Eurovision 2018: Your first impressions of the semi-final 2 first rehearsals

by Jessica Weaver 2,613 views

Four days of rehearsals are complete for the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest, in which a total of 37 acts have currently taken to the stage for their first set of rehearsals onstage at the Lisbon venue. With semi-final 2 down, let’s have a look at your first impressions of the rehearsals you’ve seen!

It’s been a busy couple of days in the Eurovision 2018 host city of Lisbon, with plenty more hectic days to come in the lead up to the competition, set of officially kick off on our television screens on the 8 May (one week to go!).

For the past 2 days, we have seen the first rehearsals of the semi-final 2 participants, in which 18 artists took to the Altice Arena stage for the very first time.

Your initial impressions

Following each short impression of the rehearsal, we have been asking you to vote via our website to give us your first thoughts on each teaser you’ve seen so far. Voting has been based on the official clips and images uploaded via the Eurovision social media accounts, as well as descriptions made so far.

Based on the highest percentage of points received from each rehearsal, here are your initial thoughts of each country based on the last 2 days’ worth of footage available.

  1. Hungary (12 points: 56%)
  2. Moldova (12 points: 51%)
  3. Ukraine (12 points: 46%)
  4. Norway (12 points: 44%)
  5. Slovenia (12 points: 41%)
  6. Malta (12 points: 38%)
  7. Denmark (12 points: 33%; 10 points: 16%)
  8. Poland (12 points: 33%; 10 points: 12%)
  9. Romania (12 points: 32%)
  10. Sweden (12 points: 31%)
  11. Serbia (12 points: 28%)
  12. Latvia (12 points: 24%)
  13. Georgia (12 points: 22%; 10 points: 14%; 8 points: 19%)
  14. Australia (12 points: 22%; 10 points: 14%; 8 points: 18%)
  15. Netherlands (12 points: 20%)
  16. San Marino (12 points: 18%)
  17. Montenegro (12 points: 14%)
  18. Russia (12 points: 4%)

Whilst it’s difficult to have a strong opinion with little footage available, it’s interesting to see which countries have caught the eyes of the viewers from their initial rehearsals, whilst seeing which countries have seemingly dropped since first rehearsals.

The top rehearsals

Despite not being a strong favourite amongst Eurovision fans in terms of music genre, AWS from Hungary surprised viewers from across the continent after their first rehearsal, leading your first impressions. A performance which works well with Hungary’s entry, the nation could well be the surprise of the semi-final.

Second in your first impressions is DoReDos from Moldova, whose comedic yet smart staging has really drawn in Eurovision fans. It’s a colour and fun performance from the trio, whose backing dancers and vocalists truly add to and create a stand out performance for the Moldovan trio.

Melovin of Ukraine was third in your first impressions following his first rehearsals, with his piano and fire joining the singer onstage alongside his backing vocalists. An enhanced version of his national selection staging, Melovin seems to be a great closer for the semi-final.

The remaining countries which make up your remaining top 10 are Norway, Slovenia, Malta, Denmark, Poland, Romania and Sweden. As with semi-final 1, many countries have surprised fans with their first rehearsals over the past 2 days, meaning that further surprises could be seen on Thursday evening.

Who placed at the bottom?

Julia Samoylova of Russia only received 4% of your 12 points following her first rehearsals on Tuesday, with fans expressing their concerns for the staging itself. Props are a big focus of the Russian staging including 2 contemporary dancers, but will Russia surprise fans next Thursday evening?

Montenegro finished second-last as part of your first impressions, with Vanja presenting what has become a very traditional style of staging for the Balkan entry. Choreography from the backing vocalists give a throwback to last Montenegrin performances, many of which have made their way to the final of the competition. Will this be the case for the country in 2018?

In third-last place in the San Marino duo, consisting of Malta’s Jessika and Germany’s Jenifer Brening. Robots is the main theme of San Marino’s staging for Lisbon, adding a few comedic moments to the performance with some signs held up by their robotic friends. It’s a sweet performance as a whole, but will it be enough for San Marino to qualify next Thursday?

Who has surprised you the most from semi-final 2? What changes, if any, would you like to see to any of the second semi-final performances?