Welcome back to ESCBubble’s coverage for Eurovision 2021! Rehearsals at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam have kicked off this morning with the seven countries performing in the first half of Semi Final One set to have their 30 minute first rehearsals today.

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 One will take place at 21.00 CET on Tuesday 18th May 2021 with sixteen countries competing for ten qualifying spots for the final.

The first to take to the stage is the semi final opener… Lithuania!

First Rehearsal

The Roop take to the stage in a performance not too dissimilar to their performance at the Lithuanian national final. The whole gang are in head to toe yellow with a lot of the same quirky choreography that we’ve come to love from the group. As with most years, it isn’t until the first rehearsal that you see just how amazing the stage looks! It envelopes the camera shots really well, with the lead singers charisma oozing through the routine. The backdrop is mostly purple, however there are quite a few disco ball elements throughout too – although have to admit they look a little like UFOs!

As you can imagine, there are a LOT of close up shots on the lead singer and the two dancers, however they also make use of multi-camera shots at the same time in different squares on the screen, a little like Lake Malawi’s back in 2019. Lead singer Vaidotas takes us for a good walk around the stage, so whilst they’re dancing alone they are definitely going to be getting a lot of exercise from this routine!

Before Eurovision

Last year, Lithuanian fan favourite The Roop won the national selection with “On Fire”, quickly becoming one of the overall favourites to win the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. Following the cancellation, Lithuanian broadcaster LRT confirmed that The Roop would be invited back to compete in the Lithuanian selection show ‘Pabandom iš naujo! 2021‘ with a ticket straight to the shows final.

Despite the pressure to perform, the reaction to The Roop’s song for 2021 “Discoteque” was overwhelmingly positive.  Even with some strong competition in the selection final, The Roop ended up winning the contest confidently with almost 90% of all cast public votes whilst also being awarded  full marks by the national jury. With that, The Roop won the ticket to Rotterdam two years in a row. You can watch the official music video here: