EUROVISION 2019: DAY 4 REVIEW (FIRST REHEARSALS)

Day 4 of rehearsals is over! Today has been a real mixed bag for me. Some of the acts made the right improvements and impressed me, meanwhile others underwhelmed me and I'm hoping will come together with the full product. Anyway, from what we've seen from today only here is my top 9 of today.

9th - Lithuania

This lacked literally any impact. The LED looks straight of of 2003 and the song went nowhere. There's literally nothing to latch on to here and I'm bored.

8th - Croatia

If one pair of wings wasn't enough for you, Roko decided to double up and bring two. To be fair, his song will never be saved anyway and he's not going to qualify so its not a big issue, and at least it was more polished than what we saw in Dora.

7th - Norway

This was underwhelming. We were told we'd get a Northern Lights, arctic landscape and got... the total opposite. This is so unrelated to the concept of the song and what people picture when they hear Spirit In The Sky and its disappointing. I could see Norway sitting out the final now.

6th - Albania

Look, Jonida and the Albanian team know this wasn't impacful enough. That's okay, they have time to improve and we saw Elhaida Dani in 2015 work magic to sneak through to the final and Jonida can still do just that. Vocally she's on point and I actually like the dress, but its all to dark and minimal impact compared to what we expected. Disappointed, but not giving up hope.

5th - North Macedonia

This was such a pleasant surprise! North Macedonia, getting staging right? Yes I don't love the song as I've previously said, but it feels way more believable with just Tamara selling the song, while also filling the stage with the mirror effect behind her. This feels more authentic than the video and is a rapid improvement. Now I'm starting to see a pathway to the final if the full performance hits the right spot.

4th - The Netherlands

Similar to Albania, off this rehearsal this did not meet expectations. Remember when I said if there was one thing that could dent Duncan's chances, it would be the team he's working with for the staging? To be fair to Duncan, I hate having to rank these of the very little we have, so please know this could rise, or even fall, once we've seen the full performance in the semi-final, but from what I've seen its not coming together. Duncan is fine vocally, I wish he would stick to the studio version more in terms of his head voice and chest voice, but apart from that its really strong. The lasers are okay actually upon reflection, but that piano really needs to go. It looks like a child's piano and the fragility of Duncan just standing there has been lost. The piano just feels like a tacky prop to scream ''this is a ballad! on a piano! now cry everyone!'' and that's what is irking me. Hopefully they are tweaking this behind the scenes because it still has potential.

3rd - Russia

Russia, this is how to do it. Although I'm still not crazy on 'Scream' they've only built on their success chances after today. Sergey demands full attention on stage because there's really nobody else to watch other than him. Vocally faultless and the staging is high budget, I see no way where this isn't at least top 10. The reason this is above The Netherlands right now is quite simply because this was a way stronger and confident first rehearsal from what we have and I think it has a stronger concept quite honestly. Camerawork will really make the difference.

2nd - Malta

Yes Malta! This is reminding me of Margaret's 'Tempo' staging in Melodifestivalen quite a bit. Bold and colourful staging, the Maltese team have executed an expensive product that tells a story. You're guaranteed to not get bored throughout this because at each and every point there is something new going on and that's exactly what the viewers want. The first runthrough gave me a heart attack because Michela just wasn't there at all vocally but she had it in check almost straight away by the second runthrough and I think this has to be a certain qualifier now and I'll be truly lost for words if this isn't in the final. The only reason this isn't my favourite from the day is because from what we saw this didn't seem to have as much of an editorial edge as the video. The backing dancers at times feel a little Junior Eurovision, and Michela who is only 18 ends up looking like the mature one. If they can level eachother out nicely, this is going to be perfect, and we know they have time to do that.

1st - Azerbaijan

Oh Azerbaijan, you did exactly what you had to do and I'm so happy. This staging is fantastic. The geometric staging elements, which I'm always a sucker for, partnered with the robots and just the overall realised narrative and concept is what I'm living for, and is honestly something this semi-final has been lacking. Every criticism and concern I had about Chingiz is now non-existent. He didn't come across cringy from what we saw, vocally him and his backup execute the song almost identical to the studio cut, and this still has the power it had in the studio cut instrumentally. Its telling why this has shot up the odds, because this is fantastic now and a real underdog. Fantastic work from Azerbaijan.

First rehearsals for the semi-finals are over, and I've got to say I'm overjoyed about that. I've unnecessarily stressed so much over these, and at the end of the day it all comes down to the night and the people who are hearing the actual song for the first time, as we saw when we all started criticising Netta last year who eventually won. I'm going to take a step back between now and the first semi-final myself and won't comment on the second rehearsals until the day of the semi-final. If you want my thoughts throughout the week though, you can tweet me @ESCTBy. See you on Friday for the final first rehearsals of 2019 from the big 5 and Israel!