2016 Rehearsals Day 3: Latvia through Australia

The first 10 acts from the second semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest got a chance to rehearse on stage Wednesday in Stockholm, Sweden.

 

The performers from the front half of the Eurovision Song Contest's second semi final got their chance to take the stage in Stockholm's Globe Arena Wednesday.

Here are first impressions from Wednesday's rehearsals:

Latvia

This looks similar to the Supernova final performance, but Justs appears to have a lot more energy this time around.

Poland

This feels very similar to Norway's 2014 entry, both in style and staging. That was a song I didn't really get but was extremely popular, which may be a similar situation now.

Switzerland

This staging, while stand-and-sing, is much better than what we saw in the Swiss final. Also, we have an entry for the "does not know what to do with arms" for the Eurovision bingo card.

Israel

This matches up to what I think I was expecting for this performance, but I'm hoping for more pop. I wouldn't be surprised if confetti gets added to the mix, and I'm curious what the glowing rings in the background may be doing.

Belarus

No wolves or nudity.((YAY!)) The animation looks a little off, but I'm intrigued by the visuals on the backdrop. Could Belarus be on the rise?

Serbia

The vocals are fine, but let's touch on the choreography. I love that there are dancers telling the story, but this snippet of dancing seems a little too loose. Perhaps So You Think You Can Dance has conditioned me to expect more precise storytelling with this kind of dance/song combo.

Ireland

DoesNotKnowWhattoDowithArms. Also, the second verse sounded a little rough, despite the echo of the venue.

FYR Macedonia

Another stand-and-sing, but Kaliopi has the charisma to carry it through. If the backdrop doesn't change, I hope there is some interesting camera work to make the performance dynamic.

Lithuania

Those pants get a 12. Did I say that out loud? Um, yes. So, Lithuania's strategy seems to be to play the pretty boy card. This may be a winning strategy for getting to the final.

Australia

Eeep, I really hope Dami Im isn't planning on Aguilera'ing this song within an inch of its life. The fact that there were two Aguilera moments in the above clip does not fill me with confidence.

Thursday we will see the rehearsals for the rest of the second semi final. Then the prognostication goes nuts. So exciting!