Today the first rehearsals for Eurovision 2023 continue in Liverpool. Countries rehearsing on Day 2 include Israel, Azerbaijan, Czechia, The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Armenia, Romania, Belgium, and Cyprus. The sixth to rehearse today is Denmark’s Reiley.
Reiley’s first rehearsal
The sixth to take to the Eurovision 2023 stage at Liverpool Arena in Liverpool today was Reiley. Reiley will be competing in this year’s competition with his entry “Breaking My Heart” following his win at the Danish national selection DMGP.
Following Reiley’s first rehearsal a clip of what went on was posted on the official TikTok account of the Eurovision Song Contest. The clip showed Reiley before and after he took to the Eurovision stage for the first time, as well as giving us some insight into how well his first rehearsal went.
What did we learn about Reiley’s staging?
Photo credit: EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett
Reiley seems to have taken staging inspiration from Rosa Linn last year, as his set comprises of three different “rooms” which revolve throughout the performance. Reiley enters and exits each of them through doors in the set, each room providing a different colour and different mood to the performance. The visuals include swirling clouds, hearts and emojis – the Eurovision live blog describes it as “very Gen Z”! There’s also some use of the LED floor and projected graphics. This is a performance to put a smile on your face!
What we thought of Reiley’s first rehearsal
After Reiley’s first rehearsal, Rosie gave her initial thoughts on the snippet that we saw.
Who is Reiley?
Reiley is a Danish singer-songwriter who originally hails from the Faroe Islands. In fact, he is the first Faroese artist represent Denmark at Eurovision!
Reiley first gained traction in 2020 by posting covers of hit songs on TikTok, where he has since amassed 11 million followers and over 1 billion views. He released his debut single “Let It Ring” in 2021, followed by first EP brb, having an identity crisis, which included the single “Superman”. In 2022, he released the songs “blah blah blah” and “Moonlight”.
Interestingly, Reiley has also gained a sizeable following in South Korea.
“Breaking My Heart” was written by Reiley, Bård Mathias Bonsaksen, Hilda Stenmalm, and Sivert Hjeltnes Hagtvet.
Denmark’s Eurovision Journey
Denmark first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest back in 1957 and notched their first win in 1963 with Grethe and Jorgan Ingmann’s “Dansevise”. The country left the contest after 1966 but returned in 1978, and achieved mixed results in the next two decades. Denmark earned two third-place finishes in 1988 and 1989 but was then relegated three times in 1994, 1996, and 1998.
They finally achieved their second victory in 2000 with the Olsen Brothers’ “Fly on the Wings of Love”, and have only missed the grand final five times since the introduction of the semi-finals. A six-year qualification streak from 2008 culminated in its third win in 2013 with Emmelie de Forrest’s “Only Teardrops”.
Denmark’s recent participation saw them being represented by REDDI with the song “The Show”, which managed to place 13th in the semi-final where they received 55 points from the Jury and Televoters.
What do you think of “Breaking My Heart”? Can Reiley bring Eurovision back to Denmark? Let us know your thoughts! Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: EBU/Corinne Cumming
