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Check out Jedward's competition! You can now see all of the 42 entries in this year's Eurovision Song Contest here.

Ireland are drawn last in Semi-Final 1, a good position and hopefully the boys will qualify for the final as they did from a similar position last year.

Eirevision will be travelling to Baku in May to bring you all of the latest news and gossip from rehearsals and dress-rehearsals. Before May there are several eurovision gatherings happening for those who cannot wait until then. One of the largest is in Amsetrdam on 21st April - it's called Eurovision In Concert - and over 20 of this year's acts (including our very own Jedward) will be taking part. You can find out all about it and book tickets here

Great draw for Ireland! Not so great for Englebert!

The draw for the running order for ESC 2012 has just taken place in Baku..and the good news is that Jedward are performing in last place in their semi-final! This worked well for them last year and they got through to the final. Let's hope they can do it again.

Not so good for the UK as they have been drawn 1st in the final and will open the show. Earlier performing positions are not cosidered good as most of the recent winners have come from later positions. Having said that, the last time the UK was drawn first was when the Brotherhood of Man performed (and won) in 1976, so you never know!

Check out our EUROVISION 2012 tab for full details of the running order and the singers and songs.

Jedward's marathon effort...Englebert's crooning glory!

Jedward are hoping to be fighting fit for their Eurovision return in May. And what better way than to run 26.2 miles? The boys have successfully navigated their way around Hollywood to complete the L.A. Marathon. And they have their medals to prove it!

The boys will need all their strength to overtake the emerging field of Eurovision artists in May - including the UK's Crooning heavyweight Englebert Humperdinck and the Russian Grannies! Speaking of Englebert, the BBC have released their song for Baku today - entitled "Love will set you free" - a gentle ballad sung by the crooner to beat all crooners.
It has a certain Irish feel about it and will no doubt garner some votes from this side of the water come May.



The running order for this year's contest will be completed this week as the Heads of Delebgation meet in Azerbaijan. Ireland will be hoping for a late draw in the semi-final as it certainly worked for Jedward last year. Details will be posted as soon as they are known.

Waterline released in time for St. Patrick's Day!

In just two months time, the rehearsals for the 57th Eurovision Song Contest will be well underway. As the city of Baku gears up for the contest , many of the participants - including our very own Jedward - are busy promoting their entries around Europe. You can grab yourself a copy of "Waterline" on Friday 16th March when the single is released in Ireland. Keep up to date on what the boys are up to on their website Planet Jedward

The venue in Baku - The Crystal Hall - looks very impressive indeed. It is a brand new multi-purpose indoor arena with an expected capacity of up to 23,000 spectators. Approximately 16,000 people will be able to attend each of the three Eurovision Song Contest live shows in May.

We will know all 42 entries for this year's contest very soon as the closing date for submission of songs is next week. Check back here for full details.

Party Time with the Russian Babushki

Just when we thought Englebert Humperdinck would the only senior citizen at Eurovision 2012, Russia comes along and surprises everyone by choosing the group Buranovskiye Babushki to represent their country in Baku. The group of eight grannies beat the 2008 winner Dima Bilan who sang a duet with former tATu girl Yulia Volkova in the national selection last night in Moscow. But even the ever-popular Dima and Yulia couldn't stop the march of the Babushki.

The singing group are from the town of Buranovo, 600 miles east of Moscow, and have pledged that if they make money from the contest it will go towards building a church in their town. Of course this isn't the first time the Babushki have tried their hand at eurovision. We first saw them a couple of years ago when they brought their unique style to the 2010 Russian final. We wanted them to win then but they only managed 3rd place. But they didn't give up and we are delighted that the 8 Buranovskiye Babushki will finally grace the Eurovision stage.

The ladies song is called Party for Everybody...you can see it here.

Please Release Me Let Me Go...to Eurovision!

Well our nearest neighbour have surprised everyone with a completely different choice for this year's Eurovision. The UK chose boyband Blue last year so a lot of people thought would it be another band (McFly perhaps?) or even a reality TV star like Joe McElderry who would go forward to Baku...but no...the BBC have chosen none other than 60's crooner - Englebert Humperdinck - to represent them in this year's contest.

Englebert - who's real name is Arnold Dorsey - will be 76 years old when he represents his country in Azerbaijan. The grammy-award winning crooner is certainly no stranger to the international stage having been in showbusiness for more than 45 years. His song will be recorded in Los Angeles (where he lives) , Nashville and London. Englebert's most famous songs are "Please Release Me"..."The Last Waltz" , "There Goes My Everything" to name but a few.

It will be interesting to see how Englebert's style contrasts to that of say...Jedward! It all makes for a very diverse and fascinating showdown in Azerbaijan.

Here is Englebert at a recent concert in Israel.