How are you living being confined to your hotel for so long?
I’m quiet. It’s something that worried me before, when they told me that Eurovision was lived in a very intense way, that people socialized a lot and that there were a lot of parties. I am someone contrary to that: when I go to sing I am always locked up or warming up my voice; very focused on what I have to do.
With this, this job would have become very difficult for me, because of the way I am. But on the other hand I also miss him because I think I am missing the opportunity to meet many colleagues who are not close to me. I am in the same hotel as Barbara Pravi (France), Gjon’s Tears (Switzerland) and James Newman (UK). And I do see them at meals, at breakfasts; We play the piano and we keep our distance, but we are a bubble.
Do you rehearse at the hotel?
Yes, we warm up our voices every day. We do our exercises, we sing the song without lyrics; It is very curious because we do it with the vowels only: oauay, ueo… It is very funny. They are warm-up methods by Irene Alman, who is in the choir.
Have you managed to distance yourself from the personal story that you explain in your song, so that you don’t play a trick on you live?
Yes. Singing it is exciting, but I contain that emotion. This is really a very personal song and it’s hard for me to be on that stage. If I had to think about the last one I’ve been through, I probably wouldn’t be able to sing it.
With just one day to go before the final, is there anything left to polish?
For me there is always something unfinished; if a work is not abandoned, it is never finished; I could be making changes my whole life. In fact, we have already released the acoustic version in English, together with James Newman; the Eurovision version, the one that will be on the album and could be changing things forever. That is why I think it is time to step forward and say that up to now it is fine and that it excites me.
The ‘haters’ have criticized his staging, which we will see in the final.
I think we have to relax and enjoy more. We are very hard on ourselves, as a country. And not just talking about Eurovision. I think we have to appreciate what we have more, because we don’t even know if we will always have it.
Do these criticisms affect you?
No. When we make minimal changes, there are people who see a big change, but maybe we have done very little! In the small things are the big changes.
Who is your favorite for Saturday?
My 12 points go to French Barbara Pravi from day one. I think what he does is very exciting and I am a huge fan of Francophone music.
What will you do the day after all this is over?
To sleep; be with my dogs at home. Clean it, tidy it up and be quiet for a few days. I think it is necessary, for mental health, to be with your family and do nothing. I want to be with my dogs, Leo and Tirma, who by the way appear in the video that leads to my performance; They are precious! I miss them so much. My grandmother also comes out and tells the story of the song a bit.
Peter Barzilai is a high school pitcher and college rower turned longtime World News journalist. Peter has also written for Buzz Feed and Huffington Post and many other major publications, Peter Loves everything about sports and loves to write on trending topics and he is WideWorldMag member since 2017.