Crash, bang, boom! Second rehearsals of Eurovision 2017 continue inside the International Exhibition centre in Kyiv, with acts debuting new costumes and refined LEDs. Next to take to the stage are Albania’s Lindita, Belgium’s Blanche and Montenegro’s Slavko Kalezic.

Albania: Lindita with “World”

She showed up to her first rehearsal in street clothes. But today Lindita turned up and turned out in futuristic spaceship couture. She slipped into a translucent skirt that snaked up from the floor to her hips, where the garment turned into a white bodice with a silver sequinned front. She wore an ornate collar with oversized white flowers. She started the performance with her head covered by a translucent veil and with light shining from behind. It was the perfect visual match to the mysterious opening. As the music starts viewers will no doubt ask, “Who’s that girl?”

Albania’s Second Rehearsal at Eurovision 2017

Lindita, “World”: Performance Preview

Belgium: Blanche with “City Lights”

Her first rehearsal didn’t exactly set Kyiv alight. She looked timid and somewhat overwhelmed by the enormity of the stage. Today, however, Blanche managed to look vulnerable rather than scared, and as the song and run-throughs progressed she finally showed a degree of emotion, including anger and, at the end of the performance, a bit of happiness via a small smile. Adding joy to this song about longing helps portray her as a person rather than a deer-in-headlights.

Visually this looked much tighter and dynamic. Rather than letting the stage swallow Blanche, producers zoom in on her and approach from better angles. She wears a billowing white dress with an enormous skirt. It seems to glow in the white light, helping to provide a visual centrepiece. She remains fragile but the silhouette is strong. It’s an important difference that helps centre the performance.

Belgium’s Second Rehearsal at Eurovision 2017

Blanche, “City Lights”: Performance Preview

Montenegro — Slavko Kalezic, “Space”

He says he has his suit on, but in reality Slavko wears spray-on black leggings with countless crystals. Once again he spends much of the performance voguing and dancing freestyle — he’s doing this his way and on his terms. Producers helped create more of a dance atmosphere with quicker cuts, and it seems that we saw the LED images of his silhouette for a few more seconds this time around. Unfortunately the vast stage frequently feels empty. The saving grace is Slavko’s charisma, humour and hair braid, which helps distract from that.

Montenegro’s Second Rehearsal at Eurovision 2017

Slavko Kalezic, “Space”: Performance Preview

Check out all of our rehearsal news here

73 Comments
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jj
jj
6 years ago

Slavko’s ponytail should have been used as a lasso. They could have used animation or graphics to have it look like it set off sparks as he twirled it or had another dancer be lassoed in to dance with him or maybe a spaceship.

AngieP
AngieP
6 years ago

Albania: I am not a fan of the dress. In general, nothing really changed! Lindita was vocally amazing! Belgium: Huge improvement since the 1st rehearsal! I like her dress, Blanche seems like a princess! Everything has come together in this performance! She has become more expressive with her movements! I also like she changed the way she sang at the last chorus towards the end! This is getting better! Thank you Belgium! You made my day! Montenegro: What to say here! I am not a fan of the song! The presentation is a bit exptreme for me, but I appreciate… Read more »

Héctor
Héctor
6 years ago

I still don’t understand the hate on Blanche. Yes,the performance is worse than we imagined, but it doesn’t make it th worst. Some of you are just taking advantage of this, she isn’t that bad! In this reahearsel she is more confident and no, she dosen’t seem to be in panic. This song is emotional and she acts perfectly, her emotion fits perfectly to the theme.

SF1 is hard, but I still think Blanche will qualify even better than a border qualifying.

Katrinelene
Katrinelene
6 years ago

Albania: good voice, not so good song
Belgium: great song, Blanche sounded better today
Montenegro: riddiculous, he can only dance

Bella
Bella
6 years ago

I have to hand it to Slavko, he can sing while jumping rambunctiously around the stage (maybe that’s not so impressive though and I’m the only one who can’t sing and dance at the same time)! 😀 I really did enjoy his performance, like always. 🙂 For someone who really disliked Belgium’s song I guess this is a major improvement cuz I never watched any of her live performances except this second rehearsals and honestly I thought she sounded good! I thought it was really gonna be awful because of the comments but either she drastically improved or she never… Read more »

Eve
Eve
6 years ago
Reply to  Bella

Agree about Slavko, can’t wait for his performance in semi, that will be pure entertaiment! 😀
Somebody writes he acts like he’s dancing alone at home, lol, he’s just there enjoying himself.. what dancers? he don’t need that irrelevant details, lol! 😀

Miked
Miked
6 years ago

Belgium is so good. Blanche do better this time, love her new vocals.

Rhingo
Rhingo
6 years ago

After seeing Blanche’s exclusive I feel so bad for her… Goddess! She is practicaly crying ><
I hope she manages to enjoy herself during the actual performance.

Rhingo
Rhingo
6 years ago
Reply to  Rhingo

Montenegro for sure won’t qualify but that was fun performance 😛

Iamme
Iamme
6 years ago

Albania = good voice/bad song
Belgium = bad voice & performance/very good song
Macedonia = embarassing
My favourite song’s (studio version) are still Belgium and Finland.

coryn
coryn
6 years ago
Reply to  Iamme

it’s montenegro not macedonia

Darren
Darren
6 years ago

Really hope Belgium qualifies next week!!! Blanche is awesome, but her young age has left her nervous

M_K
M_K
6 years ago

Albania: Not sure about the wedding dress (it doesn’t relate to the song at all), but the staging looks great (in fact, they manage to give the impression that a lot is happening when actually there is not). Belgium: In the eurovision.tv video, her vocals are so off 🙁 However, visually it’s better now. I’m a little relieved though that she sounds better in the wiwi video. Montenegro: Based on the review of the first rehearsal, I was actually expecting a little more. I thought that the first 30 sec snippet did not give the right impression, but it actually… Read more »

Mar
Mar
6 years ago

Those are two utterly horrid white dresses. I expected better from Lindita, and Blanche looks on her way to her first communion.
Slavko looks a little alone on stage, it needs more party 🙁

ks
ks
6 years ago

I like that Belgium team is listening to fans. Now she has a specific choreography for hands, and she is good. What can she do anyway???
The song is meant to be static.

cheesecake
cheesecake
6 years ago

Albania: The dress doesn’t fit the song at all. Her voice was fantastic, the song is good, but I just don’t see this going through.
Belgium: Much better, but she still looks scared. If she can loosen up, this could be fantastic.
Montenegro: Just no.

Rob Mann
Rob Mann
6 years ago

Blanche was much improved. I think that when she singing in her lower register that the background music over powers her voice and it should be cut back a bit. The last third of the song was great. She does not yet look comfortable on the whole and the choreography, as it were, is still stiff.

Mameo
Mameo
6 years ago

Montenegro’s performance is quirky and memorable.

Mark
Mark
6 years ago

Albania and Lindita are just great – she makes it look so easy to to sing and move and has the best voice in this years Eurovision – just don’t understand why r people making comments about Belgium here when Lindita is milion times better

Stan
Stan
6 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Lindita is very different from Blanche… Lindita can sing in a kind of screamy way. But unfortunately, She is not Rona Nishliu. I hope next year Albania won’t send another weak version of Suus to Eurovision but something fresh and new…

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago
Reply to  Mark

I love Lindita. Still my favourite song this year.

Grete Paia
Grete Paia
6 years ago

In order to qualify Blanche must follow example of Islande dress. She has a nice titty and should wear a hot dress that makes everyone pay attention. This is competition and Blanche needs to bring out the big weapons.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
6 years ago

Belgium: from hot favorite to non-qualifier. Whew, the downfall.

KuhKatz
KuhKatz
6 years ago

reminds me a bit of Roberto Bellarossa, he went the opposite direction (although you have to say Top 12 place instead of hot favorite)

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago

Things are getting better for her though, slowly. She still has a chance.

Mark
Mark
6 years ago

Is the same case as Albania 2015 with Elhaida Dani with I am alive (much much better song than this one) when she was a favorite and in the end she struggled to even make it through to the final

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Good comparison.
I think Nina from Croatia last year is another.
Having said that, Elhaida and Nina were better than this. Nlanche has work to do to not be a total letdown.

Jake
Jake
6 years ago

I’m confident she’ll still qualify!
She’s improving with every rehearsal and the juries will appreciate the song as well.

Eve
Eve
6 years ago

Slayko slayed ya”ll, oh that is life of the genius, nobody understands him 😀

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago
Reply to  Eve

He has his suit on.
No need to worry.

Eve
Eve
6 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

But where’s the dancer to be in space as one?? 😀
He needs dancer!

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago
Reply to  Eve

That addition would probably make the entry untransmittable without an 18+ rating. 😛

Debailor
Debailor
6 years ago

It’s interesting to see perfect songs doing it so wrong live, and bad songs doing it so right.

(J)ESC Fanatic
(J)ESC Fanatic
6 years ago

Albania was amazing! I will vote for them.

Mark
Mark
6 years ago
Reply to  (J)ESC Fanatic

Lindita is a queen

Paysbart
Paysbart
6 years ago

My oh my…. It’s such a pity for Blanche. Such a great song…. but she is so very nervous. It looks like she will burst in tears every minute. And this is just a rehearsal: what if 200 million people are watching?

Leo M
Leo M
6 years ago

More of my favourites looking to be disastrous. Blanche looks scared and Slavko’s vocals were not great. I still think Belgium might have a chance of qualifying but I don’t think Montenegro will now after seeing that.

CoolVibesNinja
CoolVibesNinja
6 years ago

I am surprised how many artist have a backdrop on the LED with there own face on it.. Is rhis the new trend?

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago
Reply to  CoolVibesNinja

Vanity is not a new thing in music performance. 🙂
I think the truth is rather that this year’s ESC Director wants to go with the “vanity” theme to help show off the tones of the LED a bit more. It’s probably best to ask the ESC creative teams about it.

L'oiseau
L'oiseau
6 years ago

I hope someone in Blanche’s team filters all the negative comments and I really wish her and the song all the best, But… What is this?????? She is really struggling (at one point she seems she is crying). And what is it with that dress?… I am so disappointed, because this was my second favourite… But like this, I don’t see it qualifying…

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago
Reply to  L'oiseau

Blanche is better than before though.
My feeling is that Ellie is trying to channel the emotion of the song a little too much. But on the night with thousands of people, that should come naturally anyhow.

L'oiseau
L'oiseau
6 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

Really? Because for me it felt worst than the first rehearsal. But I certainly hope so. 😉

Eve
Eve
6 years ago
Reply to  L'oiseau

Poor Blanche.. I have a feeling she’s gonna start to cry there.. don’t like the dress.. really hope they will improve..

L'oiseau
L'oiseau
6 years ago
Reply to  Eve

LOL Exactly!… She really seems to feel overwhelmed. Someone should just hug her and say… it’s all right, just feel the music.

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago
Reply to  L'oiseau

@L’Oiseau: To clarify (taken from my notes…)
“There was better musicality; her facial expressions were wider and she provided more support to her vocals.
However, the dress is a bit too much like Albania’s beforehand; maybe change to something more modern? I also think Blanche could walk a bit on stage during the “middle eight” part of the song before the emotional close-up; otherwise she looks too static and uninteresting. The LEDs are fine.”

Does that make sense? 🙂

L'oiseau
L'oiseau
6 years ago
Reply to  Purple Mask

Yes totally. Of course, I couldn’t say anything about her facial expression because I only saw the small videos of the 1st rehearsal and I couldn’t see her expression. I fully agree on you on the LEDs, on her presence and certainly about the dress. On the her singing, though, the higher notes were not very good, I guess. She should work on feeling the music, as she did in the acoustic performance. She should try to capture THAT moment and forget all about the arena, LEDs, fans and the whole circus and focus on what she feels. That is… Read more »

Geo
Geo
6 years ago

So this year’s dress code is white? A little recap: Albania, Belgium (one after another)… then later on: Poland, Iceland… And in the 2nd semifinal we have: Serbia, Austria, Malta, Ireland, Norway, Belarus and Estonia. Really? 11 countries and perhaps more with their singers dressed in white (we may see another white dresses or coats from UK, Italy, Germany, France or Ukraine. I exclude Spain, as Manel will probably wear its usual floral or Hawaiian shirt) Celebrate diversity but not about clothes :)) Kudos to Switzerland, after seeing all white in the 2nd semi Timebelle’s Miruna will definitely stand out… Read more »

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
6 years ago

I just saw Montenegro’s 3 minutes. I’m smiling because it’s funny dancing! 😀
Seriously though everyone has improved so much in the 2nd rehearsals so far – it should be a good Semi Final on Tuesday. 🙂

pMa
pMa
6 years ago

Bélgica en cada ensayo es peor. Vestido horrible, insegura y muy desafinada.

Milla
Milla
6 years ago

I still find Blanche extremely boring on stage.

Grete Paia
Grete Paia
6 years ago
Reply to  Milla

Stop hating hun-ny

Tusán
6 years ago
Reply to  Grete Paia

She’s as boring as I thought she would be. She’s just a singer but not a performer.

Stan
Stan
6 years ago

Nice from Blanche. I think she wins ‘biggest grower’ today. Another leap by Tuesday and she proves everyone wrong.

Briekimchi
Briekimchi
6 years ago

Belgium’s is not going well.
I think they really don’t know what to do with it.

Héctor
Héctor
6 years ago

Belgium seems much better to me. I mean: her vocals are on point, the LED is good (mostly because of the blue lights conection, like the Internet web or something like that!) and she doesn’t seem nervous. However, there are some aspects Beligum should change: I don’t like the dress, she could have use something more modern or futuristic that goes on with the emotion and darkness of the song like Bulgaria this year or in 2017 or just something black; the colours used in the performance are too brigth for me, like someone said here, I would use black-yellow… Read more »

Héctor
Héctor
6 years ago
Reply to  Héctor

And yes, I’m loving the final part where she sing in a hoger pitch too, that part is full of emotion!

beccaboo1212
6 years ago
Reply to  Héctor

Let’s just hope Blanche’s final dress is black instead! 😉

escphbelgium
escphbelgium
6 years ago
Reply to  beccaboo1212

Although I love black on Ellie, I really think that she should wear Bebe Rexha’s In The Name of Love dress (but color white and same fabric as her rehearsal dress) for her performance.

Stan
Stan
6 years ago
Reply to  Héctor

it needs to be white to stand out against her universe on the background. it’s really a dress for a 17year old girl. white, fluffy, butterflies… i like it 🙂

Eve
Eve
6 years ago
Reply to  Stan

That’s not a dress for 17 year old girl sorry, she looks in that like ghost bride which haunts houses..

wim
wim
6 years ago

Blanche, you slayed this time. Italy are you ready for blanche?

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
6 years ago
Reply to  wim

Said no one ever

Jeanchris23
Jeanchris23
6 years ago

Of course like that ,just watching video ,the return is bad ,
But I am sure that Tuesday on the TV ? screen,Blanche will rock ,the final will be reach ;-))?
Jeff

Sunny
Sunny
6 years ago

I like Blanche’s new high notes. I think studio version of the song is not containing that part. Am i wrong?

Stan
Stan
6 years ago
Reply to  Sunny

In the studio version, she keeps it low. I prefer that one. But I think they are trying this one out because Eurovision needs a key change. I heard it for the first time on the Voice Belgique and she didn’t reach it. It seems to be better now. Her confidence is visibly growing. I think Belgium is back in the game.

chessguy99
6 years ago
Reply to  Stan

She over reached it here, sounded a tad bit on the sharp side. TBH, she’ll need a near perfect vocal in the jury performance, because her televote won’t get her into the finals.

L'oiseau
L'oiseau
6 years ago
Reply to  Sunny

The studio version has a key change in the middle, which I actually like quite a lot. But it’s not too high and is within her vocal range. I think they are putting her to sing higher notes… And it’s a disaster.

Maniac
Maniac
6 years ago

OK , so Belgium flop definitely , just like Macedonia , my prediction going well…

beccaboo1212
6 years ago
Reply to  Maniac

For your information, Belgium and Macedonia are set to prove you wrong once Eurovision week begins.

Maniac
Maniac
6 years ago
Reply to  beccaboo1212

Hello Kitty nobody can prove me wrong , because I am always right hehe

coryn
coryn
6 years ago
Reply to  Maniac

Belgium is bad, but wiwibloggs doesn’t admit that and they strongly support her. Macedonia however is great, much better than during pre parties, but wiwibloggs nevertheless pushes her down. Regardless of how Macedonia does this year, they should withdraw from further ESC participation. This year it is clear. No matter how good they are, there will always be official or unofficial media to push them down. No nation can compete against bias and double standards.

Rhingo
Rhingo
6 years ago

Albania – I still can’t connect to this song. The staging is cool but it again leave me cold. Won’t say that it doesn’t have a chance but for me it is not qualifier.
Belgium – this dress sealed her fate – horrible! Out of place! This is not a wedding!
The rehearsal itself is better than the first one but there are too many problems. If it didn’t have the fans behind it, it wouldn’t have a chance to qualify.

Karen Tariutriyeva
Karen Tariutriyeva
6 years ago

Albania slayed!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Belgium is soooooo much better 🙂