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 Portugal’s MARO.
MARO’s second rehearsal
Today we got to watch MARO’s second rehearsal from the online Press Centre. We got an in-depth preview of how her performance will look on TV on Tuesday 10th May, when she performs in the first Eurovision semi-final. You can watch a small clip of her second rehearsal here!
What can we see from Portugal’s second rehearsal
Having been due to perform following Moldova and before Croatia, MARO was forced to perform last during today’s rehearsal as a result of one of the delegation testing positive for COVID-19. However, that did not stop Portugal from completing their second rehearsal.
The performance begins with a camera in the middle of the circle of the five backing singers before panning to MARO, singing in front of warm oranges and blues from the stage. The camera pulls up from the five singers covered in smoke, before creatign a wide shot showing the whole LED stage in a sunset style colour. There are multiple camera shots of each of the individual backing singers looking at MARO.
In the second verse, more plumes of coloured smoke coem out of the LED stage, while the camera revolves around the singers. The second chorus sees a lot more flashes from lights, but all singers are now lit up and there are effective far away shots galore. THere’s a lot of play with negative space. The final shot takes the camera back to the middle of the circle, whilst MARO looks directly into the camera whilst the orange lights fade out. Simple but effective staging done right.
What we thought about MARO’s first rehearsal
After MARO’s first rehearsal, Jazzi gave her initial thoughts on the snippet that we saw. You can see how she felt about her first rehearsal by checking our TikTok here:
About MARO
MARO initially had plans to become a vet, before finding a love for music. She later went on to study music in Los Angeles. MARO released her first EP back in 2018. Her biggest achievement to date is charting on the official billboard charts with her collaboration with Odezsa. The song is entitled “Better Now”.
Portugal’s Eurovision Journey
Portugal debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest with António Calvário’s “Oração” in 1964. Since then, Portugal has participated in the competition 52 times – appearing the final 43 times. Their only win in the competition came in 2017 with Salvador Sobral, performing his heart-wrenching song “Amar Pelos Dois”.
Portugal’s most recent participation was with The Black Mamba with the song “Love Is On My Side” – the first song Portugal sent in the English language. The Black Mamba qualified for the Grand Final finishing 12th, after receiving 153 points from the jury and the televote.
What are your opinions on MARO’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
