she seemed to emanate a relaxed glow, it was clearly visible that she was in her element there on stage.
The backdrop is lit up in red with an image of numerous white birds flying across the screen as Anouk launches into the first chorus. It’s only then that you can see she is flanked by three soulful backing singers. She gave an extremely intense performance, and even though she remained static throughout, this only helped heighten the dramatic atmospshere. Her vocals came across as effortless as she warbled her way through the number, pitch perfect. A polished rehearsal that oozed professionalism brought the day to a befittingly majestic end.
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