The final eight acts from semi-final two made their debut on stage at Rotterdam's Ahoy today as rehearsals for this year's Eurovision Song Contest continued in earnest.
Gjon's Tears demonstrated why he was the long-time favourite to win for Switzerland with 'Tout l'Univers', as he delivered a knockout, falsetto-laden performance atop a giant plinth that eventually began to deconstruct amid a tumultuous mix of wind, smoke and lightning.
Portugal provided the surprise of the day as The Black Mamba channelled Prince for 'Love Is On My Side', a romantic ballad beginning with black and white visuals and ending with a cute on-screen animation.
Samanta Tina of Latvia also impressed on Tuesday, bringing powerful full-bodied vocals and several sassy dance moves to the made-for-a-diva song 'The Moon Is Rising'.
Bulgaria's Victoria appeared to be auditioning for the John Lewis Christmas advert with standard-ethereal-woman vocals for the undeniably-catchy 'Growing Up Is Getting Old', which employed clever staging and lighting to depict her singing from atop a rock in the middle of the ocean.
Representing rock at this year's Eurovision will be Finland with 'Dark Side' from Blind Channel (think Hybrid Theory-era Linkin Park). For their set the group were dressed all in black save for their potentially-controversial middle fingers, all painted in red.
Fellow Scandinavians Fyr og Flamme of Denmark served up classic Eurovision pop fodder perhaps better suited to Melodifestivalen veterans Arvingarna with 'Ove os pa hinanden', while Tornike Kipiani of Georgia appeared to lose interest in singing his melodically-interesting track 'You' correctly during rehearsal, instead alternating his lines between bass and falsetto.
Elsewhere, Albania's Anxhela Peristeri put in a furious but sadly forgettable performance of 'Karma', which featured an unfortunate moment of staging where she appeared to pass gas before walking away from the camera.
See also:
Day 1: Lithuania, Slovenia, Russia, Sweden, North Macedonia, Ireland
Day 2: Cyprus, Norway, Croatia, Belgium, Israel, Romania, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Malta
Day 3: San Marino, Estonia, Czech Republic, Greece, Austria, Poland, Moldova, Iceland, Serbia
Media Mole is covering events in Rotterdam live over Eurovision fortnight - stick with us for continuing updates!
Neil Wilkes
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