Grannies Woo Eurovision With Housework Song

A Russian octet of folk-singing grannies from a remote village in the Ural mountains will attempt to conquer Eurovision in Azerbaijan this weekend - with a song about housework.

The eldest in the band is 76 - and their track, Party For Everyone, is a tune about domestic chores such as kneading dough, lighting stoves and laying tablecloths.

The band - called Buranovskiye Babushki (meaning Buranovo Grannies) - has lyrics and traditional Russian costumes that might be less sexy than many Eurovision contestants but they beat stiff competition in the semi-final, including former Eurovision winner Dima Bilan.

They fought for the chance to represent Russia in 2010, but this year managed to successfully charm their compatriots with a blend of traditional folk singing while also covering international hits such as The Beatles and The Eagles.

The Irish twins Jedward were also voted through to represent Ireland in Saturday's final in Baku and Engelbert Humperdinck will sing Love Will Set You Free for the UK.

They will compete with Eleftheria Eleftheriou (Greece) and the likes of Gréta Salóme & Jónsi (Iceland) and Compact Disco (Hungary).

The second semi-final will be held on Thursday with 18 further acts looking to reach the grand final.

The finalists so far:

United Kingdom: Engelbert Humperdinck - Love Will Set You Free
France: Anggun - Echo (You and I)
Italy: Nina Zilli - L'amore è femmina (Out of Love)
Azerbaijan: Sabina Babayeva - When the Music Dies
Spain: Pastora Soler - Quédate conmigo
Germany: Roman Lob - Standing Still
Iceland: Gréta Salóme & Jónsi - Never Forget
Greece: Eleftheria Eleftheriou - Aphrodisiac
Albania: Rona Nishliu - Suus
Romania: Mandinga - Zaleilah
Cyprus: Ivi Adamou - La La Love
Denmark: Soluna Samay - Should've Known Better
Russia: Buranovskiye Babushki - Party for Everybody
Hungary: Compact Disco - Sound of Our Hearts
Moldova: Pasha Parfeny - L�?utar
Ireland: Jedward - Waterline