Unfortunately, I did not see the first installment of the show. I guess the second half will air on New Year's Day?
But yeah, you can't vote for the contestant from your own country. Obviously that would be unfair seeing that some countries have larger populations than others. What's the point in having a contest if everyone votes for their own contestant?
Obviously, since I didn't see the show, I didn't hear the girl from Poland singing. chideltjen makes a good point in that people from non-English speaking countries will have a harder time in a contest like this. Plus, what Eastern Europeans consider "good music" is different than what Middle Eastern, Asian and Western cultures consider good music. (edited to add: bad singing is bad singing no matter the culture or style!!)
By chance, has anyone seen the Eurovision Song Contest? If you have, then you'll know what I mean. FYI - Poland's entry to Eurovision last year was *awesome*; he was like a Polish Bono!
At any rate, Will Young from the UK is good and I suspect he'll do well. Kelly will probably do well too!
.....Kelly