ESCXTRA are live from Lisbon for day 7 of rehearsals ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018! The countries rehearsing today, in chronological order, are Russia, Moldova, The Netherlands, Australia, Georgia, Poland, Malta, Hungary, Latvia, Sweden, Montenegro, Slovenia and Ukraine.
We’re streaming live from the press centre
Furthermore, read our handy guide for a more detailed look at this contest’s rehearsal schedule.
In addition, for our immediate reactions to every single rehearsal, you can follow our live stream from the press centre at the Altice Arena by visiting our YouTube channel.
The latest artist to rehearse for the second time is Julia Samoylova for Russia. We have just watched their latest run through of I Won’t Break live on screen and here is our initial reaction.
Staging
Once again, Julia is performing from the top of a two and a half metre tall projection mountain. The camera begins with a close-up of Julia as she begins her first verse, and later in the verse, we see a subtle blue projection on the mountain. For the chorus, we have a new addition of augmented reality effects, in which ice breaks over the screen seemingly out of Julia’s face… we imagine this will be tidied up in future run-throughs.
Julia is joined by three backing vocalists who we see for the first time in the first chorus, and two interpretative dancers. Once we first see them at the end of the first verse, the camera regularly switches between a close-up of Julia, a wider shot of the projection mountain and the interpretative dancers.
For the final chorus, the stage lights up in gold and red, both with the lighting and on the projection mountain. They’ve switched the camera angles at the beginning and end of the final chorus which is now high shots rather than close shots on the outer ring where the dancers are.
Camera shots in this performance: 37
Vocals
Julia’s vocals continue to improve but still struggle in the first two choruses. The live backing vocalists do well to create a wall of sound but are unable to cover up the issues during the choruses.
Costume
Julia is wearing a lilac dress with crystal embroidery on that blends in with the white mountain prop. Her glittery make-up isn’t as prominent today but overall her costume adds to the wintery and icy atmosphere on stage. Her male dancer is wearing only white trousers with the female dancer in a small white dress.
To qualify or not to qualify?
We have taken a flash poll from around the ESCXTRA table here in the press centre and 3 out of 5 of us say…
NO!
Watch the rehearsal!
Stay tuned for our reaction to DoReDos as they rehearse My Lucky Day next for Moldova. If you want to know what to expect for the rest of the day, check out our rehearsal schedule here. Meanwhile, remember to tune in to our live stream from the press centre for instant reactions to each rehearsal.
