Today the rehearsals for Eurovision 2023 continue in Liverpool. Countries rehearsing on Day 3 include Estonia, Iceland, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Georgia, San Marino, Austria, Albania, Lithuania and Australia. The first to rehearse today is Estonia’s Alika.
Alika’s first rehearsal
The first to take to the Eurovision 2023 stage at Liverpool Arena in Liverpool was Estonia’s Alika. Alika will be competing in this year’s competition with her entry “Bridges” following on from winning the selection Eesti Laul.
Following Alika’s first rehearsal a clip of what went on was posted on the official TikTok account of the Eurovision Song Contest. The clip showed Alika before and after she took to the Eurovision stage for the first time, as well as giving us some insight into how her first rehearsal went.
What did we learn about Estonia’s staging?
Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming / EBU
Alika’s performance makes effective use of the LED screens both on the wall and on the floor. The colour palette is blue for the most part with added tinges of yellow as the song progresses. She is dressed in a blue pantsuit with a long train that perfectly reflects the emotional intensity of the song. The grand piano that was also present at Eesti Laul returns, but it’s not known whether the piano plays itself just yet. Overall, it’s a strong and effective performance to kick off the third day of first rehearsals.
What we thought of Alika’s first rehearsal
After Alika’s first rehearsal, Rory gave his initial thoughts on the snippet that we saw.
Who is Alika
Alika Milova originally hails from Narva, Estonia. She got her start by participating in a number of talent shows including The Baltic Voice and New Wave Junior.
She came to prominence in 2021 when she won Eesti otsib superstaari (the Estonian version of the Idol franchise. After landing a record deal with Universal Music Estonia, her first three singles “Õnnenumber”, “Bon Appetit” and “C’est La Vie” have all charted in the Estonian Radio Charts.
Perfoming runs deep in Alika’s family as well. Her elder sister Valeria is a professional dancer and has appeared on the Irish and Turkish versions of Dancing with the Stars!
Estonia’s Eurovision Journey
Estonia has appeared at almost every Eurovision since their debut in 1994. They have won the contest once with Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL in 2001, singing Everybody. Other notable Estonian entrants include 3rd placer Sahlene with Runaway in 2002 and Ines with Once In A Lifetime in 2000, who placed 4th. More recently, their highest-placing entries have been Urban Symphony with Randajad in 2009 and Ott Lepland with Kuula in 2012, both of whom finished in 6th place. In 2022, they elected to send STEFAN through Eesti Laul to the contest with “Hope”. He successfully qualified for the final and finshed in 13th place with 141 points.
Estonia has used Eesti Laul to decide their competing entry every year since 2009. Before then, they used another national final format, Eurolaul, dating back to their first attempt at participation in 1993, where they failed to make it through the pre-qualifying round.
What do you think of “Bridges”? Can Alika bring Eurovision back to Estonia? 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: Corinne Cumming / EBU
