It’s the second Eurovision semi-final tonight at 8pm on BBC Three (yup, we’ve had barely 48 hours to recover from Tuesday and here we go again), with another 10 countries set to make their way into Saturday’s final and this time complete the line-up. Yesterday we previewed the first 10 contenders, but here’s what you can expect from the second half of the show…..

HUNGARY – Dance With Me by Zoli Adok
Another country still waiting for that elusive first win, Hungary haven’t made the hugest of impacts upon the Eurovision world – they were among the favourites to win in 2005 but flopped badly at the final hurdle, and last year finished last in the semi-final. And several years recently they haven’t bothered entering at all. Their path to the Eurovision stage has been littered with casualties – the original song which was chosen was withdrawn after it became apparent it had been recorded before in another guise, and another song was swiftly chosen only for that to pull out too (although they never really explained why). Thus we have Dance With Me which, while boasting some of the most ridiculous lyrics in the entire show (‘let’s go to a club in Singapore and dance until we get sore’ or something) is actually better than the two songs which preceeded it – quite disco-tastic in fact. Whether or not it makes the final in such a crowded field is another matter entirely.

AZERBAIJAN – Always by AySel and Arash
And so to the newest arrivals in the Eurovision family. Azerbaijan made an auspicious debut last year with the utterly bizarre Day After Day which finished in eighth place despite for all intents and purposes being a bit of a tuneless racket. This year’s effort however is much much better – a bright, summery, painfully commercial pop song by an enthusiastic boy-girl duo. It’s one of the favourites to win (and yes it can be done – Ukraine won on only their second attempt in 2004) and if it does will give the Azeris an interesting double since they are hosting the Eurovision Dance Contest in the capital Baku later this year. But this song is so irresistible that it could very easily go all the way – either way, a top five placing seems assured at this point. They’ll be dancing to this one on the beaches in Benidorm this summer, mark my words.

GREECE – This Is Our Night by Sakis Rouvas
Over the past decade Greece has gone from being one of the least successful countries in the Eurovision fold to one of the most popular – they haven’t missed out on a final or a top ten placing since 2004 and even won the thing in 2005. Like Turkey, they appear to developed that kind of magic touch which means their performer could lie on stage snoring for three minutes and still qualify – but there’ll be nothing so relaxing going on for them this year. The Greek song is performed by hunky Eurovision veteran Sakis Rouvas – he came third for them in 2004 and co-hosted the contest when it was held in Athens in 2006 – and his capacity to set the hearts of Eurovision fans of both sexes fluttering with a mere wink of the eye or flex of the bicep is legendary. It’s a pity that the song, on this occasion, is a bit disappointing – it’s fine, nothing really wrong with it, ’tis a solid pop song, just a bit on the ordinary side and certainly the weakest Greek effort for some time. It’ll be in the final though without a shadow of a doubt.

LITHUANIA – Love by Sasha Son
Pity poor Lithuania. They made their debut in 1994, got nul points and didn’t come back again until 1999 – and since then have struggled to make their mark on the contest, with the exception of 2006 when they entered the childish anthem We Are The Winners (they weren’t. But scored their one and only top ten finish to date). This year’s song, an emphatic and ever so slightly pretentious plea for love by piano playing singer Sasha, is quite highly regarded by some but frankly I can’t see the appeal. Could well make the final, however, if only to ensure there is a worthy candidate to finish in last place.

MOLDOVA – Hora Din Moldova by Nelly Ciobanu
Who could forget Moldova’s raucous Eurovision debut in 2005 with Granny playing the drums? It did very well indeed but since then they’ve had a patchy run. However Hora Din Moldova – a song about a traditional folk dance from, would you believe, ‘a country called Moldova’ is simply marvellous – barking mad in the extreme and doubtless equipped with the kind of flashy stage show which has grown men begging for mercy (think mad spinning dancers in big shirts and ribbons and you’ll get the idea). If there’s one song I really really want to see qualify from this semi aside from the obvious favourites it’s this one. Keeping everything crossed for them.

ALBANIA – Carry Me In Your Dreams by Kejsi Tola
The Albanians don’t believe in wasting time when it comes to Eurovision – they had their song selection all done and dusted before Christmas, exactly as they done in previous years (they’ve been taking part since 2004). At 16, Kejsi is also one of the youngest singers this year, and she’s got a good chance of qualifying – fortune tends to smile on Albania even when their song isn’t much cop, and this one is a big, thumping disco number with a reportedly odd stage show (she dances on stage with a man in a blue gimp costume, while dressed herself in something that looks like it came out of Glinda The Good Witch’s wardrobe in The Wizard Of Oz.).Surely a shoo-in? Time will tell.

UKRAINE – Be My Valentine by Svetlana Loboda
Apart from a couple of duff notes, Ukraine have an enviable track record on the Eurovision front – they’ve been taking part since 2003, they won in 2004, they’ve finished second for the past two years and have produced such memorable Eurovision fodder as drag queen Verka Serduchka’s Dancin’Lasha Tumbai, last year’s Kylie-esque number Shady Lady and of course their winning entry Wild Dances by Ruslana (aka Xena Warrior Princess) And you won’t be forgetting this year’s entry in a hurry either. Svetlana begins her routine hanging by her ankles off the shoulders of one of her dancers (or at least she did in the Ukrainian national final), plays the drums with feisty enthusiasm and warbles her way through a song so completely over the top and preposterous that it’s actually quite brilliant. Expect this to be one of the highlights of the evening.

ESTONIA – Randajad by Urban Symphony
Anybody looking for proof that not all the former Soviet states benefit from neighbourly voting in Eurovision need look no further than Estonia, who despite their shock victory in 2001 have floundered quite dramatically since then, and are one of the few remaining countries never to have qualified from the semi-final. This however could be the year to change all that. This classy song blends strings (done much better than Slovenia one might add) with some haunting vocals and is oddly reminiscent of the Belgian song which did so well in 2003. A very possible qualifier and deservedly so. About time!

NETHERLANDS – Shine by The Toppers
Saving the best till last? Er, no. Netherlands are of course one of the original Eurovision countries but they haven’t won since 1975 and have made so little impact in the past few years that you might even have forgotten they were there. You’re unlikely to this year since they’re sending a trio of middle-aged men in eye-strainingly sparkly suits (er, that’s them in the photo above) who put one in mind of what 80s hitmakers Big Fun might look like now if they had kept up the music. The song itself is pure Eurovision cheese, might have done well in 1972 but ain’t gonna make much of an impact in the 21st Century. But expect a glamour and sparkle-filled performance to round things off, even if it does accompany a song which for all intents and purposes is blimmin’ awful……..