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Paper streamers and cheerful sounds with Elaiza

06 May 2014 at 12:19 CEST

"We are going to change a few things for the second rehearsal", the Head of Press of the German delegation, Iris Bents, told Eurovision.tv on arrival at the arena. "Of course we have to adjust some camera angles, and we haven't decided on the stage costumes yet."

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In their rehearsal, they performed with confident vocals, flirting with the cameras and putting the press audience in the arena in a happy mood. The stage was set in warm colours, with red, purple and yellow dominating the scene.

The LED backdrop displayed images from a circus, with tents in the very back, while the stage floor resembled a chess board. The band name Elaiza was also displayed on the screens, as well as on Yvonne's accordion.

The only special effect used in the stage act are paper streamers that fall down onto the stage during the first and last chorus of Is It Right. "We wanted to keep it simple, we just want to be ourselves", Natalie had explained before.

Before the rehearsal, Ela was already wearing her in-ear monitors when she went from the dressing room to the soundcheck area. "Sorry if I have to shout but with these I don't hear very much", she said, laughing.



So, have we already seen the stage costumes for the Grand Final? "No", Ela says, "I am still waiting for my final dress, it has to arrive really soon."

Natalie and Yvonne told us that, being a true 'live' band, they always play their instruments on stage, no matter that they sing with a backing track in the Eurovision Song Contest. Yvonne admitted that she almost forgot her accordion at the hotel, but they remembered to bring it in the end, just in time:

Yesterday, Natalie, Yvonne and Ela went on a city tour in Copenhagen where they visited the Little Mermaid for the first time:

They also recorded their part of the official #JoinUs song:



Germany to perform in first half of Grand Final

In the press conference, Germany was drawn to perform in the first half of the Grand Final.



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"We're very thankful to have the opportunity to be on that stage", Ela said to open the press conference. "The rehearsal went OK for us, it's just still strange for us to be on such a big stage."

"We feel very comfortamble though - enough space for everybody", Natalie adds, smiling. "We've changed the cameras, and we made some changes to the LED wall", Ela explains the changes made in this rehearsal. "We need to learn how to interact with the cameras and the public but we already feel very good on stage", Yvonne states.

"Pop music is the middle point of us, I add my Polish and Ukrainian roots, Yvonne adds Balkan influences, and Nicole usually plays jazz, that's Elaiza's typical mix", Ela tells about the musical roots of the band.

Just a few months back, Elaiza were still performing on very small stages: "There were just 20 people and an untuned piano. It was a very small but nice location, with only one strange microphone. And to make it even funnier, Natalie locked herself outside the door, and in the end, we were collecting money with a hat!"

"It was so much luck, just destiny to meet the girls. It was my idea because I grew up with that kind of music, the choirs and traditional instruments we have in churches in Ukraine, that's why it was natural for me but unusual for many people in Germany. I met Yvonne in the studios as I have also been writing songs since the age of sixteen, and I saw her with the accordion. And I have just never seen anyone who loves that instrument so much", Ela tells the story of the band.

Yvonne explains further: "It's my favourite instrument, I even collect them. Well, Ela and me started playing together and we thought a double bass would be great to add deepness to our music. But in fact it's not that easy to find a girl playing it. I actually saw Natalie the first time on a party of a common friend that included a liquor tasting session, I just noticed her picture with a double bass on the pinboard, and I thought: She looks so nice! So I got in touch with her."

Natalie adds: "Ela called me, and I totally fell in love with their music in the first instant I listened to it."