The Favourites for Eurovision 2012:

Russia

If you haven’t seen these dames strut their stuff you are in for a treat. Don’t be fooled by the timid, oh so traditonal start, these grannies mean business and soon take to the floor with enthusiastic ‘I’m making mashed potato’ hand movements. Shouts of ‘boom’ add to the general craziness of it all. Watch out for the dramatic zone in on the chief granny’s wise and wordly face and a climax that involves freshly baked cakes. And I thought they were dealing in root vegetables . . .

Ireland

You’ve got to love the pure energy of these guys, even though for twins they are very uncoordinated . . . One twin totally rejects the idea of syncronisation and throws in his own random moves with complete abandon. This only adds to the uncontained exuberance of the performance though and you’d have to be very stony hearted not to smile once.

Biggest sacrifice of the night: the hair! As the boys step under the fountain (placed centre stage) you can feel the manic defiance of one twin and the sheer misery of the other. The price of fame eh?

Sweden

If Kate Bush did dance music it would look something like this. An abundance of thick dark hair, some wild arm movements and a floaty kaftan like outfit make this performance striking, yet a little odd. There’s some dramatic throwing down of the self and even a snow shower (in May?)  Then there’s a mysterious dance partner dressed all in black so that he almost blends into the background . . . Hmm, methinks the singer didn’t want to share the stage . . .

Serbia

Introduced by some meaningful tinkling of the ivories and a sweeping violin accompaniment, this song promises and delivers an over the top performance. The singer tries his best with tortured head movements, the subdued flexing of his left hand, indicating heartache and deep sorrow.

Picture his anguished expression as two violinists battle for prominence behind him. Who can evoke the most despair?  As the song reaches a crescendo the vocals adopt an attacking style and all the performers stand centre stage, clothed in black, their arms raised.  Whether this indicates triumph or is a cry for help, I’ll let you decide.

Russia’s Picture sourced at http://en.rian.ru/culture/20120523/173614640.html

Ireland’s Picture sourced at http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01513/Jedward_1513676a.jpg

Sweden’s Picture sourced at http://www.scandipop.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/AP_1605_Sweden-14Loreen-e1337159309871.jpg

Serbia’s Picture sourced at http://www.escdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/zeljko-joksimovic-evrosong-2012-gost-jelena-tomasevic_foto-press-rts-24-1024×733.jpg