Last night, the first semi final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was held in Moscow, Russia. Events kicked off last night at 23:00 local time (21.00 CET), and in all lasted approximately 2 hours. 18 songs battled it out in Moscow for 10 final places.

First up was Andrea from Montenegro performing her uptempo number "Just Get Out Of My Life". She was accompanied on stage by a lone dancer, while the background was primarily purple and blue.

Next up were the Roma rap group Gipsy.cz for Czech Republic. They performed their song Aven Romale in a quite memorable fashion, with the lead singer donning superman-esque gear dressing as new superhero "super gypsy".

Thirdly we had Copycat (Patrick Ouchene) from Belgium, singing his aptly named song Copycat. He was accompanied on stage by a small band, as well as backing singer donning curiously coloured wigs.

Belarus was up next with Petr Elfimov singing his rock inspired power ballad "Eyes That Never Lie". He was joined on stage by a guitarist and a curiously decorated woman under a white sheet. The backdrop was principally green, with eyes bordering the stage.

Malena Ernman on Sweden swiftly followed displaying her vocal abilities with her opera influenced number "La Voix". The song was bilingual, in English and French, and she performed along side her group of backing singer/dancers.

Armenia looked to follow up on their 3 previous outings in the Eurovision song contest, and carrying their hopes were Inga and Anush. This again was a bilingual song in English and Armenian. The pop number was performed in a curious manner, with the two girls on a podium surrounded by other dancers, whilst performing in front of a constantly changing brightly coloured background.

Andorra were hoping to qualify for their first ever final, and their hopes were resting in the hands of Dane Susanne Georgi. She performed her simple pop song along with a group of girls, some sporting guitars.

Rock band Lovebugs were representing Switzerland this year with their song "The Highest Heights". The performance was a simple band performance, with the performers on stage with guitars and other musical instruments. The backdrop for this was quite spectacular, depicting mountains and other scenes.

Turkey came on stage with Hadise and her hip-swinging number "Dum Tek Tek". She was accompanied on a glittery stage by several dancers. Red was the overriding colour for this entry, while the audience were treated to some fireworks as the song went on.

A Jew and an Arab came together singing their peace song "There must be another way" for Israel. This was a very simply performed number with the girls accompanied by a guitarist. The two women blended their voices quite well for this trilingual song, with the singers showcasing their great harmonies.

Krassimir Avramov performed Illusion for Bulgaria. He has some of the most curious dancers of the night, as he was joined on stage by two people on stilts. The stage show for this was quite spectacular.

After the massive stage show of Krassimir's, we got a much simpler performance from Yohanna of Iceland's ballad "Is it True" performed by 18 year old Yohanna. The background was a sky theme, and Yohanna's dress matched the theme. She was accompanied by 3 backing singers, a violinist and a guitarist for a passionate performance of a simple ballad.

The third rock entry of the night was performed by Macedonian duo Next Time. The song was a straight out rock number called "Neshto shto ke ostane", and were joined by a traditional rock band on stage.

Romania's hopes were laid on Elena with her uptempo number "The Balkan Girls". Elena put on a good show, along with her backing dancers who were donning interesting blue and green dresses.

2006 winners with the memorable "Hard Rock Hallelujah" Finland were hoping that dance act Waldo's People would be able to repeat the success of 2006. The song "Lose Control" was performed by the group along side some fire jugglers which really caught the eye.

Portugal have waited longest for a win out of any ESC nation, and their hopes are pinned on folk group Flor-De-Lis. It was an emotional performance of their song "Todas as ruas do amor", and at the end the lead singer even shed a tear out of sheer emotion.

Chiara returned to ESC for her 3rd time with the song "What If We". On her two previous occasions the singer reached the top 5. Once again this song, like her previous entries had a simple performance, with Chiara alone on stage to sing her ballad straight into the camera. No gimmicks were needed, just Chiara's stage presence.

Our final act was Bosnian group Regina singing their anthemic song "Bistra Voda". The band were joined with girls on simple drums, with the lead singer solidly singing the slow tempo tune. The background was an overriding red colour, with the band dressed in white uniforms.

In the end only 10 countries could qualify. These were:
(Final performing order in Brackets)
Israel (2)
Sweden (4)
Portugal (6)
Iceland (7)
Armenia (9)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (12)
Malta (14)
Turkey (18)
Romania (22)
Finland (24)