esctoday.com
May 3 2009
Day 1: Sweden, Armenia and Andorra
After the lunch break, Sweden, Armenia and Andorra take to the
fantastic Moscow stage for the second session of Eurovision Song
Contest first semi final rehearsals in Moscow.
Song 5: Sweden
Next on stage is Sweden, represented by one of the country’s most
sought after opera performers Malena Ermans. She performs the Fredrik
Kempe composition La Voix. This song blends pop with opera which
perfectly highlights Marlane’s classically trained voice. She is
joined by 5 female backing vocals, Jessica Marberger, Dea Norberg,
Tine Matulessy, Malin Nilsson and Anna Maria Hallgarn all of whom are
dressed in black. Malena, the Ice Queen as the concept of her
appearance is, is dressed in a champagne coloured outfit with feathers
at the base of the dress.
The five female backing singers give that song a softer feel than the
version performed at Melodifestivalen. The routine is very similar to
the one we saw in the Swedish final with the same Comedia del’ arte
masks being used and the same white and green colours being used as
the stage backdrop. Malena gives a charismatic and elegant
performance.
Song 6: Armenia
Inga & Anush from Armenia are next on stage with an invitation for
Europe to dance the Nor par, a dance which they hope will spread hopes
for a new and better life. Singing their song Jan jan in both English
and Armenian, the Armenian sisters will be hoping to became the fourth
successive act representing Armenia to qualify directly to the
Eurovision song contest final and with today’s strong vocal
performance there will be every chance of this.
The girls give an uplifting performance to this up-tempo dance/folk
song. The influence of famous Russian trio Fresh Art employed to
develop the stage image and the performance has certainly paid
dividends. The song starts will the 2 singers joined on a platform
onstage to some gyrating by four dancers dressed n blue and black.
This song has been developed by combining a strong R&B groove with
ethic elements which combine very well to produce an unique sound.
Torwards the end of the song green laser light are projected from the
hands of the backing singers.
Song 7: Andorra
Denmark-born, Susanne Georgi will be aiming to become the first
Andorran entry to qualify directly to the final in six attempts as she
takes the stage for this afternoon technical rehearsal. She performs
her fresh pop song La teva decisio with plenty of energy and creates a
nice vibe for the song. Parts of her song are performed in both
English and Catalan.
She is joined on stage by five female backing singers who also play
guitars. This adds some freshness to the number. At the start of the
song Susanne also plays a guitar but this disappears who she briefly
dissapears from the stage and reappears with a hand held microphone.
The staging of the show is completely white and a wind machine is used
for the last third of the song.