Baku, Azerbaijan – Closing the first round of rehearsals for the Semi-Finals we find Lithuania. In the last rehearsal of today, Donny Montell explained to us musically and visually that Love Is Blind.
Donny Montell represents Lithuania this year, with the final song in the Second Semi-Final. He has a great voice as the main weapon in his performance.
On stage, he has his eyes covered by a blindfold giving us a most visual meaning of the lyrics of his song Love Is Blind. Fog is covering the floor during his rehearsal before a dance beat takes over the song and the backdrop is filled with dancing silhouettes.
Backstage with Donny
Minutes ago we met Donny Montell, the Lithuanian performer, backstage. “I have some feeling inside that I just can’t explain. It’s exciting but indescriptible”.
Regarding his objectives in the Eurovision Song Contest, he thinks that this exposure is one more step for success in his career: “I want my song Love Is Blind to be heard and understood by everybody”.
The Press Conference
Donny Montell was really happy about his first contact with the Baku stage: “my rehearsal went great, really, very professional staff, oh! and the sound and the visuals, I liked them a lot!
Does the song tell about a personal story? “The song is not mine, but most everyone has felt brokenhearted at least once in their life and that’s the message that the song conveys, so it’s easy for me to connect to it”.
During one of the performances today Donny held the blindfold on his forehead “because I wanted to be a Ninja! hahaha… no, I really needed to see the cameras, how they were moving, because I can’t see a thing with the blindfold on my eyes, it’s a real one!”
He cites his father as the main inspiration for him: “My dad played in a rock band a while ago, but we never played together, he’s really critical, and we soon started yelling at each other. Freddy Mercury inspires me with his vocals and charisma and Michael Jackson with his dancing”.
Donny is also a gifted dancer, having won the Lithuanian version of “Dancing with the stars”, so when Love Is Blind turns into a dance song he shows us a few his moves. “In general I’m not a sad guy, that’s why I smile and dance in the second part of the song and they filled the stage with projections of girls… I have plenty to choose from” jokes Donny.
Donny has also recorded a French version of the song, Feu d’Amour “I was practicing French for one week with my teacher and I really liked the experience, it was no torture at all”.
For Donatas Montvydas, or Donny Montell (24), creating, singing and dancing is his passion in life, a way to discharge emotionally. “If there is at least one person in the world (including me), for whom my creative work gives pleasure, then I’d like to be a part of the music.”