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United Kingdom: Initial staging idea for “Dizzy” was rejected by SVT!

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The United Kingdom went full throttle with the pop sensation “Dizzy” and the well known Olly Alexander in Eurovision 2024. This impressive staging with special camera movements seems that it was a much simpler presentation than it was originally planned by Olly Alexander’s team, specifically Theo Adams.

Ola Melzig, the Senior Technical Director of Eurovision 2024, spoke to “The Euro Trip Podcast” and mentioned the following about Olly Alexander’s performance:

If the UK hadn’t reached out very early on this year, you wouldn’t have seen that performance. 

Their first idea was impossible to do on our stage because we have less than 50 seconds to do a changeover – you can’t show up with something that weighs a tonne and takes two minutes to do.

It appears that the original concept was too big and impractical to implement in time for a live show with a strict schedule, which is why SVT rejected it. Though scaled back to fit Eurovision’s requirements, the concept behind what we actually saw and what was initially planned remained the same.

As a result, Ola Melzig emphasizes the importance of early communication in order to have enough time to adapt and bring the submitted ideas to life as closely as possible to their original state.

Despite the impressive staging, Olly Alexander’s performance was also criticized by the European public for being provocative; thus, he was not awarded a single point from the audience, finish in eighteenth place with a total of 48 points.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: eurotrippodcast

Eurovision 2024: Which rehearsal has the most views on TikTok?

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Two days ago, the first rehearsals for all 37 entries officially concluded, and today the second rehearsals are expected to be completed, with the Big 5 and the host country Sweden taking the stage at the Malmö Arena for the second time! This means that we are getting closer to the Eurovision week, with the Dress and Jury Rehearsals for the first semi-final starting on Monday.

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?

The ranking with all the entries (in brackets will be the day of the rehearsal) based on the increasing number of views after one week from the start of the first rehearsals on TikTok is as follows:

  1. Netherlands: Joost (fourth day) – Europapa – 3.2 milion views
  2. Greece: Marina Satti (third day) – ZARI – 2.7 million views
  3. Poland: LUNA (first day)– The Tower –1.5 million views
  4. Switzerland: Nemo (third day) – The Code – 1.2 million views
  5. Serbia: Teya Dora (first day) – Ramonda – 980.1 thousand views
  6. Ukraine: alyona alyona & Jerry Heil (first day) – Teressa & Maria – 971.2 thousand views
  7. Croatia: Baby Lasagna (first day) – Rim Tim Tagi Dim – 812.3 thousand views
  8. Georgia: Nutsa (fourth day) – FireFighter – 637.4 thousand views
  9. Israel: Eden Golan (fourth day) – Hurricane – 607.1 thousand views
  10. Belgium: Mustii (fourth day) – Before The Party Is Over – 585.7 thousand views
  11. United Kingdom: Olly Alexander (sixth day) – Dizzy – 567.4 thousand views
  12. Armenia: LADANIVA (third day)  – Jako – 528.6 thousand views
  13. Sweden: Marcus & Martinus (sixth day) – Unforgettable – 515.6 thousand views
  14. Spain: Nebulossa (sixth day)– Zorra – 448.5 thousand views
  15. Albania: Besa (third day) – TiTan – 413.5 thousand views
  16. France: Slimane (sixth day) – Mon Amour – 412.5 thousand views
  17. Ireland: Bambie Thug (first day) – Doomsday Blue – 388.2 thousand views
  18. Latvia: Dons (fourth day) – Hollow – 383.2 thousand viewsc
  19. Austria: Kaleen (third day)  – We Will Rave – 366.2 thousand views
  20. Azerbaijan: FAHREE feat. Ilkin Dovlatov (second day) – Özünlə Apar – 363.5 thousand views
  21. Cyrpus: Silia Kapsis (first day) – Liar – 324.8 thousand views
  22. Lithuania: Silvester Belt (first day) – Luktelk – 306.2 thousand views
  23. Luxembourg: TALI (second day) – Fighter – 304.3 thousand views
  24. Estonia: 5MIINUST x Puuluup (fourth day) – (Nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi – 292.0 thousand views
  25. Malta: Sarah Bonnici (third day) – Loop –  291.7 thousand views
  26. Czechia: Aiko (third day) – Pedestal – 284.9 thousand views
  27. Denmark: SABA (third day) – SAND – 262.0 thousand views
  28. Norway: Gåte (fourth day) – Ulveham – 255.4 thousand views
  29. San Marino: Megara (fourth day) – 11:11 – 238.2 thousand views
  30. Australia: Electric Fields (sexond day) – One Milkali (One Blood) – 229.9 thousand views
  31. Moldova: Natalia Barbu (second day) – In The Middle – 211.0 thousand views
  32. Germany: Isaak (sixth day) – Always On The Run – 210.2 thousand views
  33. Portugal: iolanda (second day) – Grito – 192.3 thousand views
  34. Italy: Angelina Mango (sixth day)– La Noia – 186.0 thousand views
  35. Iceland: Hera Bjork (second day) – Scared of Heights –  180.3 thousand views
  36. Finland: Windows95man (second day) – No Rules – 172.2 thousand views
  37. Slovenia: Raiven (second day) – Veronika – 162.4 thousand views

The views were counted at 17:45 CET.

Based on the views from the first semi-final, the following countries will qualify (in ascending order): Poland, Serbia, Ukraine, Croatia, Ireland, Azerbaijan, Cyprus (seventh), Lithuania, Luxembourg, and Australia.

Similarly, from the second semi-final, the following countries will qualify: Netherlands, Greece, Switzerland, Georgia, Israel, Belgium, Armenia, Albania, Latvia, and Austria.

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.

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Eurovision 2024: The second rehearsal of the United Kingdom!

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Today is the ninth day of rehearsals and the Big 5 and the host Sweden are taking the stage at the Malmö Arena to perform their second technical rehearsal. Today’s rehearsals are opened by Olly Alexander , who represents the UK with “Dizzy”, a dance and radio track that represents the trends prevailing in the country’s music scene.

Who is Olly Alexander?

As he launches his first solo album of the same name, Olly Alexander remains one of the most innovative pop stars nowadays.

In three hugely successful albums to date, the singer, actor, and fashion icon has scored two UK Number 1 albums, 10 UK Top 40 singles and was recently awarded the BRIT Billion Award (with 6.5 billion streams worldwide).

He started his career as part of the band Years & Years and later he evolved into a solo career.  In 2024, a brand new solo era, Olly has become a once-in-a-lifetime voice: Russell T Davies ‘ It’s A Sin won Best New Drama at the National Television Awards.  Olly was also nominated for Best Actor at the BAFTA Television Awards 2022, for his performance in the series.

Olly has headlined arenas and festivals around the world and collaborated with Sir Elton John, Kylie Minogue, and Pet Shop Boys .

The rehearsal

Olly Alexander‘s appearance transports viewers to a post-apocalyptic dystopian boxing gym locker room, a spaceship hurtling towards Earth through a black hole in 1985!

There’s a large room on stage, lined with dirty tiles and shower heads – resembling George Michael’s song “Outside“, taking inspiration on the vibe of the official video.

Olly‘s four male dancers wear (minimal) red boxing gear and the camera angles constantly change so the audience feels like the room is spinning, backed by a rotating black hole of LED graphics.

The performance creates a “locker room going into space” scenario. In short, it’s a VERY ambitious and exciting set, with special-effects-packed look that only really comes to life on screen.

United Kingdom’s second rehearsal Eurovision 2024. Credit: Corinne Cumming/EBU

Also a note about the arrangement of the song – there are extra strings and the production on the final chorus is different.

Lots of sparks and fireworks at the end, giving the feeling that the stage is malfunctioning, and then we have one last big bang.

United Kingdom second rehearsal Eurovision 2024. Credit: Corinne Cumming/EBU

Later today, a video will be released with thirty seconds of clips from the TV footage of the performances of the Big 5 and host Sweden. This video will be published on the official Eurovision YouTube channel after today’s rehearsals are over.

More information on the appearance of the United Kingdom will be released on Monday 6/5 , after the Dress Rehearsal of the 1st Semi-Final countries. 

Source: Eurovision.tv

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

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Yesterday, the first rehearsals were officially concluded, with the Big 5 and the host country Sweden taking the stage at the Malmö Arena for the first time! Regarding what we liked and what we would like to see again, you can read our new editorial. Also, you can read our article from the day before yesterday about the rehearsals of the eight countries from the second semifinal who completed their rehearsals on Tuesday.

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 (May 3, 2024, time 15:35 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. Sweden: Marcus & Martinus – Unforgettable – 344.1 thousand views
  2. United Kingdom: Olly Alexander – Dizzy – 328.9 thousand views
  3. Spain: Nebulossa – Zorra – 264.1 thousand views
  4. France: Slimane – Mon Amour – 247.4 thousand views
  5. Germany: Isaak – Always On The Run – 152.9 thousand views
  6. Italy: Angelina Mango – La Noia – 136.1 thousand views

With this small sample, we can infer that:

  • Sweden and the United Kingdom impressed the fans, capturing the first and second positions respectively in views on their first rehearsal. Will they have the same response tomorrow when they take the stage for their second rehearsal?
  • Surprisingly, the favorite to win, Italy, and Angelina Mango are in the last position in views from their first rehearsal.
  • Since it has only been 20 hours since the first video was posted on TikTok, there is a possibility that countries will recover in views very soon.”

Stay tuned because tomorrow the overall ranking of all 37 entries based on their views on TikTok before the semi-finals will be revealed.

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:

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Eurovision 2024: United Kingdom’s First Rehearsal!

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Next up on the stage of Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is the United Kingdom. Olly Alexander with his song “Dizzy” is ready for his first rehearsal on the stage of Malmö Arena!

Who is Olly Alexander?

As he embarks on the first release under his own name, Olly Alexander remains one of the world’s most trailblazing modern pop stars.

Across three hugely successful albums to date, the singer, actor and fashion icon has scored two UK number 1 albums, 10 UK Top 40 singles and was recently awarded the BRIT Billion Award (with 6.5 billion streams globally).

With his band Years & Years evolving into a solo project and, in 2024, a brand-new solo era, Olly has become a once-in-a-generation voice: the Russell T Davies show It’s A Sin won Best New Drama at the National Television Awards, with Olly also nominated for Leading Actor at the 2022 BAFTA Television Awards, for his performance in the series.

Olly has headlined arenas and festivals worldwide and collaborated with the likes of Sir Elton John, Kylie Minogue and Pet Shop Boys.

Olly’s entry “Dizzy” is produced and co-signed by Danny L. Harle, who serves as the producer of Dua Lipa’s upcoming album, “Radical Optimism” and is also behind her recent hit songs, such as “Houdini” and “Training Season”.

Olly Alexander was selected internally by BBC back in December 2023. The announcement of his Eurovision participation was conducted by himself during the Finale of Dancing With The Stars program.

The Rehearsal

First up today is the UK’s Olly Alexander, singing his song Dizzy. He’s a very well-known and long-established performer in the UK, as well as an award-winning actor.

Very helpfully, we received some staging notes from the UK delegation for this performance – here’s how they describe what we’re currently watching:

Olly Alexander’s Eurovision performance transports viewers into a post- apocalyptic dystopian boxing gym locker room, aboard a spaceship hurtling toward Earth through a black hole in 1985!

We’re not making this up, we promise. Essentially there’s a big room set on stage, lined with dirty tiles and shower heads – this whole thing feels like a grittier version of George Michael’s Outside, so very much the vibe of the official video. Olly’s four male dancers are wearing (the bare minimum of) red boxing gear, and the camera angles keep changing so it feels like the room is rotating, backed by a spinning black hole graphics on the LED. It really does feel like they’re in a dirty locker room hurtling through space.

In short, it’s VERY ambitious and mind-blowing bit of staging, with a gym bag full of special effects that mean it only really comes to life on screen.

Also a note on the song arrangement – to our ears, there’s a new middle eight with extra strings, and the build to the final chorus is different.

PYRO UPDATE! Loads of sparks and fireworks at the end, which make it feels like the set is malfunctioning, then a final big bang. Photos coming soon!

Olly Alexander, United Kingdom – Eurovision 2024 first rehearsal

United Kingdom First Rehearsal Eurovision 2024. Credits: Sarah Louise Bennett

United Kingdom’s second rehearsal is scheduled for Saturday, 4/5. A TV snippet of Olly Alexander’s performance will provide a clearer picture of what to expect on the Eurovision stage.

You can watch a small clip from United Kingdom’s first rehearsal from TikTok:

@eurovision @Olly Alexander has us feeling a certain type of way with all that hanging around… let’s call it Dizzy #Eurovision2024 ♬ original sound – Eurovision

Source: eurovision.tv

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United Kingdom: Listen to the acoustic version of “Dizzy” by Olly Alexander!

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Olly Alexnader, one of the most well-knowned artists of Eurovision 2024,represents the United Kingdom this year with his song “Dizzy”.
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Eurovision 2024: Joint announcement of nine participants about the happenings in Gaza!

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The representatives of nine countries participating in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest have publiced a joint statement regarding what is happening in Gaza. More specifically, they are asking for ceasefire for permament peace to prevail and for the hostages to return in Israel. It is worth noting that they refer to Gaza as occupied Palestinian territories by Israel.

Down bellow you can read the statement:

” We want to begin by acknowledging the privilege of taking part in Eurovision.

In light of the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and particulary in Gaza, and in Israel, we do not feel comfortable being silent. It is important to us to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and communicate our heartfelt wish for peace, and immediate and lasting ceasefire, and the safe return of all hostages. We stand united against all forms of hate, including antisemitism and connections.

We feel that it is our duty to create and uphold this space, with a strong hope that it will inspire greater compassion and empathy.”

The announcement is signed by the representatives of nine countries, mainly from those that had reactions to Israel’s participation in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest and these are:

  • Bambie Thug – Ireland
  • Gate – Norway
  • Iolanda – Portugal
  • Megara – San Marino
  • Nemo – Switzerland
  • Olly Alexander – United Kindom
  • SABA – Denmark
  • Silvester Belt – Lithuania
  • Windows95Man – Finland

The announcement was then posted by Belgium’s representative, Mustii, on his social media.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη SILVESTER (@silvesterbelt)

 

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United Kingdom: Olly Alexander starts rehearsals and releases the extended version of “Dizzy”!!

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The representative of the United Kingdom Olly Alexander has started rehearsals for Eurovision 2024 as the singer has his sights set on the competition in Malmö!

Through the social media Olly Alexander gives a first image to the fans from the rehearsals for the 68th Eurovision Song Contest. In the video below you can take a look at the rehearsals that Olly himself posted.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη olly alexander (@ollyalexanderr)

Furthermore the Birtish artist released the extended version of “Dizzy”, the song with which he is going to represent the United Kingdom in the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest. The extended version lasts 1 minute and 30 seconds longer than the one Olly is going to perform on the stage of Malmö!

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United Kingdom: Listen to Olly Alexander perform “Dizzy” live!

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It has been a week since Olly Alexander released his long-awaited Eurovision entry, titled “Dizzy“.

“Dizzy” is undoubtedly a current radio-friendly song, which has caught the attention of Eurovision fandom so far, proving that the United Kingdom has come back strong. Along with a radio-friendly song, Olly Alexander now comes to proves that he can sing his song live, releasing a live version of “Dizzy” on his official YouTube channel. All of the vocals are live, along with the instrumental.

You can listen to “Dizzy” live, below:

The team behind “Dizzy”

Olly Alexander has a powerful ally on his side for his Eurovision bid. Danny L. Harle, Dua Lipa’s producer, has put together Olly Alexander’s bid. Danny is the brains behind Dua’s latest smash hit “Houdini” and will probably serve as the executive producer on her upcoming third studio album. Moreover, “Dizzy” is also signed by Olly Alexander himself and along with Danny H. Harle, it was co-produced by Finn Keane.

Who is Olly Alexander?

The 33 year-old Olly Alexander is a singer and actor from England. He is best known for his work as the lead singer of Years & Years, one of the UK’s most successful groups and as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series “It’s a Sin”. Alexander has been multi-nominee in the Brit Awards as well as several other awards within the United Kingdom.

Olly Alexander was selected by BBC as the British entrant for Eurovision 2024 and his participation was announced by himself during the Grand Final of BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing on December 16. Soon after his announcement, the United Kingdom has climbed to high on the betting odds.

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United Kingdom: Olly Alexander talks about his preparations for Malmö!

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The UK representative for Eurovision has answered questions from the fans on the Official Eurovision Reddit.

Olly Alexander talked about his preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.  Olly will perform his song Dizzy in Malmö next May.

In the AMA session, Alexander revealed his fans that for his Malmö performance, the representative will perform together with four dancers onstage:

… we’ll deffo have four dancers with me on stage…

Moreover, there will be more surprises in the coming weeks. When a fan asked him about the promotion plans, Alexander said there will be lots of remixes and further plans in store for Dizzy.

Olly Alexander has been a fan of the Eurovision Song Contest since he was a kid.  Olly Alexander’s favorite entries from this year so far are La Noia by Angelina Mango and Zorra by Nebulossa.  He also said he loved Baby Lasagna, Nemo, Joost and Silvester.  The UK representative mentioned one of his early Eurovision memories in Reddit:

I’ve always loved Eurovision!! I think my first contest was Gina G in 1996 – I was six years old hahha I remember 1999 more though because i LOVED Precious, Say It Again is such a banger.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvs92WfR8lM&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Source: Reddit

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