Eurovision 2024: Latvia’s First Rehearsal!

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Welcome back Eurovision fans! It is the fourth day of the very first rehearsals of Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, in Sweden and all of the artists are trying to give the best of themselves, once they step on the stage. Today, the rest entries of the Second Semi-Final staged their performances and gave audience a hint of what is going to be presented in Sweden. The very first artist who stepped on the cross-like stage was Dons from Latvia, who performed his song, “Hollow“.

Who is Dons?

Dons is one of Latvia’s most famous singers and songwriters. His real name is Artūrs Šingirejs, and he was born in 1984, the year when Sweden marked its second win in the Contest. Dons has also won Latvian Music Recording Awards’ “Top Hit” not once, but eight times for the most played song on the radio. However, the records for him do not stop there.

He has also released eight solo albums, he has won “Best Pop Album” twice and “Best Rock Album” once, while he has also won numerous awards, including Latvijas Radio’s Muzikālās Banka “Song of the Year” five times.

Moreover, Dons began his carrer back in 2003 through the Latvian reality show “Talantu Fabrika“. Since then, he has also released a duet album, while his debut album, “Lights On” (2006), was mostly in English.

Let’s remember here that although Dons won the National Final of Latvia, Supernova 2024, hence he is a member of our Eurovision 2024 community, he had also tried to represent Latvia twice in the past, in 2010 with his song “My Religion Is Freedom“, and in 2014 with “Pēdējā Vēstule“, both finishing in second place.

The rehearsal:

First up today is Latvia’s Dons – he’s a musical icon in his home country, so he’s no stranger to a big stage. His soulful power-ballad Hollow swept up both jury and public votes at Supernova, and its position in the running order (sandwiched between an Armenian folkbop and a San Marino rock anthem) feels like a soul-stirring vocal masterclass.

The staging for this features a huge circular prop (maybe three or four metres in diameter), that Dons stands in at the start of the song. It doesn’t move or spin or light up, but it does create a really powerful focal point on stage.

Dons is wearing his trademark royal blue sleeveless pantsuit , and he’s backed by an LED wall of gently pulsing lights and circles. The lighting effects are actually really clever – lots of slow-moving blue spotlights in the verses that kick into much brighter, whiter lights in the chorus. They feel like searchlights, and it gives this whole performance a MOOD.

Below you can take a look on a snippet from Dons’ first rehearsal for Latvia on TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@eurovision/video/7363634790756551968?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7345954161927734816

Latvia’s second rehearsal has been set to take place on Thursday the 2nd of May, when we will get an even better idea of what Dons, along with his team, have in mind to stage in Malmö.

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Source: Eurovision.tv

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun, because even more news regarding the rehearsals are coming up next!

Netherlands: Nikkie de Jagger will be the Dutch spokesperson for Eurovision 2024!

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Just a few minutes ago, the public broadcaster of the Netherlands, announced their spokesperson, the one that will reveal the Dutch jury vote, for Eurovision, it’s no other than Nikkie de Jagger.

Read more

Israel: Eden Golan’s message before her first rehearsal!

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Today is the fourth day of the rehearsals and amongst the countries that are going to have their first rehearsal is Israel!

The representative of the country, Eden Golan, before she gets on the stage of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest, in Malmö, Sweden, sends her own message through a post that shared on her personal Insragram account.

“guyyyyys it’s happening. i’m heading to Malmo to represent us at Eurovision. as i begin this journey i’m filled with so many emotions—excitement, anticipation, a little nervous, but most important the desire of wanting to put on the best performance i know i can. i am honored and filled with so much pride to represent our country—this song represents us, all of us including those who are home and aren’t— we are waiting for you. i have so many people that i’m thankful and grateful for. without them none of this would be possible. and of course to you guys- thank you, thank you, thank you. your messages and support the last few months means the world to me and gives me all the strength i need to keep pushing. this song, like our nation, is filled with heart and i intend on pouring it on that stage.

love you guys, Eden”

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη EDEN GOLAN (@golaneden)

Israel is going to participate from the 14th spot of the second Semi-Final scheduled to take place on Thursday 9th of May claiming one of the 10 tickets for the Grand Final of Saturday 11th of May.

https://youtu.be/lJYn09tuPw4

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the updates around the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest!

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Eurovision 2024: Käärijä and Gunilla Persson among others will perform at Eurovision village!

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On Saturday, May 4, what is known as Eurovision Village will open for the first time in Folkets Park in Malmö. After the defections in recent weeks, under pressure due to Israel‘s participation in the competition, the show has started to look sparse on the Eurovision Village stages.

But now the city of Malmö is squeezing in with a long list of new artists with clear Eurovision connections.

The Herreys

The Swedish Eurovision winners from 1984, the Herreys, are ready for a gig on the opening night on May 4 at Folkets Park‘s main stage Euphoria Stage.

Photo: ESC/TT News Agency

Kalush Orchestra and Käärijä

Ukrainian Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra from 2022 will perform a concert in Folkets Park on the final night on May 11. Also coming will be the Finnish artist Käärijä who was close to winning Eurovision last year with “Cha cha cha“, but was beaten at the finish line by Loreen. Now, he’s coming to the Euphoria Stage on May 10.

Photo: Luca Bruno

Gunilla Persson will also perform

The Swedish Eurodance artists Pandora and Da Buzz will perform a joint concert on the Euphoria Stage on May 5 and the same evening Swedish Hollywood wife Gunilla Persson and Therese “Drömhus” Grankvist will perform a joint concert on the same stage.

Photo: SVT

Arvingarna

Swedish band Arvingarna has competed several times in Melodifestivalen and won in 1993 with “Eloise“. They will come to Folkets Park on the night of the final, May 11.

More confirmed artists

Also confirmed for Eurovision Village are French Eurovision Song Contest Junior winner Zoé, who charmed viewers last year with “Coeur“, and Norwegian artist Raylee, who has competed in Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix several times. They will perform on May 11 and 4, respectively.

Source: Sydsvenskan
Photo:Heiko Junge

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Eurovision 2024: The schedule of the fourth day of rehearsals (Tuesday 30 April)!

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Malmö Arena opened its gates on Saturday for the rehearsals of the 37 participating countries of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest, and the action continues today with the remaining eight countries of the second semi-final taking to the stage for the first time.

With no major changes expected this year, the rehearsals for Eurovision 2024 are expected to take place in the upcoming week. Rehearsals are divided into two phases, the first which will run for four days from today until Tuesday 30/04 and will include the initial first rehearsals of all countries taking part in the two semi-finals of the contest and the second which will run from Wednesday 01/05 until Saturday 04/05 and will include the second rehearsals of the countries in the two semi-finals as well as both rehearsals of the countries competing directly in the Final, namely the Big 5 and the host Sweden.

Last year’s changes in the way the rehearsals are covered are maintained this year, as the Press Centre opens on the Monday after the first and second rehearsals.

As a consequence, the information we will have for the first week of the contest will come exclusively from the material provided by the EBU to accredited journalists, as well as through the Live Blogs on Reddit and the short videos on TikTok.

Today’s Schedule

Eight countries are set to take to the stage at Malmö Arena for their first rehearsal, with Latvia and Dons “kicking off” on Saturday morning. The detailed schedule for the fourth day of rehearsals of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest is as follows (Mentioned in CET/Swedish Time):

 

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Albania: Watch exclusive footage from Besa’s First Rehearsal!

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Today, Besa, the Albanian representative in Eurovision 2024, stepped on the stage of Malmö Arena for the first time, for her first technical rehearsal. Read more

Malta: TVM shares exclusive footage from Sarah Bonnici’s first rehearsal!

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TVM has released a new video of the first rehearsal of Sarah Bonnici earlier this afternoon.

You can check the new footage of Sarah’s rehearsal of Loop in the following video:

 

https://twitter.com/ESCdiscord/status/1784934416151658679

 

Sarah Bonnici will compete in the Second Semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö.

Source: ESC Discord

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for more news about Malta’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024!

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Eurovision 2024: Which rehearsal had the most views on the second day?

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The rehearsals continued dynamically, with yesterday’s day hosting another eight countries at the Malmö Arena! Be sure to also read our article from yesterday regarding the views of the seven countries that completed their rehearsals on Saturday.

However, as we know on TikTok, all the first rehearsals are uploaded. Apart from their performances, we’ll also get a sneak peek backstage before they take the stage for the first time in a video of about one minute.

One of the many features of TikTok is the ability to add songs to each user’s video creation. However, the TikTok algorithm is usually able to detect the song used in the video, assign it to the correct track, and then include it in the total number of videos where that sound has been used. Based on this capability, the most popular songs before rehearsals were from the Netherlands and Italy. Will they receive the same promotion as before?

In less than 24 hours (April 29, 2024, time  CET), since the first clip from the rehearsals was uploaded, we have a indicative sample of which rehearsal was favored by the audience (here it should be noted that the videos were uploaded one after the other with a one and a half hour interval and there was a significant delay in their publication).

The rehearsals that had the most views are:

  1. Azerbaijan: FAHREE feat. Ilkin Dovlatov – Özünlə Apar – 185,5 thousand views
  2. Australia: Electric Fields – One Milkali (One Blood) – 142,3 thousand views
  3. Luxembourg: TALI – Fighter – 140 thousand views
  4. Iceland: Hera Bjork – Scared of Heights –  126,3 thousand views
  5. Portugal: iolanda – Grito – 112,8 thousand views
  6. Moldova: Natalia Barbu – In The Middle – 109 thousand views
  7. Finland: Windows95man – No Rules – 108,2 thousand views
  8. Slovenia: Raiven – Veronika – 107 thousand views

With this small sample, we can infer that:

  • None of the eight countries managed to come close to the countries’views that rehearsed the day before. Therefore, we can assume that the second half of the first semifinal doesn’t have the same impact as the first half.
  • The last four countries are very close to each other so it is very likely that some of them can recover in views in the following days.
  • Azerbaijan had the most views, beacause no one knew any information about the stage and also due to the country’s diaspora.

The top six countries with the most views from the two days are as follows:

  1. Poland: LUNA – The Tower – 1,1 thousand views
  2. Ukraine: alyona alyona & Jerry Heil – Teressa & Maria – 763 thousand views
  3. Serbia: Teya Dora – Ramonda – 749 thousand views
  4. Croatia: Baby Lasagna – Rim Tim Tagi Dim – 624 thousand views
  5. Ireland: Bambie Thug – Doomsday Blue – 278 thousand views
  6. Cyprus: Silia Kapsis – Liar – 243 thousand views

TikTok has played a significant role in the success of Eurovision songs in recent years. For example, Duncan Laurence’s winning entry “Arcade” became a global hit a year after winning the competition when it was used in over a million videos on TikTok. One of the earliest TikTok successes from Eurovision was Getter Jaani’s “Rockefeller Street”, which went viral on the platform in 2018 and has since been used in over two million videos. Let’s not forget that Armenia’s entry in 2022 by Rosa Linn with “Snap” gained over a billion views on the platform. Finally, Norway’s entry last year gained significant worldwide publicity months before the competition week, where it secured fifth place.

For detailed information about the rehearsals, you can check out our related articles:

The second rehearsal for the first semi-final countries will be held on the 1st of May, when we will know how things will appear on screen for the representatives.

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Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the latest developments regarding Eurovision 2024!

 

Eurovision 2024: Armenia’s first rehearsal!

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One of the two Caucasian second semi-final competitors will go up next. More precisely, Ladaniva, the representatives of Armenia in Eurovision 2024, just wrapped up their first on-stage rehearsal. On May 9, they will play the folk song “Jako” on the stage of Malmö Arena.

Who are Ladaniva?

LADANIVA is made up of Armenian vocalist Jaklin Baghdasaryan and French multi-instrumentalist Louis Thomas.

From traditional Balkan melodies to the rhythms of maloya, jazz and reggae, the duo’s songs have been said to transcend borders, blending traditional Armenian tunes with inspirations drawn from their extensive travels across Latin America, Africa and Réunion Island.

Founded in 2019, Ladaniva initially gained viral acclaim with their hit song Vay Aman (2020), which showcased their fresh style and innovative approach to world music.

The group released their eponymous debut album under the French label PIAS in 2023.

The Rehearsal 

The official video for this has lots of sass and energy, and that spirit has definitely been brought to the Malmö stage, along with Jaklin’s costume and trademark plaits. There’s also an island of brightly coloured plinths in the middle of the stage, where Ladaniva’s band stand on different levels playing their instruments.

In the second half the LED wall and cube graphics kick in, with Armenian motifs and lots of chickens. The whole thing is a riot of colour and energy.

Armenia first rehearsal at Eurovision 2024. Credit: Corinne Cumming/EBU

 

 

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The official Eurovision account on TikTok shared a short clip of Albania’s rehearsal, which you can watch below:

@eurovision Bags of energy and bursts of colour – @LADANIVA ♬ original sound – Eurovision

On Thursday, May 2, Armenia will have its second rehearsal. This is when we will get a better look at Ladaniva’s performance on the Eurovision stage, as the official TV snippet will be released.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Armenian Eurovision 2024 entry!

Source: eurovision.tv

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Eurovision 2024: Denmark’s first rehearsal!

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The first rehearsal for Saba, the Danish candidate for Eurovision 2024, has just concluded on the stage of Malmö Arena. In an attempt to win one of the 10 tickets to the grand final, the artist will perform the song “Sand” in the second semi-final on May 9.

Who is Saba?

SABA is proud to be the first brown, queer woman to sing for Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest. At home she is a strong role model for minorities and the LGBTQ+ community and is open about her own struggles with mental vulnerability and being bipolar, making her an inspiring symbol of hope and perseverance, which she hopes many can relate to.

For several years, SABA worked as a model and photographer, but it was in 2023 that she seized the opportunity to focus on music, by taking over the lead role in the musical HAIR from her twin sister, Andrea.

She wants to play an important role in making Malmö 2024 an inclusive celebration where she can represent many different people, and Denmark, in her own unique way.

The Rehearsal 

This power ballad builds from the soft, low-key start to the huge crescendo finish, and the staging does the same – using lighting and glittery graphics to add layer upon layer until Saba’s vocals fill the whole arena.

It’s very similar to the staging we saw at Denmark’s national final, Melodi Grand Prix, just on a bigger and more epic Malmö scale. Saba is wearing a white pant suit – if it’s not the same she wore at MGP, it’s very similar. The pockets are filled with sand, and she scatters it as part of really beautiful armography routine that mirrors a projected version of Saba on the LED wall behind her. Really simple, but all the more impactful for it.

Lots of floor smoke in the final run-through, which gives the whole performance even more drama.

Denmark first rehearsal at Eurovision 2024. Credit: Corinne Cumming/EBU

 

 

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The official Eurovision account on TikTok shared a short clip of Denmark’s rehearsal, which you can watch below:

@eurovision @SABA got to have her first run-through of SAND at Malmö Arena, and it was an epic display #Eurovision2024 ♬ original sound – Eurovision

On Thursday, May 2, Denmark will have its second rehearsal. This is when we will get a better look at Saba’s performance on the Eurovision stage, as the official TV snippet will be released.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Danish Eurovision 2024 entry!

Source: eurovision.tv

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