At a press conference at the BBC in London, the artists to perform in the UK selection programme Making Your Mind Up have been announced. There were, as expected, surprises and well-known names in the line-up, with the confirmation and rebuttal of several rumours that have circulated on the Internet recently.

The six contenders to represent the UK are:

� Antony Costa – Beautiful thing
� Kym Marsh – Whisper my name
� Goran Kay – Play your game
� Four Story – Hand on my heart
� Daz Sampson – Teenage life
� City Chix – All about you

Esctoday.com exclusive
Barry Viniker of esctoday.com was exclusively at the press launch, and spent some time quizzing the artists on their hopes and fears for this year's Eurovision Song Contest.

A bit of Blue to the final
Antony Costa is best known for being one of the lads in British pop band Blue, and together with the group has enjoyed phenomenal success inside and outside the UK. Although Antony did not even have to think twice about saying yes to participation, he admits that he still has to tell the band about his song contest plans! For him, it is a golden opportunity to be appreciated as a solo artist while he is still young. Wife Adele is fully supportive of his plans, although he makes an appeal for the whole of the UK to get behind their entry as well this year, and believe in the song the nation chooses to send to Athens. In that much, he is worried about the so-called curse of Eurovision for established artists' credibility. Should it be Antony's song the UK sends, it is described as an uptempo number with a 50's/60's vibe, with a distinct Mamas and Papas feel to it.

Kym Marsh also tasted chart success as part of a group. The band in question was Hear'Say, whose five initial members were selected as part of the first UK pop-reality show Popstars. Kym went on to forge her own solo career after leaving the band, and now has a crack at the UK national final. Her entry is described as honest and gimmick-free, just like the young artist herself – never one to put on a front. For her, Eurovision is a chance to try something completely different, and a great opportunity to represent the UK internationally. As for her former bandmates, she is counting on their support in the audience on March 4th – especially that of Danny and Suzanne. Celebrity hubby, actor Jack Ryder, and children David and Emily are all hugely excited about Kym's Eurovision attempt.

Overseas fan base
DJ Daz may be counting on his overseas fans for support if he makes it to Athens, having made in-roads in the music industry of several Eastern European countries. He describes himself as a “huge Eurovision fan”, and confesses that “it pains me to see badly we've done recently”. Like many others, he wants to see the UK back on top, and will be promoting his entry intensively over the coming fortnight. His song, Teenage life, will see a single release by label Sony.

Four-piece male band Four Story are anticipating their participation a little nervously but nonetheless with excitement and enthusiasm. Singing a song billed as “from the heart”, with “no gimmicks”, they bring solid experience as performers with them to the UK final. Their song, say the band, would have been publicly released even if it had not been selected for Making Your Mind Up, as it forms part of the material they are putting together for a new album. It is an extra bonus that it may end up representing the UK in Athens.

Having only finished university a year ago, the as yet unsigned Goran Kay will be hoping that this is his big break into the world of music. His was a very lucky story – originally only the vocalist on the demo track of high-energy dance number Play your game, the record company were impressed enough to put it forward – with Goran as the named vocalist – for Making Your Mind Up. Goran is more than pleased to be performing in a live show amongst already well-established musical names.

The final song, All about you, was recorded only three weeks ago, and is described as having a
“pop-rock Kelly Clarkson vibe with bagpipes at the beginning”. Its performers, City Chix, first performed together at an event following the Tsunami disaster of Boxing Day 2004. Finding that they actually worked very well together as a duo, they continued from there and now find themselves on the UK selection just over a year later.

Expert panel in the studio
Once again, there will be a celebrity panel on hand to give their judgements on each song, live in the studio. This year, TV presenter Jonathan Ross returns to the couch, and is joined by Bruno Tonioli (one of the judges on BBC show Strictly Come Dancing), singer Kelly Osbourne and presenter Fern Cotton. They will comment on aspects ranging from overall sound to look and style, helping to pick out the singers with real chances of Eurovision success.

The man behind the songs : Richard Parks
The man responsible for selecting the six entries is Richard Parks, who UK viewers will recognise as the brutally honest judge of Fame Academy. When asked about the chances for Britain this year, he points out that at least three of the six will be serious contenders in the British Top 40. As such, he is hopeful for a top three finish for the UK in Athens.

He remains adamant that for him, there is no favourite song – he has a valid, positive point to make about each of the performers. About Kym, “there is more to her than meets the eye”; on Antony, his song is “exactly the song he should be doing”. He praises the “great rap” in Daz's entry and the energy of Goran's song. Four Story's secret weapon is their melodic strength, and City Chix have great energy, not to mention a strong fan base in Scotland. All of them fit his criteria for the look of the UK entry – for we should have “sexy people on stage – but not Page 3”. It seems that the order of the day is just enough, but not too much.

Parks blames last year's poor result for the UK on a weak song. Although still great friends with British candidate for 2004 James Fox, who was under his tutelage in the second series of Fame Academy, he considered the entry that year as 'lightweight', contributing to its meagre 16th place in Istanbul. This year, he hopes to change all that.

Finally, he adds, his favourite song from the contest is ABBA's Waterloo. UK fans will be hoping that Richard has unearthed a real classic for the UK, too.

The UK final Making your mind up will be held on Saturday, 4th March at the BBC Studios in London. You can read more about the artists and listen to 30-second clips of the songs at this link.