Genealogy’s first stage rehearsal: Five continents joined for love, peace, and unity

Today marks the first time for the Armenian band Genealogy to rehearse on stage in the Vienna Stadthalle, according to Eurovision.tv.

Their they rehearsed their song Face The Shadow for the first time, on a stage showing trees and ornaments in pink and purple.

In the beginning of their stage act, the six singers stand separated. During the first verse, only the respective artist who is currently singing is showing movements while the other five are standing still. Before the last chorus, the band members get close to each other in a circle and then walk to the front of the stage in a line, raising their hands for the final note of the song.

The light scene is set in purple and pink during the song, fitting the band's black stage costumes with purple elements. Traditional jewellery is part of the female singers' outfits.

The background scene shows trees bending in the wind, while smoke effects are used on the floor. A wind machine is used in the last part of the song, as well as pyrotechnical effects consisting of single shot flames in the stage front.

The stage floor first shows swirling lines when it is filmed from above, and towards the end, a very special effect is used: A world map is shown, on which the singers stand on their respective home countries.

Their performance showed how you can join forces and reach strength and growth by standing together in unity.

The Armenian delegation arrived in Vienna already yesterday, so they were relaxed and in good spirit before their first rehearsal in the Stadthalle. Eurovision.tv met with them already at their hotel before going to the arena.

"Literally every Armenian is a big fan of Eurovision", Armen Martirosyan, composer of Face The Shadow, said. "That's why everyone is very excited and following us closely."

How do you create a song that fits six different characters and music styles equally well? "It was a challenge", Armen Martirosyan admits. "I was even scared when I heard the idea of Building Bridges between the five continents and Armenia. There is not a billion Armenians in the world, so we managed to find five singers but of course they were of different genres. So the only solution for the song was the musical genre because it allows to join different styles together - opera, RnB, rock!"

"Most people in Africa, with the exception of South Africa, have never heard of the Eurovision Song Contest, but at least in Ethiopia this is slowly changing," Vahe Tilbian notes. So how is his own style represented in Face The Shadow? "Honestly speaking, I do a little bit of everything. I have released an independent album called Mixology just prior to this Eurovision Song Contest. It's anything between reggae, rock and love ballads."

"It's awesome that I get to bring my Japanese side and my Armenian side together with music, which is what I love to do," Stephanie Topalian explains. "Face The Shadow is about facing your difficulties and trying to overcome that. So the concept of the performance is that there is a tree, and the winds try to kill it. But we are strong, and all the six of us unite, so the tree can grow stronger," she reveals the story behind the stage performance.

Tamar Kaprelian has been living in the US but due to her family roots in the UK she is familiar with the Eurovision Song Contest. "One of my favorite bands is actually one that won Eurovision - ABBA. So I am very, very excited to be in the same competition that so many amazing artists have been through," she says before going on stage for the first rehearsal of Genealogy.