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Although we still have fourteen weeks to go, thirteen entries have been announced so far. I can't believe how quickly they were announced, but it seems an exciting contest is coming.

The UK selection process is over. The British public have made their choice and for once, they haven’t made a mess of it. They nearly did but I’m prepared to overlook that because in the end, what matters is the final result

For the first time ever I didn’t know which song to vote for in the Danish final. It was impossible to choose between Someday and Believe Again and seconds before the line closed I acted like a chicken. I simply didn’t want to risk having that only vote that would decide who was going to Moscow. But why is it always song number 10 that wins?

Twelve artists are still in the Finnish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, but what will happen? There have been already some surprises, but will there be any more? Who are favourites? Who might win? Let's speculate!

DR’s otherwise strong security couldn’t stop the ten songs from being leaked this year. It is quite embarrassing for the broadcaster who makes a big deal out of the songs not being published before. While DR figures out how to react to this the rest of us can judge if the songs live up to the higher quality we were promised.

Two shows down, two to go. Your Country Needs You is halfway through and so far, it’s all positive. The show looks fresher than the UK selection show of previous years, there’s a new frontman (hurrah!) in Graham Norton and, more importantly, there is genuine optimism about the end result.

For the past couple of years now the Norsk Melodi Grand Prix has been my favourite national final. The widely varying songs and the real enthusiasm of the Norwegian people never cease to impress me. That’s partly why I was so happy to see Maria Haukaas Storeng do so well in Belgrade last year.

This year Melodifestivalen will undergo many changes. An international jury and head to head matches in the semi finals are just two of them. Will this have any effect on the artists? And if so, how?

I always get excited at the prospect of the forthcoming Eurovision at about this time every year. I usually try to suppress it, but it never works! It's hard not to get excited when you hear that Diane Warren will pen the UK entry.

The Danish line-up reveals a contest where the song is in focus. Most of the songs have successfull songwriters behind them. Andrew Lloyd Webber is writing for the UK and it appears that Denmark also is ready for letting the Eurovision Song Contest be a songwriter competition. It is back to the roots.