Macedonia
Macedonia (FYR) up now but we only get one showing in the press centre due to the feed not being ready, but one was enough, if I’m honest. I’m not a fan of this song and there wasn’t much in the performance to lift it up.
It’s a a bit of a jarring presentation as they try to stage the gear changes in the song but it serves only to distract the viewer further.
Marija wears quite possibly the shortest outfit you’ll see this year in arresting pink, she perhaps should have opted for the backing singers outfits which are not quite as revealing.
There’s a mini stage where the drummer is and she interacts with Bojan for a time on it before a creepy shuffle over to the bridge where the song finishes with a ‘move in’ steadycam shot.
It’s all totally amateurish and I wouldn’t see this progressing.
Croatia
Franka up next from Croatia and, whilst this song is not my cup of tea, she really is singing the bejesus out of it. She’s in an embellished, full length black lace gown and looks stunning.
Alone on stage, albeit with two hidden backing vocalists, this girl has confidence and class by the bucketload and has such a controlled and powerful vocal. This went down incredibly well in the press centre bringing one of the best reactions we’ve heard and is a direct contrast to the disjointed mess we saw from Macedonia.
Will have this enough broad appeal to qualify? I’m still unsure but certainly this will be in the mix given this vocal performance.