Fourth day of rehearsals

Wednesday 6th of May was the 4th day of rehearsals, and time to hear the last half of the songs in the second semi final on the Moscow stage for the very first time. The second rehearsal of these songs and countries took place on Saturday and Sunday. We continued where we left off the day before with the tenth song and country, Slovenia...

SLOVENIA

The performance is quite similar to the one presented in the national final except that the first part of the song is sung in Slovenian. I must say I prefer the full English language version. It's all very pleasing to both the ear and eye, however I am unsure if this will make a great impact on the night. (7 out of 10)

HUNGARY

This camp George Michael-ish dance song comes across very well on stage. The vocals are good but yet again it is one of those songs that neither impresses or disappoints. And I fear this is one that the viewers may easily forget about as there is nothing here to grab you. (7 out of 10)

AZERBAIJAN

This act has everything the former two didn't. It's lively, dancey and definitely sets the mood. Arash's vocals have been a bit shaky but was much improved on the second rehearsals. Aysel's vocals were almost flawless. I think this is one to watch out for, and a definite qualifier. (9 out of 10)

GREECE

This is another favourite and one that everyone expects will qualify. Sakis Rouvas brings a prop with him on stage, which at first looked a bit out of place. However on the second rehearsal it came more into use and I must admit the whole performance looks quite impressive combined with the flashing neon lights of some of the song's lyrics. Saki's vocals are not perfect as expected but seems much improved compared to his 2004 performance. (8 out of 10)

LITHUANIA

The background for this song is very dark and the artist comes on stage looking a bit like Frank Sinatra. The vocals are very good but I feel there is too little happening on stage. The song doesn't really grab me and it may turn out to be the perfect toilet break on the night. This is another one of those performances and songs that leave me completely indifferent. (6 out of 10)

MOLDOVA

From the dull to the explosive. This is very lively on stage, lots of dancing, and the costumes fit both the song and the background. Vocally this is also very good. (8 out of 10)

ALBANIA

Being one of the youngest artists in the competition this year I feared the Albanian singer would fail live due to nerves. However she sings just as well live as on record and her vocals are in fact very strong. Unfortunately she seems to look a tad uncomfortable on stage from time to time, and some of her movements appear a bit odd. Still I think this might do very well unless nerves kick in on the night. (9 out of 10)

UKRAINE

From the sweet to the vulgar. The song is the most sex-fixated song of this year's contest and from the beginning I have felt this performance comes across as a bit cheap and tacky. The use of the now famous/infamous hell machine has now been shown on stage. It looks quite impressive I must say but it may be a bit too much of a good thing. Certainly a song that will be remembered, and probably another certain qualifier. Vocally this is also good but I think it would gain more votes by toning down the performance a couple of notches. (8 out of 10)

ESTONIA

Another country and song that uses blue costumes next to a blue background. The lead singer sings well, and there are no problems at all vocally. It looks a lot better on stage in the second rehearsal than the first, yet still I feel it would look better if the members of the group stood closer together while performing the song. Despite this I think this is another likely qualifier. (8 out of 10)

NETHERLANDS

last country out in semi final 2. The performance is as camp as can be expected, complete with handheld lights attached to palms of the three male singers. The interaction with the 3 black backing singers wearing blonde wigs looks a bit corny and for me it is difficult to take this performance seriously. I think yet again Netherlands will fail to qualify, but vocally this is very well sung. (6 out of 10)

Video clips for most of these performances can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/user/AKOE09

More thorough reviews of the performances are also available in the blog of the fabulous Irish website All Kinds Of Everything: http://akoe07.livejournal.com/