Eurovision 2017 – Day 13 1st Dress Rehearsal Grand Final LIVE ROLLING BLOG – START 1400 CET- JUST REFRESH

Just when you thought you had seen the best of us, we are back and better than ever!!  If you were thinking of going anywhere else for your fix of Eurovision rehearsal news, then SHAME ON YOU!!

You can follow our LIVE BLOG HERE – You know the drill by now. Just refresh the page for our live updates. We start at 1400CET. You will be taken care of by Andrew. So if you want an honest opinion of how the rehearsals are going then tune in here.   Some other members of the team could be chiming in from time to time.

The Running Order is as Follows

Ok well I am here in the Press Centre and so far nothing is happening on the screens nearly 10 minutes after it is due to start so bear with me on this. Remember to keep refreshing for updates.

Ok so we have the screens on and each act is introduced individually on stage in running order. The  all appear to be walking through an image of their flags which evaporates like a shower when they do. Ukraine actually come on last as hosts. We are then introduced to the hosts.

We have another slight delay till we come to the first postcard.

Israel

A good show opener from the producers. A nice lively song and performance from Imri. Sounds strong once again and should manage to collect a decent set of votes.

Poland

Kasia looks like she has just got out of bed as her hair is very dishevelled. But she is wearing a lovely flowing white see through dress. Her vocals are strong and faultless as always. A good rehearsal and will be interesting to see how many votes Poland get from the dreaded 2nd spot.

Belarus

A lovely upbeat contrast to Poland with the fabulous Naviband clearly happy and having a fun rehearsal. This should to well despite coming so early in the running.

Austria

Nathan just oozes confidence with his performance. It is a shame he is drawn so early though but it is a contrast to Belarus before it. His song is cheeky and infectious and deserves a good result for sure.

Armenia

I had this down as the most likely Eastern country to finish highest up the results table. It could still happen though I think its more likely it will be a good top 10 finish for Artsvik. This is well performed once again and a good ethnic feel with modern undertones.

The Netherlands

One of the best vocals harmony mixes of all Finalists. The girls from OG3NE looking resplendent once again in their dark blue spangle dresses. Cannot fault the performance though some feel the song is a little bit dated. However I fell than certainly finish top 20 if not top 15.

Moldova

This is so much fun from the Sunstroke boys and back up girls. Standing out nicely after the Dutch. This could end up doing quite well I feel.

Hungary

And after the fun of Moldova we move onto the ethnic feel from Joci. Good rehearsal too and I have grown to love this song as it gives us the true feeling of celebrating Diversity in music at the contest, one of only four song entirely not in English.

Italy

The not so big favourite on next in what has now become a bit of tight three horse race for the big glass trophy. A big fan favourite Francesco and his gorilla have certainly caught the imagination of Eurovision fans. The performance is great and as long as general public and juries get it this could well be the winner tomorrow night. Mr gorilla only has his head on today which looks quite comical.

Denmark

Coming on after Italy I cannot see this doing that well now. She is singing it within an inch and a half of its life and she wears the customary red dress. It is certainly not a bad song and deserves its place in the Final but think it may miss out of a top 15 finish.

Portugal

So we move onto the second favourite and a completely different type of ballad from Salvador. This just oozes charm and Salvador is singing it off book today, i.e. he is changing bits and using various vocal techniques that differ from the script. A true jazz singer if ever there was one. Am sure it will be perfect on the big night.

Azerbaijan

After a short break we move onto Dihaj from Azerbaijan.  Her concept of staging is still a little bit baffling for me but the song itself is modern and edgy and well performed. This could well get into the Top 15 for me.

Croatia

The last song in the first half is the schizophrenic performance from Jacques and Croatia. It is bonkers but very well performed and not surprised to see it in the final. I have been proved wrong on this one as I did not rate it at all at first but it shows that even I am wrong sometimes. This could even go top 10.

Australia

Into the second half we go and Australia who were mighty relieved to get to their third Final after a hint of a scare. Not a great place in the draw but Isaiah is giving it his all today and trying to find another respectable place for them. I think it will do well to get into the Top 15.

We have a break on now which tends not to bode so well for the next song Greece. They are trailering the new competition on later this year Eurovision Choir of the Year.

Greece

Demy from Greece on after the break is sounding a little bit screechy today but the performance has energy once it kicks into the dance beat. Her two male semi clad dancers add a certain extra dimension to it all. However I think this could certainly manage to finish around mid table.

Spain

The second of the Big 5 on next from Spain we welcome the colourful and summery song from Manel.  Sadly this is out of tune and not one of his best performances. I fear that this could well be favourite for the last place on Saturday.

Norway

Nothing else like this in the competition, modern and edgy from the guys from Norway. JOWST  have done themselves and their genre proud as this certainly has a good selection of fans out there and will do reasonably well I think.

Not surprisingly they are having a mini break after Norway to allow them time to get the UK mirror shard onto the stage. This is what we expected because they have struggled all week to get it in position quickly enough. We have a sketch involving previous winner Mans Zermelow on at this point.

United Kingdom

Lucy Jones has been knocking socks off the performance of her song and today is no exception. This is just brilliant and I am very emotional after watching this today. Everything about now suggest to me that Top 10 is possible and perhaps even Top 5.

Cyprus

A good solid performance from Hovig today and he is happy to have a decent position in the draw, this has certainly made big improvements since last week and thoroughly derverves it’s place in the Final.

Romania

This is deserving of the slot in the Final and is lots of fun. I have been converted from hating it to liking it which is no mean feat. The production of the performance is colourful and fun and this could even go top 10 on the big night.

Germany

I love this song and Levina is supremely confident with her performance. She looks really great too which just adds to the charm for me. I can not see this finishing near the bottom so will give them their best result since Lena. Top 20 possibly.

Ukraine

The host country with the only piece of heavy rock this year and a great position in the draw. It is what it is a good piece of music for the genre. I still don’t quite get the big head centre stage but a decent effort could finish above 20th.

Belgium

Well the shock of the first Semi Final for me was how Blanche managed to pull it out of the hat when it matters. She still looks like she doesn’t want to be there and is vastly underperforming this edgy modern piece of electro pop. But it is still in the running to finish top 10 if not higher still. The attraction here with fans is her frailty which seems to come across well now.

Sweden

Slick as anything Robin has bagged a plumb place in the running order which could well see him finish top 5 and certainly top 10. This is a great catchy pop song which Sweden are so good at these days and it is performed well. Yes nothing wrong with this at all.

Bulgaria

Kristian is so so confident for someone so young. He oozes charm and sings his heart out with this modern ballad which is now solidly in the mix for a top 3 finish. In fact this could well win for Bulgaria. Think Harry Styles and you get the picture all the young girls are voting for this. The production is spot on and a serious contender for sure.

France

Last song of the Final is from the early fancied France and Alma is giving it her all today. It is a great song but my problem is with the presentation of it. It seems to be missing too much for me to make it stand out and be a top half contender. I fear France could be in the bottom 7 or 8 at the end of the night.

I will not be staying for the rest of the show after all the songs are finished so tune in again tonight to see if John has a different take on things.

So there we have it folks hope you enjoyed. Tune in again at 21.00 CET tonight for the live blog of the Jury Rehearsal of the Grand Final  which will be brought to you by John.

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Author: Andrew Main

Source: Eurovision Ireland

All Photos courtesy of Eurovision.tv

Photo: Thomas Hanses

Photo: Andres Putting