12 May 2011
Last updated at 23:57 GMT
Jedward performed their song Lipstick at the Eurovision semi-final in Germany
Irish teen twins Jedward will compete at the Eurovision Song Contest in Germany after winning through the semi-final stage on Thursday night.
John and Edward Grimes, 19, who found fame on The X Factor, performed the song Lipstick in the run-off.
They will be among 25 acts in the grand final on Saturday, also including the group Blue singing I Can for the UK.
Ireland, with seven wins, is the most successful country in the contest’s history but has not won since 1996.
‘Big five’
Jedward were dressed in red sparkly jackets with big shoulders, and black trousers.
Before their performance on Thursday, the twins said they were not nervous at the prospect of singing before their biggest ever audience.
The pair promised to be “the Pavarotti of Eurovision”.
Jedward were not the only twins performing, as Daniela and Veronika Nizlova represented Slovakia under the name TWiiNS.
However, they were not so successful and missed out on a place in the final in Dusseldorf.
Twenty successful entrants from two semi-final heats will be joined by the “big five” countries – Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK – who qualify automatically.
‘In to win’
Newly reformed former chart-toppers Blue will be the 14th act on stage on Saturday.
British group Blue are already in Dusseldorf preparing for the grand final on Saturday
The group’s Simon Webbe told the BBC: “We’re in it to win it, for sure.”
Last year’s winner Lena will again represent Germany, with the song Taken By A Stranger.
However, Israel’s Dana International, who has also won the contest before, failed to make it through Thursday’s semi-final.
Jedward were one of the hits of 2009′s The X Factor despite not winning the series.
The twins signed to Sony and released their debut single Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby), a duet with rapper Vanilla Ice, in January of the following year. They switched record labels to Universal in March 2010.
Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/uk-northern-ireland-13384821
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