Buona Sera Europa , Buongiorno Australia !

Eurovision week is here ! After over a week of rehearsals , tonight the serious business really starts in Turin, Italy where the participating countries in Semi Final 1 will be performing in Dress rehearsal 2 at the Pala Olimpico, Turin. How each country performs tonight really matters because tonight is the night that the international juries will be watching the performances and awarding their points , with the public voters having their say during the live show tomorrow evening. So…..no room for mistakes tonight , this could either make or break a country’s chances of getting into Saturday’s Grand Final ! Hosting the proceedings tonight will be Mika, Alessandro Cattelan and Laura Pausini .

Join me,Sarah , as I take you through our blog of tonight’s events as they happen this evening. If you’re lucky enough to have tickets to the live show in Turin tonight, then enjoy the show !

Tonight’s acts ,in running order ,are :

Albania -Ronela Hajati -“Sekret”

Latvia -Citi Zeni -“Eat your Salad

Lithuania -Monika Liu -“Sentimental”

Switzerland-Marius Bear -“Boys do cry “

Slovenia -LPS -“Disko”

Ukraine-Kalush Orchestra-“Stefania”

Bulgaria-Intelligent Music Project-“Intention”

Netherlands-S10 “De Diepte”

Moldova -ZDOB ȘI ZDUB & FRAȚII ADVAHOV -“Trenuleţul”

Portugal-Maro-“Saudade”

Croatia–“Mia Dimšić Guilty Pleasure”

Denmark-REDDI -“The Show”

Austria -LUM!X feat. Pia Maria -“Halo”

Iceland-Systur – “Með Hækkandi Sól”

Greece -Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – “Die Together”

Norway-Subwoolfer-“Give that wolf a banana”

Armenia-Rosa Linn-“Snap”

LIVE BLOG STARTS HERE

Unfortunately, you’re a little too early! Come back at 21.00 CET , 20.00 GMT and #joinus for our live blog of Semi Final 1 ,Dress Rehearsal 2 !

Good evening everyone and welcome back to our live blog of the Semi Final 1 Jury dress rehearsal . I’m currently in the online press centre, waiting for the show to start .As said earlier this is the show which will be watched by the international juries tonight and they will be awarding their share of the votes to decide which 10 countries go forward to Saturday;s Grand Final.What we blog tonight , will be how the show will look tomorrow night. You, the public , in the 10 countries competing tonight plus those of you in France and Italy will get to vote during the live broadcast tomorrow. Those of you in the UK ,Germany and Spain, fear not! you will be able to vote in Semi final 2 on Thursday evening. So for now , sit back and let me take you through the proceedings tonight.

Albania -Ronela Hajati -“Sekret”

Latvia -Citi Zeni -“Eat your Salad

Lithuania -Monika Liu -“Sentimental”

Switzerland-Marius Bear -“Boys do cry “

Slovenia -LPS -“Disko”

Ukraine-Kalush Orchestra-“Stefania”

Bulgaria-Intelligent Music Project-“Intention”

Netherlands-S10 “De Diepte”

Moldova -ZDOB ȘI ZDUB & FRAȚII ADVAHOV -“Trenuleţul”

Portugal-Maro-“Saudade”

Croatia–“Mia Dimšić Guilty Pleasure”

Denmark-REDDI -“The Show”

Austria -LUM!X feat. Pia Maria -“Halo”

Iceland-Systur – “Með Hækkandi Sól”

Greece -Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – “Die Together”

Norway-Subwoolfer-“Give that wolf a banana”

Armenia-Rosa Linn-“Snap”

And we’re off ! We’re currently looking at a little film role play about an inventor of flying machines , who made Leo the drone….who has a mission to be involved in music . You’ll see quite a lot of Leo in the shows as he will be introducing each act in the postcards before they appear in stage.

We now have a rock themed dance number singing the Sound of beauty , this started off with a quiet rendition of Nessun Dorma before moving into rock and roll mode! A kind of tribute to Maneskin, who as we all know are the reason why we are in Italy this week !Not a bad opening number

Here come the hosts, Laura ,Mika and Alessandro! You’ll grow to know and love them during the week .Laura gets the audience to stand up and make themselves heard .They thank Rotterdam for hosting the show last year and mention that Maneskin won last year ! You won’t see them until later in the week. They talk about the show giving peace and unity and then the proceedings regarding voting and the proceedings in both English and French.

And we’re off !

So we’re onto the first postcard introducing Albania . You’ll see Leo the drone in each postcard flying over parts of Italy before introducing the act

Albania -Ronela Hajati -“Sekret”

A stomper of an opener tonight with pink and silver being the chosen covers as far as outfits are concerned. Ronela’s may raise a few eyebrows around Europe as it’s a little revealing ! Lots of dancing and heavy beat . I do wonder if it may be a bit over the top for some . Could going first affect Ronela’s chances ?

Latvia -Citi Zeni -“Eat your Salad

I have heard of many strange song titles over the years but never one telling you about eating your greens and certain other things ! It’s another very in your face, shouty act .They are dressed in outfits of various colours They sing about how eating greens is cool. Think I may actually be put off my greens after this !

Lithuania -Monika Liu -“Sentimental”

So, we go from two shouty in your face numbers to the complete contrast !Monika is dressed in a silver and black long dress ,She’s alone on stage, with dark blue staging. She’s an accomplished performer and seems to really enjoy being there. Her vocals are sound and I can hear the audience clapping along to it . Monika should qualify but the early draw may have an impact on her chances. Best song so far .

Switzerland-Marius Bear -“Boys do cry “

Another song where the singer is alone on stage , LED floor effects make a blue lined heart around Marius. It’s a pleasant enough song but I can’t help but feel some contemporary dancers may have given more impact to the song.I don’t think the song has enough impact to give an instant liking for it , which is so vital when you’re looking for those all important votes ! I fear for Marius I’m afraid.

Slovenia -LPS -“Disko”

Wow! this really takes me back to the 7o’s .The band are dressed in burgundy and green suits , They are on stage with a great big silver/gold ball .Again another dark stage with minimal lighting . It’s quite a jolly little number but again, it needs two or three listens before you get a feel for it . It’s a very safe entry for Slovenia , it may just slip though .

Ukraine-Kalush Orchestra-“Stefania”

Big cheer in the audience for Ukraine, as expected .It’s hard to comprehend that just a few weeks ago, these guys were fighting to defend their country , now they are on the big Eurovision stage proudly showing the talent their country has. Bless them, the guys are giving the performance of their lives.Their outfits are very varied and they are playing different instruments and rapping the words out but the important thing is they are having fun ! The crowd are clapping along and huge cheer from the audience at the end . That brought a lump to my throat .

We’re on to a break now with the hosts having some banter and chat ! We now get a little film about Turin and how they created the staging , etc for Eurovision. We also get the first look at the Green room.

Ok, so now back to the show ….

Bulgaria-Intelligent Music Project-“Intention”

After Maneskin’s victory last year, it was inevitable that we would see a few rock bands in this year’s contest. It is a true rock song but , unfortunately , this doesn’t, for me , have the charisma and impact that Maneskin had to win over voters last year.This , for me was three minutes of just shouting and noise .Rock fans will vote for this though. May get through with the help of the rock vote. Sorry Bulgaria !

Netherlands -S10 2De Diepte

Now this is class! S10 is alone on stage in a black suit, the top looks a bit like a riding coat .She’s stood alone on a very dark stage , but that suits the melancholy of the song.She then walks across the satellite stage .Her vocals are spot on and you can see the emotion in her face. The only concern I have is she needs to engage with the camera a bit more. Should qualify.

Moldova -ZDOB ȘI ZDUB & FRAȚII ADVAHOV -“Trenuleţul”-

These guys are experienced Eurovision performers and each time they have never failed to bring fun and joy to their performances. It’s bonkers but a lot of fun and very much a dance along song . I can see a lot of people getting up and dancing to this . They are engaging well with the audience and it feels like the arena has been woken up ! Big, big cheer from the audience !I feel worn out with clapping and singing along after that !! 🙂 Should qualify easily.

Portugal-Maro “Saudade”

So from fun and bonkers , we’re back to a sleepy little song,this time from Portugal.The girls are stood in a circle, very similar to how they were in the Portugese national final .They are casually dressed in trouser suits .Again, dark staging with blue effects .It’s quite a dreamy little song and it is pleasant enough but it’s chances of qualifying may suffer coming on after the lively Moldovan performance .

Another break with the presenters talking again .

Croatia -Mia “Guilty Pleasure “

Mia is dressed in an all pink dress ,joined by contemporary dancers to tell the story of her song.Mia then interacts with them by walking around them and singing to them.It’s another sweet little song and Mia gives a very polished performance. Deserves to qualify based on what I have seen tonight .

Denmark-REDDI “The Show ”

Denmark have stuck to the Melodi Grand Prix performance with the lead singer starting at the piano singing slowly, then she gets up and joins her fellow band members and the song becomes a female rock band number. The girls give their all , with the girl power effect . This is the best they have performed since I saw them win Dansk Melodi Grand Prix .Big reception from the audience .Will they qualify ? I think they may just sneak through .

Now we have Mika giving us an ode to Eurovision and what it means to him. Then some more banter from the hosts. We finally get on to the Austrian entry ….these Italians love to talk !

Lumix & Pia Maria “Halo”

Austria wake us up again,but, Pia Maria’s hair style ???? she’s decided to go for the schoolgir l two bunches style ! As expected a very upbeat performance . I still feel that Pia Maria’s vocals were a bit shakey in parts. They appear on stage within a big halo prop. the audience seemed to love them.

Systur ‎”Með Hækkandi Sól”‎

We’re brought back down to earth again with a gentle number from Iceland . The girls are dressed casually and are just stood on stage with their instruments, no gimmicks but they are not really needed for this kind of song. Vocally they sing in harmony and it’s not a bad song ,I just feel a very safe song ,Sadly safe doesn’t guarantee qualification.May need Nordic votes to get it through .

Greece -Amanda Georgiadi Tenfjord – “Die Together”

Amanda oozes class and clearly knows how to sell a song. She’s on stage , again a very dark stage save for minimal lighting , and surrounded by chairs turned upside down! Very powerful vocally . This should qualify. For me, this is the best performance so far.

Norway -Subwoolfer “Give that wolf a banana “

Subwoolfer bring us their national final stage performance with the guys in their yellow wolf masks, their dancers in all yellow masks with sunglasses covering their faces and a gold astronaut DJ. Their choreography is slick, the dance routine and song catchy ,infectious and you can’t help but sing along to it ,love it or hate it!!! Big cheer from the audience, as expected ! This will qualify !

We have more banter from the hosts

Armenia -Rosa Linn “Snap”

Believe it or not, we’re at the final song of the night.Rosa Linn is on stage sat on a bed made out of paper notes . there is a paper note wall and she walks around the stage ripping off parts of the wall, revealing significant dates for her.Now, Rosa Linn is a fine singer and although it’s a clever gimmick , I worry that this may be a bit too busy on the eye for voters ,in much the same way as Lesley Roy last year for Ireland. Sometimes too much can be as bad as too little. Rosa Linn does a fine job of selling the song with just herself and her fine vocals on stage .It’s the kind of song you can clap along to and this alone will engage the televoters and jury alike .Should qualify .

So that’s it everyone, we have heard all of the songs. The three presenters now come back on stage and start off the voting . We now get a recap of all the performances tonight .

Interval act on now , we’re told that the discotheque is coming to the stage !And we have a medley performed by Italian musicians Dardust ( pianist) Benny Benassi ( DJ) and english indie pop Sophie and the Giants and Italian conductor Sylvia Catesta .

And the hosts are back again reminding us that there are only a few minutes to vote ( obviously this isn’t really happening now but will do in the live show tomorrow.) .I wonder who the juries will favour tonight ? Laura is telling everyone to “hurry up” Very bossy that Laura !

We have the countdown in both english and italian and the “voting ” has stopped ,

Huge cheer in the arena as Diodato, who should have represented Italy in the 2020 edition of Eurovision but lost his chance thanks to Covid -19 leading to the contest being cancelled .Now he gets his chance to, at last, sing his song “Fai Rumore ” on stage .He’s joined on stage by contemporary dancers, who then lift him up and put him down, then surround him. It’s a powerful and emotional song and means a lot to the Italians as it became an anthem sung by citizens from the balconies of their homes during the strict lockdown of the early months of the pandemic . With a performance like that , who knows what would have happened had the 2020 contest gone ahead ?

We now get the now traditional look back at past Eurovision song contests Ahhhh the memories!

Now we meet Malena the winner of JESC for Armenia last year .In a pink top and trouser and welcoming us to Armenia for this year’s Junior Eurovision.

Now a chat with Alvan and Ahez representing France this year, they talk of their pride at bringing the Breton language to Eurovision this year ,They are feeling the pressure after France’s second place last year ! We get a clip of their song ” Fuhlenn”.

Big cheer when the Italian act comes on and we see a clip of their song “Brivadi

We are now being treated to a performance of France’s entry “Fuhlenn”. They impressed in rehearsals on Saturday and also are doing tonight . It’s the same as their National final performance and they have done well to make it as effective and intimate on the big stage as well as the small stage . I love it !

Big cheer as Mahmood and Blanco come on to perform Brividi !

Now we come to the results…but not really ! Tonight there will be a “mock ” result . At this point, we will leave the show and tonight’s blog.Thanks for checking in with our blog tonight , hope you’ve enjoyed it . The real Semi Final 1 takes place tomorrow at 21.00 CET .Wherever you are , enjoy the show tomorrow and hopefully your country will make it through !Goodnight Europe , Have a nice day Australia !

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source : Eurovision Ireland ,RAI