Welcome back to ESCBubble’s coverage for Eurovision 2021! After the first seven countries took to the stage at the Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam for their first rehearsals, we are flying through to day 2! Today, the remaining nine countries performing in the second half of semi final one will be rehearsing so keep following our coverage for all the updates throughout the day.

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.

We’ve made it to the final rehearsal of Day 2. Last to take to the stage today will be current favourite to win, Destiny for… Malta!

First Rehearsal

There’s always a lot more pressure on the favourite to win compared to others when it comes to first rehearsals, but Destiny really did all she possibly could to smash that out of the park. She’s kitted in a pink showgirl/ice skating style dress with frills on the waist and down the arms. They seem to be testing two different boot lengths, personally I think the longer boots which go above the knee look a little better.

The performance starts with Destiny as the focus, but she is joined by 4 female backing dancers all also wearing pink. The Maltese delegation have brought their own platform & lighted staircase which she does work down. But to begin they have their own LED ‘doors’ and are each dancing in front, with a red/pink beam that they’re dancing around which reminds me of an Ariana Grande or Lizzo music video. However there’s no doubting her stage presence during this part! Colour scheme is warm pinks & mostly yellows on the backdrop. They make use of multiple cameras and screens to make the roaring 20s drop sections more impactful. Really strong finish to the day.

Meanwhile, the vocals for the whole song but especially the middle eight and final chorus are INSANELY good. Don’t count this song out!

Before Eurovision

Junior Eurovision 2015 winner Destiny won the second series of X Factor Malta in early 2020. As a result, five years after her big Junior Eurovision win, she was destined to represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. Despite the cancellation of last years contest and the turn of events which meant her song for last year, “All Of My Love”, was no longer eligible to appear at the contest. However, Maltese broadcaster TVM was another early confirmer of their returning act.

Flash forward to 2021 and Malta were again one of the last countries to release their Eurovision 2021 songs. However, in what could perhaps be a case of leaving the best until last, following the release of her participating song “Je Me Casse”, Malta quickly became the bookmakers favourite and is now odds on favourite to win the whole contest. You can check out her music video for the track here: