Tuesday night sees the first of two Eurovision semi-finals. Yup, there are so many countries taking part now that they have to compete for their places in the main event by taking part in one of two semis, with 10 places in the final at stake in each. For non-Eurovision fans this is probably akin to being tossed into the seventh layer of hell – but for fans of the contest the opportunity to see two ‘mini-contests’ ahead of the real thing is too good to miss – and in this country we see both of them even though we only get to vote in one (by way of explanation: only countries in the same semi-final can vote for each other although the five countries already qualified – host country Russia and the so-called ‘Big 4′ of UK, France, Spain and Germany are randomly assigned to cast votes in one of the semis, usually the one which has less of their ‘neighbours’ in it. It is supposed to make the voting fairer you understand).

As such, today I’ll be taking a look at the first half of the countries taking part in the first semi (with the second half tomorrow, ahead of the semi) and asking the question – who’ll make it to the final, and who’ll be on the next plane home with the suggestion that they try a bit harder next year ringing in their ears? In the order in which you’ll see them on stage, they are as follows…..

MONTENEGRO – Just Get Out Of My Life by Andrea Demirovic
Kicking off the semi-finals for the second year running (a position nobody really wants to be in), Montenegro have had a hard time in this contest ever since they gained independence from Serbia (as part of them they had two top ten finishes but on their own are still waiting to progress to the final). This song is regarded as their best chance yet of making it out of the semis – it’s a bouncy if rather dated disco tune not unlike Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff – yet songs like this have a habit of being tipped to do well and then crashing and burning. I suspect the same thing may happen here since I remain unconvinced that she will not screech the song like a frightened owl and cause the country to miss out once again (Note: it is possible to win Eurovision from first position in the running order but nobody has managed it since 1984…..)

CZECH REPUBLIC – Aven Romale by Gipsy.cz
The Czechs first entered Eurovision in 2007 and so far have floundered, finishing last on their first attempt and not doing much better last year. This year they’ve entered a song for which the best word is probably ‘quirky’ – a blend of rap and gypsy music which is a genuine love it or loathe it effort. Personally? I love it but this may have more to do with a love of that particular type of music than anything else (think Gogol Bordello without the raspy singing and strong language and you’ll get the idea). Seriously it probably doesn’t have a chance in hell of making the final, but with a memorable performance (and given the lead singer’s fondness for dressing in a superhero costume, it could have one) this could do a lot better than everybody suspects.

BELGIUM – Copycat by Patrick Ouchene
The Belgians haven’t been in the final since 2004 despite their best efforts including a mad but brilliant folk song in a made up language in 2008. Keeping in with the vaguely bonkers theme they have this year fielded an Elvis impersonator singing a song about, er, another Elvis impersonator. It’s great fun but let’s be realistic, this ain’t making the final.

BELARUS – Eyes That Never Lie by Petr Elfimov
Another country who have struggled to make it out of the semis (their only success coming with the fabulously OTT Work Your Magic in 2007), this year they are offering up a rather dated sounding rock track which for all intents and purposes is horrible. However this kind of thing is popular in that part of the world, so who knows? Unlikely to qualify, if we’re being honest.

SWEDEN – La Voix by Malena Ernman
If the Pet Shop Boys teamed up with Lesley Garrett, this is probably what the result would sound like – a mix of pop rhythms and opera trilling, here performed by foremost Scandinavian mezzo-soprano Ernman (no, I’d never heard of her either pre-Eurovision but there you go). Actually this is ace – catchy, memorable and the lady in question has a stunning pair of lungs on her. And this is Sweden, and when have they not been in a Eurovision final? It would have to take a seriously duff performance for this one to miss out, and it’s not going to happen so you can expect to see this one up there on Saturday night.

ARMENIA – Nor Par (Jan Jan) by Inga and Anush
Not a tribute to Jan Leeming but the fourth Eurovision entry from Armenia, who have done rather well at this contest since they first entered – they haven’t missed a final yet and have been in the top ten every time. And I suspect that will be the case this time around since this is a fabulously offbeat bit of ethno-pop from scary looking sisters Inga and Anush (that’s them in the picture) which despite its initial ‘what the hell is that??????’ effect is enormousy likeable. And it has its own dance routine (check out the video, featuring people doing the Jan Jan all around Yerevan, for proof). Again, it would be a shock if this one didn’t make it.

ANDORRA – La Teva Decisio by Susanne Georgi
Another country who have failed to make the final so far (although they should have done with their Busted a-like band a couple of years back). And this pleasant but dull song ain’t going to do anything to change that.

SWITZERLAND – The Highest Heights by Lovebugs
The Swiss won the first ever Eurovision in 1956 but since then their fortunes have been mixed to say the least- they haven’t won since 1988 (when a young unknown singer called Celine Dion beat the UK by one point) and have even scored the dreaded nul points on a couple of occasions since then. This could be the song to change all that however – it’s a proper contemporary rock song by a proper contemporary rock band (they even share a producer with U2). Quite frankly it’s too good for Eurovision. Fingers crossed it makes the final.

TURKEY – Dum Tek Tek by Hadise
It’s a well-known fact among Eurovision fans that Turkey could belch the Istanbul phonebook on stage and still make the final, and they probably will this year also, due to their habit of sending bright solid pop tunes to the contest (and to think they used to do so badly!). Last year they fielded a fabulous indie rock track, this year it’s back to business as usual with a Belgian-Turkish singer wiggling her way through a typical slice of uptempo ethno-pop. It’s decent but if we’re being honest it’s nothing special. But it’ll make the final anyway. Yawn.

ISRAEL – There Must Be Another Way by Noa and Mira Awad
Now here’s an interesting entry from the Israelis, one which teams hugely popular Israeli singer Noa (she is very popular, honest, just in that region which is probably why you haven’t heard of her) with an Israeli Arab singer Mira Awad. And guess what – they’re singing a peace anthem. Most of the songs in this year’s contest are either love ‘em or hate ‘em types – this is one of the few which is simply OK. Whether or not it makes the final depends largely on the strength of the other performances but I have a feeling it’ll either just scrape through or just miss out.

Part two of the semi-final preview tomorrow…….