Wiwi: In one of the greatest moments of the first rehearsals so far, Belarus’ Alyona Lanskaya entered the stage locked inside an oversized disco ball. Meant to represent the planet “Solayoh”—the non-stop party destination she sings about in her song—it provides a visual focal point for the opening. It’s also funny as hell. If we didn’t know that Alyona was a diva before today, we certainly know it now. In the video below she seems to walk like she’s on a runway (at all times), and takes pleasure in the men and the cameras following her. This is show business, y’all, and Alyona is the perfect starlet for it. Her attitude fits well with the spirit of her song, and I’m confident this will cruise into the final. Her vocals are vastly improved since the national final, too.
Vebooboo: Alyona clearly never watched Melodifestivalen, because if she did she would know that pumpkins and disco balls did not treat Sanna Nielsen very kindly in the past. Learn from the past, girl, and get rid of that shit! In this preview video we spend more time watching Alyona make a run for the exit (at 1:13) than we do her actual staging, so it’s hard to make too many judgments as of yet. But the song remains equally generic and repetitive as before.
Photos:
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.
