Morena gives 'strong performance'

Singer Morena yesterday gave an upbeat performance of her song Vodka during her first rehearsal in Belgrade, garnering good reviews from foreign fans of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Accompanied on stage by four Swedish dancers decked in mirrored shades, and a Maltese backing vocalist, Morena looked refreshed, despite having arrived in Serbia only the night before.

On stage, she got the chance to try out her special knee-length boots, which have been purposely designed with hundreds of little square mirrors to reflect the beaming lights.

The official website, eurovision.tv, said Morena gave "a strong vocal performance and this entry has a lot of humour and energy", while the oikotimes.com, described Malta's entry as "a polished, up-tempo song, with no props or gimmicks".

Maltasong chairman Robert Abela said, when contacted, that the rehearsal went very well and technical issues were being ironed out.

The performance was followed by a press conference, where as usual, Morena oozed confidence.

Her second rehearsal is on Sunday and in the meantime she is taking the opportunity to relax a bit before the whirlwind of activities comes to the boil next week.