Young Lozano has impressed greatly with vocals of a consistently high standard, Esma less so. Would the flamboyant Gypsy queen have a new over the top outfit for their second rehearsal? Neither disappointed.
Lozano opened the Macedonian entry, changing the language once more back from English to the original Macedonian. He’s wearing a similar outfit as in the previous rehearsals, a grey suit whilst Esma enters the stage dressed in a flame red creating, again with matching turban. The two female backing singers are wearing mauve coloured outfits.
The lighting begins with a sapphire blue background and white & blue beams, changing to become a vibrant mix of purple and blue, with the backdrop featuring a mottled effect in corresponding splashes of orange, purple and blue.
Lozano once again delivered the goods vocally – an extremely powerful, emotive performance, unfortunately once more marred by Esma’s wailing. Some of her contribution complements Lozano’s voice, but it’s when she goes over the top, sounding like a car engine that won’t start, that the song rapidly loses its appeal. This is a real shame, because Pred De Sa Razdeni has so much going for it otherwise – exotic, suggestive rhythms, an amazing male vocal and an extremely powerful melody. The camera loves Lozano, with several fantastic shots of him.
Despite the melody, or rather melodies aside, this still is very much a love or hate song with two tunes and styles of vocal that jostle for attention, making the whole act a little difficult to digest. The song is not so easy on the ear and not as instant as other countries in the line up, meaning that FYR Macedonia may just struggle to snag one of the final spaces.
