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First up: Armenia, Netherlands & Finland

16 May 2008 at 15:59 CEST

First rehearsal of the day was Armenia's Sirusho, who astonished everyone at her first rehearsal last Monday and her great performance at the party thrown by the Russian delegation at the Euroclub. Sirusho and her three backing dancers once again delivered a steady performance, opening with the dancers entangled around Sirusho's legs, making Sirusho wave in the air when she stoops. Sirusho did not wear her final outfit for the semi-final on the 20th of May, but it was revealed by a person from the Armenian delegation: Sirusho's dress is classy, sexy and shiny. During the rehearsal, fire was blowing up from the stage and the pyrotechnics were tried out. Given the expressions on Sirusho and her dancers' faces, it was seeming like they were quite content with rehearsals. Later at the press conference, Sirusho and the Armenian delegation expressed their satisfaction with today's rehearsal. Furthermore, Sirusho told the fans and accredited press that there had been some security issues regarding some of the elements which were supposed to be used in the act. Sirusho explained that this of course is unfortunate, but it does not matter because in the end it is the vocal perfomance that counts.

The second delegation to perform today was the Netherlands with their experienced singer Hind. Rehearsing Your Heart Belongs To Me, one could clearly see that the cute Dutch singer really enjoyed being on the stage in the Belgrade Arena. The whole rehearsal looks very polished already with big white chandeliers being projected on the enormous LED screens, and yellow colours used at the front part of the stage. Hind is on stage with two male dancers and three backing singers who are all dressed in dark blue. Hind herself is wearing a dark blue dress as well which has lots of glittering elements on it which looked really elegant on screen. The Dutch singer is one of the most secure singers in the contest this year and she interacts brilliantly with the camera, too. Lots of people were hugely impressed by the Dutch rehearsal today! The Dutch press conference was opened by Hind singing a Dulce Pontes song which went down really well with the audience being present. Hind also revealed that she met Marija Serifovic yesterday and had a nice chat with her.

The metal rockers Teräsbetoni from Finland were the third to enter the stage at the Belgrade Arena this morning. As Teräsbetoni usually do they gave a powerful and flawless performance of their song Missä Miehet Ratsastaa. The Finnish group were wearing various leather outfits, and some of them did not wear anything on the upper part of their bodies. The smoke on the stage as well as the fire balls blowing up from the stage enhances the intensity of the song. In the last rehearsal full pyrotechnics were tested. Finland has in many recent years sent rock songs to the Eurovision Song Contest, and it may come to their advantage this year, since they stand out compared to most other participating countries. Today's rehearsal revealed that the Finnish rockers clearly are ready for the dress rehearsals. After the rehearsal, the Finnish delegation showed up for a press conference. Head of Delegation Terhi Norvasto told the accredited press and fans that they are very pleased about the just finished rehearsal and the organization of the event in general. A journalist asked whether Teräsbetoni has received advice from former Finnish winner Lordi, but they had not since they have actually never met Lordi in person.