Van de live blog
11:25 CEST: Rehearsal 2: 🇵🇱 Poland - Justyna Steczkowska – GAJA
Time for a supreme goddess to emerge from (Icelandic) Chaos - Poland is up next, and our first returner of the season. Justyna Steczkowska first represented Poland at Eurovision in 1995 with the song Sama – she’s an established artist in Poland, having released 19 studio albums, recorded over 200 songs and performed more than 3,000 concerts.
Every year there are a few songs that have a bassline so deep you can feel it in your chest. GAJA is definitely one of those – the reverb pounds through the floor of the arena, and for at least a minute we forgot to breathe.
Justyna descends on two ropes from the roof at the beginning of the song in this version, in a black catsuit that’s very similar to the one she wore at Polskie Kwalifikacje, but without the shoulder fringing. Her four backing dancers (three male, one female) also have different outfits, with gladiator-like fringed skirts and VERY high heels – the choreography is complex, so 10/10 for core strength.
The LED wall starts with spinning planets and water and lightning and lava like it’s the birth of the universe. Then at the end Justyna is lifted back up into the heavens against a backdrop of fire-breathing dragons. It’s giving Game of Thrones meetings Eurovision, and it’s an absolute spectacle from start to finish.
🔥 Pyro update! Low smoke on the main stage from the start, and flame jets during each chorus and for the final big note.
IT'S GREYSIE IT'S PARTY