isreal - well done girls you threw your little chance of qualifiying away - drums have nothing to do with peace (bar dianas song ), it made the stage look messy
bulgaria - decent vocals, the backdrop doesnt make sense and although i personally liked finland 2008 - not many others did, massive omen there
iceland - perfect vocals, may seem a bit dull with the no movement thing but apart from that a defo qualifier now
FYROM - oh dear, it seems macedonian entries get worse with time - the backdrop is obviosly helpful, causing epilepsy before the public hear the song on that respects well done! wigwam it aint!
romania - amazing vocals (compared to hadise!!!) dancing is ok but the backdrop ay ay ay armenia although came 8th in 2007 was due to the fact it was armenia. what a dodgy choice of backdrop - i still think the blaxy girls would have done a better job
finland - mina will be so pleased with the strong vocals and the pryo stuff, there is a point where one of the fire juggler people drop the flame thing the backdrop doesnt really fit in with the song but it still works marvolously

you have saved my life thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOFL don't let Jonny read that, he might "accidently" press edit instead of quote *gives evils in Jonny's direction*

EDIT: YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYYY MY 100TH POST *go sheep, go sheep* and what a post it was Jonny, I love you really!

the worst of it is that i half like the song but the live presentation is just h.idious >< im sorry jonny but u like swizterland right? they have so much more higher chance of qualifying! support them instead

Portugal

i love this song it just makes me smile. her vocals are very good i think this will qualify even without help from spain but the female playing the accordion is just immense!!! i love the little jig she does to the music

Sorry I'm a bit behind everyone else but I'm watching the official clips on eurovision.tv's YouTube page

Finland
I think this is one I need to see on TV before I judge it - high energy song deserves a high energy presentation Some good vocals, although someone needs to teach Karoliina to say "live" not "leeeve" and I know it's only rehearsal but Waldo was a bit too relaxed for my liking. Ooh and I'm not liking the outfits plus there is a lack of lasers (hehe Jonny)

With a stage full of pyros and some insane camera work this will get to the final without any problem. Mina, not that you would, but don't pay any attention to the haters. Besides, if Teräsbetoni can do it, Waldo can too because he's actually good

Portugal - I'm not fond of the song, but she does sing well, and it looks good. It has made me more impressed with the song. Could qualify. The background fits with the song , and is it just me, or does she kind of look like Vânia Fernandes today?

LOL I know. Their rehearsal had its faults but a good song is a good song and I'm sure the next rehearsal will be better.
PS I love Waldo's relaxed way

Portugal
Aaaah, beautiful, beautiful beautiful Another 12-point performance! Perfection in motion...but the most important thing:

OMFG I WANT MY ROOM TO LOOK LIKE THE GRAPHICS!!!

Just as I had written the designers off, they go and produce the best background ever

*sways to and fro like Flor-de-lis, happily contented*

Malta - As expected, she was excellent. I really love her backdrop, really suits the underwater feel of the start of the song. If this doesnt qualify, then i will be so shocked

Malta

goooo chiara!! should easily sail into the final

*wonders if he became as fat as chiara he would be able to sing as good as her......*

I still don't like the Bosnian song, but the performance was good

Bosnia-Herzegovina

hmmm the song is still meh to me...... but they gave a good performance and they will qualify easily.

Israel: Beautiful backdrop, the vocals are great, the dresses are okay, but a bit strange, i love the connextion between the two singers when they do the hand thing and the drums are nice at the end. It'll be a good contrast after the horrid that is Hadise...

Bulgaria: Amazing back drop - really suits the song, the slits are random but still good and could get a few more votes. The vocals of Krassie have improved, just the backing singers at times ( a lot of times ) are really bad. But I still reckon this will be in the final.

Iceland: Best vocals till now, best backdrop till now, just amazing. The Dolphins turning into doves, the ghostly ship - it's amazing and suits the song well. For the first time I can see Iceland doing well. Best performance overall so far.

Macedonia: Solid vocals, good performance, good energy, but it's all a bit average, but atm. this is more likely to make the final than Switzerland ...

Romania: VERY disappointing, not only have they got rid of ALL the dress changes, they have a random cold rotten tree, terrible dancing and everything just looks a mess. These sort of songs are meant to have immense dance routines, but Turkey + Romania are failing big time this year. The only good thing is Elena's vocals.

Portugal: Great vocals, great backdrop which really suits the song, however it all screams at me "hate something bah bah change something bah bah hate something, change something make something betteeeeeeeer" (maybe only british people will understand"

Malta: See how I found Malta 2005, it's just the same basically ... except with a background that doesn't suit the song ... however this should sail through to the final.

Just need to find a working Bosnia video ...

They're "playing to the same beat", silly... You gotta improve your 'visual cliche' knowledge if you wanna keep up in this game.

So many of today's rehearsals were toss, but Portugal, Iceland and Malta stood out - top vocals from Chiara and Yohanna. Bulgaria's rehearsal was amongst the biggest insults my ears have ever had to endure.

One note on the Icelandic performance - has Fridrik Euroband spent the last year living in a branch of Greggs?

todays rankings:
1 - iceland
2 - malta
3 - portugal
4 - bulgaria
5 - bosnia
6 - finland
7 - israel
8 - romania
9 - macedonia

Yes, Greggs Reykjavík

Oops ... I forgot Finland

Finland: What to say without mina killing me, the background is okay, the female vocals have improved alot, although Karolina ( i think her name is ) is still strained. The fire looks completely out of place, just like that stupid pointless wheel thing and the rapper looks like a total dick... other than that it is great ! The only plus this song has is the energy it creates and the energy from the crowd ...

Bosnia: Everything screams this is the winner of SF1, everything is perfect for it, except the lead singers hair style which is ROFLTASTIC !! High chance to be the overall winner.

Prediction Qualifiers
Czech Republic
Armenia
Turkey
Israel
Bulgaria
Iceland
Macedonia
Portugal
Malta
Bosnia

Belgium/Romania/Belarus/Finland coming close

Winner: Bosnia
Loser: Andorra

Biggest Disappointments: Romania, Sweden, Malta, Turkey
Biggest Surprises: Iceland, Belgium.

is it you? is it greggs? r u the only one?
is it you? can anyone else see his greggly change?
is it true?

I'm back from Marks 'n' Sparks, let's continue:

Malta
Everybody's been calling this a disney ballad, well know we all know which movie it came from now: "The Little Mermaid" The LED projections are nice at the beginning but when you realize nothing much happens for 3 minutes apart from plant-photosynthesis and the discovery of Atlanta, you feel a bit bored y'know?

EVERYTHING is big: the booty, the voice and unfortunately the stage. This worked back in 2005 but Moscow have done the impossible and made Chiara look small. If it were about performers I would be screaming for her to win, but she's lacking any sort of enchanting features (think Iceland earlier this morning) but hopefully her dress with shimmy a little or something...

p.s. Is it just me or has sista' lost a bit of weight?

Bosnia & Herzegovina
Very good vocals for what is a bloody difficult song to sing but I'm not as impressed as I had hoped to be. I think like Finland, this is one I need to see on TV before I judge properly. Unlike Iceland, I wasn't captivated by the rehearsal which is a shame because it's a damn good song (one of my favourites in fact). Everything is a bit static and simple, but the backing graphics are very true to the whole image and are basically nicked from the preview video! We were treated to a very stirring moment in the middle eight - liking the Bosnia-Carola with red flag - but the lead singer needs to avoid the splay 'legs-akimbo' look à la Måns 'froggy' Zelmerlöw if he wants to win a few more votes from yours truly