What would Eurovision be nowadays without Graham Norton's sarky commentary? So seriously is the broadcaster taking this year's competition that he's skipped an episode of his chat show for the very first time, instead choosing to focus his energy on preparing for the 2019 Song Contest.

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And you'll be pleased to hear he's spent his time wisely, making this preview video of his first impressions of some of the acts due to compete in the Grand Final, taking place on Saturday 18th May.

Particular highlights are his reaction to music videos from Russia's Sergey Lazarev ("Someone's listened to Enya"), Azerbaijan's Chingiz ("Has he forgotten to put a shirt on?") and San Marino act Serhat ("He's really old enough to know better, isn't he?")

The UK's Michael Rice gets a surprisingly upbeat reaction from Norton who is seen mildly bopping as he notes the song, Bigger Than Us, sounds "really good".

The same could not be said for Iceland's BDSM synth punk trio Hatari, although Norton notes that at least their trip to Tel Aviv will be a "lovely break for their neighbours".

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Eurovision 2019 kicks off on BBC1 from 8pm on Saturday 18th May. There will be live coverage on RadioTimes.com throughout the evening.

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