Wiwi: When Roberto Bellarosa presented his song at the Belgian national final we cringed. But after re-working the number with his songwriters in Finland he’s turned our shrieks into rounds of applause and steadily grown in our estimation. He’s also growing in confidence. When we first spoke with him at Eurovision in Concert he seemed nervous and awkward. By the time we interviewed him on Eurovision.tv he was a bit looser and more comfortable.


At today’s first rehearsal in Malmö the transformation seemed complete, as he was cool as a cucumber and looking totally suave in his black suit with matching tie. But don’t let all the black make you think of mourning because Roberto has plenty to celebrate. He had next to no pitch problems during his soundcheck and his LED screen looks fantastic. It includes a lot of blue and white lightning, hinting at the idea of a storm and the crushing nature of love gone awry, and the lyrics of his song pop up during the chorus. He’s letting his two back-up dancers do all the work of making this visually interesting so he can concentrate on his vocals. The bookies have been harsh to him, and at times so have we. But I’m wishing on a star that Roberto makes the final. He’s still something of an outside shot, but I might place a bet on him advancing anyway.

Vebooboo: Roberto may not speak English, but his ability to sing it has significantly improved following his bootcamp attendance with the Finnish composers. Everyone, this is a lesson for all of us not to judge too prematurely. We threw so much shade on this song when it first came out that icebergs formed in Bruxelles, and now we have our work cut out for us to melt that shit away. But Roberto’s dapper suited looks and swanky back-up dancers will help with that process. This ain’t gonna win ESC, but Roberto gets my Most Improved Player of the Year Award hands-down!

Photo Credit: Thomas Hanses (EBU)

You can read our reviews of the Eurovision rehearsals by clicking here. You can also read our song reviews on the Wiwi Jury page, and read the lyrics to this year’s entries on our contestants page.

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SQFan
SQFan
10 years ago

I really, really hope he can prove people wrong. Time, and time again, we’re finding that songs we don’t expect to qualify, manage to slip through, or make a big impact on the evening, and manage a very high finish in the semis (loved Lithuania 2012 and 2011, despite the predictions neither would qualify, yet they placed 3rd and 5th in their semis respectively). 2011 was the year of upsets – so finger’s crossed for Roberto, it can happen again!

Tika
Tika
10 years ago

If I’m not mistaking, Roberto claimed, after the national final, he was feeling very ill. Most people in Europe based their judgement of this song on the video made during that national final. In the first seconds of the video you can actually see him coughing and struggeling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdn5VQ145Ns
So don’t worry, the guy can actually sing. Let’s just hope he brings some antibiotics. Just to be sure. 😉

JulianaESC
JulianaESC
10 years ago

I’ve always had a feeling that the poor vocals/performance back in December was both a combination of poor planning and Roberto’s lack of English skills. That’s why when everyone else was flaming him, I knew that there was going to be something better. Roberto impressed me with his changes and the performance so far looks great- but I don’t really like the lyrics being projected. I hope that Roberto stays cool and gives good vocals next week!