Earlier today the first four countries in the second semi-final went on stage for their first rehearsal here in Malmö. Now time had come to the next four to show us what they have planned. First in this group was Finland followed by Malta, Bulgaria and finally Iceland.
Remember that this article is being updated after each rehearsal so don’t forget to check up on the latest information.
5. Finland: Krista Siegfrids – Marry Me
For "Marry Me" Krista is of course wearing a white wedding dress. The song kicks of with wedding bells ringing. The backdrop shows a big sign, Las Vegas style reading Ding Dong. Three backing dancers are helping getting "the bride" ready especially with the big veil. The backing dancers are dressed as men, wearing purple tuxedos, mustages and black masks. Complementing the wedding theme of the song are the two backing singers dressed as waitresses wearing red aprons.
The backing singers change their tuxs with light purple dresses for the wedding ceremony at the end. Krista and her team manage to get the energy of the song across to the viewer, and you can´t help tapping your feet to the beat.
Spoiler alert: At the end af the song its revealed who Krista is going to marry. It´s in fact another woman and the two end the song with a big kiss.
6. Malta: Gianluca – Tomorrow
For those familiar with Gianluca’s performance at the national final, there won’t be many surprises. He’s on stage in a white shirt, dark waistcoat and pale brown trousers. His band consists of a guys on ukulele, guitar and drum, and two backing singers, onw of which is his sister. His backdrop are the words to the song, and matches a video posted on Youtube shortly after his win. Towards the end of the song, the six people on stage converge to a park bench, again mirroring some of the scenes from the official preview video.
Gianluca’s first run through went OK, although he was a tiny bit ahead of the backing track. The second run attempt was much better. Towards the end of the song, he walks up the catwalk, and then walks back again to the park bench.
By the third and fourth runs through, the song had been polished a lot more. However, by this point, Gianluca appeared to be saving his vocal a little. He does engage very well with the camera, and the way moves around the stage is very natural.
Up next:
7. Bulgaria: Elitsa Todorova & Stoyan Yankoulov – Samo shampioni (Only champions)
The Bulgarian duo in their second Eurovision after coming fifth in 2007 are staying true to their love for drums. The drums are a big part of the number and several different sections of drums a spread over the stage. For "Samo Shampioni" the duo has hired a guy to play the bagpipe and occasional some additional drums. Three backing singers dressed in traditional Bulgarian dresses complete the Bulgarian team.
The backdrop changes through the number between reddish and purple colours.
Elitsa & Stoyan start up playing drums where the light and water on the drums make a good visual effect. Towards the end of the number both are playing on the same drum with luminous drumsticks.
At the end Elitsa, who is wearing a short white uniform jacket with red decals leaves the mainstage and takes a small catwalk to a smaller stage, where the duo end their number, which entirely is sung in Bulgarian.
8. Iceland: Eyþór Ingi – Ég á líf
The gentle, piano led, celtic tinged ballad Ég á líf brings the third day to a close. The rousing number is performed by the bearded Eyþór Ingi on a stage that is bathed in rays with a maritime theme featured on the back drop, a reference to the official music video.
Eyþór Ingi stands on stage in the white jacket he wore in the national final and is flanked by four male backing singers. The jacket is ditched on the third run through, when he only wears a black suit and tie. The faces of his backing singers weren’t visible due to the lighting, but the hairstyle of one of them was suspiciously similar to Friðrik Ómar’s, so perhaps we’re in for a pleasant surprise. There is no choreography as such, but plenty of hand gesticulation and Eyþór Ingi really knows how to work the camera, with some fantastically intense direct shots of him during the performance.
Vocally, he was spot on, delivering a consistently solid, pitch perfect performance. He ad libbed more in his second and third run throughs, delivering some killer notes. At times however this was a wee niggle, as it comes across as if he’s over confident and showing off ever so slightly. It’s refreshing to hear Icelandic back in the contest for the first time since 1997. A rousing finish to the day’s proceedings. The simplicity of the song and its soothing sound serves as an excellent contrast to the hectic Bulgaria and could well work in its favour. One of the standout rehearsals of the day without doubt.
