Georgia's Oto Nemsadze delivers the power to keep us going

05 May 2019 at 11:19 CEST

Oto Nemsadze represented Georgia in 2019 Photo: EBU / Thomas Hanses

Next on stage for the second day of rehearsals was Oto Nemsadze from Georgia with his song 'Keep on Going'. Oto delivered a powerful first performance; with a momentary silent break mid-song to add dramatic effect, the intensity of the song and visual staging continued to ramp up until the very last note.

Georgia will take the stage 11th in the first Semi-Final on Tuesday 14 May at Expo Tel Aviv in Israel.

Oto Nemsadze was born on 18 June 1989 in Gori, a city located in the eastern part of Georgia. At the age of 3, his mother Maia started to teach him how to sing. He is best known for winning the fifth season of Geostar in 2010, he received the most points from the Georgian audience to be crowned the winner.

READ MORE: Oto Nemsadze's participant profile

What happens on stage?

Starting alone on stage to begin, the staging colours were cool-toned, showing images of skies and mountains in the distance. Mid-way through the performance, as the song picks up, Oto was joined on stage by ominous human silhouettes who revealed themselves later to be backing singers. The added power of 5 more voices coordinated with the cool tones turning to red, images of fire surrounding them. It is clear the intensity of the song's lyrics were central to the staging from beginning to end. One of those voices belongs to none other than Mikheil Javakhishvili, who was a member of the Ethno-Jazz Band 'Iriao' that represented Georgia last year in Lisbon.