We’re back with more coverage of day five of Eurovision 2021 rehearsals. Next up to the Rotterdam Ahoy stage for their second rehearsals are Belgium, Israel and Romania. Will we see any major changes since their first run-throughs? Let’s find out…
Second rehearsals at Eurovision 2021: Belgium, Israel and Romania
Belgium’s Hooverphonic “The Wrong Place” — Eurovision 2021 second rehearsal
Oliver: Hooverphonic have spent years honing their craft. They are professional live musicians and they have very quickly made the stage the Rotterdam Ahoy stage their home. No material changes to report. Looking more broadly at the lineup however, it’s clear that this provides a refreshing shift in energy from the upbeat eccentricities of Cyprus, Norway and Croatia. The elegant, spooky and more subdued vibe of Geike’s haunting presence could see Belgium through to the final.
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Padraig: It’s another moody and atmospheric rehearsal from Hooverphonic. And while it’s still dark, the darkness is a tad brighter. Geike also seems to be a bit more expressive… although that could just be me trying to find something new to note. Hooverphonic were pretty much sorted after rehearsal one, so today is just going through the motions. It’s very understated, but Geike may just hypnotise Europe into pushing Belgium through to the final.
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Israel’s Eden Alene “Set Me Free” — Eurovision 2021 second rehearsal
Oliver: Something has shifted today. Eden’s second rehearsal elevated massively on the first, with slicker choreography and a stronger visual package. She’s wearing the braid hairpiece right from the start, meaning the final reveal is much smoother and the dancers don’t have to worry about leaving Eden’s crown wonky on her head. The billboard lighting is also much more dynamic, maintaining momentum as the team prance down the runway. However, she missed the whistle note on today’s first run-through. We know she can hit it, but it’s a big risk that could cause Israel to miss out on some jury points if it’s not perfect.
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Padraig: Straight off the bat, we see a change in Eden’s production. Now, instead of having a coronation moment at the end of the performance, she instead wears her crown of braids from the very beginning. Otherwise, things remain the same. Eden is growing in confidence, although she’s taking it easier with her vocals. She didn’t hit the whistle note during the first run-through, but presumably, that’s because she’s minding herself. After all, nothing counts until the jury and live shows next week.
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Romania’s Roxen “Amnesia” — Eurovision 2021 second rehearsal
Oliver: A small wardrobe change from Roxen, who is now wearing her hair in a fringe. Other than that there isn’t much else to report. This is still just as shaky as the first rehearsal, and the interpretive dance is more distracting than anything. The Romanian singer is putting a lot of energy into getting the choreography right and it often leaves her breathless, causing her vocal to tremble. On the final “you’re not alone” line, the dancers lift Roxen and it’s very wobbly, her vocal even more so. It’s all too ambitious. Breath control will be vital if Roxen wants to improve her chances.
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Padraig: Roxen has had a trip to the hair salon, but otherwise no significant change. Roxen appears more at ease on stage, and is better able to tackle the choreography. However, the delegation may be regretting the decision to include so much movement. Roxen’s vocals are more strained than before, and it sounds like the improved dance is coming about at the detriment of her voice. Still, the overall package is an improvement on before.
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Read more Eurovision 2021 rehearsal news here
Photos: EBU / ANDRES PUTTING / THOMAS HANSES
I hope that outfit Roxen has wore twice now isn’t the final outfit, it’s very standart and looks like she was grabbed to the stage from her couch in her everyday clothes! The black pantsuit/dress she wore on the music video would have been more than fine!
I like Belgium song but they look like they died on thier lifetime. Belgium didn’t take a lesson from Sennek’s performance.
Israel grown so so much. I love it ?
Roxen sounds better but it’s not as good as I expected:(
Belgium: Every year has an entry that bookies and fandom dismiss for not being “Eurovision-friendly enough” but ends up doing reasonably well. The more I watch the contrast between Belgium and the rest of the semi, the more I think they can benefit from it. Romania’s struggle probably also helps them, since they’re both indie. Israel: I love Eden and I think the juries will giver her a push, but the staging seems a little random to me. Both music videos were more interesting. Romania: I’m very worried this will be my favorite that will get axed in the semis.… Read more »
Continuation of my previous comment:
Israel: I think the performance looks more polished and Eden can SING! However the competition is hard in this semi between the female dance songs and I don’t know if it’s a certain qualifier. I do think this will get both jury and televoters support.
Romania: even though I like the studio version, I’m afraid this might not make it. The concept is great, but the execution needs to be better if they want to make it through. Would love to see it qualify, but for that to happen, they need some more practice
I think Roxen’s vocals are better than last time but not perfect yet. She still has 5-6 days to practice. The staging is cool tho. I really want Romania to qualify.
Didn`t she had more then 12 months to prepare 3 min long performance? 6 more days will not make a big difference.
P.s. I liked her pr-erecorded audio and video thought
I really liked her spain pre-party performance, I wish she could have met that expectation though.
Belgium just keeps growing on me!
Israel has come a long way, from 23rd to my 8th.
On the other hand, Roxen has dropped from my 6th to my 30th after these 2 rehearsals. Very worried.
out of these 3, Israel was my fave. However this 2nd rehearsal preview clip, I felt she was too shouty in the verses. That high note though is just amazing. Will it be enough to get her through the semi’s? Slipping down towards borderline for me now.
I love Belgium’s song but the cameras didn’t do a good work and now I’m worried this might not get through.
Eden’s voice is wow and those whistle notes too. Her second dress is a real contender for the Barbara Dex award. I don’t really like the song but in this rehearsal it really improved. I prefer Belgium over this tho.
Thank you Romania! I’m so so happy Roxen improved this time. Her song is meaningful and she is such a great singer. I’m putting this in safe qualifiers now.
Let’s face it, Romania might be out for the third time this year. Roxen’s voice sounds even worse than yesterday, and she may have taken on more than she can chew with the staging. I think she needs to rein in the excessive movement in order to make her voice sound better. I respect this is an ambitious staging, but sometimes you need to pull back.
I have a feeling that Romania won’t qualify. I love Roxen but both the vocals and the whole staging are disappointing. Wish her the best of luck nevertheless.
I just watched the Israeli sneak-pick rehearsal video and I was pleasantly surprised. I’m coming with law and realistic expectations regarding Israel’s entry this year. It’s my home country but I’ll totally understand if it doesn’t make it to the final, yet what I just saw really uplifted my spirits: Eden looks amazing, and I mean really stunning. Her voice was on point and she gave good, fun vibes. The dancing was street-like, free, not too produced.
I think Eden is a fantastic singer and a beautiful person.
Honestly I’m quite surprised by Israel rehearsal. It’s better then I expected! Maybe it will get better result than I have thought.
1.Israel – what a nightingale, what an amazing vocal capabilities, I am so surprised she is not hyped about as much.
2. Belgium – Beautiful creation.
3. Romania – wow, vocals so bad and the entire view isn’t just great with that outfit.. Yet Roxen is hyped about more than Eden.. I think she should just stand still as her preparty attempts were better..
Thanks from Israel:)
Omg Eden is sooooooo underrated. Just saw the ESC video of 2nd rehaesel. That was amazing. And she hit that whisle not… I mean, WOW!
Roxen was perfect in the last run-through!
She’s back in the game!
Hope Roxen wont end up as Sennek 2.0. Amazing video and joke on stage
Concerned for Roxen.
I’m getting shock NQ vibes.
So many other great voices/performances/entries to choose from. There are sympathy votes for Roxen, I suppose (?), but a great performance it isn’t!
It could come across as vulnerability and work together with the song.
But I dunno she’s looking shaky.
She’ll either qualify ala Blanche in 2017 or not qualify ala Agnete in 2016.
People who love Belgium should must vote for it only because it is borderline qualifying. Everybody loves and respect the entry but I don’t want to happen something similar to other entry that people surprised that didn’t go through! Please please send an sms to Belgium
I’ll hand belgium my vote. Quality!
Romania’s staging actually looks very promising. The visuals and the interpretive dancing are my taste but the “Oh I lost myself trying to have it all” in Roxen’s song ironically counts for her performance today too. The dancing, moving and singing all together may be a bit too much for her to handle and looks a little messy.. She should focus on the song more, which is absolutely stunning, and maybe drop some (dance) moves. I’m still keeping the faith though.
belgium is the dark horse, i think they can do very well with juries and be like 15th with the public. they are qualifing to the final. Israel? I am 100% that they”re out of the final. I love Eden and the song is nice but not memorable enough. It’s the type of song that will make people vote for it especially in a semifinal full of strong bangers.It will have to compete against Croatia and i think Croatia is on lock at least with televoting. I am sad for Eden and i hope she does make it to the… Read more »
I loveeeeeeee Belgium!! Unfortunately I can’t vote for them because I resident in the UK but people should vote for them because I worry that they are going to be one of the entries that everybody respects but didn’t go through to the final because they did not vote
Roxen was alot more vocally stronger than the first rehearsal
Belgium: still LOVE this one! It’s in my top 5 and I really want to see it qualify. Geike is just amazing! On the one hand, I’m confident they could go to the final judging all the other entries, but I’m not sure if voting patterns are gonna be the thing that pushes Belgium out of the top 10.
Israel & Romania coming when the clips are out
Belgium is awesome! I wouldn’t write them off. Second, I just don’t like Israels staging this year and in terms of “bops” I would prefer to see Croatia qualifying over Israel. Also, I really like Romania and hopefully she can manage the vocals and the choreography at the same time by the semis.
Hooveprhonic really nailed the staging and the performance. If Croatia, Cyprus, Israel and Azerbaijan are all going to qualify over Belgium, I will be more than disappointed and ESC may consider to change its name into Eurovision Dance Song Contest
Indeed. It would be really ironic after Duncan’s speech “Music first. Always”
I agree about Israel, Croatia and Azerbaijan because the songs are a little average but Cyprus actually has a great pop song with kick-ass staging, plus Elena’s vocals are on point and she brings so much energy! Belgium lacks that extra spark to be a lock qualifier but both Hooverphonic and Elena should qualify.
I wouldn’t mind Elena to advance, but I am like not wanting all the upbeat songs qualify, leaving Hooveprhonic behind, like betting odds suggest. It would be a travesty of a song contest.
Gosh I am worried for Romania. I feel its too ambitious for Roxen and her nerves are getting the best of her.
Very worried about Roxen. I’m still rooting for her to kill this, since Amnesia is my fave song this year and I believe she has great potential, but this isn’t looking too good for Romania.
Ana was in the wrong place . And Gieke didn’t even tell her. I’m cross
I think that the whistle note isn’t a risk rather a needed gimmick to qualify. I don’t think it will be distinctive enough with a bad note or without a note at all. If the note succeeds, Israel will have a chance, but they are going home either way without it.
why do i feel u did this on purpose?? XD
i just can’t wait to see geike’s eyes and her expressions captivating me! in stage, she totally transforms into the protagonist no matter how many surrounding her.
I am just here to see if people are going to be as angry with Israel as they were with Belarus or they are only angry with what certain western media are calling bad….
Has Israel sent a politically disturbing song for someone to be angry?
People were blaming Belarus delegation even before they announced which song they are going to send.
People are also angry with Russia every year due to their anti-gay legislations.
The lyrics of Belarusian song were not more provocative than 1944 lyrics.
This is not the place to talk about that. Get out.
Sorry for pointing out the double standards of the eurofans…
I still don’t understand the whole ‘Israel’ thing, or you just typed a random country just to whine about Belarus
I mean i don’t know if you are watching what is happening there right now?
Yes I watched it, she slayed the high note
Yes. people in Israel are dying because of a terror organization!! what do you know? stop spreading false hate among people here!
Stop promoting all this hate here. This is a song contest, you have MANY OTHER PLATFORMS for your political propganda.
What of the things I said was exactly “propaganda” ? Which part?