JESC 2015: Who had the best first rehearsal on November 16?

Today nine acts — Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Ireland, Italy and Malta — got their first taste of the Junior Eurovision 2015 stage. Thankfully their first rehearsals were filled more with thrills than spills, and many have made the most of the ginormous LED screen. We’ve already shared our thoughts on today’s rehearsals — read all of our rehearsal reviews here — and now we want to know what you think. You can review each of today’s rehearsals below. Then vote in our poll and let us know which acts you think deserve top marks. You can vote for as many acts as you’d like, but you can only vote once, so make it count.

Albania: Mishela Rapo – “Dambaje”

Our first impression: “Albania’s Mishela served Carribean realness. As the calypso did its thing, she stood in place and kept the laidback vibe going. It was like a summer breeze! Her dance moves — swaying arm motions, choreographed finger twirls and gentle turning at the hips — takes us to Barbados or Jamaica and feel completely organic to the song.”

Armenia: Mika – “Love”

Our first impression: “Confident and brimming with ambition, he looks straight into the camera and belts out note after note with ease. And he does this while also performing some clever choreography that masks any effort it may take him to bust a move. We see him sidestep and moonwalk with joy and aplomb. He is showing no sign of nerves and seems to be living this performance.”

Belarus: Ruslan Aslanov – “Volshebstvo” (Magic)

Our first impression: “The mysical sound is backed up by LED effects that jive with his motions — he flicks his hand and glitter shoots out of the tree, he holds out his hand and we see a Zlata Ognevich-like butterfly land there. He reminds us of her vocally, too: loud to louder, but always on point.”

Bulgaria: Gabriela Yordanova & Ivan Stoyanov – “Colour of Hope”

Our first impression: “At times the stage seems a little crowded and very busy — stars falling, ribbons twirling, ballerinas extending legs above their heads. It all makes it a little difficult to concentrate on Gabriela’s voice. Hopefully the delegation will strip things back and, failing that, producers can tweak their camera angles to bring Gabriela into sharper focus.”

FYR Macedonia: Ivana & Magdalena – “Pletenka”

Our first impression: “The song’s opening is particularly strong and a welcome change of pace from the other acts. It sounds — and I mean this in a good way — like a Eurovision dance entry from Eastern Europe in the early 2000s”.

Georgia: The Virus – “Gabede” (Dare)

Our first impression: “Much of this hinges on the lead singer Data. His schizophrenic performance, which is filled with exaggerated facial expressions and unpolished dance moves, sees him morph from naughty child to Elvis impersonater. He’s clearly having fun and it’s simply perfect.”

Ireland: Aimee Banks – “Réalta na mara”

Our first impression: “…she’s keen to get back to her beloved: ‘Somewhere someday, across the wide open blue, through a strong gail, we set sail, warry me away back to you…’ And she takes us there. The waves become less ominous as the song goes on, and the white sail becomes a symbol of hope that she just might make it home (wherever that is).”

Italy: Chiara & Martina Scarpari – ““Viva””

Our first impression: “Twins come in two, but few come packaged with voices like those belonging to Chiara & Martina! These girls brought double the pleasure and double the fun to their first rehearsal, turning what I thought was a dated 80s throwback into something quite fun and, dare I say it, downloadable.”

Malta: Destiny Chukunyere – “Not My Soul”

Our first impression: “Malta’s Destiny Chukunyere bobbed her head, dropped some major attitude, and kept her vocals pitch perfect during her first rehearsal. The LED backdrop comes directly from her funky music video: it’s all bright colors, fun lettering, and pulsating soul realness. She stands on stage alone — with a voice that big, you really don’t need help — and does a good job connecting with the camera. She wore all black this morning with glittering silver shoes and a matching silver scarf providing the only accents. We suspect she has a surprise up her sleeve for her second rehearsal: wearing all black, she kind of disappears into the background which is quite dark.”

Junior Eurovision 2015: Rehearsals Day One

Follow all of our Junior Eurovision 2015 news here