Tuesday 17th January - Strange lights, won't let them blind me...

Eurovision: You Decide To Feature A Jury Vote

Power to the people? It seems the BBC aren't so sure, with news emerging this week that the winner of this year's Eurovision: You Decide national selection will be partially determined by a professional jury.
The announcement was quietly leaked out in an update to the programme description on the BBC website - possibly to avoid drawing too much attention to the fact that the show's title would now only make sense if they put a question mark at the end. However, eagle-eyed fans were quick to take note.
The UK hasn't employed a professional jury in a televised national final since 1987, when nine regional juries selected 'Only the Light' by Rikki, which went on to finish 13th at that year's contest, in what was considered at the time to be a dismal performance by UK standards.
The exact makeup of the UK jury for 2017 has not been revealed, although they are described on the BBC website as 'Music Professionals'. ESC Insight understands that the jury will deliver 50% of the available points, with the remaining 50% coming from the results of a public televote.
Eurovision: You Decide will air live at 19:30 GMT on BBC 2 on Friday 27th January. Tickets are still available for the show, which must come as a surprise to organisers who presumably assumed that charging £35 for a show with no announced performers and only one confirmed guest so far would descend into a feeding frenzy to rival Glastonbury.

Greece Enlists Russia's 2016 Dream Team

Despite reports last week indicating that she'd be forced to face off against Stereo Soul in a national final, 25 year old singer Demy will now be given a direct ticket to Eurovision 2017 with the confirmation that she's been internally selected by Greece's national broadcaster.

A national final is still planned, with Demy set to perform three songs for the Greek public to choose between via 100% televote. This is a format Greece has used before - most notably in 2005 for Helena Paparizou, whose 'My Number One' went on to bring the country their first - and to date only - Eurovision victory.

It has also been confirmed that Demy's three potential entries have been written by Dimitris Kontopoulos and will be staged by Fokas Evaggelinos - both of whom were responsible for working on the 2016 Russian entry from Sergey Lazarev, in addition to numerous other Eurovision successes.

Spanish Hopefuls Unveiled

The six candidates for Spain's forthcoming Objetivo Eurovisión 2017 national final were published online this weekend. Joining previously announced web wildcard LeKlein will be Mario Jefferson, Manuel Navarro, Mirela, Paula Rojo and Maika.

On first listen the songs reflect a fairly broad sampler of the Spanish music scene. My schlager-loving heart was instantly won over by Mirela's uplifting Contigo (With You), although given there's been a version of it in every Spanish national final since time immemorial I suspect it may prove too familiar to excite domestic viewers.

Having already won the web wildcard round, the momentum may well be with LeKlein and Ouch!, although as the biggest name in the lineup, Paula Rojo may also be a strong contender with her sweet country ballad Lo que nunca fue (What it Never Was).

National Selection Roundup: Hungary And Lithuania

Hungary kicked off their Eurovision season with the first heat of popular national selection A Dal. Six acts qualified to the semi finals last Saturday, with top marks going to two groups - Roma Soul with Nyitva a ház (Open House) and Leander Kills with Élet (Life).

Over in Lithuania, the second heat of their "Eurovizijos" dainų konkurso nacionalinė atranka also saw six artists advancing. Coming out top with the juries and on the combined vote was perrennial bridesmaid Mia - who was runner up in Lithuania's 2014 and 2015 selections - with her ballad Sacrifice. The televote was won by Kotryna Juodzevičiūtė with Love Shadow.

Your Guide To The Next Week Of National Selections...

From the high drama of Sweden's Melodifestivalen to the low-key lunacy of Latvia's Supernova, National Selection season offers many delights for the hardcore Eurovision viewer. But with so many countries making their selections over the coming weeks, you could be forgiven for losing track of it all.

Allow us to assist you with a handy guide to what's coming up over the next week. Highlights include National Finals in Belarus and Georgia, while Hungary and Lithuania continue to whittle down their candidates with another pair of preliminary heats. Israel's casting show Rising Star airs its fifth episode next Monday. The winner of this 10-part talent contest will be paired with a song for Kyiv at a later date.

Friday 20th January

Belarus: National Final (8pm CET/7pm GMT)
Streaming from TVR.by

Georgia: National Final (7pm CET/6pm GMT)
Streaming from eurovision-georgia.ge

Saturday 21st January

Hungary: A Dal 2017 Heat Two (7.30pm CET/6.30PM GMT)
Streaming from mediaklikk.hu

Lithuania: National Selection Heat Three (8pm CET/7pm GMT)
Streaming from lrt.lt

Monday 23rd January

Israel: Rising Star 2017 Show 5 (8pm CET/7pm GMT)
Streaming from mako.co.il

United Kingdom: UK Songs & Artists Revealed on Radio 2's Ken Bruce Show (10.30am CET/9.30am GMT)
Streaming from bbc.co.uk

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Images: BBC.co.uk and Eurovision.tv