A record number of 43 countries will be represented at the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest and for the first time, the contest features two Semi-Finals.
- 20 May - First Semi-Final
- 22 May - Second Semi-Final
- 24 May - The Final
Here are the first three entrants in alphabetical order
Andorra (RTVA)
Semi-Final (1)
Performer: Gisela
Song title: Casanova
Song writer(s): Jordi Cubino
Song composer(s): Jordi Cubino
Spanish-born Gisela (1979) will represent Andorra at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. With Casanova she hopes to bring Andorra the Eurovision Song Contest success it has been waiting for since 2004.
Gisela was born in Barcelona under the sign of Capricorn on the 1st of January. Ever since she was a child she was mad about music and was determined to one day become a famous singer. When she grew up she started to sing in a group and considered the possibility of becoming a professional singer, but she was aware of how difficult it was to succeed in the music world and so decided to enrol at the Universidad Autonómica de Barcelona to study journalism.She left her studies during her second year when she was chosen to participate in Operación Triunfo, the Spanish version Fame Academy.
Albania (RTSH)
Semi-Final (2)
Performer: Olta Boka
Song title: Zemrën E Lamë Peng
Song writer(s): Pandi Laço
Song composer(s): Adrian Hila
Olta Boka is the winner of this year's Festivali i Këngës and thus the artist representing Albania in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest. She won the first prize with her song Zemrën E Lamë Peng. At only 16 years of age, she is the youngest Albanian singer to ever make it to the stage of the Eurovision Song Contest. She began her singing career at the tender age of nine, with the formation of Choir of Angels led by National Opera Music Master Suzana Turku.
Armenia (AMPTV)
Semi-Final (1)
Performer: Sirusho
Song title: Qele, Qele
Song writer(s): Sirusho
Song composer(s): H.A. Der-Hovagimian
Sirusho was born in 1987 in Yerevan, Armenia. She was raised in a family comprised of a father who is an accomplished actor and director, and her mother a well-known and respected singer. She has been singing all of her life and first performed on stage at the age of seven. Since then she blossomed into being one of the most popular and loved singers in Armenia.
Have a listen and let me know what you thought of them.
I've given my first impression as a comment.