Half-a-dozen Hopefuls

DAMIEN: We liked him - and we think Lord Andy did too. He's already backed Tom Jones, so he's used to singing in big arenas - and the venue for this year's Contest almost redefines the term 'big'. Damien is also a part-time semi professional footballer, but the show's producers didn't seem too keen to pick up on that.

EMPERORS OF SOUL: The important fans on the internet forums don't seem too taken with this lot (but they're predisposed to be anti-BBC/anti-UK anyway), but considering they've all had West End experience and worked well together, it'll be interesting to see how these five do on the live shows.

JADE: Brought in at the last minute, which suggests she's Lord Andy's wildcard, she could be the singer who prompted him to say in a recent interview that the only thing which worries him is the public plumping for a singer suited to R'n'B. But then, he could give her one of those big Alexandra Burke-style numbers from the X-Factor heats to blow everyone's ears off with.

CHARLOTTE: One of two acts Boom Bang a Blog would rather didn't get the ticket to Russia. No disrespect to the girl, she just seemed a bit wispy, and a bit, well... 'meh' is the phrase we believe we're grasping for.

MARK: He's been Troy in a version of High School Musical, so that should be good cause for Boom Bang a Blog to stamp a great big 'No Thank You, Very Much' on his forehead straight away. However, he too was a man who knew how to handle a lungful of air correctly - and his cheeky grin could be just the thing the UK needs to wow floating voters in May.

THE TWINS:Please, we pray to the gods of Eurovision, no. If this pair start to crumble at an audition in a small-ish rehearsal room in front of two people, how the hell are they going to cope onstage in front of 20,000 people on Eurovision night? They're too gimmicky - so let's hope they're the first act sent home next Saturday. However, something tells us they'll be there until the bitter end.

Whatever happens, at least we can finally say - and mean - the BBC is certainly making an effort with the UK entry this year.

One more thing - we do suspect that Lord Andy is playing a rather clever game with his various comments about going for second place/not knowing what do with an R'n'B singer, etc. He's definitely up to something...