ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 8

Day 8... It doesn't sound right. It's more like a Day 10 but on Monday and yesterday we had only dress rehearsals, the jury rehearsal and of course the semi. So I can't count them... Whatever. It doesn't really matter!

DAY 8

Spain - ESDM - "Contigo Hasta El Final" (2nd rehearsal) 
Raquel changed the dress and she's also barefoot. She walks down the catwalk near the end of the song, they play with those "flying lanterns" and then she goes back to finish the song. I like the song but the whole performance (along with the song) doesn't stand out. It's a bottom 5. Unfortunately.

France - Amandine Bourgeois - "L'Enfer Et Moi" (2nd rehearsal) 
I like the outfit but that's it. Ok and the music of the song. But the performance? No. Not at all! Amandine is overacting! I really don't like it!

Germany - Cascada - "Glorious" (2nd rehearsal)
What the hell are they doing?????? Where is the second half of the first verse????? Are you kidding me? You cut the best part of the song just to keep the instrumental part after the first chorus and istead of -AT LEAST- taking advantage of it, Natalie just stands there and claps her hands? PLEASE! For 2,5 minutes Natalie just stands there and they're only using the stairs for the "we are glo-glo-glo-glo-glo-glo" part! Wow right? Yeah I know it's the same as the NF performance but this is bad! Really bad! And with the first half draw, it's the right side of the scoreboard for Germany! :(

Sweden - Robin Stjernberg - "You" (2nd rehearsal)
That outfit... So bad... But I like the performance. They've done some changes but I think it looks really nice. Love the fireworks! Wish he could change that outfit though...

United Kingdom - Bonnie Tyler - "Believe In Me" (2nd rehearsal)
Amazing Bonnie Tyler! Love that performance. Not a big fan of the song coz it's not my cup of tea but I really like what I see! And I totally love the outfit! Hope it goes well for the UK.

Italy - Marco Mengoni - "L'Essenziale" (2nd rehearsal)
That's not his stage outfit right? He looks like he's dressed to go for a walk. The performance is too static. And he's also using the catwalk in the end. I would like to see him sitting at the piano. I think it'd have been much better...

ESC 2013 - Rehearsals Day 7

DAY 7

Spain - ESDM - "Contigo Hasta El Final" (1st rehearsal) 
Yellow dress... I'm sure after the results they'll put the blame on the dress. Last year Pastora said her outfit wouldn't be black or yellow. I don't know why she didn't wear a black one but the yellow is considered bad lack for the Spiniards. Don't remember the actual story behind this though. ESDM's performance looks similar to the NF one. Raquel is another artist who uses the catwalk. Really like the song but it's a bottom 5 for my Spain...

France - Amandine Bourgeois - "L'Enfer Et Moi" (1st rehearsal) 
Don't like it. At all. And I seriously don't like that she acts like lunatic when she sings... What was that in the soundcheck? :S

Germany - Cascada - "Glorious" (1st rehearsal)
Natalie!! So crazy! Love her! I'm so glad about the outfit she's wearing! That was my biggest concern! The performance is the same as the NF one but she's also using the catwalk and that's where she ends it. I need to hear the backing vocals though... I'm worried about them.

Sweden - Robin Stjernberg - "You" (1st rehearsal)
I must've been the only one who loved his mello outfit. Now everyone says that this outfit is worse. It is but you guys went crazy about him changing it. Sorry Robin but it's really bad. The performance has some minor changes. We already knew that. I really want to see the entire rehearsal though.

United Kingdom - Bonnie Tyler - "Believe In Me" (1st rehearsal)
Another use of the catwalk but this time it's one step forward. It lifts Bonnie in the last seconds of the song. I couldn't clearly hear her vocals though... Some musicians on stage so I guess it's an ordinary performance...

Italy - Marco Mengoni - "L'Essenziale" (1st rehearsal)
Much hotter with the beard. But that's not the point. :P Looks like he's just standing there. I wonder if there's anything else during his performance... Not a fan of the song though...

ESC 2013 - Reviewing the countries beginning with "I"

Iceland sends Eythor Ingi with the song "Ég Á Líf" written by Örlygur Smári and Pétur Örn Gudmundsson.
Once again, Iceland has the best preview video. A beautiful song but unfortunately it's not one of my favourites. It's somewhere in my top 20 I guess. Kudos though for keeping it in icelandic. This is a huge bonus! I just wish they were wise enough to send "Mundu Eftir Mér" in icelandic last year...
Iceland competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #8.

5pts from me and good luck to Iceland!

Ireland sends Ryan Dolan with the song "Only Love Survives" written by Wez Devine and Ryan Dolan.
I don't know when was the last time Ireland sent such a good entry. It's not amazing. I'm just comparing it with their previous entries so yeah. This is great! Too much "love" though...
Ireland competes in the 1st semi-final with running order #13.

5pts from me and good luck to Ireland!

Israel sends Moran Mazor with the song "Rak Bishvilo" written by Han Harari and Gal Sarig.

Love it! Classic israeli ballad. They're the masters on such songs! Yeah Moran wasn't my winner. Kathleen was but she withdrew. However I don't see this going as expected. Moran's styling is horrible! They seriously need to get rid of her stylists! She's only 22 and they make her look like 40+! And not only in KDAM! We all know that the styling and performance have an impact on the song's final placing!

Israel competes in the 2nd semi-final with running order #10.

10pts from me and good luck to Israel! 

Italy sends Marco Mengoni with the song "L'Essenziale" written by Francesco De Benedittis, Roberto Casalino and Marco Mengoni.
My first impression was good. After that it started growing out of me and now I just find it ok. I've listened to better songs by Marco...
Italy competes in the final. Running order TBA.

5pts from me and good luck to Italy!