David

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

Oh yes...we all fell victim to the "can't see past a France-UK top two" last year didn't we... :(

That's a very 'safe' set of predictions there Tyron. I think we're going to have shitloads of surprises like last year to be honest. My predictions shall be coming up shortly. :D

Wow...tense stuff but no real surprises! Regarding the draw, amazing draws for both Moldova and Ireland! Would like to see a ballad drawn after Italy; not so keen on Loreen being drawn there for either of their chances. But then again, we always delve so much into the draw, does it REALLY make that much difference?!

Slightly revised my predictions after initially thinking Moldova would fall short. 01 Romania 02 Denmark 03 Russia 04 Iceland 05 Greece 06 Cyprus 07 Ireland 08 Moldova 09 Finland 10 Latvia ------------------ 11 Belgium 12 Switzerland 13 Hungary 14 Albania 15 San Marino 16 Israel 17 Austria 18 Montenegro

The Eurovision got 9.68m last year (and was the highest rated UK programme of the week), compared to 8.61m for Britain's Got Talent. They both started at the same time too, so I'm presuming the Eurovision won when they clashed too... Not sure what was on after BGT, but it's not in ITV1's top 30 shows of the week. I'd say we're probably looking at slightly less for the Eurovision this year; maybe 8.5-9m and the football will get 4.5-5m. And for anyone who's interested... 2011: 9.68m 2010: 5.59m 2009: 7.91m 2008: 7.15m 2007: 8.77m 2006: 8.33m 2005: 7.97m 2004: 8.38m 2003: 7.94m 2002: 7.81m 2001: 6.98m 2000: 6.54m 1999: 8.91m Hopefully the abysmal 2010 rating will ensure the BBC don't decide to EVER send someone like Josh Dubovie/Pete Waterman again...

Excellent. Her second rehearsal was FANTASTIC. Emphasise the "boom" lines a bit more and it's a complete performance. :heart:

Are Dance Nation playing the UK and San Marino's entries?!

Oh I had a dream either last night or the night before that the Netherlands got disqualified. FREAKY. I also had a dream that we won. The Eurovision dreams are going into overdrive right now...

I can see us picking up a lot of sixes and sevens to be honest... Hopefully we can get over the one hundred mark and finish top ten. Definitely not to be sniffed at after Lena pipped us to a top ten finish last year!

Engelbert's second rehearsal was much better. Could we do the unthinkable?! uxx6u75q0nk

I was quite surprised at his comments for our entry. He was actually quite complimentary; he usually predicts us to fail regardless of what we send.

Italy and Azerbaijan's odds have been the main two countries to have their odds shortened after today's rehearsals... The UK's seem to have lengthened, which is a shame, as I thought Engelbert put in a good rehearsal performance!

Bhfbeifwebfedne. So amazing. E5KYhWoLv3M

Just noticed that BBC One are screening a Panorama programme 'Eurovision's Dirty Secret' next Monday about Azerbaijan... :manson: Eurovision's "Dirty Secret" though? Really?! Bliss have got a programme on previewing the contest though, and I also caught Mandinga's video on Dance Nation TV last night!

Horrendous dilemma. Luckily I always have some form of Eurovision related get together/party/plan on the night now, so I'd always have a justifiable excuse if anyone ever decided to get married on that night.

Anyway, here are my second semi final predictions... 01 Sweden 02 Estonia 03 Serbia 04 Norway 05 Turkey 06 Slovenia 07 Lithuania 08 Ukraine 09 Netherlands 10 Bosnia & Herzegovina ------------------- 11 Malta 12 Portugal 13 Georgia 14 Croatia 15 Bulgaria 16 Belarus 17 FYR Macedonia 18 Slovakia I don't think Georgia will qualify. It's a decent performance but the song is awful, so I can see it completely bombing with the juries in particular. Otherwise, I think this one is easier to predict than the first semi. I love the Belarusian entry, but the performance is pretty forgettable, and Bulgaria is just a screeching mess when on stage. I have a feeling Malta might finish 11th again with their Josh Dubovie tribute, so I'm fairly confident on the ten I've chosen here.

I'd forgotten about that monstrosity. Vommin'ell.

Oh god...just watching the Georgian performance now. I really hope this doesn't qualify! Another early 2000s Israeli inspired performance though I feel!

Yeah I see the 'Ovo Je Balkan' comparisons. Reminds me more of Israel's 2001/2003 entries though. I never got the buzz around OJB... To me it was just a mess!

I was thinking more of that recent live performance she did (can't remember what it was for, but there were a load of people sitting round in suits). It doesn't seem as strong at all; regardless of whether she's holding back on some of the lines or not... :(