Eurovision 2010: Three Nordic countries choose their songs for Oslo tonight - and a fourth gets its search underway

By Jamie McLoughlin on Feb 6, 10 12:55 PM

Good morning Boom Bang a Bloggers. I've had my porridge with blueberries in and sweated buckets whilst attempting lunges and torso twists on the Wii Fit so here I am, relaxed and refreshed with news of the treats coming your way this evening - and how to see them over the web.

Yes, this very night, Iceland, Denmark and 2010 hosts Norway will choose the songs which will go forth to the Eurovision stage in late May under each nation's respective flag. Not only that, but the biggest national final of them all - Melodifestivalen - has the first of its five weekly qualifying rounds in Sweden tonight. In around six weeks, we should know the full line-up for Eurovision 2010. But before all that, here are Boom Bang a Blog's predictions.

ICELAND Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2010 Broadcast over the web here from 20:10 GMT/21:10 CET


The smart money for tonight's Icelandic final is on Hera Bjork, who provided backing vocals during the performance which took her country to second place in Moscow last year. Je Ne Sais Quoi seems to be the most popular with those who have followed the final this far, but to be honest, it does seem to lack that certain vital ingredient to make it a special sort of Eurovision song - it needs a favourable remix to create any impact in Norway. If Hera doesn't make it, Boom Bang a Blog's personal favourite from the Icelandic selection is Iris Holm's The One. It's not that different from Iceland's song last year, but it does have that potential-to-do-well flavour which the favourite just isn't exuding right now.
NORWAY Melodi Grand Prix 2010 Broadcast over the web here from 18:55 GMT/19:55 CET


As usual, the host country has put a big effort into following up one win with another. There's a healthy mix of quality pop among the eight songs taking part this evening, but I suspect the televoters will plump for Didrik Solli-Tangen's You Raise Me Up-ish song My Heart is Yours. If I'm wrong, then I think the teenyboppers will prevail and A1 will perform in Olso - but I don't think they have anything close to a winning entry. If neither of the top two choices previal, I'll completely hedge my bets by chucking the retro stylings of Maria Haukaas Storeng and thrash metallers Keep of Kalessin into the ring.
DENMARK Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2010 Broadcast over the web here from 19:00 GMT/20:00 CET
No qualifying rounds in Denmark, it's all done on the one night. Therefore, we can't bring you any videos showing previous form, but the rumbles around the 'net (snippets of the song have slipped through webwise) suggest that Bryan Rice's Breathing is one to watch out for in a 10-strong final which is seen as packed with the best quality songs for a Danish final in a long while. There's also a song co-written by Ronan Keating in there - one year after an entry he helped to write represented Denmark at Eurovision itself.
SWEDEN Melodifestivalen 2010: First semi-final Broadcast over the web here from 19:00 GMT/20:00 CET
Christine Meltzer, Måns Zelmerlöw and Dolph Lundgren host the first round this evening, with two songs going straight in to March's final, another two making it to a second-chance round, while four say bye-bye to Eurovision for good. I know it's not a national final, but I think this is the one I'll have a look at... As ever, let us know what you think about tonight's selections.