And finally, for this year at least, our attention turns to host nation Sweden and their entry If I Were Sorry, a song which is co-written and performed by 17-year-old Frans.
Coming from someone so young, it's not surprising that the track is probably the most contemporary in the competition. An almost spoken narrative dominates the song and this in itself is conspicuous by an accent which sounds like a mixture of Eastenders combined with ABBA.
However, unlike Sweden's winner from last year, If I Were Sorry is a much more understated affair, backed by hip-hop dance rhythms in a style which unifies Ed Sheeran's pop/folk with Justin Bieber's electronic R&B. As such, it reflects all that is current about pop radio.
It has already sold well across some parts of Europe - unusually for a Eurovision song it has entered the UK Top 200 before a single vote has even been given. Whether this pre-Contest success will be enough to send Sweden to the top of the scoreboard for a second year in a row is questionable. The song is distinctive enough for it to score well, but whether the average Eurovision audience is ready to vote for it en masse is debatable.
With the news that no other Nordic country has made it through to the Final, it can expect some high points from its Scandinavian neighbours, no doubt helping it to settle somewhere within the Top 10.
Lithuania: Donny Montell with I've Been Waiting For This Night
Making a welcome return to the Eurovision stage is Lithuanian singer Donny Montell who first appeared at the Contest in 2012, blindfolded and singing Love is Blind.
On that occasion, he finished in 14th place performing an updated disco-style dancefloor track and now, four years later, I've Been Waiting For This Night seems to be his natural musical progression. In fact, the song is probably more contemporary 'Eurovision' than most featured in the competition. \
It ticks many of the required boxes: it's a somewhat overwrought clubland-style anthem building to a big chorus, but proves to be more animated than his last effort. It's snappy and should have enough popular appeal to make it through to the Final.
It's possibly a little too generic to make significant headway on the scoreboard, but equalling his 2012 ranking shouldn't prove too much of a problem.
Appearance: Semi-Final 2, performing 9th.
Serbia: Sanja Vučić ZAA with Goodbye (Shelter)
Serbia is bidding to regain the Eurovision title using the talents of local singer Sanja Vučić - vocalist with the domestic band ZAA - performing the entry Goodbye (Shelter).
She brings something of an Amy Winehouse vibe to the competition, if her official video is anything to go by. She possesses a melodramatic performance style which gives this bluesy ballad a heightened sense of potency and intensity.
Hopefully, her team will take advantage of this and stage her presentation appropriately. Goodbye (Shelter) is blessed with a captivating melody and a classy hook, the abundance of which may take some by surprise.
If there's any justice, this should qualify and quickly climb the left-hand side of the Final's scoreboard.
Appearance: Semi-Final 2, performing 6th.
Bulgaria: Poli Genova with If Love Was A Crime
It's not only Donny Montell who is making a reappearance this year as 2011 veteran Poli Genova returns to the fray (as does her country, Bulgaria).
The Bulgarians record at Eurovision has been rocky (to say the least) since their début in 2005. With only one appearance in the Final, courtesy of Elitsa and Stoyan in 2007, Poli looks set to change her country's fortunes with the very catchy If Love Was A Crime.
Not surprisingly, the song is already established as one of the favourites for the title - and rightly so. It's a catchy, lively pop number with a memorable chorus and some contemporary effects, making it one of the most radio-friendly entries in the competition.
Expect to eventually see this in the Top 3 of its semi-final - something it could quite easily repeat in the Final.
It seems the Czech Republic have finally figured out this Eurovision malarky. Last year, they sent a very creditable entry as their comeback song, only to see it founder in the semi-finals.
I Stand, their 2016 effort, is by far the country's most commercially creditable offering - at least, to Western ears - and has every chance of pushing the Czechs through to the Final for the first time. Why? Because it's the kind of towering, pot-boiler of a ballad that the core Eurovision audience loves - and will appeal appreciably to a number of the national juries.
Gabriela also serves up her own brand of visual attraction, ably supplementing the glamour stakes alongside her semi-final competitors Ira Losco, Iveta Mukuchyan and Samra - who also provide similarly dramatic compositions.
Will there be enough support to see them all into the Final, though? Up until now, the Czech Republic has proved to be the weakest link. Hopefully, this year, I Stand will convince voters otherwise.
Appearance: Semi-Final 1, performing 10th.
Azerbaijan: Samra with Miracle
Despite not performing as well as expected in 2015, when Elnur Hüseynov's Hour of the Wolf ended up languishing in twelfth place, Azerbaijan return to Eurovision with a fierce mid-tempo ballad sung by local beauty, Samra Rahimli.
Miracle is a mighty pop number penned by (surprise, surprise) a trio of Swedes who seem to have a habit of composing entries with contemporary production values and dynamically captivating melodies. Azerbaijan appear to have struck gold with this one because it ticks many of the boxes required to be successful in Stockholm.
The only factor holding this one back could be Samra's inconsistent live vocals, but if she overcomes this obstacle then she should fly through the semi-final and score very well on Final's night.
Appearance: Semi-Final 1, performing 14th.
Malta: Ira Losco with Walk on Water
Not content with the first review, Malta pull off 'a Belarus' and replace (the publicly-voted-for) national final winner, Chameleon, with the more satisfying - and ultimately, competitive - composition, Walk on Water.
While not a universally-supported decision at the time - what was the point of a national final and what about all those phone charges raked in during the public vote? - the Maltese appear to have deflected much of the criticism in coming up with a much more contemporary and exhilarating contribution.
Walk on Water is a bold, in-your-face pop anthem which possesses a naggingly incessant back beat, while its (somewhat) repetitive gospel-style hook manages to reel in the listener by the end of its three minutes. And those 'uh-oh-ohs' are a bit of a tease, too: where have we heard those before?
Of course, Ira is something of a Eurovision veteran herself, so expect a very professional and confident performance when she takes to the stage at the climax to the first semi-final. She should be equally confident of a place in the Final.
Former The Voice of Croatia contestant Nina Kraljić is off to Stockholm with this brooding, yet slowly developing, ballad called Lighthouse.
There's no doubting that Nina possesses a great voice but, in what seems to be a sea of female vocalists this year, there are superior examples of this kind of entry set to score more favourably. It incorporates the requisite key change, but even this may not help its chances of qualifying from its highly competitive semi-final.
While it's all rather alluring, the song is really not memorable enough to progress and smacks of 'heard it all before' syndrome. A borderline qualifier.
Formerly called Europond, Greece's participants this year are Argo, a band which tends to promote long-established folk music from the Balkan region.
Their entry, Utopian Land, has a very definite ethnic feel about it, starting off with some traditional Balkan instrumentation before a transition into some messy Greek rapping. It's great to hear some partial native language lyrics and indigenous orchestration, but this offering really feels as if it is heading for failure.
Greece is normally one of those countries where anticipation of its entry is high - particularly as it has an enviable record of qualifying from its semi-final. While the song's heart is in the right place - its lyrics touch on the migrant crisis and the faltering Greek economy - one feels that Utopian Land's only route to the Final is through Greece's ever reliable diaspora vote. Even that might fail them and see Greece miss qualification for the first time in years.
Like many, you might be wondering why Australia has returned to the Eurovision stage having appeared last year as (one-off) guests at the 60th edition. Ours is not to reason why...but let's just say that the Aussies love Eurovision.
That said, Guy Sebastian did pretty well in 2015 when he managed to secure fifth place with his upbeat offering Tonight Again. There's no doubt that Australia have pulled out all the stops this year to better that placing with Sound of Silence, a full-on power ballad sung by former X-Factor Australia winner, Dami Im.
The Korean-born chanteuse has rightly earned the reputation for being one of the best singers in the competition and interprets this dance-beat laden entry with consummate ease. Much will depend on its staging of course, but Team Australia is bound to bring some surprises to the Ericsson Globe to add to the song's dramatic atmosphere and content.
If there's any niggle with Sound of Silence, it's that the song sounds a little too repetitive for its own good. That's not going to stop it from qualifying, though. In fact, it could quite easily be the song to beat in the second semi-final.
The Poles may have made a notorious display a couple of years ago with their busty milkmaids act, but just as in 2015 the country has returned to something much more familiar for Eurovision: the love ballad.
Titled Colour of Your Love, the vocals are provided by Michał Szpak - another former contestant of a reality TV show, this time the runner-up on Poland's version of The X-Factor in 2011. There's no doubting he can sing well live and this ballad is the type of entry that can live or die by the type of performance level it is given. As such, expect a passionate and captivating presentation to help separate it from the pack.
Although it may not be the song that many were expecting to win the Polish national final, it's definitely the type of entry which has the credentials to appeal to the Eurovision jurors (as well as the far flung diaspora of Polish voters across Europe).
Look who's back on the Eurovision stage? Yes, it's one of North Macedonia's biggest stars and (fairly) recent Contest graduate, Kaliopi.
If you know your Eurovision, you'll recall that she was North Macedonia's representative in 2012, performing Crno i Belo (Black and White) when Azerbaijan staged the competition in Baku. On that occasion, she managed to climb to a respectable thirteenth place, but can she better that feat this year?
While you know that she will give Dona - an opulent and extravagant ballad - her all, this could easily be one of this year's semi-final casualties. Unfortunately, it sounds much more dated than her 2012 effort, although singing in her native language definitely sets it apart from the parade of English entries.
However, in the improbable event that Kaliopi's popularity helps propel her into the Final alongside more fancied competitors, there's really no chance of North Macedonia climbing too far on the scoreboard.
Appearance: Semi-Final 2, performing 8th.
San Marino: Serhat with I Didn't Know
San Marino famously made it to the Eurovision final two years ago when Valentina Monetta secured 24th place with her song, Maybe. This year Serhat, a Turkish television presenter and self-proclaimed singer, will try to better that effort with his (now) disco-flavoured comic turn called I Didn't Know.
Originally billed as a full-blown ballad, the song was quickly revamped when it was greeted with derision and disbelief by many die-hard Eurovision fans. The entire (now withdrawn) original video was surreal on a grand scale, with Serhat wearing a monocle holster in some kind of outlandish dream sequence video.
San Marino thought better of all that and, as a way of trying to rescue the song, a disco backing track has been added. It hasn't helped. Serhat's vocal abilities still make him sound like the miracle love child of Telly Savalas and Lee Marvin in need of a salt water gargle.
As a result, I Didn't Know is now camper than a row of tents (and that's saying something for Eurovision) and will very probably emerge as 2016's comic turn - if it hasn't already. Entertaining: yes. A winner: definitely not.
With the first semi-final of Eurovision 2016 drawing ever closer, time is now tight and hence these truncated reviews, starting off with:
Montenegro: Highway with The Real Thing
No Balkan ballad from Montenegro this year. Instead, the country has decided to send former X-Factor Adria contestants Highway to Stockholm with their guitar-grinding rock track, The Real Thing.
Apart from Lordi's cartoon rock, the genre has never really fared that well at Eurovision. However, it's nice to see Montenegro trying something a little different again this year, but Highway's sound is probably too niche to have a wide enough appeal either with the juries or the public.
Although there's a melody hidden away in the grunge, this one is bound to fail, breaking the recent run of Final appearances by Montenegro.
Appearance: Semi-Final 1, performing 15th.
Russia: Sergey Lazarev with You Are the Only One
Could Sergey be 'The One' in Sweden?
Having had to put up with an honourable second place last year, this time Russia has decided to ramp up the pressure by sending one of its biggest stars, Sergey Lazarev.
Already installed as one of the favourites to win the whole caboodle, Lazarev and his song tick many of the required Eurovision boxes: a handsome, athletic male singer who will appeal to (in part) both genders and singing a naggingly catchy - if a little outdated - entry, You Are the Only One.
Its construction is very much à la Eric Saade's Popular or even Sakis Rouvas' This is Our Night: a thumping, in your face pop song with a chorus which will quickly get into your head and then refuse to leave. Add in a mandatory key change and you have the archetypal winning formula.
Will he succeed where Saade and Rouvas failed? Only time (and probably political voting) will tell, but you can be sure that this one will be there or thereabouts.
Like Sergey, the young Mr. Pootsmann is well-known in his home country since winning Estonia's version of Pop Idol. This fact, no doubt, helped his victory in Eesti Laul (the name of the nation's national final) as possibly did the song's link with last year's Estonian representative, Stig Rästa.
Stig is co-composer of Play - and it shows. If you recall Estonia's cracking song entry from 2015, Goodbye to Yesterday, then Jüri's effort for 2016 will come as little surprise. It's as moody as one would expect while the contemporary George Ezra-style vocals from Jüri lift the track from what could have been an unremarkable pop song into a more classy, soulful affair.
It's something of a grower, too. However, once the chorus kicks in there's no denying that Play should be considered more than just another Eurovision semi-final filler. In some ways, it feels (and looks) just a little too sophisticated for the competition but, hopefully, Jüri will display more than sufficient charisma to reel in enough votes to lift him into the Grand Final. This song deserves it.
Going Dutch: Douwe Bob will slow it down in Stockholm
Following last year's inauspicious showing by the Dutch when Trijntje Oosterhuis failed to make the final, the Eurovision fortunes of The Netherlands this year are in the hands of the 23-year-old singer-songwriter, Douwe Bob. Another graduate of a reality TV show, he was chosen as the Dutch representative in late September last year. However, we all had to wait until the beginning of March to discover that the song he'll perform in Stockholm is called Slow Down.
The Netherlands return to the guitar-driven, laid-back country styling which The Common Linnets so satisfyingly provided in 2014 - only this time the rhythm and the melody possess a lighter, upbeat quality. Co-written by Douwe Bob, one can imagine sitting in an American bar somewhere in, say Tennessee, and this track playing in the background.
It's very simple in its construction, but also very instant. The hook in the chorus is strikingly memorable and the positive message to try and abandon many of the pressures of life is likely to resonate with much of the audience across Europe.
If there are any doubts about the entry, then the repetitive nature of the lyric in such a short song duration may not be to everyone's taste. However, Douwe Bob seems quite the charmer and if anyone can sell this song, then he can.
Of course, much of this entry's success will depend on its staging. Hans Pannecoucke, the Flemish video director, will return once more to help the Dutch in this respect following his involvement in 2014 and 2015. If his vision matches or exceeds the expectations of the Eurovision audience, then Slow Down should fly into the Final with ease.
Once there, the song could prove to be a surprise. Perhaps, not the revelation that The Common Linnets produced a couple of years ago, but an Anouk-style Top 10 finish is not out of the question.
Israel, two-time victors at the Eurovision Song Contest, have had a torrid time over recent years trying to make the leap from semi-finalists to finalists.
Last year, an energetic performance by Nadav Guedj brought the country back to the top tier of the competition. Now, the baton has been passed to Hovi Star to continue this process of recovery with the song Made of Stars.
Star, real name Hovav Sekulets, has come to Eurovision via a now-familiar route: the TV reality show. Having taken part in Israel's version of Pop Idol in 2009, he graduated to HaKokhav HaBa L'Eirovizion in 2015 - the vehicle for naming the Israeli representative at the Eurovision Song Contest.
A public vote decreed that he would travel to Stockholm with his version of Made of Stars - originally a somewhat bland, ugly duckling of a song which has recently undergone a deserved, major revamp.
In a previous life, the song was something of a flat, unremarkable composition - a situation which the Israelis soon recognised. In mid-March a final version was released and the revision was striking. Sweeping strings were added to give the track an orchestral touch and these now dovetail nicely with Hovi's soaring vocals. The new structure allows the young singer to take what is now an uplifting ballad to a new level, making the chorus even more memorable than before. A swan is born.
The only problem is that this chorus - or at least the title - is locked in for most of the duration of the song. While some repetition is necessary for a Eurovision entry, Made of Stars relies much too heavily on certain phrasing and towards its climax the resulting tedium is extremely apparent.
Whether voters and juries will switch off mentally before it finishes is another matter. Previously superior Israeli entries have failed to impress and stumbled at the semi-final stages and Made of Stars is certainly no better than those. With a tough semi-final draw, Israel will need all the votes it can get and, at best, Hovi Star is very much a borderline qualifier.
It's been more than six months since Armenia announced that Iveta Mukuchyan would be their representative in Stockholm. Finally, at the beginning of March, the song that she will sing was revealed as LoveWave - a co-composition with Lilith Navasardyan, Levon Navasardyan and Stephanie Crutchfield.
With six top ten placings since the country debuted in 2006, Armenia has long felt like a participant that’s getting ever closer to grabbing a well-deserved first victory. But can LoveWave succeed where other Armenian entries have failed?
In short, it's very unlikely. Even though Iveta has one of the better voices in this year's competition, the song is lacking the type of unforgettable hook that is usually required for a Eurovision victory. Actually, it takes several listens to the song before one can even vaguely recall how it went a few minutes after hearing it.
This is mainly so because LoveWave has no natural beginning, middle and end. It starts off with the spoken word before it transitions into a softly sung introduction: a beginning that bodes well. However, the listener is suddenly slapped around the face a number of times as Iveta is transformed into a wild banshee, hollering unintelligibly - all of which is interspersed with oooh-oohs that sound as if they may have been lifted directly from Michael Jackson's Earth Song. Then, just as suddenly, it's all over.
While this entry may not stick in people’s memories, Armenia is nevertheless one of those countries which tends to benefit from a widespread and far-flung diaspora. With televotes in the bag then, most probably it'll be down to the juries as to whether LoveWave qualifies from Semi-Final 1. Most likely, that will happen. But Iveta will then have a struggle to impress in the Final.
However, were this a beauty pageant, she'd win - hands down!
Amir: In search of an elusive French Eurovision victory
Instead of the usual low-rent, three act national final transmitted on a backwater television channel, the new Team France have opted for an internal selection for Eurovision 2016. Hence, Amir Haddad will travel to Sweden with the song J'ai cherché, a catchy dance/pop track which has already attracted a lot of attention.
Amir's choice as French representative comes hot on the heels of his appearance on France's version of The Voice - on which he secured a very creditable third place - and a short spell on his home Top 100 with the hit, Oasis. J'ai cherché has followed it on to the chart but, as yet, has not made too much of an impression.
Originally released as the lead single to his new album Au cœur de moi, the track ticks many of the boxes to make it a success at Eurovision: it has an energetic, modern sing-along chorus - which has now been switched into English - as well as possessing a memorable foot tapping, hand clapping melody. Combine all of that with a singer who the camera loves, and France could be looking at its best placing since the beginning of the millennium when it pocketed back-to-back Top 5 places.
There has even been talk of a French win this year, which is not totally out of the question. Although France has strong rivals for a victory, it may be Amir's vocals which are the deciding factor. Recent live renditions of the song were not too promising, especially as it approached the final thirty seconds or so. However, any doubts should have been dispelled if his performance at the London Eurovision Party is any marker. He seemed much more relaxed and in control than ever before.
If he continues with that attitude, there's a distinct possibility that J'ai cherché could be playing over the end credits of Eurovision on May 14. It's been a long wait for France and a deserved win may be on the cards...
The Heartbeat of Latvia: Justs to fly the Latvian flag in Stockholm
It was at the end of February when the Latvian public voted for Justs to represent their country at this year's Eurovision Song Contest with the song Heartbeat. It was a close-run decision with less than two thousand votes separating the young singer from runners-up, Catalepsia.
There was perhaps an air of inevitability surrounding his victory. Heartbeat is, of course, the brainchild of last year's successful Latvian participant, Animata, and features more than just a few of the electro elements which made Love Injected stand out.
Although there's a manufactured, even industrial, quality to the electronic chords which run through the song, it's Justs' enthusiastic - though vulnerable - vocal ability which adds both warmth and honesty to Heartbeat. There's a passionate, even explosive, chorus in which his tone reminds the listener of some of the freshest R&B singers of today. Combine that with the ultra-modern production values and he and his songwriter have conceived one of the most radio-friendly creations in this year's competition.
The big question is, of course, whether Latvia can win the competition with this song? Inevitable comparisons will be made to Animata's final position on the scoreboard in 2015 (6th), as well as Justs' proportionate ability to impress both the juries and the public.
Last year, Love Injected failed to do as well with the televote as it did with the juries, but Justs has the potential magnetism in both presentation and vocal ability to pull in votes on both fronts. Heartbeat may not be this year's winner, but a Top 3 finish is not entirely out of the question.
It was nothing less than a complete slam dunk when the results were announced at the Melodi Grand Prix in Norway; Agnete had won by a two to one margin over the runner-up with her electropop entry, Icebreaker.
The 21-year-old singer/songwriter is no stranger to the limelight though, having led the teen band The BlackSheeps: the group's CV including a Number 1 song in their homeland and a runners-up berth at the 2011 MGP.
Not long after this appearance the band split, leaving Agnete to dabble in a few reality TV shows before her selection as one of the ten acts at this year's MGP.
She joins Swede Gabriel Alares and Brit Ian Curnow as a co-composer of Icebreaker, both seasoned (and successful) writers in their own right. In fact, Curnow has written for and produced a long list of well-known names, including Boyzone, Take That and Roxette as well as performing with the band Talk Talk and a variety of Stock, Aitken and Waterman artists.
So, there is some pedigree behind Norway's entry which mixes tempo and rhythm in a very contemporary package. The fragmented nature of the song has not been to everyone's taste, though. Some feel that it's a confused mess - a mash-up of two songs, while others applaud the unconventional flow of the track.
Still, some of its influences are quite obvious. Listen to any of Sia's recent output for confirmation. Even the staging at the national final appeared to be an idea poached from a previous outing by the Australian.
For all its apparent connections, though - count previous Eurovision entries from Sweden, Germany and Norway among them - Icebreaker sounds like nothing else in this year's competition. Yes, it has a disjointed feel about it, but the chorus is instantly captivating and the pretty Agnete carries off the whole package with a strong vocal, particularly in her higher register.
She'll also be aiming to maintain Norway's recent sequence of Top 10 finishes. Having secured a plum second half draw in the second semi-final, she's well on her way to achieving this.
Icebreaker may be something of a Marmite entry for some, but it should appeal to enough people to see it 'break' into a prominent position on the left-hand side of the scoreboard.
In a national final comprised of ten acts, the Slovenian public was very quickly left with a stark choice between Black and White or Blue and Red. In the end, by a small margin, the more colourful song from ManuElla was selected as Slovenia's entry in this year's Contest.
In the weeks since the end of February, this toe-tappin', Country-influenced piece of Americana has undergone some subtle changes in its production. It now sounds even more like a hybrid of the type of output one would expect from Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.
Add in some bluegrass banjo twanging and you could imagine that this might fare quite well on Billboard's Country Music chart.
Over recent years, the few who have tried this genre at Eurovision have managed quite well. The Common Linnets' surprise success immediately comes to mind, of course - but this owed as much to the staging as it did to the song. ManuElla's Country vibe, however, comes from a different place. Blue and Red is bereft of the moodiness and emotion which enveloped Calm After the Storm, instead opting for an upbeat offering which would also not sound out of place as a track on a Corrs' album.
As there's nothing particularly groundbreaking about the song (and, hopefully, ManuElla's vocals will improve slightly before May), Slovenia's chances may then be more dependent on how their entry is presented.
Apparently, the mid-song costume change has thankfully been ditched in favour of a more striking white dress. What other visuals Team Slovenia has up its sleeve remain to be seen of course, but it has been handed a reasonably good Semi-Final 2 second half draw.
Even so, at best, it feels as if Slovenia may struggle to qualify this year.
When rockers Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest for Finland for the first (and only) time in 2006, it finally felt as if the country had graduated to become one of the elite of the competition.
However, that promise has wilted somewhat over the past decade with only Softengine's 2014 effort making any kind of impression.
In the intervening years, Finland has tried pure pop, indie rock and even punk rock to try and win over voters, but all to no avail. This year their entry is provided by Sandhja who will take the funky dance-floor filler Sing It Away to Stockholm.
UMK was once again the local platform used to determine the country's finalist but, as it turned out, Sandhja was not the most convincing of winners. Scoring only enough votes with the public to secure third place, it was the ten juries - composed of various sections of Finnish society - which elevated her to the winner's podium.
Could the Finnish public's unwillingness to vote for Sing It Away be the fact that this type of performance has been heard numerous times before without overwhelming success? After all, Finland is the land of the guitar and the rockers who wield them isn't it, not a country you immediately identify as clubland.
To give Sandhja her due, she knows how to use a stage - commanding it throughout the three minutes of the song. This professional approach gives a little more gravitas to a song that feels as if it has been dragged kicking and screaming out of the early 1990s - remember Ride on Time by Black Box?
It has exactly the same flavour as that song and should put Semi-Final 1 in a party mood when it kicks off the show in May. Whether it is memorable enough after seventeen more songs have followed is very questionable. Semi-Final 1 is tough enough anyway this year; Sandhja and her crew will really need to stand out if her retro dance tune has any hope of qualifying.
In a year when former finalist the Kállay Saunders Band was considered a shoo-in to represent Hungary at the Eurovision Song Contest, the honour to wave the Hungarian flag in Stockholm instead fell to relative unknown Freddie with the song Pioneer.
He is yet another product of a reality TV singing competition, this time Hungary's version of the international television franchise, Rising Star. Finishing fourth, he subsequently released the 2015 domestic hit single called Mary Joe which led to his participation at A Dal, Hungary's platform for its Eurovision selection.
Pioneer managed to top the scoreboard in Heat 1 of the competition, as well as becoming the clear winner of his semi-final. Following an assured performance in the final, Freddie took the crown with points to spare.
It's perhaps not surprising as Freddie and his song are something of the 'full package' when it comes to Eurovision these days. There's as much - if not more - attention to the visuals as there is to the song, and Team Hungary can expect points galore on both fronts.
While Pioneer is hardly ground breaking, it does hold your attention throughout its entire duration. From the subliminal whistling technique at the beginning to the driving, anthemic chorus, it possesses a belting melody which quickly grabs your subconscious. You soon find yourself tapping your foot and humming along as if you've known the song for a long time.
In Eurovision terms, that's a winning formula. If you add into the mix a particularly photogenic singer along with an unusually athletic drummer, then there should be nothing holding back viewers from voting in their droves.
What might cause a few problems, particularly with the juries, is Freddie's tendency to get carried away with his vocals. His voice is gritty and strong, but at times he's inclined to shout and veer off key - a likely rationale for downgrading his points total.
What influence, if any, this has on his chances of a reasonable placing on the scoreboard is yet to be determined, but given that Pioneer and its singer have a lot in their favour, it wouldn't be a surprise to see it finish with a very respectable score.
At the end of February, Moldova was among five nations to pick its entry on a Super Saturday of national finals across Europe with Falling Stars by Lidia Isac becoming the choice of Moldovan televoters, but not their expert jury.
It's not surprising that there was a lack of unanimity over Falling Stars as it's a tediously generic dance tune with a total absence of originality. Add to that Lidia Isac's less-than-perfect vocals and stagecraft - unless you like wooden singers with nasal overtones - and Moldova is looking at missing out on the Final for a third successive year.
On the plus side, Lidia is rather easy on the eye, but that alone hasn't helped many prospective finalists in the past.
Clearly, between now and Lidia's appearance in the first half of the first semi-final urgent tweaks need to be made to the overall package. But it's unlikely that any changes to this forgettable piece of Euro pulp will be enough to secure a place in the running order of the big Saturday showdown.
Will it be 'hats off' to Francesca Michielin in Stockholm?
Ever since Sanremo winners Stadio declined the opportunity to represent Italy at Eurovision 2016, it had been something of a mystery what runner-up Francesca Michielin would take to Stockholm as the country's entry. Finally, in mid-March, the Italians announced that a reworked version of Nessun grado di separazione (her Sanremo entry) had become their official song.
The updated adaptation shortens this uplifting ballad to the regulation three minutes, but also includes an English revamp of the final chorus, enabling a change of title to No Degree of Separation.
Purists seem to hate the alteration - Italy has been one of those nations which stubbornly refuses to send English lyrics to Eurovision - but for those who do not want to rely on the melody alone, they do help to make sense of the song.
The original version has already been very popular in her homeland, hitting Number 1 on the Italian charts, going Gold in the process. The question is "Can Francesca replicate that success at Eurovision?"
Well, the lyrical content embraces a well-trodden path at Eurovision: a difference in culture should not cause a distance between people. In other words, love, peace and harmony, man. The important thing though is how that message is wrapped up. No Degree of Separation is no A Little Peace (Ein bißchen Frieden) and we are far from the East/West Cold War which inspired that 1982 winner. There is still a much-needed imperative for those principles, but its doubtful that Francesca's song has the emotive hook to reel in the required number of votes for a victory.
What isn't in doubt is that No Degree of Separation possesses an alluring melody with a wonderful chorus. On its own, though, it just doesn't have the immediate impact that's required of a Eurovision winner. But we are promised a spectacular staging of the song from a renowned creative director; visuals are half the battle, so that may be the element which pushes this song into a deserved Top 10 finish.
Fans of The Voice UK with very good memories will recall these cheeky chappies who have now joined forces in the hope of pushing the United Kingdom to the dizzying heights of the left-hand side of the Eurovision scoreboard: Joe (Woolford) and Jake (Shakeshaft).
The day after Germany chose its entry, Joe and Jake were among six expectant acts at the 02 Forum in Kentish Town, London taking part in the first UK national final for several years, aptly named Eurovision: You Decide. Performing last, their upbeat offering, You're Not Alone, captured the bulk of the British public's votes - the actual voting pattern has not been revealed - and will now see more action on the Eurovision stage in Stockholm.
Unlike many of the songs this year, this one is in its native language (ha!), but joking aside, You're Not Alone has a very laddish Britpop feel about it. Bouncing along at a rate of knots, at times Joe and Jake sound like a mixture of One Direction and Coldplay with a splash of The Wanted stirred in for good measure. Not surprising really as one of its writers is Siva Kaneswaran of said Wanted.
As a result, the song has a fresher, more youthful vibe than many of the UK's entries from the recent past and should appeal to a wide cross-section of the audience, especially younger voters who will be particularly engaged with the sound - as well as with Joe and Jake.
All good so far, then. But if there is a fly in the ointment, it could be Joe's live vocals and performance skills. His lower register sounded shaky throughout the duo's performance at the national final, though he shines when he steps up to deliver the energetic and memorable (uh-oh oh) chorus. However, stumbling around like a still-drunk teenager who has partied too much the night before is not going to cut it. Mind you, if the video presentation is a clue to the pair's staging in Stockholm, then perhaps this is not so much of a concern.
Hopefully, neither is the bottom quarter of the scoreboard.
Thankfully, the majority of the reaction to the song has been positive so far and given that this is one of the best entries the UK has fielded for a long time, a place in the Top 10 is not an unthinkable proposition.
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