Today, second rehearsals for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 kicked off. Countries rehearsing on Day 5 include Albania, Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland, Slovenia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, The Netherlands Moldova, Portugal, Croatia, Denmark, Austria and Greece. Next to rehearse today was Latvia’s Citi Zēni
Citi Zēni’s second rehearsal
Today we got to watch Citi Zēni’s second rehearsal from the online Press Centre. We got an in-depth preview of how their staging will look on TV on Tuesday 10th May, when they perform in the first Eurovision semi-final. You can see a small clip of their second rehearsal here!
What did we learn about Latvia’s second rehearsal?
Photo Credit: EBU/ Andres Putting
There have been some technical issues with the online press center this morning. But we are finally ready to go with Latvia’s Citi Zēni. Before the start of their second run-through we get a glimpse of their postcard. We start off with a lot of Pink and Yellow lighting. Throughout Jānis’ first verse we get a lot of close ups of the band members really enjoying their time on stage. Before the bridge we get a floor shot of the words “Hot” and “Cool” which looks really good.
The personalities of the guys really fill the stage with so much joy. For Dagnis’ sax solo we go to white lighting and you see him stood alone and all the focus is on him it is a really nice shot – he really stands out. For the last chorus the pink and yellow lighting returns and Jānis jumps over his band members. As the song draws to a close Krišjānis does the splits on stage. This is sure to make viewers smile on Tuesday night,
What happened in Citi Zēni’s first rehearsal
After Citi Zēni’s first rehearsal, Rosie gave her initial thoughts on the snippet that we saw. You can see how she felt about their first rehearsal by checking our TikTok here:
@thateurosite #stitch with @eurovision our second rehearsal comes from @Citi Zēni who bring the colour, energy and fun we’ve come to expect from them! #eurovision #esc2022 #latvia ♬ original sound – thateurosite
About Citi Zēni
While Citi Zēni as a band only formed in 2020, the artists who are part of the band have been performing across Latvia’s music scene for many years. Jānis Pētersons (vocals), Toms Kagainis (drums), Roberts Memmēns (bass), Reinis Višķeris (keyboard), Dagnis Roziņš (vocals and saxophone) and Krišjānis Ozols (guitar) all met at a songwriting camp near Riga, and in 2021, they released their debut album, “Suņi Iziet Ielās”.
The band plan to release their second album following their Eurovision participation in 2022.
Latvia’s Eurovision Journey
Latvia made their Eurovision debut in 2000, finishing 3rd with “My Star” by Brainstorm. They have performed at every contest since and managed to win in 2002. Marie N sang “I Wanna,” scoring 176 points and bringing Eurovision to Riga in the process. Latvia also managed to finish in the top 10 two more times, in 2005 and 2015. Latvia’s most recent entry on the Eurovision stage was Samanta Tīna, who performed “The Moon Is Rising.” The song failed to qualify, finishing 17th in its semi-final.
What are your opinions on Citi Zēni‘s second rehearsal? What changes would you make? Let us know in the comments or on social media. Be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
News Source: EBU
Photo Source: EBU/Nathan Reinds
