Europe’s exciting annual nation-defining music contest is only days away – so here’s to top tunes we’ll be looking forward to on the big night in Baku.

This year’s Eurovision first semi-final was held last night (Tuesday) but will not air locally on SBS until Friday, with second semi-final on our screens this Saturday and the final to be held in Azerbaijan this Saturday May 26 and airing in Australia the following day.

Last week we featured the best drop-outs, but now it’s time to celebrate the finest Eurovision songs of 2012 which will battle it out for various nations’ votes.

Ok, here we go, onto the first songs which have qualified for the contest, and not just the contest, but the final itself! Yes, here’s the Big 6.

In what is shaping up as a pretty great year for Eurovision, all six of these songs are pretty great, but in the interest of brevity (somewhat anyway) we’ll omit the unmovable Germany and the hypothermic Azerbaijan and showing our top four picks of the big six.

In fourth position is a man who really needs no introduction, officially the oldest male / solo performer in Eurovision history – Engelbert Humperdinck is hoping to bring back the trophy for the UK for the first time since 1997. Engelbert is opening the final this year and interestingly, the last time the UK opened the song contest in 1976, they won!

Engelbert’s Love Will Set You Free is a little unassuming at first, but give it a few plays and let the key-change make your day…

In third place is a fab pop song by a veteran of the French music scene, Anggun. Even better, her video clip features gorgeous men parading themselves all around the star singer, clearly she has her priorities right.

We are yet to see her rehearsals, but if she brings her dancing boys to Baku, this will be a song the gayers are going to go nuts for. Here is Anggun with Echo (You and Me):

Next up we have a country who rarely do it for me when it comes to Eurovision, but this year they have delivered an absolute belter of a schlager ballad. Representing Spain this year is Pastora Soler, whose song Quedate Conmigo is one which just grows and grows on me with every listen.

The film clip delivers THE key change of the contest, I won’t ruin it, but make sure you watch from 2.07 – shit gets hectic.

Finally from the Big 6, here’s a song which has been touted as a potential winner of the contest, and with good reason too. It’s Italy with L’Amore È Femmina performed by the fabulous Nina Zilli.

Italy almost sent a pretty stock standard boring ballad, but at the last minute decided to go all fabulous for us. Any song which begins with a saxophone solo and is quickly followed by a “boom, boom” is going to get douze points from me! Keep a look out for this on the night…