So with the first semi-final over, it's time to turn out attention to Thursday's competition and Paul G Sheridan gives his run-down of the contenders.
The appearance order on Thursday is as follows: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Austria, Netherlands, Belgium, Slovakia, Ukraine, Moldova, Sweden, Cyprus, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Israel, Slovenia, Romania, Estonia, Belarus, Latvia, Denmark – and last, but by no means least – the Jedward boys will step out onto the Düsseldorf stage for Ireland with Lipstick.
Bosnia & Herzegovina are first up. Dino Merlin, with previous Eurovision form (in 1993 and ’99) performs his own song 'Love In Rewind'. An upbeat folk song is the way I would describe it, and it has gone down well in the hall with media and fans. We’ll see them in the Final.
Austria are next, back after three years away from the Eurovision madness, with 20-year-old Nadine Beiler, who has also written the lyrics to the song 'The Secret Is Love'. Nadine belts this out as she reaches the climax of the performance, and she’s sure to earn her place on Saturday, given Austria’s poor record over the last 30 plus years.
The Netherlands haven’t won this contest since 1975, but this year’s ambassadors, a three-piece male band by the name of 3JS, who have also composed the song 'Never Alone', could do well as a chart hit, but it’s unlikely to get out of the semi, alas!
The Belgian group Witloof Bay are an a capella quintet who perform the song 'With Love Baby'. The harmonies are well constructed and the performance is faultless. Should scrape into Saturday’s final.
On to Slovakia – and the first set of twins for the evening, calling themselves, wait for it, TWiiNS. Daniela and Veronika Nizlová are 24, and currently live in LA. Their song, 'I’m Still Alive', is the type of song that The Corrs would have been at home with more than ten years ago. I have my reservations about this one.
Ukraine has sent one of their well-known singers Mika Newton, and the song 'Angels'. Not their best effort when you think of their 2004 winner, 'Wild Dances' by Ruslana, or their runners-up in 2007 and 2008. They’ve qualified from the semis every year since the knock-out rounds came into play in 2004, but I don’t think this is going to set the stage alight.
Now to Moldova, who made their début with the band who are back in the contest this year with the rock song 'So Lucky'. They finished sixth in 2005, and are determined to do better with this. The band Zdob si Zdub are huge in Moldova, and they’ll more than likely get a huge Romanian vote.
Four times winners Sweden have sent one of their current heart-throbs, Eric Saade. He is 20 and a children’s TV presenter as well as a recording artist. Self-praise springs to mind with his song, 'Popular', which as the title suggests, says that Eric ‘will be popular – I’m going to get there, popular.’ A touch of the ‘When Will I Be Famous?’ about this one. Sweden failed to qualify last year, a first for the country, but the young female voters no doubt will propel Eric to the Final.
Another young male singer next, this time from Cyprus. Christos Mylordos sings a strong ballad, 'San Angelos S’agapisa' (I loved you like an angel), but not strong enough to warrant a place on Saturday night.
Next we have Bulgaria’s answer to Pink. Poli Genova, 24, sings the rock song 'Na Inat' (Defiance) with such passion and feeling. Bulgaria, having taken part in the contest since 2005, only qualified for the Final once before, in 2007 where they finished fifth. This could well be their second entry to through.
Another rock song from Macedonia, courtesy of Vlatko Ilievski, a young man of many talents. However, the song Rusinka (Russian Girl) will not exactly set the stage alight, so another year in the wilderness for the Macedonians.
Then it’s the turn of Israel – and Eurovision royalty returns to the stage! Dana International, winner in 1998, makes her comeback with the song she has written herself, 'Ding Dong'. Irish viewers will have seen Dana performing her song on ‘The Saturday Night Show’ in mid-April. As past winners always make it to the final, Ms International will be no exception, though she won’t repeat her previous success.
Slovenia’s songs in the past have been rather ‘hit-and-miss’. Regrettably, this year’s song 'No-one', sung by the sultry Maja Keuc, continues that trend. Not a qualifier this year.
Romania have had a good track record over the last few years with three of their entries since 2005 finishing in the Top 5. They’ve qualified every year since 2004, and so will this, though it’s a rather dated effort that’s been heard many times before.
Estonia can claim to have the youngest performer in this year’s contest. Eighteen-year-old Getter Jaani is a trend-setter for young Estonian teenage girls. Her song, 'Rockefeller Street', is a modern uptempo number that will do extremely well. A place in the final for sure.
Belarus have sent a hymn to their country, don’t be surprised if it becomes their new national anthem. 'I Love Belarus' is their song, Anastasiya Vinnikova is their singer. It’s a real rock number but is it strong enough to qualify?
Latvia, winners nine years ago, once again have a male duo representing the Baltic state. Emils and Marats make up Musiqq, and their song, 'Angel In Disguise', is a modern, pleasant pop song, but unlikely to progress from the semi, unfortunately.
Denmark’s representatives are a four-piece band called A Friend In London. Their song, 'New Tomorrow', is a rock ballad but it sounds like so many gone before it. The chorus is catchy enough, and being from Denmark, they’ll pick up a lot of votes. A qualifier.
Ireland: Last on stage on Thursday night will be our own twins, John and Edward Grimes, aka Jedward. They’re still just 19, and devoted fans – the Jedwardians – don’t need reminding of their story. The song 'Lipstick' is instantly catchy, it’s infectious, you just can’t get it out of your head! Though it has been said that if the song wins, the Danes will also take the credit, as two of their songwriters are responsible for Ireland’s 2011 entry. No question, we will see Jedward in the Final on Saturday night.
Jedward with Daniela and Veronika Nizlová
Which brings us to the songs that are already in the Final on Saturday 14th May, being the ‘Big 5’:
France is represented by a young tenor, 21-year-old Amaury Vassili, who sings 'Sognu' (Dream) in the Corsican language. This song stands out from the rest, and is the hot favourite to win the contest outright. Watch this space.
Making a welcome return to the Eurovision Song Contest is Italy, whose last entry was in 1997 in Dublin, finishing in fourth place. Raphael Gualazzi has composed the Italian entry which he sings himself in both his native tongue and in English, called 'Follia d’Amore' (Madness of Love). A top ten finish is on the cards for Italy.
As everybody knows by now, the UK will be represented by the popular boy band Blue and the song 'I Can'. Already, it has entered the UK Top 20, and should pick up a lot of votes given that their fan base is pan-European. Should give ‘le Royaume-Uni’ their best placing in nine years.
Now to the home team. Germany, last year’s winners and this year’s hosts, have returned Lena (at her own request) to the Eurovision stage, not seen for a defending champion for over 50 years. Lena’s song 'Taken By A Stranger' can be described as surreal. Not your usual type of Eurovision entry, it’s totally different to her winning Satellite in Oslo last year. No artist has won two consecutive contests, and it won’t happen this time either.
And finally, directly into the Final is Spain. A pleasant, uptempo number with the occasional phrases from Galicia (north-west Spain, directly north of Portugal), singer Lucía Pérez, who is from the region, delivers a lively performance, and it has to be said, one of the best Spanish entries in the last 20 years.
Predictions for qualifying from Semi-Final 2:
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Bulgaria, Israel, Romania, Estonia, Denmark, Ireland.
Top 5 (in no particular order):
France, Ireland, UK, Estonia, Finland.
Paul G Sheridan
So what do you think?
