EUROVISION 2019: DAY 3 REVIEW (FIRST REHEARSALS)

Day 3 of first rehearsals... i was so bored. This was definitely the weakest day of rehearsals so far. Maybe I'm tired and its difficult to judge without the full package, but everything I said about semi-final 1 turning it out can't be said for the majority of performances here, and I think people are starting to realise that semi-final 1 maybe is the better semi. Anyway, here is my ranking of what we saw today:

9th - Moldova

As much as I've been howling and joining in on all of the sand nonsense on Twitter today, girl really? I don't care if the public won't remember Ukraine 2011 because we certainly do. Its the exact same concept with the exact same style of song, and why would I want the same thing we've already seen 8 years ago but even more amateur? I'm done.

8th - Denmark

Copy... and... paste... and it wasn't even good to begin with. In all seriousness, I'm hearing from press that there have been positive tweaks to this in the camera work and Leonora's facial expressions, but in reality I'm still not into the privileged white girl from Denmark singing about how we shouldn't worry about what's going on in the world and all just join hands and make a rainbow. Next...

7th - Ireland

I'm disappointed. We heard so many rumours about Sarah's potential staging prior to her performance and it seems like they picked the worst possible concept. The LED is so messy and you don't know where to look first, and Sarah and her dancers just seemed like they'd rocked up from a girls night out looking for a taxi to get home. It just felt sloppy and I really wanted this to be better because the song is one of my favourites from this year. Hopefully after we've seen the full thing it will rise back up in my ranks.

6th - Switzerland

This is an improvement at least. Luca was good vocally and this staging is exactly what I expected, as Sacha Jean Baptiste seems to love recreating Fuego with every possible opportunity this year. Its a certain jolt of energy after the first three performances but the song is still sleazy and the choreography is still cringy to me. He's done what he had to do though and I'm more confident in this song managing to squeak a top 10 in the final now, and honestly I don't think I'd be that mad.

5th - Latvia

I'm glad that Latvia have actually tried something new for their performance. The white dress works nicely and they still have that peaceful atmosphere that was in the national final performance. I will say I did prefer what they had before but I think this concept will work better with the arena setting. This is not a song that you want to hear on repeat listen to watching its rehearsal for 30 minutes did seem to drag. Not much to say here really, they did what they had to do.

4th - Armenia

I'm a sucker for pyro and I'm loving the build towards the final minute in this one, which seems like the trend for Armenian staging over the years. Srbuk was vocally strong and I'm fairly sure she'll fill the stage despite being on her own. I will say though the shots without pyro seemed a little tame and I still don't know if it did enough to stand out 18 songs down, which was the exact worry I had pre-rehearsals. I still think its going to struggle to glide through to the final because its not particularly striking as an overall package.

3rd - Sweden

'Too Late For Love' wasn't as much of a translation from Melodifestivalen as I expected. They had a new backdrop which has golden-orange hues, and honestly I think it looks messy and I'm not a fan. I also think they could've dropped the lightning because now it just looks like a blown up version of my desk lamp. The mammas are still on point though and vocally this comes together to bring a real powerful performance. I still think this is a jury winner as this has a lot of what they want and I think they'll continue to eat this up, especially in the west.

2nd - Austria

Austria did exactly what I expected them to do and I'm impressed with what we got. PÆNDA was good vocally, I love that similar to Cyprus they have LED beams that bring the stage to life and create that 3D effect, and I love the sole triangle that is lowered to create that intimate atmosphere. I kinda wish Sweden just lowered one of those triangles if they really wanted the overhead light because this looks way cleaner than what they have. I still think this is a tough one to predict and we'll have to see the whole thing with camera shots to know if its good enough.

1st - Romania

This really took what we already had from Romania to the next level. Ester is vocally on point and I'm glad to see the return of the chair, and she's still presenting the edge and fire she previously had within her, but with actual fire to add further intensity. This has all of the elements it needs to secure its qualification and its the only act from today I was impressed by. This has cemented its qualification for me.

Day 3 of rehearsals is complete! Tomorrow we turn to the second half of the second semi-final, which promises to be more exciting considering that acts involved.

Follow me on Twitter @ESCTBy for more rehearsal and Eurovision ramblings. See you tomorrow!