Since the week of the draw for the running order of the semi-finals (and the finalists' draw) I have been listening to one new song each day, picked at random. My blog, below, contains a review of each song as I hear it for the first time.

Sweden: 8/10
For the second year in a row I picked Sweden first out of the hat. This song flows very nicely from start to finish. As a ballad I find it lacks the factor that drew me in to such entries as Iceland's "Is It True?" but I am not put off either and I would find it very difficult to stop listening to this song once I start to hear it. The only personal draw back for me is that her voice warbles a little too much for my liking.
Do I want it in the final? Yes.

Holland: 10/10
This song is fabulous! I love the upbeat tempo and the choice of instruments will certainly help it to stand out. I find the chorus incredibly catchy and I feel that few people will be forgetting it in an instant. The opening instrumental section is, agreeably, slightly odd, but I don't think it will put people off listening because it isn't as obvious throughout the remainder of the song.
Do I want it in the final? Absolutely!

Spain: 6/10
Despite thinking that the circus theme would creep me out, it actually works quite well. I do, however, find the song a bit repetitive, albeit lyrically, and it takes a while to really draw me in. I think that people will fail to remember this song if they don't listen to the whole thing, but it will leave a lasting impression on those that do.
Do I want it in the final? Duh!

Georgia: 6/10
This song starts out really well, and the brief rock section kept me going for a bit longer, but by the end of the song I lost interest. I like the key progressions and her vocal abilities seem, from the recorded version I heard, to be outstanding, but I'm not certain I will find myself listening to this again and again.
Do I want it in the final? Not that bothered.

Lithuania: 5/10
The verses in this song are cool and the chorus is even better, but there are parts in between that put me off a little. For this reason I can't say I'm totally psyched about it. I do, however, think it is a good song to start the semi-final, because it puts me in a happy mood.
Do I want it in the final? Maybe not.

Belarus: 4/10
This is one is quite boring. It's a bad choice for Eurovision because it just reminds me of other, better (non-Eurovision) songs, although I can't put my finger on any of them. Bad pronunciation makes it difficult to understand the lyrics at some points. I think Belarus are very lucky not to be in the 2nd semi-final, because they would crash and burn.
Do I want it in the final? Absolutely not.

Cyprus: 5/10
I really hoped I would like this song more, but unfortunately it just fades into the back of my mind almost instantaneously, and I can't really get connected with the song before it ends, which it does so quite abruptly. I don't mean to say that this is a bad song, because it most certainly is not, but it just doesn't ring the right bells with me.
Do I want it in the final? Since Jon is Welsh, yes, but I won't be voting for him.

Romania: 3/10
I like the use of the pianos, but I don't like the structure of the song or the melody of the chorus. I'm actually struggling to remember how the verses go, having only just listened to the song, which is a sign that this song probably won't grow on me either. I'm not sure the double piano act really works with this kind of song, either, as I would have expected something a little more showy throughout.
Do I want it in the final? Nope.

Slovakia: 7/10
Okay, this song really is ethnic! I like the strong beats that encompass this song and I love her voice. In addition, there is a quality to this track that makes it stand out. I do think, however, that something is missing. As the song finished I felt as if I hadn't heard it all yet, for some reason. I wonder if anyone else will feel this way after they hear it for the first time.
Do I want it in the final? Yepper.

Bosnia & Herzegovina: 7/10
This song is cool and I really like when it reaches the chorus and suddenly becomes a lot heavier. I also like the singers voice as it complements the song. The only drawback is that I find it difficult to associate thunder and lightning with the notion of peace, which is supposed to be the message of the song.
Do I want it in the final? Yeah, why not?

France: 9/10
How 90's is this?! This track has a great backing beat and features a lot more singing than I expected. I am sure that I will still love this when Eurovision comes around, which is certainly not a bad thing considering I was hooked from the start. I had to refrain from giving this song maximum points because there seem to be a few "shouty" bits that don't interest me at all.
Do I want it in the final? Well, let's just say I'm glad it's there!

Armenia: 8/10
This one starts nice and slow and I immediately spot her bad English. I'm sorry, but it really is hard to understand some of the words that she sings. Apart from that it builds up nicely and leads to an impressive and very catchy chorus. I know that I will be singing this at work tomorrow and probably for many days to come. Definitely a potential winner.
Do I want it in the final? Without a doubt!

Moldova: 5/10
This is a bit hit and miss. It opens well and the verses are good, but the chorus is lacking something and leaves me underwhelmed. Also, this song is one of those that seems to end very abruptly, as if they really could have done with a few more seconds to finish the song properly. I'm not a huge fan of Ibiza-style dance music so I can't really say much more.
Do I want it in the final? Not really.

Latvia: 3/10
I'm not so sure I like this one. The backing track sounds so odd, mainly due to an interesting arrangement of instruments. The lyrics are good, but I don't judge much on lyrical effort so this song is lost on me. Also, the bit at the end where she shows off her voice doesn't really fit in with the rest of the song, for me. One thing is for sure this is certainly unique!
Do I want it in the final? Possibly, only to add to the variety.

Finland: 6/10
Yes, very folky. It's exactly what I expected it to be, so I wasn't disappointed. I can't really get into the swing of this song straight away, though, for some reason. I think the verses leave something to be desired for, in that they are not very effective, but the chorus draws me in as it is very upbeat and jolly.
Do I want it in the final? Yeah.

Greece: 8/10
Wow, what an energetic song! Saying that, I have to point out that the backing dancers seem to have about 10 times as much enthusiasm and energy as Giorgos, who acted rather feeble on-stage. Apart from that, I like the backing track a lot and for that reason I am glad that the chorus isn't heavy on the lyrics. I can certainly understand why people like this song.
Do I want it in the final? Hell, yeah! Imagine this as an opener to the final!

Albania: 3/10
This sounds like very mainstream pop music and I can't stand most of what is in the charts these days, so the same applies to this song. the whole song seemed to be very bland and uninteresting, so I found it difficult to pay attention to the whole thing, or any of the lyrics at all.
Do I want it in the final? Please, no.

Iceland: 7/10
I really like this one. The only reason it didn't get a higher score is that some of the chord progressions could have been a bit less simple. I think that the other bad point is that she is fairly static and should move a bit more. Other than that it has a good beat that really gets me moving and the French language blends nicely into the chorus.
Do I want it in the final? Indefinitely.

Israel: 6/10
This song disappointed me because I was expecting something amazing. Instead I heard something slightly repetitive and somewhat weak. It still doesn't get a low mark, though, because it flows well and there are some nice sections, such as the change to a major key about half way through.
Do I want it in the final? I'm not that bothered.

Azerbaijan: 6/10
This one has a huge commercial appeal, but it lacks direction. I wasn't entirely sure what kind of format the song was following and I can't stand it when that happens. On the plus side, I have to say that the chorus is very nice (apart from her "whoah" parts) and kinda catchy.
Do I want it in the final? Meh.

Serbia: 8/10
Erm, hold on a sec whilst I have a moment to take that in. Well, the first word that pops into my head is ODD!!! How weird is that song? I'm not saying I don't like it (hence the score I gave it), but how was this song even thought of? Back to reality, I'm a fan of the chorus and the folk music. I certainly didn't expect his voice to be like that, though.
Do I want it in the final? Yes, let's add to the variety some more!

Belgium: 10/10
Okay, so far this is my winner right here. It has so much appeal and reminds me of my favourite band "The Feeling". The chords and cadences are just to my liking and he changes the volume his voice at exactly the right parts of the song to suit it. He just needs to improve his image a little more from what we saw on EuroSong - I don't think the hat suits him, personally.
Do I want it in the final? Yepperoo!

Estonia: 1/10
Is this even allowed to be a song? I don't like the way that it just swaggers from the beginning to end without a clear direction. Also, I have completely forgotten the song within less than a minute of hearing it for the first time. There is too much wailing in this for my liking and I couldn't really make out the structure of the song, which is so frustrating. Safe to say that this is currently, and will probably remain as, my least favourite entry this year.
Do I want it in the final? Never!

Bulgaria: 8/10
This is a song with a very nice orchestral backing track. I don't think the language barrier will prove to be much of a problem, because people will understand the main word "Angel", although I would have liked more lyrics in the middle of the song, instead of just him singing "ohh". I also feel that this is another song that ends too suddenly, and I am left wondering what happened to the rest of the song.
Do I want it in the final? Yup yup!

Russia: 2/10
This song is awful and sounds like one continuous drone. I also have to point out how much I hate the noise they make in the chorus after he sings "Lost and Forgotten". The only remotely good thing is when the key change takes place near the end of each chorus. Apart from that I can't stand it.
Do I want it in the final? No, keep it away from me!

Croatia: 7/10
I really like this one as it builds up very nicely and manages to keep me interested for most of the duration of the song. It starts to follow a fairly loose structure after the second chorus, but it goes back to the chorus after that so I can forgive it. It has a very contemporary feel without sounding too much like modern chart music, so overall very good for me!
Do I want it in the final? Of course!

Germany: 4/10
Erm, I have to say I wasn't expecting anything like this. Having looked at the lyrics already I thought this was going to be a ballad. I'm not so keen on this type of song, although her quirky accent works well with it. I don't like the way that she doesn't sing the last word of some verses, but I do like her voice. This one is really a bit of a mixed bag, but overall I'm disappointed.
Do I want it in the final? I wouldn't have wanted it there.

Slovenia: 4/10
I like the use of folk instruments in this one, but I'm not so keen on their being mixed in with fairly hard rock. I like the girl's voice, but I'm not so keen on the guy's voice. It seems that there are two sides to every part of this song, for me, apart from the structure of the song - the 3-line choruses irritate me, as I am very much a 4-line chorus man.
Do I want it in the final? It wouldn't be fair on the good songs if I said yes.

Norway: 3/10
This doesn't sound like it should represent Norway. I can't really explain why I think that, but it makes sense given the composer. I failed to get dragged into the song as it built up because the version I heard had heavily synthesised vocals - I will probably like the live version more. Overall, it doesn't make much of an impact on me.
Do I want it in the final? If a host country could miss out on the final, I would wish on it this year.

Malta: 8/10
This is such a lovely ballad and Thea's voice suits it perfectly. I can imagine floating through the sky to the sound of this song, which sounds like it could be the main theme to a Disney film. I do like the theatrical arrangement of the music and the chords are very nice.
Do I want it in the final? Yes, please.

FYR Macedonia: 3/10
This was just a bit of a mess to be honest. It was average at the beginning but I totally lost interest and couldn't really keep up with the song. It didn't end very well either, but I was at least glad that it did end. I would certainly say that the song has potential amongst a certain genre of music lovers, but it's not for me.
Do I want it in the final? Nooooo!

Turkey: 7/10
This kicks off well and draws my attention, especially with its great backing track. The verses are good too, but the chorus is slightly underwhelming. I also find that the song is a bit repetitive by the end, but I still enjoyed listening to it so it can't be that bad.
Do I want it in the final? Sure thing.

Switzerland: 7/10
I'm not keen on the singer's voice with this one. It seems to be very weak, and I don't know if it works well with this kind of song. Apart from that it is good with nice lyrics - some of which I understand - and nice backing music. Actually, I think "nice" sums this up well.
Do I want it in the final? I think so.

Poland: 6/10
This is such a weird song! I find it a bit of a mess at the start, but it comes into its own later on. The Polish language is welcome and I'm glad that the singer has a good grasp of the English language. I did struggle to pick up the message of the song, though. I think he goes a bit crazy with all those key changes too!
Do I want it in the final? I'm not really sure...

Denmark: 9/10
The beginning of this song reminds of something from 10-15 years ago, but I can't figure out what. Anyway, this is such a feel-good song that I wanna sing along already! I think it is well-structured, even if it does follow the path of a typical pop song. I gotta say I think this could win.
Do I want it in the final? Oh yes!

Ireland: 6/10
As soon as this came on I knew it would be a bit wishy-washy. It's a nice ballad and all, but it doesn't tick the right boxes for me to love it. I like the addition of Irish instruments after the first chorus and the orchestral arrangement is very nice too, but it's just not enough.
Do I want it in the final? I just don't know.

Ukraine: 2/10
This girl has a powerful voice and she can put it to good use, but the song that she uses it for is not that great. It's quite depressing and her voice is actually too big for the dreary tone of the guitar in the background. I feel miserable listening to this.
Do I want it in the final? Not in a million years.

Portugal: 5/10
This started off really well for me, but the odd harmonies in the chorus just led the song on a downwards path. I have to commend the singer for her fantastic voice, which is the main reason I didn't score the song lower. Unlike many other songs, I am not convinced that this song will grow on me.
Do I want it in the final? Perhaps not.

My blog is now complete. ;D

P.S. I didn't blog the UK entry when I first heard it and this blog is for my first impressions, so I won't be blogging the UK entry at all.