Russia: Electrifying and kinetic first rehearsal

Alexej looks at home on stage

The Russian rehearsal started with a rather mysterious prop on stage... two smaller LED walls placed diagonally from each other and what appears to be a small light box behind them. 

Before the actual rehearsal and sound check began, a team of photographers and video crew from the Russian delegation were taking footage of Alexej. He seems to have a lot of humour and jokes around during his initial sound check, laughing with the crew and even trying a little rap to help the sound crew with the sound levels. The backing singers, all of whom are Swedish, each individually do their sound checks. 

A few laser beams shine down on him to mark the start of his performance and to help with position the props. Alexej's clothing is a leather jacket, a white t-shirt and black trousers, which work well with the colour scheme of the stage show. The backing singers are similarly clad, all wearing dark colours infused with shiny patches to help with the effects. 

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The performance of Get You begins with Alexej singing in a slower tempo whilst standing on the platform. Smoke thens forms a fine covering over the stage. In front of the LED walls are three dancers. The backing singers stand behind the LED walls and act as stage hands as they move the walls into a position behind Alexej whilst singing at the same time. Now the real show begins as an energetic dance breaks out by Alexej and his dancers, really working well with uptempo and modern rhythm of Get You. You can tell that he is really enjoys being on stage and is an experienced entertainer.  

Shades of mellow purple and a slow moving cloud in the background mark the first few seconds of the Russian performance. When the beat picks up the LED screens light up with everyone dancing in front of them. Vibrant green colours then take over the stage during the performance before the purple colours make their way back during the second verse. During the second rehearsal Alexej manages an impressive backflip whilst singing! Alexej and the dancers jackets are also equipped with LED lights, which are on show towards the end of the performance with flashing lights emanating from the huge LED wall behind the stage. Large shoots of pyrotechnics mark the end of this impressive show for Russia. 

See the video of the Russian rehearsal below:

Some comments from backstage

Alex had just arrived to the arena when meeting up with Eurovision.tv next to his dressing room. The experience of the Düsseldorf Arena is new to all the participants, and before entering the stage, it's all about finding the way to the different stations where preparations are made. This was Alex' main aim backstage, together with his Swedish team of backing vocalists.

"This is a really crazy day!" he commented.

"We don't know what to do or where to be at all yet ..."

Here are some pictures form backstage, just before Alexej went on stage for his rehearsal:

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Press Conference

The hall was almost full for the Russian press conference. Alexej has had huge interest amongst the international media and fans due to his status. 

Alexej made a big entrance to the press conference playing and singing a traditional Russian song on his accordion before continuing to sing Get You. 

Alexej is a natural performer and pretty much took control of the press conference, introducing himself and his team. He continually jokes with the moderator. Alexej's manager is Austrian and was explaining that there are only two Russians on the team as "with characters like Alexej we only need two!". A lot of the team are Swedish with Fille Michael, Robert Malmborg and Daniel Koivunen as backing dancers and Britta Bergström and Henrik Rongedal as backing singers. 

Alexej explained that he loves writing music and was co-writer of Get You. He said that just before the show he changed the beginning part of the the song to Russian as "little part of Russian heart" in his song. This will however not be released on any record. Alexej described it as "combining my past with my future". 

After the contest Alexej said that he will record a Russian version of his song, along with shooting a video to accompany it. 

A member of the press asked Alexej about his ambitions saying that Europe is "just the beginning". He said that he has been working for years to get where he is, and that has including making sacrifices including not seeing his family for some time whilst working so hard. 

When speaking about his team he says that he loves "working with a professional team" and that they are a loving family. 

He was finally asked to perform a song in Russian so he went and picked up his accordion and played a very well known Russian folk song to the rapturous applause of the press and fans in the room. 

Some pictures from Russia's first press conference:

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Alexej Vorobjov

The 23 year old Russian actor, charismatic singer and performer Alexej Vorobjov, is Russia’s rising star. His extraordinary skills alongside passion for music and high work ethics have brought him to the point of signing a contract with world famous music producer - RedOne - with major hits for Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias, Usher, JLo and many others on his repertoire.  Alexej has released ten radio singles and music videos, he also released an album written and produced entirely by himself. In 2011, Alexej started working on his new album in cooperation with RedOne under his new name for the international market - Alex Sparrow.