It’s finally time for Junior Eurovision to start! This weekend all of the contestants safely arrived in Sofia. Even though the opening ceremony was planned for Sunday, EBU decided to postpone the red carpet until Tuesday, due to horrible situation in Paris, France.

This Saturday the 13th edition of Junior Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Arena Armeec, in the capital of Bulgaria. And as everything starts with an “A”, the first country which rehearsed its Junior Eurovision entry was Albania.

Albania returned to competition after three years of absence. Their second Junior Eurovision act is Mishela Rapo, who’ll represent her country with the song “Dambaje“. Mishela won Festivali 53 i Femijeve earlier this year and got the right to represent Albania at 2015 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Mishela was first, who actually went to this years’ Junior Eurovision stage. During her performance we noticed that she’ll be alone on the stage. She didn’t present her dress for the Saturday show, but we have had an opportunity to see how her staging will look like. Take a look at her performance below!

After Albania, another country was ready to rehearse their Junior Eurovision entry. One of the most successful countries in Junior Eurovision Song Contest – two times runner-ups, two times bronze and once winner, ARMTV decided to go internal for the second time, after their debut in 2007. And yes – we’re talking about Armenia.

Michael Varosyan, or – simply – Mika, was internally selected by Armenian broadcaster, to represent his country at the 2015 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. In the beginning of October he released an energetic song, titled “Love”. This little charmer bring three backing dancers with him on stage. Well, he’s not calling them dancers – but – muses! So, Mika and his muses performed this uptempo track for the very first time live, and Mika prooved that he’s not only an amazing entertainer, but also a great live singer. Wear your dancing shoes, and take a look to this years’ Armenian Junior Eurovision act.

Another uptempo entry is coming directly from the small island, where the 2014 edition of Junior Eurovision took place. Next country to rehearse its Junior Eurovision song was Malta.

Destiny Chukunyere is this years’ Maltese act in 2015 Junior Eurovision Song Contest. A small Aretha Franklin from Malta sang “Not My Soul” live for a s very first time today. Destiny will be alone on the stage, meanwhile her background looks familiar – the backdrop animation is from her music video. Maltese Destiny is an unbelievable great performer, with great vocals. Take a look at her performance below!

Next participant, who rehearsed his song for a very first time in Arena Armeec, was Ruslan Aslanov from Belarus.

Ruslan previously won the Belarussian national final for Junior Eurovision 2015, and so he got the right to wave the Belarusian flag at this years’ competition. His performance of “Volshebstvo” has a animation of a waving tree in the background. As they key change comes in, and the song switching into English, the tree is set alight to bring the final crescendo of song. Ruslan is on the stage on his own. “In one word, my experience today was awesome! I really like the stage. When I got on to the stage, I felt goosebumps because I started to realise that finally I am here, representing my whole country,” said an emotional Ruslan. Check his performance below!

After the lunch break, it was a time for rehearsal of host country. It was time for Bulgaria.

After last years’ success with Krisia, Hasan & Ibrahim, Bulgaria is welcoming everyone in Sofia with their 2015 Junior Eurovision act – Gabriela Yordanova and Ivan Stoyanov and their song “Colour of Hope“. Start of the song is coloured with a rainbow in the background, and the focus is on Gabriela. After the first chorus, Ivan is on stage as well. This year Bulgaria has four backing dancers joining Gabriela and Ivan on stage. It’s unbelievable how everyone, until now, sounds perfect, even in live. Check this years’ Bulgarian act down there!

The only group bring us another energetic song after a ballad. After a lovely song with a strong message full of happiness to all kids of this world, The Virus are on their way. It’s time for dance, as we’re presenting you today’s rehearsal of Georgia.

The Virus is a group created especially for Junior Eurovision. Their song “Gabede” is an energetic song, which – we’re completely sure – will make you dance again. Pijama party with rock band instruments? Sounds great to us! Georgian kids gave us a truly great performance. We cannot know yet whether they will perform in pijamas, but we’re completely sure that those kids are bringing the party in the house! Check their performance below!

The next country doesn’t have any history in Junior Eurovision. Welcome to the Junior Eurovision family – Ireland!

Welcome, Ireland! Aimee Banks won the first ever Irish National Selection for Junior Eurovision, Junior Eurovision Eire. Her stunning performance of Réalta na Mara firstly amazed the Irish audience, but there is no doubt that the debut entry for Ireland will wow us on Saturday. Aimee is a fantastic live performer, and is simply one of the strongest vocalists. Check her stunning performance below:

Two more countries were left to rehearse their Junior Eurovision entry. Last year it worked with Vincenzo, and this year we have a double-trouble – Chiara & Martina from Italy!

After their debut and win in 2014, Italy decided to go for it very seriously once again. Super twins, Chiara and Martina, won one of the most famous Italian TV Shows, Ti Lascio Una Canzone, which was actually their national final for Junior Eurovision. Even though they had to repeat the contest due to technical difficulties, Chiara & Martina remained the clear winners. Their song Viva is a pop-rock song, and the two girls are alone on stage. Viva, representing life, and its performance are almost same as in twins’ music video – full of colours. Enjoy watching the Italian performance right here:

And so we are almost at the end of the day 1. Twins Scarpari aren’t the only girls-duo in this years’ competition. After a year of absence we are ready to welcome them back! Hello & welcome back to Macedonia!

Ivana Petkovska and Magdalena Aleksovska are this years’ Macedonian hopes. Today they rehearsed their self-written Junior Eurovision entry – “Pletenka / Braid of Love“. We are used to seeing them accompanied all the time – in their music video they were joined by their schoolmates, and now on the stage they are joined by three backing dancers. Big heart is raising in the background, and at the same time Ivana & Magdalena are performing their song, which will definitely stayed in your ear. Take a look at the Macedonian comeback song!

Have you got your favourites of the day? Let us know in the comments below, and also, don’t forget to vote in our Junior Eurovision poll here: