Eurovision favourites Tatu booed

RIGA (Reuters) - Controversial pop duo and Russia's Eurovision hopefuls Tatu have been booed at dress rehearsals, lifting Turkey and Spain's chances of the grabbing the song contest top spot on Saturday night.
The girls, whose sexually provocative videos performed in school uniforms have led to them being branded "paedo-pop", halted their number during the first dress rehearsal of the day, while their second attempt also flopped.

"Julia has a bad throat," a speaker announced on Friday, as partner Lena wandered onstage alone for a second attempt. Her lacklustre performance prompted audience boos and whistles.

The teenage duo rattled Eurovision organisers in image-conscious Latvia -- which won the contest in neighbouring Estonia last year -- by saying they would put on a "sexy act" and shock the 160 million viewers across Europe and beyond.

Many suspected the duo would try to ambush the 48th Eurovision Song Contest with a publicity stunt and give the family event an X-rated spin this year, with rumours of a nude performance and lesbian kissing.

But with the maverick teenagers looking increasingly unlikely to take the annual festival of glitz and kitsch to Moscow for the first time, many in the audience said Turkey's charismatic Sertab Erener looked like a possible winner.

"No one believes Julia is actually sick, but it's just that they have to behave like divas, which really is a shame as they are one of the main attractions," a Swedish music fan said after the rehearsals. "But Turkey was exceptional, especially the stage show."

Erener's "Every Way That I Can" -- an explosion of rhythm and belly-dancing -- rocked the packed Skonto Hall, while from Spain, Beth's high-tempo "Dime" swept people off their chairs with its Latino beat.

By contrast, t.A.T.u.'s "Don't believe, don't fear, don't ask" is a wall of aggressive guitar-based techno -- a sharp contrast to the usual Eurovision diet of soggy ballads and upbeat disco.

In Britain, t.A.T.u.'s single "All the Things She Said" stormed to number one in the charts in February.