Swiss Roll...and Rock

The Rock group Sinplus have won the Swiss national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. 14 acts battled it out for the coveted title including the first ever winner - Lys Assia.

Of the 14 acts in the final, 6 were selected by the German broadcaster SF, three acts were chosen by the radio broadcaster DRS3 , 2 acts qualified through a regional final and 3 acts were selected by the French-language broadcaster RTS using a jury and online voting.

Sinplus was probably one of the better songs in a rather low-quality final. They won the televoting and they will represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song Unbreakable. It remains to be seen if it is good enough to get Switzerland through to the final two year's running.

You can see the song here.

More Lipstick for Ireland in 2012?

According to the Irish Daily Mail today, Jedward will represent Ireland AGAIN at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. The duo - undoubtedly the biggest success from ESC 2011 - are apparently keen to try their hand at snatching the Eurovision crown once more.

Jedward would be following in German Eurovision winner Lena's footsteps by competing two years in a row. Given that Lipstick and Jedward were Europe-wide successes after the 2011 contest, perhaps they will capitalise on this and do even better for Ireland in Baku.

We await official confirmation before digging out the Jedheads for Baku!

Will it be President Dana for Ireland?

The Irish presidential race has a Eurovision connection this year. Dana (Rosemary Scallon) who won the 1970 contest for Ireland has been nominated as a candidate in the upcoming election.

This is not the first time that Dana has tried to become Irish president. She unsuccessfully contested the 1997 election. However Dana is no political novice as she served as a member of the European parliament for the Connaught-Ulster constituency from 1999-2004.

Will Dana get douze points from the Irish electorate? Well, All Kinds of Everything can happen! The election is due to take place on 27th October 2011. Bonne chance Dana!

You can read more about Dana's nomination here

First off the blocks for 2012...CYPRUS!

The first participant for Eurovision 2012 is now known . It is Ivi Adamou who will represent Cyprus in Baku.

Ivi is well known in the meditteranean island having competed in their version of X-Factor. No details yet from the Cyprus Broadcasting Company on how the song will be chosen but it is likely to be in a national final.

As for Ireland, no news as yet on the likely Irish representative but we will keep you posted!

Swing time for Ireland?

One of the names in the frames to represent Ireland at the next Eurovision Song Contest is that of family trio - Crystal Swing. They have become something of a You Ttube sensation in Ireland and beyond with the video of their song "He drinks Tequila" scoring over 1 million hits!

Crystal Swing consists of Mary Murray-Burke(the mother) Derek Burke(the son) and Dervla Burke(the daughter) and can best be described as a country and western sounding group. They hail from County Cork and are fast becoming one of Ireland's best known groups.
Will Europe fall for the charms of the Crystal Swing family? With RTE's Eurovision 2012 plans due to be discussed shortly, we won't have to wait too long to find out.

If you would like to know more about Crystal Swing, click here.

Jedward march on to Victory!

Following on from their Europe-wide success at Eurovision in May , Ireland's 2011 representatives Jedward are due to release a new album in August called "Victory".

The twins have been cloned on the cover, making it look like a line of never-ending high-haired Jedwards. The album is set to be released on August 15 in the UK and Ireland and will contain their Eurovision song Lipstick, as well as their newest track Bad Behaviour.

Victory will be the boys' second album and is a follow-up to Planet Jedward, which was released last year and reached number 17 in the UK album charts.

Jedward : The real "winners" of Eurovision 2011?

They were the buzz of Dusseldorf. Everyone wanted a piece of Jedward. Their press conferences were legendary. And now it seems they are THE success story of this year's Eurovision!

John and Edward Grimes have performed in many countries after the contest including Sweden and Germany. Jedwards management has been struggling to clear their diary for dates across Europe since the contest finished. The unstoppable duo - who came eighth in the Eurovision - stormed to the top of the iTunes chart in a number of countries across Europe with their infectious song Lipstick. And a huge tour of the continent is now being planned for the boys later this summer John revealed ‘ Its one big step for Jedward- we don’t go small steps like that man on the moon, it's first step Europe and next stop the world.’

The twins are also in the final stages of talks with a number of TV stations, including RTE and BBC, about fronting their own shows later this year.

Well done boys! Keep the success going!

A Little Bit of Eurovision!

For those of you in need of a Eurovision fix during the summer, tune in to RTE 1 on Tuesday evenings at 8:30pm to catch "A Little Bit of Eurovision".

In this series, RTE celebrates the record seven wins that Ireland has achieved in the contest with a look back at the glory days of Irish Eurovision! You can find out all about it here

Congratulations Azerbaijan!

They've only been in the contest a few years, but it hasn't taken Azerbaijan long to win it!

Congratulations to Eldar and Nigar who won this year's Eurovision with "Running Scared".

Italy came second with Raphael Gualazzi and "Follia D'Amore". Not a bad result either after their 13 year absence. Welcome back Italia!

Baku 2012 anyone?

Eurovision Semi 1

Last night we successfully managed to predict 8 of the 10 qualifiers from the first Semi Final. We didn't pick Lithuania (who did?!) or Georgia, having plumped for Turkey (how did it not qualify?) and Poland.

Time now for us to watch the first dress rehearsal of the second semi, which is probably harder to call.

It's all getting very exciting now!

Time for the UK

Let's take a look at the United Kingdom now. The staging includes 4 large video screens with footage of the Blue boys.

The screens can also make the words I CAN.

The boys all sounded in good vocal form, although we're a little concerned about the backing track. For some reason the track is stripped down a lot for the first chorus, which seems strange. The first chorus needs to be strong and bold, and, at the moment, it doesn't hit the spot.

Good, but not quite there yet. But that's what rehearsals are for....so let's see what tomorrow brings.

France - 12 points?

The favourite now, Amaury Vassili from France, with the opera ballad, Sognu.

An utterly brilliant backdrop of rolling clouds and Amaury's faultless vocals could see a French win for the first time since 1977.

Although there are some that think the song may be a little sophisticated for televoters, it's great to see France in with a real chance of victory.

Ding Dong - the big five enter the stage

It's Saturday and the so-called 'Big 5' have entered the building.

But five of semi 2's countries rehearsed first this morning, including Eric Saade for Sweden and Dana International for Israel. There's been talk that Sweden is below par - tosh! This is the Melodifestivalen performance on the ESC stage, and it's going to be in the Final. Smashing!

Eurovision winner 1998, Dana International, gave a competent rehearsal. She's not got the best voice, and we are disappointed that the routine used in the national final (with the five girls in long dresses) has been ditched. Even with a diva-like strut on the catwalk at the end, we're still on the fence about whether this will qualify. But, you've got to hand it to DI, she's good value for money, and her press conference was a riot.

News on France next!

Everything is sounding good to us!

Rehearsals continue here in Germany, and, to be honest, there aren't really any acts who are giving bad performances. From Friday's batch we particularly enjoyed Iceland and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

During Iceland's press conference we were treated to a medley of past Eurovision hits by the multi-talented Sjonni's Friends. And Dino Merlin told us about his previous Eurovision experiences back in 1993 (Dino wrote Sva Bol Svijeta, and loved the orchestra in Millstreet) and 1999 (Dino sand Putnici with Beatrice, and had a great time but the venue in Jerusalem was much smaller).

From other rehearsals Hungary is sounding good, although we're not sure the stage presentation is quite as strong as it could be; the song's video is so good that it's a hard act to follow.

Austria is also gaining a lot of support. And, although the song doesn't really appeal to us, it has to be said that vocally Nadine is brilliant. We're expecting it to qualify now.

The day ended with a fan party at the Euroclub, where no fewer than 23 acts performed their songs.

Excitement is building today as the Big 5 enter the fray. Check back later for our thoughts.

By Georgia!

We went along to the Georgian party last night, held in the Euroclub. Initially it didn't look like we were going to get in, but with a little patience and some assistance from our friends at esc.kaz (thanks guys!) we enjoyed a fabulous evening of Georgian hospitality.

In addition to a performance by Eldrine, we heard from the Georgian entrants from 2007 and 2010. Both Sophos were in great voice!

Also spotted amongst the crowd were Stella from Norway and Paradise Oskar from Finland.

The night ended with a Eurovision disco, so we had a nice little dance....

Will Vella bring Eurovision to Valetta?

The final rehearsal we saw yesterday was Malta. Glen Vella has a really good voice and the routine works well. Quite whether One Life is strong enough to qualify remains to be seen, but if prizes were given out for effort, then this would be among the contenders.

One thing you can't deny is that Glen is the life and soul of the party scene here in Germany. He's having a great time, and seems to be thoroughly enjoying his Eurovision experience. Good on him!

Superb Serbia and Rousing Russia

A word now on Serbia and Russia.

Nina sings Čaroban, and it's brilliant! The psychedelic backdrop is the perfect accompaniment for this retro track, and we're in no doubt this will qualify.

Alexej Vorobjov and Get You is also impressive. This is one of the few songs this year that employs quite a bit of stage business. There are big screens that move around and everyone on stage has lights on their shoes and on the back of their leather jackets.

Pole Position

After a night at the Euroclub, Eurovision Express is now in the thick of things watching the rehearsals from Semi Final 1.

First up this morning was Magdalena from Poland with Jestem. A very good performance, which has an excellent chance of qualifying for the Final. Slick choreography, fantastic vocals, this is a modern Eurosong near its best.

Norway next. The fabulous Per Sundnes, host of the Norwegian MGP, popped over to us and threw some Stella Mwangi badges at us. Stella and her fellow 5 performers gave a joyous performance, and, although we have doubts about whether juries will like this, it should definitely garner its fair share of televotes.

Planet Jedward lands in Germany!

Irish entrants Jedward had their first rehearsal today. The guys were full of beans and interacted with fans and journalists before hitting the stage.

They gave aq good performance with a fantastic backdrop which features the boys in silhouette minus the bouffant hair-dos.

The onlookers seemed very impressed with the unexpectedly good vocals and sound and the visual presentation was remarkably good too. They even sang at thier press coinference and delighted the assembled throng of journalists. Ireland should qualify with this bouncy number!

Well done boys!

Germany, we have arrived!

Eurovision Express has arrived in Düsseldorf, and after dropping our bags at our apartment we made our way to the Arena.

We got there in time to see Romania's Hotel FM rehearse Change. The lead singer sounds great, and the chances for this entry to qualify look good. It is quite an old-fashioned sounding song, but is very instant.

Estonia is currently on stage, and we'll soon make our first foray into a press conference.

Apparently tonight there is a Turkish party at the Euroclub which we'll hopefully pop into...although we may need a nap after getting up at 4.45 this morning!

Semi 2 - our final 5 qualifiers

Yesterday we revealed that we thought Sweden, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belarus, Denmark and Romania would qualify to the Final from Semi 2. Today we predict who might take the other 5 spaces.

First up is Dana International from Israel with Ding Dong. This is a tricky one, because at the Israeli national final the vocals weren't good, but neither was the sound equipment. Initially we thought the Eurovision winner from 1998 might not make it to the Final, but we're now more optimistic. Ding Dong is old school Eurovision, and in a semi that, particularly at the beginning, doesn't appear that strong, a catchy song may be enough to qualify.

Latvia next. Musiqq sing Angel In Disguise. Yes we preferred Banjo Laura, but the Latvian entry could do quite well. It seems pretty credible as a song, and if the two guys give it their all, they may well engage some of the younger viewers. Definitely a worthy effort that deserves a place in the Final.

Another Baltic country, Estonia, is the following song on our list. Rockfeller Street by Getter Jaani is one of the most modern and quirky songs in the Contest. We're sure juries will reward it and slightly more adventurous televoters will love it too. It's very high in the betting, but quite whether it's an absolute winner is debatable.

Spot number 9 goes to Ukraine, partly because it is Ukraine. Just like Greece, Ukraine has hardly put a foot wrong in Eurovision terms over the past few years. They could well have won the Contest if they had sent Smile, but Angel, sung by Mika Newton, may well just squeeze them through to another final.

And finally, Ireland! Yes, we think the Jedward boys will qualify. Infectious, lively and pretty modern, Lipstick is a really good pop song. Jedward don't have the best vocals, we know that, but their personalities should make up for a lack of singing ability.

So there are our predictions for the two semis. With rehearsals now well under way, it's going to be exciting to see if our opinions change!

Eurovision 2011 kicks off!

Eurovision 2011 is underway! The German city of Dusseldorf plays host to 43 competing nations. Eurovision Express will be arriving in Eurovision land on Wednesday, so look out for our reports! In the meantime may we recommend that you follow rehearsals through our good friends at All Kinds Of Everything via their blog here.

Semi 2 - our first five predictions

Time to turn our attention to which songs we think are most likely to qualify for the Final from Semi 2. We'll reveal - in no particular order - our first 5 countries today, with 5 more tomorrow.

First up we reckon that after one year out, Sweden will be back in the Final this year. Popular by Eric Saade wouldn't have been our first choice from the songs in Melodifestivalen, but it's very catchy, is slickly choreographed and the glass smashing gimmick comes just at the right time. Fingers crossed there's no Schalgerfiasko this year!

Staying in Scandinavia our second prediction is for Denmark. Again A Friend in London's song, New Tomorrow, wasn't our favourite in the Danish national final, but it's anthemic, engaging and likely to appeal to juries and a wide cross section of the voting public. And if they keep the big blow up balls in the presentation so much the better!

Our third choice is Belarus. Controversial, eh? Well not really. Anastasiya Vinnikova sings I love Belarus, and we think it's just really good fun. It's one of the few old style Eurovision songs in the Contest, and juries might not be too generous with their points, but we think viewers will enjoy the sheer exuberance of it all.

Next up is Bosnia-Herzegovina with Dino Merlin and Love In Rewind. We're not quite sure exactly what this song is about, but as soon as we heard it we loved it! It possesses one of the strongest melodies in the Contest, and we love the over exaggerated mannerisms in the performance. We don't see it winning the whole thing, but it deserves Top 10.

Our final prediction today is Romania. Hotel FM are unlikely to replicate the top 3 position that Romania scored last year, but this song should have broad support. Yes, Change sounds like it wouldn't be out of place in a mid 90s UK Song For Europe, but what's wrong with that?

Be sure to check back tomorrow to see who we think will join Sweden, Denmark, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Romania in the Final.

Semi 1 - the final five

Time now to reveal who else we think will be in those magic envelopes come Tuesday 10 May. Yesterday we predicted places in the final for Switzerland, Hungary, Russia, Turkey and Serbia.

Our sixth spot goes to Poland, a country that until this year has failed to make much of an impression on us. So it's with delight that Poland is sending its best song since 1998! Magdalena Tul sings Jestem, and is first up. We think picking position one is quite a canny move. This is a good, modern entry, which promises to be well sung and well staged. Poland is back!

Next in our ten is Finland with Paradise Oskar and Da Da Dam. This looks set to be this year's Tom Dice. A simple, almost naive, song, simply presented, this looks to stand out. When we first heard it we thought it was perhaps more suited to the Junior Contest, but we really like the melody, and it has a very clear messsage. Probably not a winner overall, but a place in the final for sure.

Only three more songs to go, and, perhaps inevitably, Greece is our next choice. We are picking this more because Greece always seems to progress to the Final, rather than on the song, which, in our opinion, is not as strong as previous Greek entries. Loucas Yiorkas featuring Stereo Mike sing Watch My Dance, but it will be interesting to see if this is the year that Greece's good luck runs out and they don't make it to the Saturday night final.

Our penultimate choice is Iceland. We loved Yohanna and Erna in the Icelandic contest, but it was not to be. That said, Coming Home perforemd by Sjonni's Friends (left), is certainly a good song. It has a strong hook, and no one can fail to be moved by the story of the song's composer, Sigurjon ‘Sjonni’ Brink, who sadly passed away earlier this year. A genuinely touching entry that deserves a spot in the Final.

Ok, so who does our final place go to? Azerbaijan of course! Running Scared sung by Eldar and Nigar is a real contender for Eurovision victory. From the very first notes this song packs an emotional punch, and is without doubt the best ballad in the contest. We're really hoping the live version sounds as good as the recorded track. If it does, then Baku 2012 is most definitely on the cards. A club remix of the song can be heard below.



Join us tomorrow as we predict who will be the 10 qualifiers from Semi 2.

Who will qualify from Semi 1?

Ahead of rehearsals, which begin this Sunday, Eurovision Express has decided it's time to predict who we think will be the 10 qualifiers from each of the two semi finals.

Today - and in no particular order - we reveal 5 countries whose names we reckon will be in the 'envelopes' on Tuesday 10 May.

First up is Switzerland. The country who gave us the very first Eurovision winner hasn't been doing too well of late, despite some great songs (Era Stupendo was our favourite in 2008!) Who can forget all the talk about DJ Bobo was going to win the whole contest, and he didn't even qualify! This year though we think Anna Rossinelli (above) and her song, In Love For A While, is going to make it through to the Grand Final. It's a quality song, simply performed, and we're sure juries especially will like it.

Our next prediction is Turkey. Initially we were a little disappointed with Yüksek Sadakat's Live It Up, but when we saw the preview video our opinions changed dramatically. This is a good piece of rock/pop, and being performed after 4 female solists will make it stand out. Everyone thinks Turkey's always a safe bet to qualify, but you have to admit that they don't just get through on diaspora - they really have a knack of picking modern, credible songs.

3rd up is Hungary, this year's fan favourite. Like most other people we're loving What About My Dreams? by Kati Wolf (left). It's catchy, punchy, and we're sure it will be the monster hit on the Eurovision dancefloor. Rumours abound that Kati might not be able to cut it live, but, if there's any justice, this will be vying for a Top 5 place in the Final.

Our penultimate choice today is Russia. We were amazed they qualified in 2010, but would be equally surprised if they didn't make it through this year. We're not massively keen on the new Eurovision version of Get You, and think that it would just be better if Alexej Vorobjov got straight into the song. But it's pretty modern, poppy and he's not a bad-looking chap either, so Russia should sail through.

The final prediction today is Nina and her song, Čaroban for Serbia. This 60s inspired entry is extremely well executed, and looks and sounds stylish. It may well stand out amid the more stereotypically 'Eurovision' songs.

So 5 down, 5 more to come. Check back tomorrow for the other entries we think will make it from Semi 1.

Jedward in ankle injury shocker!

The "J" half of Jedward (John Grimes) - this year's Irish entry for Eurovision - has sprained his ankle on stage during their Irish tour. He will go on stage tonight in Dublin in a wheelchair. Apparently John sprained his ankle after some "mad" antics on stage earlier in the tour according to their manager and music mogul Mr. Louis Walsh.

Let's hope John recovers in time for their Dusseldorf appearance in less than three weeks time. Take it easy boys! You can read all about it here

Does France have it in the bag?

According to the latest betting odds, France is the clear favourite to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest. We think the contest it a lot more wide open this year than last year so a lot will depened on the rehearsals and, of course, the live performances.

If Amaury Vassili wins with his song Sognu , it will be the first French victory since the lovely Marie Myriam back in 1977 who won in London with L'oiseau et L'enfant.

You can check all the latest betting odds from the various websites here

Eurovision Express will be in Dusseldorf from 4th May reporting on all the rehearsals and general Eurovision shenanigans!

Oh My God!

Eurovision Express is wending its way to Sweden this weekend for Melodifestivalen 2011!

MF took on its current format in 2002, and we were there then, blindly believeing that Kikki, Bettan and Lotta (below) would win big in the Globen. We were totally shocked when Afrodite walked away with the crown.

Since 2002, we've only missed being in the live audience a couple of times (2003 and 2005). Dedication or what?

This year looks set to be a good competition. We fully expect Eric Saade to win with Popular, but we'd really like either The Moniker (below) or Sanna Nielsen to come out on top! May the best song win!

10 songs for Denmark

Eurovision Express loves Denmark. Well they have given us some of the best entries ever, especially in the 80s.

Recently Denmark has gone all modern pop on us, and that's absolutely fine! Snippets of the 10 songs competing in this Saturday's Melodi Grand Prix are now available here.

And they are pretty good! At the moment our favourite (and it seems to be 'the' favourite) is Anne Noa (pictured below, photo by Bjarne Bergius Hermansen © DR) with Sleepless, written by Peter Bjørnskov, Lene Dissing and John Gordon (composer of Lena's Satellite).

Most of the songs are good uptempo pop songs. Amongst our other favourites are Jenny Berggren with Let Your Heart Be Mine and Le Freak's 25 Hours a Day.

Looks like Denmark's going to give us another great final this Saturday night!

Haba a good time tonight in Norway! And fingers crossed for Yohanna!

For the second year running Eurovision Express is going to be part of the live audience at Norway's MGP.

It seems that Stella is going to triumph with Haba Haba. We quite like the song, and it definitely stands out. But we actually think the best song is You're Like A Melody performed by Hanne Sørvaag, who co-wrote last year's Norwegian and Georgian entries. Listen to the song below.



We'll be popping along to this afternoon's dress rehearsal to see how the 8 acts are shaping up, and to see if there are any surprises in store.

We're going to be on the edge of our seats tonight, and not just because of the excitement of being in the Oslo Spektrum. Tonight a number of other countries will be choosing their songs, and we're particularly interested in the result in Iceland. Fingers crossed for Yohanna, whose song, Nótt (below), is by far the best Eurovision song we've heard this year. We have a feeling in our water that she's not going to make it, but if she does, she's got to be a contender for this year's Eurovision crown.

Lipstick Lads for Ireland

Eurovision Express is back in Oslo for the final of MGP. But before we contemplate the excitement of tonight's spectacular, we caught the Irish national final on the internet last night.

Our verdict? We're delighted that Jedward are representing Ireland. Why? Because they had the best song! It's as simple as that.

Eurosong 2011, part of The Late Late Show, was a pretty entertaining shebang. Former Eurovision entrants Cheryl Baker and Bryan Kennedy were on hand to give their opinions. We love Cheryl but think it's time she moved on from the East block voting argument. Norway? Finland? Germany? They won because they had good songs.

Anyway, back to the final itself. It was always going to be a two horse race between the X Factor's Jedward and Nikki Kavanagh. We thought Nikki was most definitely the best singer of the night, but she just needed a better song.

The 6 juries votes accounted for 66% of the final score, and it was fantastically exciting, as it seemed Nikki was going to pip Jedward to the title. But the Sligo jury, if we remember correctly, gave Nikki a pretty low score and awarded Jedward 12 points.

Before the public televote came in, Nikki led by 4 points, but she only came 2nd in televote, allowing the twins from Lucan in Dublin to leapfrog her and win by a mere two points.

A good, tense final, and a great outcome. OK, Jedward aren't the best singers, but the song is infectious and they certainly sell it. And, if it does manage to get to the final, we're certain that the UK will be giving it douze points!

8 acts battle it out in Norway's "Sistesjanse"

Eurovision Express is looking forward to jetting off to the Norwegian MGP final in just over a week's time. Six acts have made it directly to the Oslo Spektrum, and this Saturday 2 more will join them from the Sistesjanse round.

NRK has created the lovely graphic above to illustrate how Saturday's show will work. It's going to be a series of duels.

Here at Eurovision Express we love nothing more than to get out our crystal ball and predict what's going to happen. So, taking you round by round, here are our thoughts:

Use Me v Pernille and Marius

We reckon Daisy, the poppy rock song by Use Me will just pip Pernille and Marius' slightly schlager-lite I'll Be Yours in this first duel.

Sie Gubba v Mimi Blix

Tricky one this. Alt du vil ha is a country style number by Sie Gubba, absolutely poles apart from Mimi Blix's Allergic. We like them both, but hope that Mimi's modern dance track will take this round.

Gatas Parlament v The Lucky Bullets

We really don't like either of these songs. Gatas Parlament's Jobbe Litt isn't our bag at all, and we find The Lucky Bullets rockabilly Fire Below uninspired, but if we had to choose we'd go for The Lucky Bullets!

Endre v Susperia

We were amazed last weekend when metal group Susperia didn't get an automatic pass to the Final with Nothing Remains. It's not our cup of tea, but we thought it was pretty good if you like that sort of thing. However we reckon Susperia are going to be disappointed a second time, as Endre and Puppy Love looks likely to pull in the girly vote.

OK. So first rounds over. Our predictions would then create the following second round duels:

Use Me v Mimi Blix

We hope that Mimi will win this one. Her funky tune is much more us!

The Lucky Bullets v Endre

Endre would definitely deserve to win this battle, although would probably be the weakest song in the Final.

So, our predictions are:

Mimi Blix and Endre to the Grand Final! Let's see if we get it right!

Going Dutch with 3JS

The Netherlands will be the fourth country to reveal its song for Germany tonight, when boyband 3JS (pictured above) present five songs. Snippets can be heard below.



Although it's difficult to judge from these short extracts, Eurovision Express thinks the uptempo De Stroom sounds like the best option. But we're looking forward to hearing the full versions.

Red White and ... BLUE for the UK

The news has literally come out of the blue that reformed boyband BLUE will be the UK's representatives at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest.

It's not the first time that members of the group have bid to take part in the competition. Lee Ryan wrote and composed "Guardian Angel", Andy Scott-Lee's song for the 2005 edition of Making Your Mind Up. Furthermore, Antony Costa came second in the 2006 edition of the show with the song "It's A Beautiful Thing". Group member Duncan James was a panellist on all episodes of the Eurovision: Your Country Needs You series in 2009 , which Jade Ewen won.

The self-penned song will be called "I Can" and a BBC documentary will follow the group's preparations for the contest. This is the first time since 1994 that an act has been chosen internally by the BBC.

Although BLUE haven't had hits for a number of years, we are cautiosuly optimistic of the UK's chances in Dusseldorf and looking forward to hearing their song. This will be the first time for several years that a well-known act will represent the UK. We think this is a good thing! Bring on the song!

Final fling in Norway

Tonight sees the third and last semi final in Norway. It looks like last year's host country has saved some of the best songs for this heat.

You can hear snippets of the entries that will be performed in Skien here

Our favourite at Eurovision Express is SOS by boyband, Girl Happy (below). It's probably the most Eurovision sounding song of the 21 entries in this year's MGP.

However we think the song most likely to qualify, and also in with a very strong chance of representing Norway in Germany, comes in the shape of heavy rockers Susperia with Nothing Remains (below).

So after the gentle My Heart Is Yours, Norway might be going in a ve3ry different direction....!

We want to go to Iceland!

Eurovision Express is back off its holidays, and what do we return to? A potential Eurovision winning song from Iceland!

It's no secret that we loved Iceland's 2009 entry, Is It True? so we were anxious to hear Yohanna's entry for 2011. And our verdict? Well we reckon that if Iceland sends her song, Nott, then Eurovision could be held in Reykjavik in 2012!

Yohanna took part in this weekend's Icelandic semi-final, and is through to the Final, taking place on 12 February, Enjoy the performance below.