It's Eurovision today!

The day of semi 1 has arrived, and despite (or maybe because?) following lots of rehearsals, we really are none the wiser, are we? Nevertheless, I'll dive into it and predict tonight's ten qualifiers. And to make sure I make an even bigger fool out of myself, I'll even throw in a more or less complete ranking of how I think it'll look when the full results are out on Sunday morning (or before, 2005-style).

So, here you go!

1: MOLDOVA- A little bit of a risky guess here, but I think it's going to do very well with the juries, and see no reason why at least some of the televoters shouldn't too.

2: DENMARK- I haven't "felt" it properly all season, and think it is far weaker than it's made out to be, but it's bound to do well. I never got the hype about Greece 2005 either, and we all know what happened there.

3: UKRAINE - She knows how to sell it, and it's pretentious enough for several of the jury members to lap it up, despite it having no structure or anything. Oh, and it's FABOO, of course.

4: IRELAND - Coming across very well, both in the hall and on screen - it manages to balance nicely between being modern and traditional, both visually and sound-wise. Would've been even better if he had the attitude to pull it off.

5: RUSSIA - Rock solid.

6: NETHERLANDS - Comes across very well after Ukraine. They have to make it with this one.

7: BELARUS - May well be punished by some juries for being a cheap pile of bouncy cheese, but for what it is, it's quite solid. Just remember to smile... CHA CHA HEY

8: ESTONIA - Stands out as a nice, warm standard ballad with a strong melody, performed well. Might not do too well with televoters, but I think the juries will make sure this makes it.

9: SERBIA - Looks horrible and it's a horrible song, but it somehow still works. Won't be shocked if they don't make it, but should be through.

10: CROATIA - The tricky tenth spot... Not at all sure about this, despite being confident all season.

11: BELGIUM - Opposite of Croatia here - I've had no faith in it all season, but it has crept up on me during rehearsals. In those cases I'm often better off sticking to my initial instinct.

12: MONTENEGRO - I hope I'm wrong - the final needs this!

13: LITHUANIA - Love the song, but it's somehow all lost.

14: CYPRUS - Might not hit a single televote top 10, but some oldfashioned jury members should keep this away from last. And it's cute.

15: SLOVENIA - I love them for trying, but I'd love them more if they'd both tried and actually found a proper song to go along with it. And why cover up the boys with massive masks?! :-(

16: AUSTRIA - Nothing to make it stand out, no friends, no pyro, no petitfours... A shame, really.

Tuesday morning rehearsals

Well, good morning! We are set for a new day of madness, and have been moved to a bigger cinema for viewing today. My shoes are off and I'm ready to go!

You've all read Sam, Yair and Martin's reports from yesterdays rehearsals, of course, and I don't think I have a lot to add to that, apart from BWAHAHAHAHA to Ukraine. And for one that have been doubting Denmark big parts of the season, it did seem to work very nicely yesterday. Should definitely do well, and the falling pyro and glittery confetti works wonders for it, but it's by no means a new Loreen.

Biggest improvement from my original impression of the entries yesterday was Estonia for me, which is odd, since it was just as expected... OH, and Montenegro is starting!

MONTENEGRO

The two lads are wearing some sort of spacesuits that make them look like two Michelin men, whereas our diacriticed friend Nina Žižić is dressed like an electric bee (true story!). This is a big burp of fresh air, really, no matter what you think of it, and it looks pretty much as expected on stage, and fairly authentic. Stands out a mile, and positively too, but I'm still not convinced enough people will actually vote for it.

The background looks nice and flashy in yellow-ish green, so I'm sold, of course. I'm easy.

And the Michelin men now turned into proper astronauts for the second run-through! Emerging out of smoke at the start, looking surprisingly neat, actually. Just to underline how out of line with the rest these boys are!

BELGIUM
Roberto starts off with an absolutley terrified and distant look in his eyes in the first shot, but then again, that's nothing new. Other than that it's looking quite nice, really! There's two female dancers showing up out of nowhere from behind, complete with Hold-on-be-strong-No-one-style hand moves and all, making it all look pretty dishy. Can they take over, as he clearly doesn't want to be there...?

Would it be very Terry Wogan of me to say that it's during songs like this you notice how nice the set is...? It truly is for this one - a cold and blue feel. Starts off with the condom lamps on stage, but they eventually disappear, and we have bits from the lyrics being projected in the back. I think the best bit it is during the DUBSTEP, though, when it turns into more generic patterns bouncing along to the beat.

All in all, I'm assuming the Belgians are pleased with this - they have every reason to be, at least.

BELARUS
Giant discoball UFO containing Alyona alert!!

It opens, and there she is! The concept sounds ridiculous, but it doesn't actually look as kitchen sink-y as it might sound in the end, with the discoball working as a background prop all the way through. Colours are in silvery and orange, which looks very good, and the choreography is pretty much the same as their video - WE HAVE INWARD CHA CHA CLAP! #win

So based on the first run-through, the performance looks good (or the idea of it) and she sings well, but other than that, it gave a rather empty and undone feel, and they're lucky there's still lots of time... Most of all, they look a bit confused and unfocused, and Alyona downright terrified at times. But then again, who cares when both her dancers are dishy.

Second run-through, and we have smiles! And the whole thing generally looking quite a bit better already. I'm wriggling my toes as we speak, unsurprisingly.

Smoke and pyro added to the beginning in last run-through, both to a pretty good effect, I thought, as was the fire throughout. CHA CHA HEY

MOLDOVA
It seems I missed the first nibble of Pasha and Lady Tottington due to needing a wee... Ooops. All set for the next try!

And here we go... And she's back on Romanian, it seems, unlike the mix on the first run-through. Pasha is joined on his piano stool by three dancer boys in the first shot, doing some weird wave. Odd, but sweet too, somehow. They are still doing their great Yaz bitti-moves behind her and... OH, she's going up-up-up-up! Her massive dress is clearly hiding a Sarah Dawn Finer styled lift, and raising for the big finish, which she sings rather flawlessly. This should be sailing through if this is anything to go by, my neckhair went up! Which reminds me, I should book that haircut...

Also, WHERE IS HER HAIR