With a elongated screech to compete with "Saved by the Bell", Ms Nishliu gives it maximum welly. The video sees Rona understandably unhappy to be concreted into a black box during a cocktail reception at an art gallery. Two Omen Damians with crayons help neither her, nor my, mood.
Lyrics such as " My plane is landing, on the unlit runway of your soul" gives you a flavour of the desperate nature of the song which translates from Latin as "Personal". An example of why that particular language died. And as for the final 20 second wail, well... Could qualify.
Rona Nishliu is not only a famous pop singer, she is also a devoted experimental jazz musician. She won the honour of representing Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest at the second attempt. Her interpretation is characterized with nuances of soul music influences. Her vocal range & interpretative power are her strongest points.
Humanitarian work is an important field of action for Rona Nishliu. As a student she organized humanitarian concerts in Kosovo, and in 2009 she took part as a guest lecturer in the UNDP activity on Awareness Raising for the Importance of Volunteerism for Youngsters in Vushtri. Apart from that, she actively supports people with Autism.
 
 

"Woki mit dem popo" translates as "Shake your bum". "Trackshittaz" translates as "Austria's taking the mick". Few would say that the world has been screaming out for Tractor gangster party rap, however Austria feels there's a need and to illustate the genre , here's a selection of the lyrical depth on offer here:
Your bum has feelings, your bum is a part of you,
Don't put it on chairs, your bum has an opinion, yeah
First they will conquer the upper Austrian Mühlviertel district and then they will disappear without a trace. And it starts (and ends) here

Lukas Plöchl and Manuel Hoffelner make up the band Trackshittaz, who will represent Austria in Baku with their very own music style of tractor gangster party rap.
Trackshittaz goes back to its roots here, the raps centering on party and village life. They are supported on their travels by their producer Sam Vahdat, who emphasises the authenticity of the duo and sparkles with his wild sounds and heavy beats.
Hopefully, they’ll get not only Austria but all of Europe dancing with their boisterously youthful impetuosity and their song Woki Mit Deim Popo.
 
 

It'll be cold cold cold when Sabine performs. The Azeris have looked to Sweden again to write their song, an utterly forgettable power ballard that wouldn't melt yellow snow. Doe eyed Ms Babayeva will likely put emphasis on the wrong syllable in that typically lovable Azeri way however that is where my fondness will end. Watch out for her cross -legged grandad wailing on a table. As holders they're straight through to the final and she's singing at position number 13 which is unlucky for us rather than her. This has been tipped in Eastern parts as a Top5 finish and I wouldn't be surprised if it did, but it almost finishes me off.
Striking but gentle, smooth yet powerful, emotional and appealing, Sabina speaks to the world through her songs and music.
Sabina was born on December 2nd, 1979 in Baku. It was her mother – a professional pianist - who introduced her little girl to the world of music. There are no weightless songs as each tells the stories and emotions from Sabina’s life not by hearsay because music has been in her life forever.
 
 
Aah, it's that time again when we all pop back 30 years+ to re-visit the days of dolby surround, snoods, and Bow Wow Wow. Cultural phenomenons all happening right now in Minsk.
A five piece band, draped in cutting edge cheap fancy dress Tron get-up, Litesound will be assailing us with a reworked pop-rock effort which could be interpreted by Lukashenko as having the necessary amount of nationalistic fervour. It's horribly weak and I cannot see Belarus coming out of the envelope in the second semi, but then again they have improved in rehearsals and life does sometimes surprise...
Litesound is a truly international band, bringing together musicians from Belarus, Russia and Italy. In their fifth attempt, they finally won the Belarusian national selection this year, and thus will represent their country in Baku with We Are The Heroes.
Litesound is one of the most successful bands in Belarus, bringing us music in several genres and styles from classical rock to pop music. Litesound was founded by the Kariakin brothers, Dmitry and Vladimir. Nowadays the band has become an international project after the Italian musician and singer Jacopo Massa joined. With the Russian guitarist Alex Kolchin and the Belarusian drummer Ignat Yakovich the band has played more than 130 gigs during the last year.
 
 
The Belgian entry for this year is dividing opinion. Some feel it's a nasally whining non-entity, others rather worryingly think it's a simple ballard sung by a sweet 17 year old.
The EBU invented the Junior Eurovision Contest some time in the dim past, which was brought about to segregate those talent show "Annie" moments we all dread, where younglings fail to emote adult lyrics. "Would You" comes across as a Degrassi Street audition, where she desparately wants to catch the eye of the quaterback Chuck. It's awful and won't qualify. Beware of this on Tuesday the 22nd.
A young lady with youthful enthusiasm, a fresh look and a beautiful voice, Iris will represent Belgium in Baku with her song Would You?
After Sandra Kim, Iris is the youngest ever Belgian Eurovision Song Contest candidate. This spontaneous flower from Noorderwijk (Herentals) is only 17, but is all set to give Europe an unforgettable performance.
When the VRT (the Flemish public broadcaster) announced that Iris would be representing Belgium in Baku, she was still relatively inexperienced and had never before appeared on national TV. The VRT was won over by her youthful enthusiasm, her fresh look and her intriguing stem.
 
 

Putting aside the rather interesting national hairstyle you may recognise Maya pretending to play the piano for Dino Merlin during 2011's highlight song.
"The steps I know" are a UK eurovison entry in waiting, a cheesy late 90's tribute act that would likely crash and burn on the Eurosong stage. "The steps I know" according to Maya Sar however is a ballard by the numbers, a disappointingly dull song & video (which has her playing the piano on a conveyor belt whilst heading into a smelting machine). Sadly such a fate is appropriate for this vinyl. May qualify but won't excel.
A supremely talented singer/songwriter, Maya Sar brings passion and depth to her music and performances, including the self-penned song Korake ti znam, which she will perform for Bosnia & Herzegovina in Baku in May. Maya Sar is a songwriter, composer and singer who works with the biggest names from the Balkan region. For many years she has been a member of Dino Merlin's band with whom she performed at the 2011 ESC.
She is the founder of a regional humanitarian project, which helps to fight against cervical cancer For "Moj je život moja pjesma" (My Life Is My Song) this she received the Golden Plaque Of The Great Human Heart by the International League of Humanists.
 
 
The Bulgar lyrics this year incorporates "I love you" in many languages, which is an approach taken directly from page 84 of the "ways to guarantee minor points from Europe in ESC" textbook. Sophie Fishstew will be larging it up with a moderate Eastern club number, which isn't awful but also doesn't excite. The lady herself who has an off-putting arm tattoo, will likely squirm around in figure hugging bustard whilst an array of disco lights, pyro's, and badly choreographed movement explode around her. Not given a hope by bookies, may have a squeak of getting through to the Final, but nothing more.
Sofi Marinova is an artist used to compete in song festivals and win them! She's now ready for the challenge to keep that statistic up and try to win the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Bulgaria.
In her career the singer has had mostly first place awards in festivals and contests and said she will be very disappointed if she ever comes second, but in 2005 she reached the second place at the national selection for Eurovision in Bulgaria with Edinstveni (Only One) with Slavi Trifonov. In 2007 she took part again with the rapper Ustata and the songYa Tvoya (I'm Yours) placing third.
 
 
Nina has decided to use her position of Marketing Support Anaylst at Nebo Tools (a leading supplier of innovative lighting products and tools) to sing about her favourite LED torch this year. Which is a fairly racy subject matter for the Croats.
Don't be fooled by the promotional picture (left), this ballard starts as a flat as a witches bosom and ends up as racy as Sabrina the teenage annoyance. It is a particular low point in both Croatia's ever decreasing return, and also in semi final 2.
Oh, and Nebo stands for Heaven, but I would prefer Davy Lamp.
Croatian broadcaster HRT this year decided to internally select one of the nation's top female artists, Nina Badric in their quest for glory on the Eurovision stage. Nina Badric’s face was recognized as the face of the world campaign for Frederique Constant luxury watches. The campaign with Nina’s trademark face graces billboards all over the world and numerous fashion magazines, such as Vogue, In Style or NY Times. She writes most of her songs, and it is with an original composition that she plans to represent Croatia at the upcoming Eurosong competition.
 
 
Unnecessary 20 second of drum solo notwithstanding this olive-fuelled dance lite stomper has been seen as a likely qualifier and a potential top ten.
Weighing in at a morbidly obese 135 "La's", this dance number is remarkably repetitive for Ivi, a highly leggy maiden who we haven't yet heard sing live. This is normally a warning that some last minute Scritti Politti audio engineering needs to take place, however we shall see.
So I've stuck my neck out by saying that this won't qualify, even with the douze points from their flat broke neighbours. I could be wrong.

Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation chose the Cypriot singer Ivi Adamou to represent the nation in the 57th Eurovision Song Contest, the singer will sing the song La La Love.
Eighteen year old Ivi Adamou, started her career at 16 emerging from X Factor 2 in Greece, where she got the opportunity to show her vocal potential and her powerful character to a greater extent.
 
 
Normally between the sun and the moon is a dingy twilight period where everything goes quiet and the dogs start gathering to have a howl. However Soluna is more of a bright moment in a shady couple of hours.
Tiny caravan-dwelling, Guatemalan born busker Ms Samay has a pleasing little ditty for Denmark. She is a little smug, and the song is certainly a tad repetitive, however there's enough good things going on to suggest a top five come Final time. And special mention to her fine collection of hats, and the cellist with the Red Sox cap. ReeSpect!
From busker to winner of the Danish Melodi Grand Prix 2012. Soluna Samay will travel to Baku and represent Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest. They could easily have met Soluna on the street, where she often performs as a busker, both in Copenhagen and in Europe.
Soluna Samay was born and raised in Guatemala, by her German father and her Swiss-German mother. At the age of 10 the family moved to Denmark, settling down on the small island of Bornholm.
When Soluna sings her own songs you can tell that she has something on her mind. Her band consists of musicians of different nationalities,as it brings a vibe she feels as a world citizen. In Spanish sun is “Sol” and moon is “Luna” and in-between is the star, Soluna.
 
 
What a bore. Or at least, what a boor. For Ott, King of Lepland, will be holding court and singing his puddle of a ballard in Estonian. From what we can tell, Ott is not only satisfied that the temperature is dropping, he is downright overjoyed by the ambient conditions.
"Kuula" actually stands for "Listen", as in "Listen to the voice of the rainbow". Obviously... Common Eurosong consent suggests this is one of better songs of the year. And although Ott is a strong performer (nasal obviously), and although it rises to a climatic throaty gargle, I don't see it troubling the leaderboard. A shame as I like the Estonians.
Ott Lepland has won everything that could be won: Estonian Idol in 2009; the lead role in High School Musical in 2010; the show Laulupealinn in 2011, where he represented his family’s hometown of Kärdla; and Eesti Laul iin 2012 with a song he wrote himself.
Ott, born on 17 May 1987 in Tallinn, was already well known in Estonia when he was still a child. He released four albums of children's songs and performed in the theatre, but left the limelight when he became a teenager and focussed on his studies of music.
His vocal coach has this to say: "This song has the potential to be the I Will Always Love You of this century – it is a powerful and simple balance with the potential to become an international hit."