Good morning and welcome back to ESCBubble’s coverage for Eurovision 2021! Over the weekend we brought you all the updates of the first semi finalists rehearsing. It seems to have flown by, but we’re already over to the second semi final! Today we will have the first nine competing in semi final two

As always, you can check out our ongoing coverage through both our Live Rehearsal Blog and also rolling  daily updates on our Twitter Account.

If you are avoiding potential rehearsal spoilers then don’t read any further! Semi Final Two will take place at 21.00 CET on Thursday 20th May 2021 with sixteen countries competing for ten qualifying spots for the final.

Third up this morning is none other than… Czech Republic!

First Rehearsal

Benny Cristo is one hell of a performer, even when he isn’t trying too hard (which is normal for first rehearsals!) he still makes it look cool. He starts the performance behind the stage surrounded by pillars of lights, it’s a more intimate start without much movement. However, soon the beat kicks in and we see Benny make his way to the stage, ultimately being joined by two male backing dancers. The performance is high energy, Benny is working his way around the stage and whilst he wasn’t giving it 100% this morning, you can tell there is a lot of action packed choreography involved. In many ways it felt a little like Mikolas Josef’ performance a few years prior. (And we know how he ended up after his first rehearsal!!)

In to the second verse he is also joined by a female backing dancer who he is clearly singing to. All in all, they’ve done a good job with the routine. Backdrop is very psychedelic colouring and pretty explosive in that sense. Very much looking forward to the second rehearsal to hopefully see a more finished product and Benny performing it like we know he will.

One thing to note is that Benny, as reported on ESCBubble earlier in the week, decided that they won’t be relying on backing vocals for the performance. Whilst in a normal year I don’t think this will have much impact and he can certainly carry it, with every performance around him making good use of the allowed backing vocals I do worry that he is going to stand out for it sounding quite thin. A great performance can only elevate it so much – so hopefully this is something that they could perhaps reconsider or find a way to give it that extra oomph.

Before Eurovision

Benny Cristo has had a pretty successful career within the Czech Republic to date, with his cool persona and even cooler performances! Last year he entered the Czech national selection contest with “Kemama”, bringing Afrobeats and a party song. Whilst the contest was sadly cancelled, Benny did get the opportunity to fly to Ukraine to perform at the Vidbir final, showing us just how good the stage performance would’ve been.

He was also one of the first acts to be confirmed for 2021, with the ESCZ team later announcing that “Omaga” would be his song for this years contest. You can check out the music video below, which is definitely one to watch as it shows just how charismatic Benny is as a musical artist, with some references to legendary films Fight Club and The Shining. We’ve not seen a proper live performance yet on stage, however he did perform a fantastic ‘live band’ rendition for the official YouTube channel.