The standard gets better every year but still, for me, there's a huge gap between songs that sound like they could be hits and those that ARE hits and the only one of that I hear this year is Frans If I Were Sorry.

Joe and Jake dress rehearsal - this looks pretty good - top half would be an achivevement and represent real progress - it's moved in the betting

Joe and Jake are fine; it's not a hit but should achieve a Top Ten place; I reckon - keep the boys for 2017 but find them a real hit like Frans If I Were Sorry which I still think will win this year.

The Netherlands entry was my favourite song in the first semi-final; I thought it nicely melodic and old-fashioned. It qualified for the final in spite of having a very strange 10 seconds of silence towards the end of the song, immediately after a rather good guitar solo.

I didn't like the Russian song at all, although I understand many think it might win, possibly with the aid of political voting. The Russian staging was a shameless derivative of last year's winner from Sweden, involving as it did the interaction of the performer with a display screen.

Yes the Dutch boy needs to say something far more interesting than "hello Sweden" during the break! Silence might be best.