Third day of rehearsals

Tuesday 5th of May was the third day of rehearsals. This also marked the beginning of the rehearsals of the second semi final. The second rehearsals for the below countries and songs were held Friday and Saturday. To kick it off is Croatia...

CROATIA

A reasonably good performance although it's not the best way to open a show with a ballad. The artist sings well, the only drawback could be that it gets a bit anonymous compared to a lot of songs that are to follow. (7 out of 10)

IRELAND

The first rehearsal was not the best for Sinead Mulvey and the girls, both vocally and visually. However they made massive improvements upon the second rehearsal. The flashing letters spelling the song title "et cetera" in the opening of the song is very effective. Sinead has a great vocal throughout the song except the very last note that is a bit shaky. The background still looks a bit gloomy but other than that I was really happy with this rehearsal. (8 out of 10)

LATVIA

It is no secret that I don't care for this song at all. However the act put on a very good performance and background fits the song well. Yet I fail to see the impact this song will have coming right after Ireland. Nonetheless a good effort (7 out of 10)

SERBIA

Things certainly get more bizarre with this number. Could be the joke act of the year, and as much as I hate it these types of performances tend to get a lot of the protest votes. The colours in the background comes off very well, and the act is certainly eye-catching on stage with their odd appearances. Vocally this is good as well. (8 out of 10)

POLAND

This song is very pleasant to listen to, that is in the studio version. It seems that live this song is too much for the singer to cope with. A lot of the notes are off key and whilst hearing her sing it I actually can't wait for it to be over. Very disappointed with this performance as Poland initially had one of the better songs in this semi final. Neither does it help with the dancers on stage who only distract....but in this case maybe a good thing? (3 out of 10)

NORWAY

The big favourite of the year, and still way ahead of the others in the polls. Alexander Rybak puts on a very good performance, both vocally and visually. The background is of a fairytale village at night, with flashing lights in the windows of the wooden houses and the sky above filled with stars. The whole thing appears a bit christmasy, not that that is necessarily a bad thing, but the colours are perhaps a bit dark. My only other criticism would be the space. It looks as if the dancers are struggling with the space on stage, as they appear to almost dance over Alexander in the rehearsals. And it therefore looks slightly clumsy. But overall this was a very good rehearsal. (8 out of 10)

CYPRUS

Luckily Christina sings a lot better now than she did in the national final. Her costume and the props on stage look very nice. Yet I feel this still lacks the wow-factor. It's nice but nothing more. (7 out of 10)

SLOVAKIA

In my opinion one of the most dreadful songs in the competition this year. The background is pictures of candlelights which give a romantic feel. I must admit both singers give strong performances and despite the many difficult notes stay in tune throughout the song. However I still feel there is too much screaming, and it appears nothing can or will hold them back. (8 out of 10)

DENMARK

The Ronan Keating-sound-a-like is up next. Yet another strong performance. He makes the most of the song and the background fits the song well. This has a good chance of qualifying. (8 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/