Bonjour and welcome to Nice for the 2023 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. This afternoon we will have a live blog of all sixteen performance from the Jury Rehearsal of this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

As with every other website – fan media or traditional, we didn’t have access to the individual rehearsals as in previous years. So please #JoinUs – John & Richard this afternoon for the only live blog of the 2023 Junior Eurovision Song Contest season!

Refresh from 17:00 CET

The show starts with a voiceover by Lisandro, who’s win brought the contest back to France. He’s telling us how we are all heroes. The contestants are all singing the group song Heroes. Then we get the parade of countries in two alphabetical tranches of eight. Albania to Italy first. Then Malta to the United Kingdom. It’s all very jolly and uplifting.

After the the parade, we get an unnamed singer surrounded by enthusiastic youngsters in shiny blue outfits. And the sixteen acts of course.

Our hosts are Laury Thilleman (in French) and Olivier Minne (in English). Mononymously-named Ophenya joins them as Eurovision’s first digital ambassador. They explain how the voting will work. If you’re familiar with Big ESC, there’s a 50/50 split between online voting and national juries. The public can go online and vote for their three favourites.

Spain

The postcards are a joy, and we won’t spoil them, save to say then end up with the flag of the country. Sandra is on first, performing among suitcases. She has four dancers with her who carry some of the said suitcases at points during the song. The song bounces along nicely and is a great opener. The backdrop also shows views of buildings of note from around the world. There are no duff notes and it’s a good way to open the contest. A later draw may have helped it, but it could still spring a pleasant surprise for those wanting a Spanish JESC in 2024.

Malta

Staying in the Med, Yulan is on next with a contrasting song. She’s alone on a dark stage, with its USP being herself on the backdrop during the choruses. To start with she is seated on a tall stool stood on a circular pale rug. This ballad is earnest in delivery, and Yulan has a decent voice to carry it through. And yet, there’s that a challenging note or two that would faze a less experienced singer. Maybe not a winner, but a good effort.

Ukraine

Anastasia is our youngest performer tonight, and exudes a cuteness which may attract votes. The song is also nicely bouncy. Anastasia is in shiny pick with green trim, and her four pals on stage are in the same colours. The backdrop has K-Pop overtones which is striking. During the song, she gets handed a large flower (a kvitka if you will) which could be the torch held by the Statue of Liberty. The chorus is repetitive in a catchy way, and that hook should make it memorable.

Ireland

It’s Ireland o’clock with Jessica aiming to do her best. She’s in a BIG red and gold dress made from recycled plastic – so TG4’s commentators tell us anyway. The diadem from earlier clips has thankfully gone. For a singer so young, the soaring notes are all hit. Towards the end, along comes a certain Sophie Lennon. Sophie is clad in silvery-white and doesn’t outshine Jessica. It’s a cracking little ballad, and deserves to do well.

And now, over to Richard…

It’s time for the first visit to the Green Room this evening – with our digital host Ophenya. Ophenya talks to the participants from Spain and Malta. We are now going onwards to the next four countries.

United Kingdom

The girls arestood on thier individual plinths – each lighting up when each one of STAND UNIQU3 sings. The performance is slick and one that UK viewers will be use to seeing, following on from appearances on Blue Peter, Strictly It Take’s Two and Children In Need. Elements of the music video is used as the back drop. Three backing dancers appear on the plinths for the last quarter of the performance. The UK and the BBC is taking this competition seriously.

North Macedonia

Now we have a complete change in direction. Tamara appears in a hooded top and the overall stage airs a feeling of mystery. Tamara has strong vocals and utilises the space around her on the stage. The connectivity with the camera and the audience that Tamara has, shows the performance has been well rehearsed.

Estonia

Welcome Estonia to the stage, our debut entry for 2023. Arhanna starts her performance sat down, however soon rises to her feet. There is something slightly gothic in the way this performance looks and there has been reference to the Netflix series ‘Wednesday’ on several social media platforms in regards to this. Arhanna is vocally strong and we have to remember Estonia have a strong history in children’s singing Contests.

Ophenya is back in the Green Room – this time talking to the participants from the UK, Ukraine and North Macedonia.

Armenia

The Yan Girls bring a bit of hip hop to proceedings. They are certainly serving up some attitude, which should attract the attention of both the audience in the arena and those watching from home. A giant dragon appears on stage during the song – not CGI either. That and the pyrotechnics, certainly making a memorable performance.

And now, over to John…

Poland

Thanks Rich. This is a very visual song, from a backdrop perspective. More on that shortly. Maja is in a long pale pink dress and has four backing dancers. The backdrop shows photos and videos from Maja’s life. Showing how she has good friends, which we all need. There is also pyro. The whole thing is very slick and polished, and Maja hits all the notes, some of which are challenging. A good song, and we know Poland have form.

Georgia

The Georgian trio of Anastasia and Ranina are all in predominantly white and look very smart. They have two dancers are wearing huge cones of white fabric that are reminiscent of shuttlecocks. But don’t let that put you off. Georgia in general has a strong singing tradition and Ranina have very powerful voices for lads of their age. The switches between English and Georgian are not jarring, which also help the song. It does end quite abruptly, but they know what they’re doing, and we know Georgia also have form in this event. Very good.

Portugal

Júlia tells us she lives in the USA, so her English is very good. It’s another visual performance, which sees her alone on stage. She starts by lying on it in a long violet dress that contains a lot of fabric. The song safely moves along, and like others switches between English and her own language. At points, she discards elements of the dress – the long train, some ruffles at the front, and then the remaining purple revealing a simple white dress underneath. It’s probably not a winner but she enjoys herself and it gets well applauded at the end.

Before the next song we hot the Green Room again. Ophenya speaks to Arhanna from Estonia and Maja from Poland. Friendships are developing we’re told.

France

The home team’s postcard features football. Naturally. Anyway, Zoé has high hopes. She’s dressed in mirrored pink and initially plays a heart-shaped piano. The effective lighting gives the impression of walls. Hmmm, yes, it’s the home entry all right. Zoé then climbs the piano and spend the rest of the song up there. There are five dancers on the stage who add plenty to this. Towards the end, she hits all the notes as everything goes even pinker on the backdrop. The French would tell you they don’t want to win again. But they do. And they might.

Back to Rich…

Albania

Could Albania be on for their best position since their 5th placing in 2015? While Viola is alone on stage, she might not be utilising the space like some of the other acts, but the use of dry ice and the lighting adds a sense of intrigue. Again, Viola has connectivity with both the camera and the audience in the arena – certainly one to watch tomorrow afternoon during the live show.

Italy

Melissa and Ranya start the performance off with one sat on a bed, while the other is sat at the piano – with a house scene for a back drop. The back drop soon disappears for a more muted affair, however this doesn’t really matter with the girls strong vocals. The vocal harmonies have a wide range, which adds depth to the entry. This will be one of Italy’s best entries in years.

Germany

FIA brings a sense of inclusivity to the performance with the use of sign language. The sign language is used throughout while FIA sings herself – multitasking at its best. The stage is colourful, but you can’t help focussing on the sign language throughout.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands are doing what they do best – with the help of Sep & Jasmijn. The use of a scaffolding structure is only the second big prop along with the dragon from Armenia. This is a memorable pop and dance entry, which sits in a strong position in the running order. Sep is also the only male singer in terms of a main male performer – something which may stand out for the voters. This has to be a strong contender for the title tomorrow.

We will wrap the live blog up here for this evening. We don’t want to spoil the surprises that are coming up in the interval acts, before the voting takes place. Wherever you’ll be watching the Contest tomorrow afternoon, enjoy!

Let us know what you think about the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – either in the comments below or on our FACEBOOK, TWITTER, YOUTUBE, INSTAGRAM and TIKTOK pages.

Author: John Stanton & Richard Taylor

Source: Eurovision Ireland