Every year we look at the charts, one week before the Eurovision final! Two years ago, Lena was already a success in the european charts, and she won!! Last year, the charts didn't take too much attention to Eurovision, and even after the eurovision week, the winning song was not a hit!

But this time it seems to be different! Mostly of the songs are already hits in their original countries. For example: the hungarian song is number 8 in Hungary; the croatian is number 3 in Croatia; lithuanian is 7 in Lithuania, Kuula is number 10 in Estonia; Roman Lob is going down in th egerman chart but stills number 38; Pastora Soler is number 25 in the songs chart and her Album (Eurovision edition) is number 45. The song from Cyprus is number 6 in the radio charts in Cyprus and also the greek song (aphrodisiac) is number 10 in Cyprus. Of course the votes we confirm it. 

In Slovenia we can notice an interesting fact. Eva Boto has two songs in the charts: the eurovision song at number 1 and "to leto bo moje" a duet with Jan Plestenjak at number 32. The same happens in Ireland. The Jedward are number 28 with "Waterline" and 6 with the Eurocup Irish "Put the green cape on", which is no more than a verison of "Lipstick"!

But in the european charts it's possible to check that two songs are becoming big hits! The romanian song is already a hit in Romania (#5 this week) and it is number 25 in Lithuania!!

If we have to choose a winner, than it will be Sweden! "Euphoria" is now in several charts across Europe.  After being number 1 in Sweden and Finland, it's now number 1 in the radio charts in Iceland; 10 in Lithuania; 6 in Sweden; 3 in Estonia; 4 in Finland and 4 in Norway! Scandinavia and the Baltic are already listening to Loreen. A good step to conquer the victory in Eurovision. Will it be? Yes, if the charts can predict!

The 6 entries already in the final did their rehearsals. In the first rehearsals of the UK we noticed some problems with the singer, sometimes he was out of tone. The second was too much better! Will it be lucky or experience? We will see next saturday. From Azerbaijan we could listen a pretty woman, very well dressed and singing so well. The performance tries to include some ethnical elements by the hand of the back singer sitted behind her. Good choice! France made the first deception! In the preview video we could capture lots of french glamour from Angunn and the dancers, but what did they do now? It's nice to have dancers, but jumping all the time? The song is not easy and definitely deserved something better. Roman from Germany has a very simple performance, he sings well, the song is good, but maybe not that good for a winning song. Out of love from Italy is mostly out of the italian language. It's a pity! The singer is great, the song is very good, but the english accent of Nina is terrible! Maybe it can be a surprise! Some people see it as a possible winner, and it can be!! Pastora Soler is probably the best voice in this years competition! Everything is perfect! Her, the stage, the backing singers... Madrid 2013? Why not? She really deserve to win!!

All countries from the second semifinal did the first rehearsal. Probably this is the toughest semifinal of the year and it will be very difficult tto decide the ten entries that will proceed to the final.

Serbia is represented by Zeljko again, the singer who reached the 2nd place in 2004 and the composer of Oro from Jelena Tomasevic. His vocal performance is great and the song has it all to reach the final. A very good composition and a better orchestration. Kaliopi who tried the ticket to eurovision before, has a good song. She is just one more of the good singers that will be on stage this year. The Netherlands insisted in a western-indian outfit which is definitely a bad choice despite it is a very good and simple song. Kurt from Malta has a good performance but maybe with a not so special choreography- what a strange and silly movement. Belarus insisted one more time in strange microphones, but this time for a good song and singers. Maybe a better luck this time. Portugal brings one more time a balkanic song with fado elements, specially supported by the singer, Filipa. The 5 back singers seemed to be very nice giving a good support to Filipa. The song is pleasant to our ears but a bit maybe repetitive. Gaitana form Ukraine is on stage accompanied by some singers. She screams a bit too much but she's never out of tone. Good performance. From Bulgaria we can see a very nice and good singer performing a real dance song without dancers which won't be  nothing new in this years contest. The back singers of Slovenia simply loose their hats, good decision. They still seems to be a lot of brides waiting for an husband. The song is good and finally the performance includes beautiful elements that involves the singer and her back singers in a very nice atmosphere. From Croatia we can expect one of the best choreographys of the year. Considering that Nina is popular in the balkan coutries, she can reach the final in a easy way. And the big favourite will be Sweden. Loreen is very good, everything is brilliant, from the back singers to the lights on stage. Nothing is new since melodifestivalen but it continues effective in this bigger stage. A winner probably. Georgia: a strange singer, a strange song, strange presentation! Considering this semifinal, it will be very unfair if this qualifies. Turkey presents a human boat on stage. 5 singers with an original dance act. The song and the performance could've been part of some musical. Well done Turkey! 

From Estonia we listen Kuula! One of the ballads of the year! Simple on stage, but why more? It's enough and brilliant. Slovakia, one of the hardest rock acts in the history of eurovision! Something reminds Axel Rose, but if the minorities that like this kind of music vote on it, than Max can qualifie. Norwegian Eric Saade managed to change something and now it seems something a bit different on stage. The song still including a perfect copy of Benni Bennassi's "Satisfaction". Bosnia and Herzegovina presents something maybe too simple. Maya starts the song playing the piano and stands up to finish the song. Always alone on stage! She seems not be so good singer as we could expect - let's wait till the big night to decide. Lithuania  also presents a singer on stage, totally alone. To pretend he is not alone, the screen behind shows some silhouettes! Maybe it will work on TV.

Our preview:

Definitely in the final - Serbia, FYR Macedonia, Ukraine, Slovenia, Sweden, Estonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Maybe in the final - Croatia, Turkey, Norway

The first day of semifinals ended. Montenegro, the first song to open the show seems to be a reflection about Europe and on stage, Rambo is accompanied by a Try Horse. It’s an interesting caricature, but it wont reach the final.

Iceland is for sure a good performance and it will be in the final.It is just what we expected. The song number 3 will take us to Greece just since the very first second. The singer seems to feel very safe on stage. The song is something that we are used to listen from Greece. Too normal but a very safe performance that will reach the final.

Latvia is the typical ESC performance with a non special coreography but with a very good singer. Albania seems to be the big surprise of this semifinal. A very good singer, alone on stage creating a very nice environment. She will please the juries. For sure in the final.

Romania, is a happy and very nice performance. Probably one of the top3 in this semifinal. Switzerland can be a surprise! A very nice pop rock performance but it’s not sure they will qualify.

Belgium, a very simple ballad with a very nice singer. Probably the time for wiewers to have a break, nothing special, but better than we expected.

Finland pleased us with a very nice and simple performance. The dress of the singe ris awful but can maybe work on TV.

From Israel we have a very nice rock performance, nothing special as a performance, but the song is very good and can maybe easily reach the final.

No words to describe this last entry from Ralph Siegel representing San Marino. Probably a candidate for the last place. An awful song, a silly coreography that reminds a woman pretending she’s a teenager.

Ivi Adamou from Cyprus is one of the favourites since the very first moment. The performance seems to be ok even Ivi shows some breathing problems while singing. The song is catchy and will be in the final.

Nothing special from Denmark! A good song and a nice singer. Since their neighbours are in the second semi, nothing is guaranteed. Wait and see…

The grannies from Russia are nothing more than last year portuguese entry. The difference is that they are authentic, they don’t sing well, and the song has a constant beating. The oven they will use is ridiculous, but with some luck and with the help of the neighbours, mother Russia is one of the candidates for the victory.

Hungary presents one more rock song that can compete with Switzerland. The singer and the song are very good but the way the singer moves can be strange, maybe too rock? Maybe in the final…

Austria, one more funny wannabee act! Nothing special. Probably not in the final.

Pasha from Moldova, performs a very repetitive song with a very active coreography! It can make the viewer feel tired after 3 minutes. Since it’s one of the last songs and since he seems very well on TV, this entry will qualify.

Everybody was wondering what could Jedward do after their amazing performance last time. A fountain is the answer! The song is nothing special and Waterline was in the borderline since this performance. Probably in the final.

Our preview:

For sure in the final: Iceland, Greece, Albania, Romania, Russia

Probably in the final: Ireland, Cyprus, Moldova, Denmark, Hungary

According to the readers of Eurovision On Top, the entries that will reach the final are:

1 st semi:

cyprus

russia

iceland

romania

denmark

albania

greece

latvia

hungary

austria

2nd semi

sweden

norway

serbia

estonia

slovenia

bosnia

netherlands

ukraine

portugal

croatia

In an exclusive interview to OGAE Portugal / Eurovision on Top, Pastora Soler talks about the musical references, her career and the experience she is living by taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest. Pastora does not hide the surprise she had when she was invited to represent Spain and the responsibility it represents. But even so, she encourages everyone to follow their dreams despite the obstacles. She tells us how it was to acknowledge the importance and the multitude surrounding the Eurovision. At a time when the song “Quédate conmigo” is conquering Europe and exciting the Spanish public, Pastora Soler, presents herself. This week, the song is also number one in our Eurovision Top 20. One part of this interview is going to be published in the official website of OGAE Portugal and another part here  http://www.eurovisionontop.com/specials.htm

According to the 1835 voters in our Eurovision 2012 chart, the countries that will reach the final, since we started the chart, are:

SEMI1 SEMI 2

cyprus norway

iceland sweden

denmark estonia

russia slovenia

greece serbia

romania netherlands

latvia ukraine

albania portugal

israel bulgaria

hungary bosnia

Every week we consider the votings from the last 7 days, that's how we create the weekly ESC 2012 TOP20.

The decision of San Marino completed the list of songs for Baku! Valentina Monetta will sing the song The social network. The word Facebook in the previous version was replaced by "oh uh oh uh's ". This is newest song of legendary Ralph Siegel in the contest.

The running order fot both semifinals and final:

Semi final 1- May 22nd Running order

01 Montenegro

02 Iceland

03 Greece

04 Latvia

05 Albania

06 Romania

07 Switzerland

08 Belgium

09 Finland WILDCARD

10 Israel

11 San Marino

12 Cyprus

13 Denmark

14 Russia

15 Hungary

16 Austria

17 Moldova

18 Ireland WILDCARD

Sem final 2- 24th May- Running Order

01 Serbia

02 FYR Macedonia

03 Netherlands

04 Malta

05 Belarus

06 Portugal

07 Ukraine WILDCARD

08 Bulgaria

09 Slovenia

10 Croatia

11 Sweden

12 Georgia

13 Turkey

14 Estonia

15 Slovakia

16 Norway

17 Bosnia-Herzegovina

18 Lithuania WILDCARD

Final- 26th May- Running order

01 United Kingdom

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09 France

10 Italy

11

12

13 Azerbaijan

14

15

16

17

18

19 Spain WILDCARD

20 Germany

21

22

23

24

25

26

Engelbert Humperdinck's song Love Will Set You Free is written and produced by Martin Terefe and Sacha Skarbek.

Engelbert Humperdinck has been a big name in the international music industry for over forty-five years, with over 150 million records sold worldwide. His remarkable voice and extraordinary talent has endeared him to millions of fans around the globe.

Humperdinck has four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe for Entertainer of the Year, 63 gold and 24 platinum records and as one of only a handful of artists with a star on both the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Las Vegas Walk of Fame.

Humperdinck still has a loyal global fanbase, and in the past 12 months alone he has performed all over Europe including United Kingdom, Russia, Romania, The Netherlands, Belgium & Israel.

He is currently in the studio recording a brand new album with Grammy award winning producer Martin Terefe and writer Dan Wilson with some surprising contemporary collaborations. source: eurovision.tv

On the 26th of May in Baku he will perform Love Will Set You Free for the United Kingdom in the Final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012.

Humperdinck will be accompanied onstage by guitarist James Bryan, and the staging will be in the capable hands of choreographer Arlene Phillips.

"The lyrics and/or performance of the songs shall not bring the Shows, the ESC as such or the EBU into disrepute. No lyrics, speeches, gestures of a political or similar nature shall be permitted during the ESC. No swearing or other unacceptable language shall be allowed in the lyrics or in the performances of the songs. No commercial messages of any kind shall be allowed. A breach of this rule may result in disqualification." says the point 1.2.2.g of the Rules of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

The Reference Group concluded that due to the title and repetitive presence of the trademark 'Facebook', the song contains a commercial message and is therefor not eligable to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.

In support of SMRTV's participation, it was decided to give the broadcaster the opportunity to either deliver a new version of the lyrics that does not include a reference to Facebook, or to deliver a new song. The deadline set for the delivery of new lyrics and/or song was set to Friday, 22nd of March at 12:00 CET. source: eurovision.tv

... and of course it's a young singer that will reprsent San Marino in ESC. Rumours about Nicola de Bari was a joke because Valentina Monetta will represent the little country! Valentina  has a passion for jazz music and her entry and videoclip will be premiered on Friday the 16th at 21.40 in a special show aired on SMTV.