Just for the record, I’m not skipping Poland and the Czech Republic. Rather they, along with Monaco and Luxembourg, are skipping Eurovision. Not all participant countries choose to compete on a yearly basis. From what I understand, it can be a considerable expense.

And speaking of expense, certain countries are major contributors to the EBU and Eurovision. As such, these countries, along with the host country, automatically qualify as finalists. This doesn’t seem quite fair to me, but then again, if they’re laying down the cash, they probably should see some benefit. Hopefully, they still feel the need to put their best performers on the stage. Germany is one of the automatic finalist, so I’ll start with them.

Roman Lob is representing Germany with the rock ballad, Standing Still

I really liked the official Eurovision video, but I wanted to hear him live, so I found this video. Loved this. He’s a good-looking guy with a great, distinct voice. His plaintive tone has a husky catch that gives power to the song. This sounds like an indie rock hit that you’d turn up when it comes on the radio. Good job, Germany. This could be a winner.

Trackshittaz is representing Austria with the hip hop song, Woki Mit Deim Popo

I don’t suppose anyone would be surprised to learn that “Woki Mit Deim Popo” translates as “Shake Your Ass.” The glow-in-the-dark ass shaking bit with the dancers toward the middle was silly, but fun. In fact, the whole song is silly and fun. Are the voices good? Not really. Is the song original? Not so much. I’ll give them high marks for an energetic performance, but as a song, it’s not a winner for me.

Max Jason Mai is representing Slovakia with the metal song, Don’t close your eyes

Don’t count metal out. After all, the heavy metal band, Lordi, from Finland, won Eurovision in 2006. (Thanks for the video, Markku!) To be honest, metal is not my thing. That being said, as metal songs go, this seems pretty good. He has a strong voice and the presence to carry the song. I wouldn’t vote for this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a finalist.

Three very distinct performances. This is part of what I’m liking about Eurovision: real variety. Germany wins for me, but Slovakia could pull ahead if there are enough metal heads in the voting audience.

These videos are from the list of Eurovison 2012 contestants on YouTube.