Paula & Ovi's burning desire

As with the first rehearsal, todays second run through sees Paula and Ovi are sat at each end of a lit transparent piano as they perform. Ovi is wearing a black jacket and trousers with a white shirt. Paula has a different catsuit from that worn in the first rehearsal, this time it is silver.

Four female backing singers are supporting Paula & Ovi. Paula impressively reaches some extremely high pitched notes during the song. As the final chorus begins, the duo leave their seats and take to the front of the stage. They both physically then play with fire as they have hand held flames which they ignite.

The backdrop alternates between blue,white, red and yellow lighting and works effectively with the setting. Unsurprisingly, considering the title of the Romanian entry, the performance in the Semi-Final will feature a huge amount  of pyrotechnics and flames all of the way through the three minutes on stage.

Romanian Television held a competition locally to create a mascot for their entry, the lady who won that competition accompanied the delegation and was draped like a cheerleader wearing many flags around her waist.

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Paula & Ovi's second press conference was well attended. The Romanian national selection winning performance video of Playing With Fire was played as guests took their seats.

When commenting on how rehearsals went, Ovi said "The sound is fantastic, much better than what we did in the Romanian final. We're still fine tuning a few adjustments but overall it's great." Paula added "I still have to get used to the big flame coming towards my face, it's a bit scary but I'll get used to it!."

Paula admitted that she and Ovi have been experimenting with different costumes in order to make a final decision as to which looked best for the Semi-Final. Paula added "Sometimes the outfits look completely different when you see the camera angles and lighting, so we are still trying to find the right one." Ovi told that he first met Paula professionally in 2009 at a festival and that he is gaining a higher profile in the Romanian music scene.

When asked about the piano idea on stage, Ovi said "We're both singer/songwriters, we both feel best at the piano. We went from the idea of having two pianos, and bringing them together as a glass piano." 

Paula talked about the story behind Playing With Fire, "It's about a boy and a girl trying to compete and prove who loves each other more, a kind of metaphor that they will be together in the end."

The press conference closed with the Romanian delegation showing the press the newly made video clip of Playing With Fire.

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