This afternoon, German representatives, Texas Lightning, took to the floor for their first rehearsal on the contest stage. Performing their song No no never, the five band members donned their usual cowboy / girl outfits and played to an enthusiastic crowd in the arena. The catchy country song had people singing all around the floor and looks set to bring a little Yee-haa to the contest.

A little later at the press conference, female vocalist Jane Comerford told the assembled press that it was fantastic to be in Athens and the first rehearsal went great. She also thanked the technical crew at OAKA. The floor was then opened up to questions.

Eurovision challenge
The group told of how they had been together for a long time and Jane had joined them a year previous. The German broadcaster, NDR, had approached them to participate in this year's German selection. They decided to as it was a great opportunity to get their music to a wider audience and it was also a challenge to write a song that not only fit with their own musical style but would fit in well in the Eurovision Song Contest.

The band was quizzed on their slogan "It's not a joke… It's Country". Jane explained that the band's drummer, Olli, is in fact a well known comedian in Germany and so the slogan was made to let people know that this was not a comedy act but an actual musical group. The band also spoke about their lack of gimmicks,explaining that it is their song that is important.

To finish off,the group performed a very special unplugged version of No no never, including a verse in Greek, much to the delight of the assembled press.