Post by Vaios on Apr 30, 2017 14:25:07 GMT 1
Today marks the beggining of the rehearsals in
Kiev. Which countries reached your expectations and which dissapointed you?
You are free to discuss in this thread about all the rehearsals in the arena.
DAY 1
First 5 rehearsals
Finland (10/10) - No words.
Azerbaijan (10/10) - I see something different on this one, something new and innovating which I like.
Portugal (9/10) - If it was Salvador, it would be first.
Albania (8/10) - Impressed by this one.
Georgia (7/10) - Amazing one (even if she was a bitch at the pre-party in Madrid)
Australia (7/10) - His voice is on point, even if I don't like the song at all.
Sweden (6/10) - I know it's not his fault, but nothing new.
Belgium (6/10) - Not bad at all to be honest.
Montenegro (5/10) - Not bad, but not my taste either.
Armenia (9/10) - What I expected.
Moldova (9/10) - Again, what I expected, but the epic sax guy is on point.
Greece (8/10) - Even if I don't like the song, I'm surprised on her live.
Iceland (8/10) - I really dislike the song. Still, the performance is great.
Poland (7/10) - Underwhelming (I hope the full rehearsal is much better).
Latvia (7/10) - What did I just watch?
Slovenia (6/10) - Muuuuuch better than the national selection performance.
Cyprus (6/10) - I love this song but is that even a dance?
Czech Republic (5/10) - Meh.
Romania (10/10) - This is the first time I see a complex performance this year.
Malta (9/10) - The song is pretty boring in my opinion, but I really like the performance.
Hungary (8/10) - Classical. I love it.
Austria (7/10) - Okay.
Ireland (7/10) - This is great, no surprise.
Netherlands (7/10) - Just nice.
Denmark (4/10) - Just don't like it. Those clothes look like the ones my mother uses to clean the house.
FYR of Macedonia (3/10) - That dance.
Serbia (3/10) - That voice.
Azerbaijan - Contemporary and innovative design. I like that but I just feel like her vocals could slightly improve.
Finland - Simple and touching. I think this can actually do really well!
Albania - Awesome vocals! I think she has some good potential and the background from the music video on stage looks very nice!
Sweden - The vocals were not so much on point and that's its only drawback for me. They kept the staging as in MF which was expected but it's nice and a lot of the viewers won't have seen the performance from MF so it will look new to them.
Georgia - They have added some nice effects but this "cape" she's wearing is just pointless. Not impressed in general but she's stunning vocally.
Portugal - This will certainly rise when Salvador is there performing as I can't judge his vocals (which I guess will be great anyway). I really like the song personally and the simple staging works fine for me. It's nice they've used the small part of the stage but it just lacks something (maybe it's just Salvador's presence)
Belgium - Not as bad as people claim this one to be. She was just really anxious and couldn't sing properly but this doesn't mean she sucked that much. Still needs to improve though.
Australia - My big loser of the 1st day of the rehearsals. I didn't expect it to be perfect but I just found this too weak. I hope they can improve but anyway, a place in the final is pretty much guaranteed.
Montenegro - I really don't know what to say about this. I find it great and fun to watch but it's just a gimmick which is probably not going to be appreciated by the juries (hopefully at least). Europop kitsch at its fullest 
Greece - Simply great! Really nice vocals and Fokas Evangelinos did a gorgeous job once again. Really glad for Demy!
Cyprus - Not that it's my country but I really hate how some people claim this to be a copy of Belgium 2015 or Russia 2016. Our delegation probably got some parts of previously successful performances from the contest and from what I've heard in the reviews, they worked well. Hovig certainly needs to practice a bit more on the choreography and I guess we've still seen nothing of the whole performance which seems to have exciting features that we haven't watched yet.
Moldova - It seems to have worked fine for them and I guess it was a nice and fun performance indeed. However, I feel like those "brides" are simply pointless...
Slovenia - To be honest I am glad this one worked .The 'chandelier' also worked and made this look even better so I hope Omar can actually do better than expected at least.
Armenia - This got some really positive reactions but I guess I'd rather have seen a staging similar to what the music video shows (like a platform with some people on and Artsvik there singing and doing some hand moves).
Czech Republic - Very good vocals but really empty stage. There's nothing so exciting about it.
Iceland - I can't say I was impressed by it. I feel like this country have quite lost their way in this contest...
Poland - Nice vocals but they are promoting a song to be dark and then they choose blue? The NF staging was better I guess.
Latvia - What we got to see from those 30 seconds was certainly nothing special as a whole.
Malta - Yes, this is my favorite this year, as well as in the rehearsals for today. The reason is that it's simple, yet effective. For other countries which have sent ballads this simple staging might not work but for this one it certainly does, just like it also does for Finland. Apparently Claudia managed to bring a lot of emotion on stage and the reviewers also claim that she left them speechless with her emotional and vocally perfect performance so I am glad this did so well at the rehearsal, even if I know it'll struggle to qualify.
Austria - I really liked this one and the crescent-shaped moon which actually creates the feeling that he's indeed running on air as the song says. It's a nice transition from the Alpine scenery in the music video. Very nice vocals but I really don't like his clothes; they kind of remind me of Johnny Logan back from 1987.
Ireland - It was nice, sweet and lovely. Good staging and nice idea with the hot air balloon symbolizing hope.
Romania - It's a mess on stage but unlike the case of Slavko, this actually works for them. This mixture of rap/hip hop with yodeling is just as weird as the background and the canons on stage so I personally see the connection. This will do really well in the televoting I suppose.
The Netherlands - Not fond of their dresses. However, they are gorgeous vocally and I admire them for being so great. The staging was not that impressive.
Denmark - By far the best vocals today but the whole staging was too 'basic'. Nothing exciting or so surprising, just her kneeling towards the end of the song which creates a more "dramatic" ambiance.
FYR Macedonia - It's just that her vocals were not so good. Moreover, she seemed to be kinda weird dancing there and I feel like she lacked this confidence of being able to dance alone on stage and give that 'one-woman show'.
Serbia - The vocals killed it. The staging is also nothing that extraordinary. Hopefully they improve.
Hungary - Nothing so special in the performance and he was too stressed so his vocals were not perfect. He will certainly improve and he'll qualify, I guess.
Belarus - I really like the atmosphere and the story they are trying to bring on stage. It feels as if they're actually in a dream. At first I expected something more similar to the music video, with the 2 of them walking around on stage and connecting with people but this is also very beautiful and I guess it will be appreciated and will eventually qualify!
Switzerland - This is one of my least favorite songs this year but the staging looks good. Her dress also fits her and it suits the whole performance in general. The only drawback of this is the background which reminds me a bit of Ancient Greece but it's also a bit cartoon-ish.
Norway - This is similar to the Norwegian National Final but this is exactly what it should be. I am glad they have included some darker colors on stage and that it is not only this purple/pink color. There's a beautiful contrast. Very good vocals as well!
Bulgaria - Very nice staging I guess. However, even if his voice is really nice, I think this just lacks something. I hope the camerawork will actually work fine for him.
San Marino - Really funky disco vibes on stage! Vocally Jimmie was good and Valentina was rather stable! A nice rehearsal overall!
Lithuania - Cool graphics! I also like her voice! The song might not go anywhere but it's certainly a good performance.
Croatia - This is just a mess on stage. I like the fact he can actually do that "duet" with himself and delivers vocally but it doesn't work for me.
Israel - Rather confusing staging. Good vocals but he can't hit the high notes that well. I don't like the fact he's just showing himself in the background at several parts. He's a nice guy but this certainly doesn't stand out for me.
Estonia - I'm a bit disappointed because Laura's vocals are still not on point (certainly improved though) and the background is just too dark and has nothing so special. Koit is also looking confused and he seems like he doesn't know where to stand on stage.
Norway // I don't like it, but it will surely qualify, as many others believe in it. Their performance was the same so.
Switzerland // Beauty and the 
Bulgaria // No. Words. [3] 
Israel // His performance was great, his live flawless, no reason to fail.
San Marino // Haha.
Croatia // Might be the best live anyone had, but the song is something that might make people not to vote for it. I can see it qualify though [2]
Belarus // Same as Austria [2]
Lithuania // Same performance as the National Selection, still the song is mess, and there's nothing more to say.
Estonia // It will be hard for them to qualify as it's a strong semi final.
