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 Lithuania’s Monika Liu.
Monika Liu’s first rehearsal
Today we got to watch Monika Liu’s second rehearsal from the online Press Centre. We got an in-depth preview of how her staging 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 Lithuania’s second rehearsal
The performance begins with a a shot of lights whilst Monika wears her iconic silver dress. There are flashes of oranges and pinks that turn into purples from the sun as we go through the first chorus. The chorus then brings some more camera techniques, including the doubling up angle that we saw from Pabandom is Naujo. Lighting is also an integral part for the section, with different patterns pulsating in the background.
The second verse sees the stage plunged into blue whilst Monika flings herself around – whilst staying on the same spot. The second chorus see the return of light whilst the stage is lit up in violets and reds. Waveforms also are seen (similar to that of the edges of ESC 2022 logo), whilst shots of Monika from her music video are shot onto the sides of the LED. The performance ends of Monika spinning around before finishing with a defining pose.
What did we think of Lithuania’s rehearsal
After Monika’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:
@thateurosite #stitch with @eurovision @Jazzi Dibben ‘s initial thoughts on @MonikaLiuEurovision ‘s first Eurovision Rehearsal! #Lithuania #MonikaLiu #fyp #Sentimentai #eurovision ♬ original sound – thateurosite
About Monika Liu
Monika Liu is a familiar face on the Lithuanian music scene. After graduating from the University of Klaipėda, she travelled across the world, living in the US and the UK before returning to Lithuania. She is no stranger to competing on Lithuanian TV, having participated in multiple singing competitions ever since she was 15 years old in 2004! Now she sits on the other side of the stage on the judging panels for The Voice and The Masked Singer.
Her musical outputs prior to “Sentimentai” include her 2015 EP “What If”, her 2019 album “Lünatik” and a vinyl-only EP “Melodija” in 2020. This year is not her first year being involved in Lithuania’s Eurovision entry, either. She was one of the co-writers for Monika Linkytė and Vaidas Baumila’s entry “This Time” from 2015.
Lithuania’s Eurovision Journey
The Baltic nation made its debut at the Eurovision Song contest in 1994, when Ovidijus Vyšniauskas placed 25th with the song “Lopšinė mylimai.” Since then, Lithuania has participated 21 times and made the Grand Final 14 times. LT United gave Lithuania its best ever Eurovision result back in 2006, placing sixth.
Lithuania’s latest Eurovision participation, saw the nation represented by The Roop, who had been due to represent Lithuania at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. For 2021, the group participated with “Discoteque,” managing to place eighth overall with 220 points.
What are your opinions on Monika Liu’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
