Keen to fraternise with the enemy, this floral-shirted crooner has even done endless covers with his fellow competitors in the run up to the competition including our very own Lucie Jones (don't trust him, Lucie):

He even got YET ANOTHER tattoo when he touched down in Kyiv. Careful, Manel - don't do a Harry Styles on us. 

This time it was the word 'Music' in Ukrainian. God, I hope he doesn't place last or that tattoo is being to be MEGA awkward.

Luckily for Manel his nation has a decent track record; Spain have won the competition twice and actually did so two years in a row with Massiel in 1968 and Salome in 1969. The latter was all sorts of 1960s loveliness. Oh, Salome: 

If you're wondering what that tattoo is on Manel's arm, it’s the name of his lover. They've known eachother for just over a year…crikey. 

No doubt the title of this song he's singing (yep, it's called 'Do It For Your Lover') was ringing in his ears when he gingerly walked out of the tattoo parlour.

Here is the second of our BIG FIVE contenders tonight; Manel Navarro from Spain who is singing 'Do It For Your Lover.' 

Manel looks an awful lot like Sean Walsh, external with all that gorgeous, shaggy hair. 

Sean, you know that one night stand you had in Malaga? Well…

It has been 12 whole years since Greece last won Eurovision. 

Going into battle that time was the very Greek-sounding Helena Paparizou who vanquished her fellow competitors with a presciently titled song called 'My Number One.' 

Her performance even featured a GIGANTIC cello which makes a surprise appearance at 2.27:

Another singer to go through in the first semi-final was Greece's Demy. 

Our gal Demy likes to pack a lot into her day. Not only is she a Eurovision songstress, she's also starring in Mamma Mia in Athens AND studying law at university. What a trooper. (A Super Trooper?) 

How does she do it? Well if this video is anything to go by she whizzes through her press calls at a heck of a rate:

Also if a drunken idiot has just staggered into your Eurovision party and screamed 'why is Australia in Eurovision??!' whilst sloshing their beer everywhere - don't worry, we've got your back. 

Australia, like Israel and Norway is a member of the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) rather than the EU (The European Union) and so has every right to be here. Isn't that right Isaiah?

Isaiah is a massive fan of Mariah Carey (yes, even after *that* New Year's Eve performance) which might explain his obsession with irritatingly elaborate vocal runs:

He also might want to work on his selfie technique (WE'RE DOWN HERE ISAIAH).

Isaiah is terrifyingly young. One of the youngest here tonight apart from pint-sized Bulgarian Kristian Kostov. 

He also hails from a large family; 11 brothers and sisters who are all screaming along back home in the tiny village of Moama in New South Wales. 

Like any young, athletic male in Australia, Isaiah is a keen player of Aussie rules football (*national stereotype klaxon*) and has even been given the nickname 'Emu' by his team mates (*MASSIVE NATIONAL STEREOTYPE KLAXON*) because he is such a fast runner. 

So if there's a set malfunction and the turn table revs up into a treadmill of doom Isaiah will be more than capable of keeping up. 

Tonight Australia are serving up 17 year old Isaiah on a lazy Susan.

Sorry, 'turntable.' Or, as his manager puts it in this infromative video 'a turn table that's turning' just to make damn sure we know what it is:

Glad we cleared that up. 

His vocals are also absolutely top notch and Jacques is no auto-tune Angus. He can deliver the goods at the drop of a hat as we found out backstage earlier this week: 

Did anyone else notice that 'David' tattoo on his hand? I think I'll leave it to Busted to ask the question in everyone's minds right now, external. 

Neil Smith
Entertainment reporter

Don't take that horse's head away yet - we may need it for the next act.

Jacques Houdek is really big in Croatia. In fact, he's really big everywhere. And he has two voices - one for pop and one for opera.

They call him Mr Voice in his homeland, and not just because he's a mentor on The Voice. It's because he can sing a duet with himself, using different voices, alternating one line of My Friend at a time.

Luckily you only need one set of earplugs to get through it. This is how Jacques celebrated reaching the final earlier this week.

If you're wondering why his voice is having an identity crisis every ten seconds it's because he collaborated with Swedish songwriter Tony Malm to create "two different personalities in one person co-existing and collaborating and celebrating their diversity." 

Yes that's right 'CELEBRATE DIVERSITY' Eurovision's motto this year. Clever Jacques. Very subtle indeed. 

Zdravo Croatia! This year we're joined by the gorgeous Jacques Houdek. 

He's one industrious pop star and has no less than 13 albums to his name (take note, Frank Ocean) which have all gone either silver, gold, platinum or diamond in his country. 

He also somehow found time to be a coach on Croatian version of The Voice. He even mentored last year's entry Nina Kraljic to victory - go Jacques! Here he is dancing with her to 'Moves Like Jagger' on national television. Sorry, 'Moves Like Jacquer': 

Right, that's enough dreadful horse puns for tonight (some of them were quite LAME). 

Here is Dihaj and her equine partner stoically brandishing that horse's head at our BBC presenter, Scott Mills:

Dihaj was SADDLED with quite a responsibility in the semi-final.

Azerbaijan have a 100% qualification record for the final so it's a good thing that she got through and didn't FALL AT THE FINAL FENCE.

According to Dihaj's press release, the song is all about a women who has fallen in love with a bad guy - but she's still strong enough to control her feelings. She knows what she's doing but can't help her love for this and person. Well, that clears THAT up. 

In other words, it's all about a woman who can't GET OFF HER HIGH HORSE.

We now reach the halfway point with our TWELFTH contest of the night.

Trotting on stage right now is Dihaj from Azerbaijan. 

Dihaj is most note-worthy for having a man in a horse's head halfway up a ladder as part of her stagecraft. 

Hopefully it'll remain STABLE and he won't fall off otherwise that would really ruin her chances of JOCKEYING FOR POSITION against all the other finalists. 

Keep an eye on on the Sobral siblings in the points section later on. They smashed everyone else out of the park with their camera show-boating in the semi-final:

Neil Smith
Entertainment reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Italy's biggest competition comes from Portugal, who have bucked convention by sending a charming little love song - in Portuguese no less - to this year's contest.

Amar Pelos Dois is sung by Salvador Sobral, a performer you could easily mistake for a mature student or hipster barista who'd wandered onto the island stage by mistake.

It was touch and go whether Sobral would make it to Kiev at all. The 27-year-old has a serious heart condition and only recently had double hernia surgery.

Portugal have never won Eurovision and have never ended inside the top five. Expect at least one of those stats to change by the end of the evening.

Lovely Salvador has had to battle through quite a lot to get here tonight. 

He had to miss all the rehearsals for the semi-final for a hernia operation which meant his sister Luisa (who also wrote this song) stood in for him. 

Here she is rehearsing for him in a fetching yellow anorak and coming out with some expressive 'Evita on the balcony' hand gestures: