LexC

FO&O members underachieving against expectations once again!

Well deserved Heat winner there!

Really loved Cornelia’s song - hoping that can snatch a semi final place from one of the twinks!

I thought both of those first two songs were bops. Also lmao at the app going down in the first show as if they didn’t need anything else to go wrong!

Here we go girlies!

The hype train is building around Ochman's entry WA5dQL7Q5hw It's good but very "been there done that" to me.

I feel like Brividi is going into tonight the frontrunner but with Mahmood's tour dates I wonder if they might turn down the ticket to go to Turin and then something like Ciao Ciao actually gets selected as the host entry?

Ireland choosing the most contemporary song of the bunch is a turn up for the books! I think this might do decently in Turin once its got more than ten euros for the production budget.

Obviously the timings have shifted around a bit this year so the actual clips drop in the evening. Robin's the obvious winner of the heat but then beyond that it feels like you could make an argument for any of Malou, Theoz, Omar and Cornelia taking the other places in the next rounds. If the alumnus of The Felix Oscar Omar Conspiracy weren't melfests biggest perpetual underachievers I'd edge him into the second finalists spot but as is I'd probably predict the following from those snippets. DTF: Robin, Malou S5: Omar, Theoz 5th: Cornelia 6th: Danne 7th: Shirley

Kill Parasect with fire now!

Great 01 Spain: Chanel - SloMo 02 Czech Republic: We Are Domi - Lights Off Good with potential for growth 03 Albania: Ronela Hajati - Sekret Meh 04 Moldova: Zdob şi Zdub & Fraţii Advahov - Trenuleţul Dead On Arrival 05 Bulgaria: Intelligent Music Project - Intention

Chanel gets the ticket to Turin - a week ago this would have been a shocker but after that performance in the semi that was the performance to beat!

Flower of Sorrow is just about the only one that I'd describe as "salvageable" - if it was me I'd be tempted to pull a Moldova 2013 and change the lyrics to Macedonian and then you'd have a medium sized balkan ballad.

The first four national finalists. Lolita Zero ran away with the televote and Queens of Roses just squeeked in so not a bad crop all told. 4iBqZbIzoxc Kz56jk6K-jI Ov3e06qNVJA QRLn8zXBxOE

This was the obvious choice and it's alright if still a revamp away from reaching its full potential.

Fully team Rigoberta tonight - there's potential for Spain's best result in years with that one!

Okay 26th in THIS semi is actually legit insulting!

The votes are in from New Lexico!

Lithuania putting all of their good songs into Heat 3 has backfired on them somewhat! This is the only one in each of the three heats to have topped the jury and televoting so far so it's likely the one to beat. xbQelNb-JrQ

Okay forget Gebrasy and Ieva - THIS is the one! ZHBTJ9MIVeU

The next entry is already up; AeRbnNFowwo That'd be the most modern and energetic Irish entry for a long time if they pick this one! Definitely the best so far.

The Italian press have had their usual early preview of the competing songs and La Reppresentante di Lista seem to have got the best reviews along the lines of "if this wins and we send it to Eurovision, we win again!" The other best reviewed in the press are Mahmood & BLANCO, Elisa, Dargen d'Amico and Massimo Ranieri. I don't think Maneskin were necessarily picked out as the obvious frontrunners from the press previews last year but it gives us our first clue to what we might be seved this year.

On that note, a song that definitely wasn't Plan B for The Mamas! c-Ictxoepqk

Krystian Ochman could be dangerous in this selection if this 5 million views plus video is anything to go by 9B_Vi7oulnE

All songs now available here