[2025] Rehearsals #1

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Op zaterdag 3 mei 2025 10:10 schreef molloot200 het volgende:

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Ik vond het heel leuk om urenlang naar die streams te kijken. En die paar uurtjes dat jij en @:Greys streamden in het perscentrum in Rotterdam zijn denk ik mijn favoriete momenten van de repetities ooit…

… maar voor de artiesten is dit fijner denk ik. De eerste repetitie is nooit helemaal goed. We hebben vaak genoeg gezien dat bij de eerste repetitie dingen nog niet helemaal gereed waren, maar dat artiesten daar al wel op afgerekend werden. Denk bijvoorbeeld aan de bal op het aquarium bij Duncan. Ik ben er echt wel voorstander van zelf dat die eerste repetitie achter gesloten deuren is eigenlijk.

De tweede was voor de sfeer leuker geweest als die wel open was geweest, maar ach.

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10:40 CEST: Rehearsal 1: 🇮🇸 Iceland -VÆB – RÓA

Let’s kick things off with an Icelandic party banger, shall we? VÆB (pronounced ‘vibe’) are brothers Matthías Davíð Matthíasson and Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson. They are the first TikTok-born act of this Semi-Final, but definitely not the last. RÓA means ‘rowing’, and this song is very much about boats. Like a sea shanty, but make it an anthemic Nordic banger.

The routine is fundamentally the same as the one we saw at Söngvakeppnin, but with a little Basel polish – the two-part wooden boat is painted white with some waves at stage level, and the three backing dancers have upgraded outfits - silver dungarees with cute Icelandic jumpers and silver bucket hats. But the two VÆB boys are in the same outfits with hoods we’ve seen previously, and of course their trademark silver shades. The whole routine has been elevated, and the arena is already jumping. Is there a mic drop at the end? Of course there is.

Two interesting things that we’re going to see used to great effect this year – the LED wall at the back of the stage is full width and height, so it allows the artists to create hugely impactful graphic backdrops. VÆB use it for very cool geometric landscapes and seascapes in neon red and blue that feel very Icelandic, along with VÆB in giant letters that we saw at the national final.

Also the front of the stage has an enormous rectangular frame that supports the roof - this is also entirely clad in LED pillars on all three sides, so they can use front and back graphics to create depth of field. It's really clever, and looks amazing both on screen and in the audience.

PYRO update - lots of smoke jets, for the Icelandic geyser vaeb. Our eyebrows are so far intact, but Poland is incoming.

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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 (two male, two 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.

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12:20 CEST: Rehearsal 3: 🇸🇮 Slovenia - Klemen – How Much Time Do We Have Left

Rehearsals have started again, with our first ballad of 2025. It's an absolute heartbreaker from Slovenia’s Klemen – he’s an actor, singer, songwriter and TV host. He’s hosted EMA, Slovenia’s national selection, four times, but this year it’s his turn to represent his country at Eurovision.

How Much Time Do We Have Left is a song about the fragility of life, and the staging really captures that haunting theme, with both the LED wall and the front arch both sparkling with thousands of stars that change from red to blue through the song.

It's also a different outfit from the one Klemen wore at EMA – in this rehearsal he’s wearing a black suit with a white t-shirt, rather than the grey turtleneck. As we saw at EMA, Klemen sings the middle section upside down, supported by two backing dancers.

After two uptempo openers, this feels it will create a moment of beautiful, hypnotic quiet – Klemen’s huge vocals fill the hall with heart and soul.

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12:55 CEST: Rehearsal 4: 🇪🇪 Estonia - Tommy Cash – Espresso Macchiato

One last rehearsal before we take a break for lunch, and it’s Estonia’s Tommy Cash. He’s a singer and conceptual artist, with a huge social media following across Europe – he’s even played Glastonbury, and now he's bringing his unique style to Basel.

Espresso Macchiato is the first of three songs featuring the Italian language this year, and one of two songs about Italy that aren’t sung by…Italy. Welcome to the joyful unpredictability of Eurovision - it's one of the many, many reasons why we love it so much.

Tommy is wearing the same blue suit/long red tie we saw at Eesti Laul, and the routine is also much the same, with two burly security guards who are joined by two others for Tommy’s trademark spaghetti-legged dance routine.

The LED backdrop creates an alpine landscape that matches the mountains that flank the stage, with similar animated graphics to those we saw at Eesti Laul, just much bigger and bolder. There’s a real fun energy to this song - you can’t help but sing along. This is, as the kids say, going to go VERY big in the hall.

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14:10 CEST: Rehearsal 5: 🇺🇦 Ukraine - Ziferblat – Bird of Pray

In the first Semi-Final it will be time for Spain to perform now, but as one of the Big 5 they won’t rehearse until Thursday. Instead it’s time for our first band of 2025 – Ukrainian 3-piece Ziferblat. They formed in 2015, and took part in X Factor Ukraine in 2019, where (FUN FACT) they were mentored by none other than Andriy Danylko, aka Eurovision legend Verka Seduchka.

Made up of Daniel, Valentyn and Fedir, Ziferblat define themselves as being part of the new generation of Ukrainian music. The staging has definitely undergone some changes since the performance that won them Vidbir – the suits are a similar wide-legged/puff shoulders 1970s cut, but they’re now each in a different solid bright colour with lots of sparkle, and the three backing singers have glittery gold pantsuits.

The on-stage garden of grass and flowers has also gone – instead the LED wall has pink and green neon graphics that pulse and swirl with the music, and explode during the chorus. The lighting and close camerawork really drive this performance - even the way Daniel walks around the stage is perfectly choreographed to each beat. The whole thing is VERY stylish and polished, but that’s very much the Ziferblat signature, no?

🔥 PYRO update! There's low smoke on the main stage from the start, then some fireworks during the guitar middle eight. Post lunch lull? Not in this arena.

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15:00 CEST: Rehearsal 6: 🇸🇪 Sweden - KAJ – Bara Bada Bastu

So last year Sweden were represented by Norwegian twins, and this year it’s Finnish trio Kevin, Axel and Jakob, aka KAJ. But despite being the first Finnish act to represent Sweden, they’re from the Swedish-speaking part of Finland and are singing in Swedish. It’s also the first time Sweden have sung in their own language since 1998. Are you keeping up? No matter if not, your local TV commentator will almost certainly explain this all again next week.

All of which, excitingly, means we’re six rehearsals in, and have already clocked up six different languages, and we still have Portuguese to come. Bara Bada Bastu means ‘just sauna’ – this song is an invitation for the Eurovision fandom to steam it up, let go of stress and turn up the heat like a Swede/Finn.

Staging-wise, we can confirm the changes from Melfest that KAJ have already spoken about – the same green suits, a firepit that’s more like the wooden heat rock box you get in a sauna, and a log store that is easier for the (now three) dancers to tilt into sauna mode.

However: a few additional things to note: the opening sausage is SIGNIFICANTLY LARGER than the one we saw in Melfest. The LED backdrop provides an entire forest complete with deer, until the key change when the entire arena goes full neon laser party for an epic finish.

And finally, KAJ have found some fir trees! We’re too far away to tell if they’re real or fake, sorry. Will try to sneak into the prop store later – we did it last year to check if the Windows95man denim egg had pockets.

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15:50 CEST: Rehearsal 7: 🇵🇹Portugal - NAPA – Deslocado

Time for our final rehearsal of the day, and it’s Portugal’s NAPA. They are Guilherme, Lourenço, Francisco, Diogo and João, a 5-piece band from the Portuguese island of Madeira who released their first album back in 2019.

Sung in Portuguese (our seventh language of the day!), Deslocado translates as ‘displaced’ – it’s a song about feeling out of place in the city, but also the peace of knowing you can always go home. The emotion is very much in the tradition of Portuguese Fado, but the sweeping musical arrangement of Deslocado also adds a contemporary summer vibe. They describe their influences as bands like The Beatles, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Arctic Monkeys, and you can definitely hear a touch of all three in this performance.

The set-up of the band on stage is the same as we saw at Festival da Canção, but a few things have been added for the Basel stage. Firstly, the band’s outfits have changed – now they all have long-sleeved jackets or shirts in different muted colours that elevate the whole thing to a new level of style. The LED wall adds some lovely floating clouds and animated skyscapes that change colour in sync with the LED arch, all of which adds to the dreamlike quality of this performance. The harmonies are stunning in this big space – even if you don’t understand Portuguese you can feel the emotion, and those gentle final notes gave us goosebumps. A lovely way to end the day.

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Op zondag 4 mei 2025 09:43 schreef Greys het volgende:
Oh ik zie nu ook wat foto's op insta.
Wat een chaos zo.

Op Reddit heb ik de foto's nog steeds niet gevonden.

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Op zondag 4 mei 2025 09:47 schreef Fred_B het volgende:

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Zijn de mannen op de achtergrond ingeruild voor vrouwen?

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Op zondag 4 mei 2025 10:14 schreef Greys het volgende:
@:Momo weet jij toevallig nog hoe lang na het begin van elke repetitie ongeveer er gisteren een beschrijving op Reddit kwam? Ik heb gister zitten kopiëren en plakken voor/in de landentopics hier maar heb totaal niet op de tijden gelet. Dan maak ik even een twietje over vandaag, hoe laat Claude op de rol staat om te repeteren en hoe laat we dan ongeveer een beschrijving verwachten. Meestal zo'n half uur na het begin denk ik?

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Op zondag 4 mei 2025 10:39 schreef Greys het volgende:

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Interessant zo die foto's. Drie portretten zeg maar. Je ziet er geen reet haha.

Jij wel bedankt voor het plaatsen uiteraard!

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10:30 CEST: Rehearsal 1: 🇳🇴 Norway - Kyle Alessandro – Lighter

First up today it’s 18-year-old Kyle Alessandro from Norway, who is rehearsing his song Lighter. He’s a singer, songwriter and producer from Steinkjer in Trøndelag, although his father is Spanish, so he also spends a lot of time visiting family in Malaga.

Lots of elements of this staging have travelled directly from MGP, including the prop with the two stone pillars and the steps. But Kyle has a much bigger LED backdrop for a series of post-apocalyptic mountain graphics (mountains definitely a theme this year), and also a much bigger stage to work with. He takes full advantage of this, with a very polished dance routine that uses both the walkway and the wide front section (which the crew call the ‘frame stage’, by the way, so we will too).

What elevates this performance to ‘off the scale’ is the lighting – there’s a moving lighting rig on the roof that lowers in the second half, creating a stunning moment in the quiet middle eight after the dance break, when Kyle is caught in hundreds of spotlights in the middle of the stage.

As for Kyle’s costume, there’s been lots of discussion about whether he might change the armour because of similarity to Armenia’s Parg, then he confirmed he was keeping the armour, but it would be a new version. If he has changed it, we really can’t tell – to our (admittedly untrained) eyes, it looks exactly the same. Also one other small point – Kyle has three dancers rather than the four we saw at MGP, and one of them delivers some impressive breakdancing at the end.

🔥 PYRO UPDATE! Again similar to MGP, there's a channel of flames along the front of the frame stage, and jets of flame through the second half. Anyone in the standing area should bring marshmallows.

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11:20 CEST: Rehearsal 2: 🇧🇪 Belgium - Red Sebastian – Strobe Lights

Time to crank up the tempo and break out the glo-sticks, because Red Sebastian from Belgium is rehearsing his rave anthem Strobe Lights.

Red Sebastian is the alter ego of 25-year-old Seppe Herreman, who was a finalist on Belgium’s Got Talent way back in 2014. He went on to study music at the Conservatory of Ghent, where he had singing lessons from none other than 2023’s Gustaph. We LOVE how small the Eurovision world is.

Red Sebastian won Eurosong for Belgium in a haze of pulsing red and black lighting – that’s definitely made the journey to Basel, but now it takes in the full LED wall and the frame at the front of the stage. The precision choreography of the lighting and graphics is spectacular – in the final section the Lego lights descend to add some intensity for the final section when the whole thing goes off and the arena dances like the whole world is watching.

The moving platform hasn’t made the journey from Eurosong – Red Sebastian stays grounded for this performance, and now has three dancers rather than the previous four. His costume is very similar to the red PVC suit with triangular shoulders he wore in the official video, and his dancers are in matching outfits, but with black accents. Being floor based also allows Red Sebastian to include some precision choreography, including a section where he interacts with his own reflection on the LED floor.

The big notes are something else. There is no roof left on this arena. We need a lie down.

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Op zondag 4 mei 2025 12:01 schreef molloot200 het volgende:
Wat zijn nou weer “Lego lights”?

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Op zondag 4 mei 2025 12:12 schreef molloot200 het volgende:

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Ah thanks!

Wel jammer dat, doordat we 30+ nationale finales hadden dit jaar, we veel horen “dit is eigenlijk hetzelfde als op de nationale finale, maar dan wat beter”. Snap ik, want de meeste optredens waren gewoon al solid tijdens de nationale finale. Maar dit zorgt echt voor weinig verrassingen en dat is jammer.

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12:00 CEST: Rehearsal 3: 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan - Mamagama - Run With U

In the first Semi-Final Italy will perform at this point, but as they’re part of the Big 5 they don’t rehearse until Thursday. So instead we skip straight to Azerbaijan’s Mamagama, with Asef, Hasan and Arif singing Run With You.

This is our first performance of the season where we have no national final as a frame of reference for this staging – Mamagama were chosen through an internal selection. So we have no idea what to expect – how terrifying for the liveblogger exciting is that?

There’s so much joy in this performance – it’s giving Daft Punk/Nile Rodgers funk-pop vibes, but with a nod to Azerbaijan tradition in the sections after the chorus when lead singer Asef plays the saz, which is a traditional long-necked lute. The performance plays out in the middle of the stage, inside a lit halo on the floor that’s mirrored by a smaller one suspended from the roof. The LED wall adds scores of animated shadow dancers mirroring the moves of Mamagama’s three backing dancers, creating a very cool crowd effect that’s got us all chair dancing – this is such a summery bop.

As for costumers, the band are in very stylish black leather suits with red accents, but Asef and Hasan are wearing different styles of jacket, and Arif’s top is sleeveless, which presumably makes it easier to play the drums. They also have three dancers in sparkly black and red catsuits – we’re told that the male dancer isn’t wearing the final outfit today, so we’ll see that in the second rehearsal. The style levels have been outstanding so far this year, and Azerbaijan are no exception.

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12:40 CEST: Rehearsal 4: 🇸🇲 San Marino - Gabry Ponte – Tutta L’Italia

Onward to San Marino, and legendary DJ Gabry Ponte with Tutta L’Italia. It’s our second song of the season that’s about Italy but not BY Italy – to confuse next week’s commentators even further, this track took us in and out of the ad breaks at Italy’s Sanremo Festival back in February, but then joined the lineup for Una Voce Per San Marino by popular demand.

Those of you old enough to remember 1999 (*waves*) may remember the global dance megahit Blue (Da Ba Dee) by Eiffel 65. That was also Gabry Ponte, but he’s got Eurovision credentials too – in 2022 he was a credited songwriter on the Austrian entry Halo by LUM!X feat. Pia Maria.

So Gabry is no stranger to an audience of millions and a big stage, and he’s 100% owning this one. The focus, as we saw at Una Voce Per San Marino, is mainly on Gabry himself in a silver jacket, against a backdrop of pulsing lights and graffiti on the LED wall. Gabry’s decks are huge and look like they’re made from mirrored panels that reflect even more pulsing lights, but the dancers we saw at Una Voce Per San Marino are gone, replaced by two instrumentalists who play the accordion and the tambourine.

This is such an interesting and unusual staging concept for Eurovision – a performance where the masked vocalists are not the main focus. The only other example we can think of is Norway’s Nocturne in 1995, where the fiddler was the main focus rather than the singer – add any other suggestions in the comments!

Either way, this feels like a rousing football chant of a song, and it’s easy to imagine the crowd being caught up in the infectious energy of it next week. Part of the lyrics translate as “Let us dance with a glass in our hands/Then tomorrow we’ll regret saying I love you.” Very much feels like a night at Euroclub.

🔥 PYRO update! flame jets and fireworks, with added smoke jets in the final chorus and a firework finish. The pyro store is now EMPTY.

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4:10 CEST: Rehearsal 5: 🇦🇱 Albania - Shkodra Elektronike – Zjerm

Time for Albania’s Shkodra Elektronike to rehearse - they’re made up of songwriter and producer Kolë Laca and singer and songwriter Beatriçe Gjergji – they won Festival ii Këngës just before Christmas with Zjerm, and there’s been a lot of chat in this sub about what they will be bringing to the Basel stage. We’re about to find out!

So – the lego lights have been lowered, with the ones at the back of the stage lowest and getting progressively higher towards the front of the stage. It creates a more intimate space for Shkroda Elektronika to perform, like they’re underneath a lit staircase. Hard to explain, but it’s really effective.

Very little of the Festival ii Këngës staging has made the trip from Albania, it’s had a complete revamp. There’s still the red and black colour scheme that plays out with geometric shapes on the LED backdrop, the lego lights, the LED floor and the frame. The animation really drives the performance, and provides a striking contrast to their main performance area, which is a structure of black and white light boxes in the centre of the stage, where Kolë stands in this middle with his drum. Beatriçe uses much more of the space for her unique dance routine and armography, which has stayed much the same, and in the final chorus dances down the walkway for the big finale.

Costume-wise, Beatriçe is still in red, but it’s different dress from the one we saw at Festival ii Këngës – she’s wearing a dress of red crepe satin with sparkle on the bodice and lots of draping – we’re just been introduced to her mum, who made it. One red glove on her right hand, but not on the left – the whole look is VERY glamorous, and that includes Kolë – he’s wearing a double breasted military jacket, like a pea coat. Sorry if pea coats aren’t a universal thing – if you google it you’ll see exactly what it looks like.

There are several songs at Eurovision this year that feature orchestral strings – this one also has a huge drum bassline that reverberates through the floor. It’s a full body experience from start to finish.

🔥 PYRO UPDATE: Flame jets during each chorus on the frame stage. It’s getting VERY hot in here.

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Op zondag 4 mei 2025 15:22 schreef Greys het volgende:
Ik zit die live blog te F5en.
Of hoeft dat niet en update ie zelf?

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14:50 CEST: Rehearsal 6: 🇳🇱 Netherlands - Claude – C’est La Vie

Are you ready for the Netherlands? Singer-songwriter Claude has over a hundred million streams to his name, and countless sold-out shows in the Netherlands and Belgium. He’s got a busy summer too – he’s also performing at the Pinkpop festival in June.

This is another performance where we don’t have a national final to help us predict the staging – instead, we have to find clues from the official video, which is pure contemporary artistry. It’s also another song sung in French – in 2022 we didn’t have any songs featuring French, but this year we have (by our count) six.

The start of this starts with a handful of piano notes that made us hold our breath, then it builds and builds, through the first English verse into the chorus, where the bassline drops and the party starts. Aside from his vocal talents, Claude has a natural connection with the camera that makes this feel like a powerful bit of visual storytelling, and he infuses the whole performance with pure joy from start to finish, with two contemporary dancers who dance around him and in and out of shot like they’re just passing through his party.

Many of you will have seen Claude’s outfit on Insta earlier – a purple suit with pearl detail. So far this year has been an excellent advertisement for effortlessly cool male tailoring, which we’re very here for.

This is one of the first performances we’ve seen so far that features less of the LED wall, and now we know why – in the final chorus there’s an explosion of pink and blue flowers that take up every square inch of the wall, the floor and the frame – you almost expect them to flow into the arena. WHAT a finale.

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Op zondag 4 mei 2025 15:31 schreef TheVulture het volgende:
Het is en blijft wel een beetje "wij van wc-eend..." nu hoeven artiesten niet neergesabeld te worden maar iets meer persoonlijke interpretatie was altijd wel fijn

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🇭🇷 Croatia - Marko Bo¨njak - Poison Cake

Time for rehearsal 7 of the day, and it’s Croatia’s Marko Bo¨njak, rehearsing his genre-defying song Poison Cake. He promised us a staging overhaul after Dora, so will be interesting to see how he brings this to the big stage in Basel.

Marko is only 20, and is quickly establishing himself as part of a new , trend-setting generation of Croatian musicians. His debut album is out soon, so it’s a great time for him to be taking part in Eurovision and growing his fanbase across the world.

OK - forget everything you saw at Dora, this is now full Shakespearean drama. The lego lights are in full effect here, criss-crossing each other to create a more intimate stage space that has the added bonus of providing dramatic lighting, backed by red and green storm clouds and flames.

Costume-wise, Marko’s black outfit with the pointy shoulders has been replaced with something completely unexpected – a full-length cape with fur around the shoulders that’s giving evil Tudor prince. In the middle of the stage is a grey cauldron, which Marko and his four dancers cast their spells into for the first verse and chorus. The dancers all wear matching blue and white outfits with frills and ribbons, and for the second half they head to the frame stage – at the end Marko sheds his cape to reveal a matching blue and white shirt.

It may also be the size of the arena, but it feels like there’s deeper bass on this live arrangement – the whole performance feels darker and more deliciously atmospheric, and a VERY long way from the Dora kitchen. Welcome to Basel, Croatia!

Also 🔥 PYRO UPDATE: lots of low fog that adds to the witchy opening, and flame and jets on the front stage through the final two choruses. For the final, the smoke jets mirror more smoke on the LED wall and the lego lights go full techno. We forgot to breathe again.

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16:10 CEST: Rehearsal 8: 🇨🇾 Cyprus - Theo Evan – Shh

In next week’s first Semi-Final, it will be Switzerland performing now, but as host nation they rehearse on Thursday with the Big 5. So instead our final rehearsal of the day will be Theo Evan from Cyprus, who will be closing out the show with his up-tempo dance track Shh.

Theo was born in Nicosia, and he’s been a singer and dancer since he was 7. He studied music and performance in the US, and released his first single in 2021. He’s promised us something special in Basel, but since there was no national final for Cyprus, all we have to go on for staging clues is the official video, which had a post-apocalyptic Hunger Games vibe with men in black morph suits and geometric chess.

BUT, for the first time this year, we have staging notes! We LOVE staging notes, and welcome them from any of the delegations who are yet to perform *hopeful face*.

So the Cyprus delegation describe Theo’s performance as follows: “Two scaffolding towers are placed on stage, and the performance opens with Theo Evan and the two dancers forming the shape of a mysterious figure referenced in the lyrics - a silhouette that will be immediately recognisable.

As the performance unfolds, the towers shift positions to create different formations. Theo and his four dancers incorporate them seamlessly into the choreography. Stunning visuals and dynamic lighting enhance each movement, adding depth and intensity to the staging.”

Sounds exciting, no? We’d back that up, watching it live – it’s a super-slick, high energy three minute workout which does things with scaffold towers and very gymnastic men that we didn’t know were even possible. The lighting shifts from black and white at the start, to black and red in the middle, then back to black and white, and there’s a moment at the end before the final drop when everything stops and Theo just…breathes, with a clever camera effect that make it looks like he's dissolving into the ether.

Costume wise, it's black trousers and black vests all round, and as for the recognisable figure mentioned in the notes above, we regret to inform you that we’re not to tell you what it is, because that would be a big spoiler of some very clever staging and some things are worth waiting for. The Cyprus delegation agree, so please don’t shout at us in the comments. They promise to reveal all tomorrow when the photos are published. Σας ευχαριστώ!