It’s a new day in Eurovisionland with Malta kicking things off as the carry-over from yesterday’s first semifinal rehearsals. After this, I’ll be nipping into press conferences to bring you reports while the usual team sum up the day’s adventures. I’ll be back with a verdict again this evening. We’re also having the first glimpse of the Big Five nations and the Netherlands. More of that later.
Despite all those claims that Destiny loves the pink dress and is wearing it to transmit a message of empowerment, today she was in something much less revealing and coloured silver. It helped her stand out from the backing dancers (still in hot pink) and the backdrop (hot pink for the start of the song). Worry not, the boots survived the cut … and stayed in place throughout.
Her only issue now is with her top-knot, which meant she had hair pinned to her face through much of the performance. I noticed it was irritating Destiny, too. Expect that to be the final tweak.
In the Press Centre, there was a mini-hissy from those who considered it vulgar to reflect on how something or someone looks … even though this is a TV show. Go figure!
Bringing home the message
The first third of the song felt somewhat static to me with everybody in a line, but when Destiny broke away (with an aerial shot) and the backdrop changed, things took off. The inclusion of more colours really changes the atmosphere. The ‘ladies listen to me’ part is now more standalone, moving into a low-lit dance club style scene, really driving home the message – which I felt was missing last time around.
They’ve also remembered to make the ‘excuse my French’ line a focus – hurrah! By the second run-through, Destiny warmed up, looked to be genuinely enjoying herself and totally full of sass.
We finished with a spectacular pyro curtain – and perhaps a longer shot might help emphasise that, as it got lost with so much going on.
The Fanning Verdict
There’s absolutely no way this won’t make the final. It deserves its place high in the odds. We could see a winner here if it lands well in the Saturday running order. The improved staging covers up any shortcomings of the song.