David

Old version of 'Sober' is loads better than the new one... I was wondering why I wasn't liking it as much as I initially had done when listening to the album... Now realise it is a different song!

Bizarre decision, but at least Sweden are still being drawn randomly! At least this means it's very unlikely that we'll be drawn near the start, after we opened the show last time. Maybe.

This is AMAZING.

Well me and my friends reserved hotels in Malmo, Stockholm and Gothenburg as soon as we heard they were the candidate cities. The actual tickets go on sale in October then? I thought it was more February time?

I love this song so much. This and the Kat Krazy remix of Misha B's new song are the best things to come out of the X Factor for years! That said, wouldn't be surprised if this only scrapes/just misses the top 20.

Tigerboy... Lol!

Oh it'd be great to see Loreen on there. If she stays around the top ten for a few more weeks, we could definitely see it on there!

Oh 'Waterloo' was a disaster anyway, and Ell didn't know the words either. Or was I Nikki. I forget. But one of them didn't know either. That part should never have been added in!

I actually have several of his albums on my iPod. Some of his English Timbaland/Jim Beanz songs are really good. I was rubbing moisturiser into my body to stop my sunburn peeling earlier looking into the mirror singing along to 'Never Let You Go'. For a few moments, I thought I was Dima Bilan. It was certainly gay enough.

I thought it was about time we made an appreciation for this god. I have been obsessed with this guy, and his music, for SIX YEARS now. And after watching his performance of 'Back to Her Future' again, I'm just in love all over again. Six years is a long time. Surely I should've had sex with him by now... Swoon and loon guys.

It's still number two in the UK! Hardly a flop now is it?! I'll be pleased if she's top five by Sunday. Everyone knows the UK have dire music charts, and utter shite gets to number one, so it's hardly surprising that a song that's doing well all over Europe will just miss out for us.

This is just amazing for Loreen. Really wasn't expecting her to get to number one. So pleased for her though! Can't see her holding onto it all week, but anywhere in the top five would be great on Sunday.

Could be worse... John Barrowman anyone?!

ITV might actually inject some thought into the contest and our entrants though? Regardless of that, the BBC won't be giving it up anytime soon, as they're still getting good figures from it. I'm not sure if Cowell's in a "golden handcuffs" deal with ITV; I presume he is, but if he wasn't, then there'd be nothing technically stopping him from giving it a go. Another idea for the BBC might be to incorporate The Voice UK into the selection process somehow?

Amazing!

Eeeeeeeek awkward moment there! A shame really, because the performance was fantastic up until then. She doesn't fully recover from it though, and I feel as though the juries are more likely to penalise her than the public would be.

I think I might have just accidentally closed this thread. Tis iPad is taking so much getting used to!

That scoreboard is virtually identical to last year's!

As soon as I signed on, the screen went grey!

I need to get online and watch this fake voting!

I agreed with most of his comments tonight to be honest! Not so sure about Malta though...

The jury final vote is taking place right now. Just watching the rolling blog that Keith is providing at AKOE. Apparently Loreen swallowed some of the snow and it went "badly off the rails". Make of that what you will... Although o be fair, I've found his views far more balanced this year.

What were Amaury's odds this time last year? And Safura's the year before? I've learnt not to trust these bookmakers! I do still find it interesting seeing how the odds change though...

I really think Ireland could do very well this year. Let's be fair, none of us really thought they'd do as well a they did last year, and that was a far weaker song surrounded by Saade and Kati Wolf was it not?! This year, they've got a much better song, a better performance, in my opinion, and a decent position in the running order. With Jedward, perhaps the draw doesn't make that much difference, but singing near the end could push them up that little bit further I reckon. Sweden...well... Lat night's performance from Loreen was just sublime, but there's still something holding me back from predicting it to win. Over hyped maybe? I dunno...I just think it'll just fall short. Nina Zilli is just fantastic in every way, and I'm eager to see her third rehearsal today. Like you said a bit back, the "boom boom boom" needs emphasising slightly more. Once she's done that - if she does hat - I really think that's the performance to beat. Russia will do well with the public, but I can see the juries dragging them back slightly. And I'll be absolutely delighted if Engelbert can pull off top ten, because I really don't see it happening at the moment.

Right then... I'm well aware that I'll no doubt be the only one predicting that Sweden won't win, or even finish in the top two, but here we are! :w00t: 01 Italy 02 Ireland 03 Sweden 04 Russia 05 Serbia 06 Moldova 07 Romania 08 Azerbaijan 09 Spain 10 Ukraine 11 Norway 12 Albania 13 FYR Macedonia 14 Greece 15 United Kingdom 16 Turkey 17 Cyprus 18 Denmark 19 Germany 20 Lithuania 21 Estonia 22 France 23 Bosnia & Herzegovina 24 Iceland 25 Malta 26 Hungary