Today the rehearsals for Eurovision 2024 continue in Malmö. Countries rehearsing on Day 4 include Latvia, San Marino, Georgia, Belgium, Estonia, Norway and The Netherlands. The first to rehearse today is Latvia’s Dons.
Dons’ first rehearsal
The next to take to the Eurovision 2024 stage at Malmö Arena in Malmö was Latvia’s Dons. Dons will be competing in this year’s competition with his entry “Hollow” following on from winning Supernova
Following Dons’ first rehearsal a clip of what went on was posted on the official TikTok account of the Eurovision Song Contest. The clip showed them 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 Dons’ staging?
Dons dons his trademark blue sleeveless pantsuit once again as he gives a light-powered performance, as per the official liveblog. As he stands in front of a large circular prop, blue spotlights slowly pan across the stage in the verses. In the chorus, the lighting changes to a bright white, resembling searchlights.
What we thought of Dons’ first rehearsal
After Latvia’s first rehearsal, Tim gave his initial thoughts on the snippet that we saw.
Who is Dons
Artūrs Šingirejs, aka Dons, has two decades of experience in Latvia’s music scene; beginning with his participation in Talantu Fabrika. His 2024 Supernova participation is not Dons’ first attempt at Eurovision. His first attempt came in 2010 when he participated in Eirodziesma with ‘My Religion Is Freedom’, narrowly missing out on the win, coming second. Four years later he participated in Latvia’s Dziesma with ‘Pēdējā vēstule’. He managed to reach the super final of the show, but ultimately lost out in the tie break to Aarzemnieki.
Outwith his pop music career, Dons has also experimented with voice acting, having voiced Olaf in the Latvian version of ‘Frozen’. Additionally, he has flirted with a career in theatre with one of his more recent appearances being in the musical ‘Lāčplēsis’, as well as performing as Quasimodo in an operatic retelling of the ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame’.
‘Hollow’ was penned by himself in addition to Liam Geddes, and Kate Northrop. The entry is set to perform 9th in the second semi final.
Latvia’s Eurovision Journey
Latvia made their Eurovision debut in 2000, finishing 3rd with “My Star” by Brainstorm. They have performed at every contest since and managed to win in 2002. Marie N sang “I Wanna,” scoring 176 points and bringing Eurovision to Riga in the process. Latvia also managed to finish in the top 10 two more times, in 2005 and 2015.
Latvia’s most recent entry on the Eurovision stage was Sudden Lights, who performed “Aijā”. The song failed to qualify from the semi-final, finishing 11th with 34 points from the televote.
What do you think of “Hollow”? Can Latvia get back into the final with this stage show? Let us know your thoughts! Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2024!
News Source: That Eurovision Site / Eurovision.tv
Photo Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
That Eurovision Site 
Rory Gannon