By JODY THOMPSON

On song: Blue performed a blinder at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dusseldorf, Germany, tonight and managed not to go home with 'nil points'


Half of winning Azerbaijan duo Elle and Nikki is mother-of-two from London


Blue and Jedward were both relieved not to both be going home with 'nul points' after doing themselves rather proud in the Eurovision Song Contest tonight.

British boyband Blue landed a maximum 12 points from Bulgaria and scored highly from Italy and Russia to go to the top of the leader board early on - and even squeezed an 'un point' from France.

They had put in a brilliant performance of their song I Can, which was written by band members Lee Ryan and Duncan James.

However, the runaway winner was Azerbaijan duo Ell and Nikki with their powerful ballad Running Scared - thought the UK can claim a little of the success, as Nikki is a mother-of-two currently living in north London.



High hopes: Blue started off strongly in the voting but slowly started to tail off to slip down the leader board again having topped it at one point


Sterling effort: Blue's Lee Ryan, left, and Simon Webbe, right, gave it their all and kept Britain in the top half of the leader board all night


Real name Nigar Jamal, the married 30-year-old mother of two daughters seemed almost overcome with emotion and she performed the song for a second time with singing partner Eldar Gasimov - the Ell of their duo.

Blue meanwhile, who also comprises Antony Costa and Simon Webbe, are among the most successful British artists ever to take part in Eurovision, and were second favourites to win.


Enthusiastic: Irish entry Jedward put in an energetic performance of their Europop track Lipstick - which landed them top marks from British voters, who weren't allowed to vote for their own entry Blue


Hands up: But Jedward's performance wasn't enough and they were somewhat trounced by Azerbaijan who walked off with the spoils


They had strong competition from Irish rivals and X Factor losers Jedward (aka John and Edward Grimes) who were also tipped to do well in the show.

Jedward's threat with their high-energy bubblegum track Lipstick however faded in the early stages of the voting.

But then The One Show's Alex Jones announced that the UK had voted Jedward their top song with 12 points - and they overtook Blue on the leaderboard.


Pride of Eurovision: Nikki, of Ell and Nikki, thanked everyone who had voted them this year's winner with their song Running Scared



Winners: Azerbaijan's Ell and Nikki with the Eurovision Song Contest trophy and a large bunch of flowers


Tuneful: The pair performed their winning ballad Running Scared once more after being declared winners


More strong voting for the twins saw Ireland then riding towards the top of the leaderboard as the rest of the Eurovision countries kept voting - with Blue rather fading away.

Tonight's contest was being watched by an estimated global audience of more than 125 million who enjoyed typically bonkers performances from the likes of Moldova, whose performance featured massive conical hats and a girl on a unicycle blowing a trumpet.

In the live broadcast tonight, Graham Norton was providing the suitably wry commentary on BBC1.


Typical Eurovision: Moldova had one of the craziest acts on the night with an act featuring huge conical hats and a trumpet-playing girl on a unicycle


Manic Moldova: Unicycling woman playing a trumpet just out of shot


Norton, who took over from the famously irreverent Sir Terry Wogan two years ago, approached the event as a massive Eurovision fan.

There have been widespread accusations of tactical block voting and anti-UK sentiment in wake of the Iraq war in recent years, leaving the UK in last place three times in the past ten years - including last year when Josh Dubovie came last with That Sounds good To Me.


Top half: Ireland paid tribute to their entry Jedward - but only gave the UK entry a paltry six points



World stage: The huge Eurovision set in Dusseldorf, which was watched tonight by an estimated 125million around the globe


In 2003, tuneless duo Jemini landed Britain its first ever ‘nul points’.
However, it's not yet known if Blue will fulfill the pledge they made to the Daily Mail ahead of the competition - that they would emigrate if they failed to won...


Eldar & Nigar - Eurovision 2011, Azerbaijan - Running Scared Official Music Video



source: dailymail