Israel, Belgium, Norway, Spain, Serbia and the United Kingdom lead the male solo charge at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, looking to continue a change in the gender battle at the competition. Dima Bilan and Alexander Rybak became the first male solo singers to win back to back victories, now the male line-up of 2010 are all trying to maintain the power shift from women to men.

Since the birth of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, women have dominated the competition. The first winner, Lys Assia set the trend. In recent years, Female soloists won the competition in 13 of the last 20 years, with consecutive female winners from 1991-1993, 1995-1999 and 2002-2005. Before 2008, the last male soloist to win was Tuto Cutungo in 1990.

Against all trends and odds, however, the last two Eurovision Song Contests have been won by the men and many believe it will happen again in 2010. In total, 33 winners have been female soloists, 9 have been male soloists and 15 have been duets or bands.

Karen Fricker of the Eurovision Research Network (ERN) believes "There is definitely something going on with young female voters and the Eurovision Song Contest. Both the last two winners have been attractive young men who have youth appeal. It will be interesting to see if a singer like Harel from Israel or Tom from Belgium wins this year and if research can help us discover if young women are voting".

Later tonight, we will know whether for the first time in history, a male solo artist wins the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time, whether a woman regains the crown or whether another rare occurance takes place with a band winning.