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 sixth to rehearse today is Georgia’s Iru.
Iru’s first rehearsal
The next to take to the Eurovision 2023 stage at Liverpool Arena in Liverpool was Georgia’s Iru. Iru will be competing in this year’s competition with her entry “Echo” following on her win on The Voice Georgia .
Following Iru’s first rehearsal a clip of what went on was posted on the official TikTok account of the Eurovision Song Contest. The clip showed Blanka 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 Georgia’s staging?
According to the Eurovision liveblog, Iru is going for a very atmospheric vibe for her staging of “Echo”. She is using some elements from the official music video such as a white dress. She is yet another of this year’s acts who will be using a raised platform, though here is using combining this with smoke and stormy weather on the LED backdrop. Her incredible pre-party vocals are in full force today as well.
What we thought of Iru’s first rehearsal
After Iru’s first rehearsal, Rosie gave her initial thoughts on the snippet that we saw.
Who is Iru
Iru Khechanovi is a 20-year-old singer from Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. As a child, Iru was a regular at child singing competitions. This experience helped her to international fame as part of the band CANDY. The band was chosen to represent Georgia at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2011. After some tightly fought voting, the band won the competition, finishing with 108 points – just 5 points ahead of second-placed Netherlands.
Following her win, Iru honed in on her singing abilities, continuing to take part in a variety of singing competitions including Georgian Idol in 2019. She went onto release her debut album, “No Jerk Around Me”, in 2021. As well as this, Iru also developed her song-writing skills. She was one of the co-writers of Mariam Bigvava’s entry to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2022 – “I Believe”. The song finished in third place.
Iru started her journey to Liverpool in her appearance in The Voice Georgia. Thanks to her victory, she will go onto represent her country in May. Her song for Liverpool – “Echo” – was written by Iru herself, as well as Giorgi Kukhianidze and Beni Kadagidze.
Georgia’s Eurovision Journey
Georgia’s history in Eurovision has been mixed since they began competing in 2007, represented by Sopho Khalvashi with Visionary Dream. Their highest placements – both coming in 9th – were achieved in 2010 and 2011, with Sopho Niharadze performing Shine and Eldrine with One More Day. They have not qualified for the final since 2016, where they were represented by Nika Kocharov & Young Georgian Lolitaz with Midnight Gold. They were represented in 2022 with Circus Mircus, with their song “Lock Me In”. At the close of voting, however, Georgia finished last – 18th – in the semi-final.
What do you think of “Echo”? Can Iru bring Eurovision to Georgia? 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: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
