Following their first rehearsals earlier this week, the Eurovision 2017 contestants had time to refine and reboot their performances. Today saw the start of the second rehearsals and we finally had the chance to see precisely what tweaks they made — across vocals, LED, choreography and more. We were in the arena to film the likes of Blanche in her city lights, Cyprus’ Hovig walking a tightrope and Slavko Kalezic serving that hair braid realness for Montenegro.
But which of the fifteen countries who performed today was your favourite?
You can watch all of our footage, alongside our reviews of today’s second rehearsals, in the playlist below. Below that, you can also find our “winners and losers” of the day video. Then vote in our poll. You can vote for as many countries as you like, but you can only vote one time, so make it count. Be sure to click the box next to each act you want to support before pressing submit.
The winning top: Poland, Finland, Azerbaijan
When are the Portugis singer coming to Kiev. If it was a nother land, they have never acceot this. Portugal shoukd stay home
You say this as if Portugal is receiving special treatment from EBU, however this is actually a major disadvantage for the Portuguese selection.
Guys, stop bashing. The truth is that real talent is not appreciated among many. People are biased, they always take sides, they also forget to respect the difference of opinions. Eurovision is a strange thing, very politically driven (even if they deny it). Mr Sand seems to have lost the vision to change this contest into something more than just its annual campness and mediocre showcase. It is what it is, no surprise they still excuse quality with block votes, diaspora, you name it. At the same time, we have seen lame and cheap acts as winners and it’s very… Read more »
Hey can you be a bit fairer and at least tag Albania ?? at the subtitles since it is also a participant in the first semi and it also had her second rehersal! I mean as if it weren’t enough that you have completely shadowed Lindita with the Date on the title pic and you barely mentioned anything ab her in the reviews! Thanx 😉
It’s ridiculous that a YouTube user claims that Samra’s performance last year was way better than Dihaj’s. Even saying that Dihaj won’t qualify.
Omg!!!!! Who would say that! 🙁
They are armenian,Azerbaijan will be top 5 in the grand final,Dihaj’s live performance really amazing,it will qualify 100%
Azerbaijan and Finland
Please stop talking about the diasporas. I’m Polish, I live in the Netherlands and I do not vote for Poland if it does not deserve it. I vote for the best song (in my opinion). It is impossible for the Polish diaspora to win the vote in Austria, Belgium (like year ago) and in other countries. There are not so many Poles.
I agree, the Polish diaspora is only big in UK, Germany and maybe France, but not that much. There are not as many Poles in other countries as you all think. Poland didn’t qualify in 2005-2011, where were the Polish people then? And where were they in 2015? Only in 2014 and 2016 Poland ended high (and of course in 1994). So maybe people liked it.
Don’t understand me wrong. I love the Portuguese song, and the singer this year. And I actually believe they make a big chance of winning the entire contest, BUT… I don’t understand why it’s high in the lists of rehearsals… considering the main artist was not even there. Even for the first rehearsal they got good points from press, while some got “0”. Easy if you are being replaced by another singer. Again… I understand the reason for Portuguese singer to be away for health reasons, but then don’t put Portugal in these rankings. For the rest… looking forward to… Read more »
Se valora la escenografía , no sólo el cantante que interpreta y Luísa está haciendo una “imitación” de Salvador, por eso está alta en las votaciones y encuestas.
POLONIA y su diáspora, que raro..que pesados sois!!!
My prediction for top five qualifiers is (semifinal 1)
1st Armenia
2nd Azerbaijan
3rd Finland
4th Belgium
5th Sweden/Greece
I think that it will be a close battle between Armenia and Azerbaijan for 1st place in this semi, but I think that Armenia will win (only by a small margin)
I am not doing any full predictions just yet. Still too soon for me. From the rehearsal Finland, Poland and Azerbaijan stood out. I thought the first two would not qualify, but now I do. Azerbaijan will qualify with 1000% certainty. I am still afraid about Portugal, though. Is it really going to work?…
GREECE A M A Z I N G ! Welcome to Athens 2018
?ravo DEMY, bravo FOKAS. GO GO GREECE
Poland and Finland are so boring. I don’t understand the love 🙂
Is Sweden forgettable? Noone talks about it anymore.
I think Sweden is actually a bit boring and I’ve been surprised how consistently it has been in the top 3 in betting odds etc. I guess it’s the Sweden effect. It’s a very slick and well produced song but it’s not really fresh or interesting. The staging itself is pretty cool but I find the performance kind of cheesy. At this point people expect it to do well because it’s Sweden. I don’t know if this will affect their votes (people won’t vote because “they’ll get through anyway”) but I think it might. It’s still a definite qualifier for… Read more »
I think people are not that interested in Sweden because the staging have been known for months. And other countries have come up with something interesting. Like Azerbaijan. People forgot about Sweden last year too. But look what happend. Never underestimate us.? However.. I agree that we might fall out of the top 5 this year. The song itself is not good enough. Way too shallow!
I’m sure that’s also true. Definitely not trying to underestimate Sweden, you guys are basically what everyone else is trying to live up to in the ESC! This may not be my favorite entry from Sweden but that’s mostly because you’ve raised the bar so high.
@Milla, @Arc I find it very boring and inappropriate and I think it will qualify but not top five, I agree with both of you
I agree with you too… On Eurovision it needs to work on the first view and the Swedish performance probably will. This is a fan site, so we have seen it all before… It’s one of the performances that just disappears, a bit like Australia too…
Thank you Stan for supporting our opinions, you are greatly thanked! 🙂 I hope you have a great day!
I might be alone but I find Aus LED as an improving point – they created image that will look cool with any camera angles. Good promo for such young singer. The only worrying thing is the song full of challenge, he has to nail it.
Belgium is still questionable to me, but her song cannot fail to qualify.
Such a big difference wthin 17yo circle, but what a promising young people, I’m fascinated.
Your not the only one who thinks this will look good . Besides it’s only rehearsals. Same time last year Dami had problems eg- getting off the box so it interrupted/paused her singing & missing the cues and camera angles etc. People questioned the purpose of the box as well. It didn’t look good in reheasals but all came together in the final. I’ve been to Isaiah’s live concert and he has one hell of a voice. He is just holding back and expermenting. I wouldn’t rule him out yet cause he is gonna surprise us. Grand final and into… Read more »
Each time somebody has a good voice, people say : ”it will do well with the jury”
There were cases when good voices were buried by the jury
-Il Volo 2015
-Cesar 2013
I don’t remember now other names, but is risky to put your fate in the jury just because the singer has a good voice.
Incredible vocals worked in favour of Jamala and Dami last year. It was the whole package but what captivated us (especially the jury) was their commanding vocal performance.
Dami Im already had an incredible song. And her vocal performance made it even more amazing. Best Act in Eurovision so far (at least to me)
GOOO CYPRUS!!! ???? GO HOVIG! What a VOICE ! ?? (& no backing vocalists) Cyprus is just as good if not better than Sweden, both are great & equivalent ?? A strong contender
@WIWI MY COMMENT HAS BEEN HACKED BY ANOTHER ACCOUNT, PLS LOOK INTO IT & advise me of outcome please. My comment was changed from;
GOOO CYPRUS!!! ???? GO HOVIG! What a VOICE ! ?? (& no backup vocalists) Cyprus is just as good if not better than Sweden, both are great & equivalent ??
@ WIWI, not working still showing hacked comment?
GOSH there’s some real loserrrrs out there that can’t handle the truth lmao
this is like purely staging, nothing to do with personal preferences and also this is like an essay but keep the faith 01 Iceland Okay say what you want but I listen to a lot of songs like Paper outside of Eurovision and the staging is totally on point with the music… really not getting the hate. The laser fan is stunning, the geometric shapes in the back have me seeing all the edges of an Icelandic glacier, she’s got that IKEA 2018 A/W couture dress, the moves have me thinking 80s business woman meets Alicia Keys, it’s a Nordic… Read more »
@Hannah get a dog a have a walk in the parks
Belgium should qualify. Her timed arm movements are so good now. She will get many votes for it. The dress does not match the song. Her white dress is for Zoë 2016. For dark electro she must wear a slinky black outfit to fit her tight body and enhance the long long legs hun-neeeeee
I think the dress should be white because a) her stage name means ‘white’ and b) it represents lights.
For what I propose is that the skirt of the dress should be knee length and she should wear either glittery silver high heels or a black converse shoes. Also maybe a flower crown with white and silver flowers and leaves.
That exclusive preview of Blanche’s performance on the eurovision channel is so bad that I think her chances of qualifying very slim. There is nothing to do to elevate this performance because she can’t sing. Other contestants have boring or unusual staging but at least their vocals and charisma pulls them through. Blanche maybe a nice girl but she is far from ready to be a an artist or performer on the eurovision/world stage.
Stop hating on Blanche. Your full of evil and vile. Sad
There are better singers and performers and this is a competition. Belgium should not qualify to the final, deal with it.
With Isaiah’s performance, I think they should use other pictures in addition to his own face. Reduce the amount of his photos on the backdrop and change it with other things. They still have time to change the backdrop and choose the correct angles. There is no doubt the guy can sing but the only let down is the backdrop.
Greece had some serious technical problems. They did again a “sound check” after the rehearsals.
Blanche is still in the danger zone to me, but at least not alone now since Isaiah is there as well.
Finland and Poland were the best for me.
Belgium reminds me of Croatia last year. It was my favourite as a song, uniqe voice but it wasn’t working on a stage. And it’s interesting that they are both going 5th in the first semi. So maybe that means Belgium will also go to the final?
I bet. Speaking of improving, let’s compare Blanche to Meena from “Sing”, an animated film from 2016 produced by Universal. At first, Meena had stage fright. Later, she overcame her fear and sang a powerful rendition of “Don’t You Worry About a Thing”, originally by Stevie Wonder. Thus, I have 100% hope Blanche’s fears will also overcome next Tuesday. 😉
As far as I remember Croatia actually delivered a nice performance?
Hate Portugal
Your comments on this website are always about the same thing. I hate Portugal. Stop embarrassing yourself, you’re being ridiculous.
Lmao as if your stupidity will change people’s mind about that masterpiece. Get a life Portugal hater.
Portugal, Finland and Azerbaijan have quality entries this year. Love all 3 of them. They have my votes. 🙂
Ok, I’ve had some serious doubts about Belgium (one of my favourite songs this year) after the 1st rehearsal, but she has gotten much better. After all, this is what rehearsals are for.
She’s back at the top of my ranking for this semi, along with Portugal an Finland. I also like Australia and Moldova. As long as these 5 qualify, I’m fine!
Azerbaijan was the best I think. The blackboard box and the image of the man in the ladder with the horse head are powerful visuals, bringing to mind some edgy experimental theater production. Backing vocalists are very good, sometimes better than her. I also love the song. Baku 2018? Possible!
Finland is also good. Brilliant staging, love the camera angles and her voice sounds as good as in the official video! They are aiming for a Top 10 finish it seems.
Czech Republic, Georgia, Poland were nice as well.
Yes Baku2018 is very possible!
I want to share with you my excitement about tomorrow!
We are going to have the 1st rehearsal of the big 5 + Ukraine! At last!
I was looking forward to that!
I am not happy I’ll have to wait for France as it’s the last to rehearse early in the evening!
Namaste! Ale!
I really don’t get the fascination with Azerbaijan this year. It looks cheap to me. I don’t get the whole the man with the head of the horse and the Home Depot ladder.
Oh my goodness…Sweden was so off key!
Voted for Finland based on rehearsals alone.
Without a doubt, Finland had the best rehearsal and best reviews.
So…
Finland, Azerbaijan (art!!), Greece, Sweden, Moldova (kitsch but it works), Czech Republic (underrated!), Portugal (waiting for Salvador though) and Georgia.
Belgium is disappointing but it is NOT that awful. Montenegro is the definition of cringeworthy, kitsch and extremely bad live.
I think my biggest growers are Belgium and Cyprus! They are the two most improved performances today!
Blanche’s performance has significantly improved!
Also, Cyprus was way better than in the 1st relearsal! Hovig sounds really good live and the whole performance seems to get together! However, he needs to master the choreography!
My winner is Azerbaijan! This performance was AMAZING! Hopefully we were able to watch all 3min and how the peformance progressed! Dijah slays!
On the other hand, I was dissapointed from Australia! It’s a good song, Isaiah is a great performer but the whole thing seems bland!
If Azerbaijan won’t make it to the Top 3, I am so done with Eurovision then. That performance is just PURE ART!!
Finland, Czech Republic and Portugal were also nice out of this bunch.
Same I would too! Baku2018!!!!
Omg, I truly totally felt flattered by your comments on behalf of my country, guys. Thank you so much, for nice thoughts. But I hope this year Italy will win. You know will held the contest recently.
Defo Greece, Azerbaitjan, Finland and Poland
Finland, Portugal and Azerbaijan are my top 3. But I think it was a very good rehearsal from most of the acts today and the overall quality is high. It really is a guessing game with qualifiers this year. I think there are over 10 acts in this semi that could quite easily go either way.
I’m so happy for Finland. I think they will win this SF.
Second Rehearsal Power Rankings (Three acts still to perform) [Rk after first rehearsal] 1 [1] Sweden Thanks to the big LED screen the graphics look even been than on Melodifestivalen. The number of dance moves that can become classic if he wins is through the roof. The weakness remains the song and the singing. But those will only matter in the final. Chance of qualifying: 100% 2 [3] Azerbaijan The beginning makes me wonder if she will have some crazy makeup. It is probably a guarantee at this point. In that case this will be a dangerous contender in the… Read more »
you need a job in the EBU!
finland will not qualify they have no friends to vote for them in europe
thats how it works
peter hardy That has nothing to do with all this. Finland qualified many times before and they won Eurovision once. It’s all about song/staging/vocals and overall show. Bloc voting is just small part of the show.
Sweden, Latvia and Iceland are in this semi-final. They usually give something to Finland. And there’s the jury, it’s very helpful for songs like Blackbird.
Finland is the best quality performance this year and will have many friends in SF 1 this year, wait and see. 🙂
Just a suggestion, don’t leave your day job! You’re opinions & taste leave nothing much to be desired for & very unrealistic, no hard feelings i hope
@Lukewarm It’s not polish words at the end. It”s word “Freedom” in different languages 🙂
why would moldova see the final? who in their right mind would vote for moldova?
those that voted for them in 2010, 2011 and 2012…
And 2013!
I only liked Azerbaijan and Finland. Moldova was fun. I don’t even remember others.
dont forget armenia and russia and azerbaijan and belarus- the 4 countries that seal the block votes between them
they are my favourites . is russia still coming to the party?
oops i forgot to add moldova
Definitely Azerbaijan the best and Finland next for me. Still love belgian song so I hope it would qualify, but the performance is not working. Poland was ok and I want it to qualify but it was not that good to be first in the poll. Sweden is so annoying but it’s a good performance and it will gualify. Australia so boring, I hate it all, but probably will qualify. I also don’t get Portugal but it’s good enough to gualify I guess. Greece and Cyprus are ok. Moldova live is fun, it should see final. Albania is great live… Read more »
everyone talks dribble on this forum
as if everyone is gonna qualify lol youre all experts ..
the people whose vote matters in the end will not be the people on this forum thankfully
My Top 10 for this semifinal:
1. Finland
2. Azerbaijan (could be winner too)
3. Portugal
4. Sweden
5. Moldova
6. Greece
7. Armenia
8. Poland
9. Georgia
10. Australia
There were a lot a huge improvers today. Even the Czech Republic looked like it could qualify now, such was the improvement! Well done to all of the acts and delegations for a successful day. 🙂
Sweden, Moldova and Finland look really good and I would say they are definite qualifiers. I don’t like Australia’s staging but I reckon the juries will help them through and while I still don’t get Azerbaijan, they are probably going to the final too. Portugal definetly on this list aswell even though I find it a snorefest.
My biggest disappointments are Belgium and Montenegro. I reckon Blanche still has a chance, while Greece, Poland, Cyprus are also borderline. I think Slavko is heading home early along with Georgia, Albania, Iceland and Czech Rep
Slavko is going to fly home in his helicopter.
Finland
Azerbaijan
Portugal
The rest were meh..
Also enjoyed Moldovan rehearsal!
Sweden
Portugal
Finland
Azerbaijan-
they are ready for the final.
And honorable mention- Slavko!
How is Belgium not last on the poll? Their performance was TERRIBLE.
People (sometimes annoyingly) will still treat this poll as a vote for your favorite song or your home country, instead of REHEARSAL as is intended. :/