NORWAY 2025

The Norwegian entry was chosen on February 15th  via "Melodi Grand Prix 2025". A winner was chosen by a 60/40 mix of televoting and international jury. Going to Basel is Kyle Alessandro with the song "Lighter".

Kyle Alessandro Helgesen Villalobos is from Steinkje and has a Norwegian mother and Spanish father. When he was 10, Kyle was part of the show "Norske Talenter" where he sang Beyoncé 's "Halo". This publicity gave him the chance to tour around Norway and gain experience in front of big crowds and learn from other artists. He has performed at the Fredrikstad Cup (a famous handball tournament) and on the famous TV programme "Allsang på Grensen". His early musical influences and inspirations were his Nordic and Hispanic background, and many of his early tracks were in Spanish or Norwegian.

The song starts quickly into the first verse which is followed by a pre-chorus and chorus. This is repeated again and at this point, around two minutes in, there is a brief dance break. The following bridge is slower with barely any backing music but this is used as a springboard as it then ramps up to a crescendo with a final chorus. The backdrop shows a rumbling volcanic scene which slowly becomes more moody and volatile. During the final minute fire shoots up around the stage and the stage is edged with fire. Kyle is joined by 4 male dancers, They are all dressed in black (almost like body guards) with padded waistcoats, bandanas and gauntlets. Kyle is dressed similarly with a modern take on armoury with breast plates, shoulder pads, chain mail and big boots. The almost non-stop choreography is precise and sharp. The five of them have to be in unison as their outfits create a silhouette against the auburn background and any mistakes would be easily highlighted.

On first listen, I found it quite hard to work out what was going on. Trying to figure out how the song fits with the staging and the outfits was a bit of a puzzle - one I still haven't worked out. The song lyrics put me in mind of last year's Luxembourg entry but comparing this to that is not exactly the greatest of comparisons. I hoped the song might contain brassy sounds or feel a little more tribal or medieval - based on what I expected from the visual -  but it doesn't materialise. Kyle's vocal is a little unclear; lyrics can be very fast and I could barely hear or catch up with what he was saying. Personally I felt that the last minute really showed off Kyle's technique and the lack of bombast in the backing track gave you a chance to hear his tone properly. I also think the staging is great and the togetherness between the dancers is very sharp and should be commended. It is just a shame that this staging has been used for this song. The lack of cohesion between what you hear and see makes concentrating on what he is saying - and the feeling he conveys - quite difficult. I don't particularly think this is a bad song and neither do I think that Kyle is a bad singer. Ultimately, there is a mismatch on stage which has created a disconnect, and this show - as is - doesn't inspire enough confidence to make me think this will do well.

ARTIST - Kyle Alessandro

SONG - Lighter

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Kyle Alessandro, Adam Woods

NORWAY 2024

The Norwegian act and song was chosen on February 3rd through their long-running national final "Melodi Grand Prix". Before the final there were three semi finals with three songs qualifying from each. The winner was selected by a 60/40 combination of public televoting and an international jury. Going to Malmö is the band Gåte performing the song "Ulveham" (Wolf skin).

Gåte is a progressive folk-rock band who perform Norwegian folk music with metal and electronica leanings. Many of Gåte's songs are rearranged versions of traditional Norwegian folk tunes. Their self-titled EP was released in 2000 and this garnered success in their homeland and many other European nations - as did their debut album "Jygri". However after their second album, the band declared they were going on a hiatus mainly due to the singer, Gunnhild, wanting to devote time to solo projects.  There was a brief reunion in 2009-2010 as the band conducted a mini tour or Norway billed as their final farewell. However, Gåte made a full comeback in 2017 with the EP "Attersyn", followed by the album "Svevn" and the announcement of full tours.

The staging for the act is simplistic yet effective. The stage is dark, with a slight green/blue tinge. There is effective use of strobing lights & lasers to create movement. The mystical feel is further strengthened by the use of scenic settings overlaid on the screen. The instrumentalists are situated around the stage while singer Gunnhild is in the middle on a small rotating platform. The song shifts between an enchanted bassy beat, a strong guitar metal sound and a background of interesting folky instruments. The song is wholly in Norwegian and Gunnhild's haunting vocals adds to the atmosphere. Although one would not really understand what the song is about, the feelings conveyed in the song are visceral but also full of wonder and beauty. The vocalisation between the worded parts further shows the singer's mastery of the higher notes and folkish tinge she has to her vocal style.

The lead up to the final was rather more frenetic compared to the other finalists. After their semi final performance, NRK asked band to change the lyrics as the text was based on a 1000 year old ballad and therefore could be construed as plagiarism. They duly complied but to the casual watcher, especially one uneducated in the Norwegian language, one may have not seen any difference. I feel like this song, in the midst of the Melodi Grand Prix show was very much different and identifiable from the finalists. The staging as is is perfect for the song and I would work on any size or shape of stage. I don't want to say that the song is not memorable but the song is ultimately elevated by the band 's performance and the singer's engaging vocal style. One change they may want to make is to bring more wolf imagery to the graphics creating a more obvious link between the song, the lyrics and the title - commentators may allude to before the song begins. I feel like juries will appreciate the vocals of this track while the people at home will enjoy the ambience of this entry.

ARTIST - Gåte

SONG - Ulveham

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS -  M. Børmark, R G Janssen, M J Lillebuen, J E Schärer, G. Sundli,, S E Sundli

NORWAY 2023

The Norwegian final "Melodi Grand Prix" was held on February 4th at the Spektrum in Trondheim, hosted by Arian Engebø and Stian Thorbjørnsen. Before the final there were 3 semi-finals which whittled down the 21 competing songs to just 9. The overall winner was chosen by a 50/50 split of online voting and an international jury panel from 10 different competing Eurovision countries. The winner was Alessandra with "Queen of Kings"

Alessandra Mele was born to an Italian father and Norwegian mother and grew up in Italy. She studied piano and took singing lessons with a singing teacher and participated in her first singing competition as a six-year-old. In 2021, she moved to Norway and enrolled at the Lillehammer Institute of Music Production in 2022. That same year Alessandra participated in The Voice Norge, reaching the live rounds.

The song starts off with atmospheric chanting in Italian. Alessandra then comes in with a quiet version of the chorus which steadily builds up to the rest of the song. After a verse, pre-chorus, verse roundel she follows quite quickly with another one. There is then a short bridge where she vocalises along with the track ending with a very high whistle tone before one more energetic version of the chorus. Alessandra is dressed half warrior princess, half  Greek goddess dripping in golden jewels on a dark velvety bodice. The staging is dark and moody with a colour scheme of blacks and blues. She is also accompanied by 4 dancers dressed and black sometimes using light sticks when dancing in the dark.

The beat of the chorus here is absolutely key. This gives it a modern EDM feel but also has a fierce Viking/Game of Thrones vibe. She has a very noticeable timbre which is easy to comprehend but almost has an operatic undertone. The staging of this could have been overly busy but the focus is squarely on Alessandra to the point where you barely notice when the dancers are there. In fact the dancers do a great job in the chorus but I implore the chorographers to get rid of the terrible light-sabre gimmick at the end. Although in essence it seems like it great idea, the timing was not perfectly on pointe and it looked rather clumsy and under-rehearsed. In a performance so well executed this part looks out of place.

This is a very strong identifiable song. It would be very remiss not to mention that my first reaction was that this is very KEiiNO-esque - I even wanted the bridge to be a little bit more joiky! This is not a bad comparison because like "Spirit in the sky" this song is catchy, visually enticing and very Eurovision. The fact that this song absolutely stormed the televote bodes well for her chances of making it through to the finals. If I had a word of warning it would be that the presentation of this needs to be fierce without feeling too angry or aggressive. Also there are already a few songs with this kind of wailing/strong female vibe to it which is unfortunate. However this song has such a strong identity that this will be very hard to lodge from your brain.

ARTIST - Alessandra Mele

SONG - Queen of the Kings

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Linda Dale, Stanley Ferdinandez, Alessandra Mele, Henning Olerud

NORWAY 2021

The Norwegian Final (Melodi Grand Prix) was held on February 20th at the H3 Arena in Fornebu, Bærum, hosted by Silje Nordnes, Ronny Brede Aase & Kåre Magnus Bergh. 12 songs contested the final - the 5 semi final winners, 1 wild card and 6 preselected finalists, The winner, chosen by online and app in a number of different rounds, was TIX with the song "Fallen Angel" .

TIX is centre stage on a small circular plinth. He is dressed in gold urban clothing, gold jewellery, sunglasses, his customary TIX headband and a pair of wings (hence the title). He is joined on stage by 6 dancers who are also wearing wings but with horn type headdresses.  The dancers and TIX are connected by gold chains which are used in the choreography. The stage is mainly dark with a changing blue sky on the video screens and has the addition of some pryos near the end.

After a short intro, TIX starts with verse one which is very short and simplistic. Unusually the beat kicks in half way through the verse which makes your ears prick up a little. The beat then stops again for the build up to the chorus. This stop/start/stop motif continues on through the song, although annoying, does maintain your interest as you are never quite sure what is going to happen next. We then have verse two followed by an extended version of the chorus. We are then treated to a bridge, which repeats the name of the song and then we have another longer chorus preceded by a key change! The song then fades out just the way it faded in with the intro.

TIX is the alter ego of  Andreas Haukeland, and has been rather big in his homeland for the past 5 years. He has had numerous hits in Norway including two number one songs in 2020, however the majority of this success has been in the Norwegian language. In fact, in his premier performance of the song during the competition he sang this song in it's Norwegian form but changed it to the English version for the final. Internationally, he has also had a hand in writing prominent songs for Flo Rida and Ava Max. His styling is rather OTT and harks back to a kind of boyband over-confidence of the late 90s/early 2000s and seem very lavish and slightly up himself. This is is direct contrast to Andreas who has himself been open about his Tourettes and his mental heath.

The thing about this whole entry is, that on the face of it, it quite a tired - almost clichéd - type of song and singing style... and I'm not even talking about in Eurovision terms either! The whole visual production of the song makes it feel like it is a pastiche or a mickey take of this genre of  song. Taking it a step further it then also feels like it is parodying the contest itself. This all said and done, the song is not bad and is actually quite easy to get in your head. To that matter I feel that if this was a radio contest this would do very well. Once again I feel like this is very over produced and most of the time I couldn't tell where his voice was in the mix as the level of backing vocals was so high. As much as I would implore the team on this entry to rethink the staging and just tone it down a touch, I have a feeling this won't be happening. 

ARTIST - TIX
SONG - Fallen Angel
WRITING CREDITS - Andreas Haukeland, Mathias Haukeland, Emelie Hollow

11/02/12 NORWAY

The

The Norwegian Final was held on February 11th at the Spektrum in Oslo, hosted by Marte Stokstad & Per Sundnes. Previous to the final, there were 3 semi-finals consisting of 8 songs each.

The final was won by the song “Stay” sung by Tooji. The song itself sounds very current and could easily be heard on the radio waves of Europe. Although its sound is very Western in its production the addition of some Eastern style elements in the backing track as well as some of the choreography (which also complement his background) will widen its appeal.

The performance is quite clever. It seems like a very active performance from the singer, however on closer looking Tooji barely moves from the spot. It seems like they have looked and learnt from Eric Saade’s performance from last year and produced a version of the song that can actually be performed and sung without spoiling the vocal. Not too sure about the excess smoke at the end…

All in all I think this is a very good song choice by the Norwegians, a solid chance of qualifying but possibly not an overall winner.

SONG  - Stay

ARTIST – Tooji

COMPOSERS – Tooji Keshtkar, Peter Boström and Figge Boström

LANGUAGE – English



UPDATE 9

UK
So another video from the boys.
Obviously they thought the one on London's rooftops wasnotenough. This one features some obligatory Union Jacks as well as some indoor rain. I thought the old one was better.






SWEDEN
Eric Saade released his video for "Popular". The video concentrates very heavily on his dancing skills in the form of a kind of' seedy club dance-off'. Eric doesn't needs to dance off, he needs to f-off.






NORWAY
Stella mwangi's song has had a bit of a facelift. Unfortunately it is not good. Apart from the obvious lyrical content, the song has been moved in key. Also the backing track seems to have lost almost of its African flavour and at times sounds like a very bad 90s eurodance b-side. Here is the new track accompanied by her music video.

UPDATE 7

ISRAEL – Dana International has released a revamped version of her song “Ding Dong” The song is now a bit more modern sounding than previously and now includes many more electronic influences. I still don’t think this cuts it though.





RUSSIA – Alex Sparrow has revealed the promotional video for his song “Get you”. The video sees Alex taking on lots of different characters and shows him in lots of different situations – however he seems to be miming to a different song. Weird.





NORWAY – a revamped version of “Haba Haba” has surfaced. The backing track is different and the song sems to be sing in a slightly higher key than before. This still does not disguise the fact that singing is not this girl’s finest talent. If the rumours are to be believed, this is the track that will be sung to at Eurovision. In my opinion, it is not as good as the original.

NORWAY

The Norwegian Final took place on the 12th February at the Spektrum in Oslo The winner, after 4 semis, a second chance round and final, was Stella Mwangi with “Haba Haba (Little by Little)

“Haba Haba” is an African-influenced dance number with a very simple tune and progression. The song seems to tell the tale of the singer as a young girl being given advice from her Grandma about life and the world. The chorus of the song is in Swahilli. The music to this song is very summery and uplifting. It could definitely be a summer anthem over Europe as the chorus is easily chantable and memorable. It is also reminiscent of the huge World Cup song “Waka Waka”

Personally I would love to see much more ‘full on’ African dancing’ during the performance. Although Stella and the backing dancers do do some dancing it is more disco-ey and gesturing but I feel something a bit more ethnic would emphasise the power of the song much more.

A great fun song, definitely Eurovision, but with a bit of a twist. Will Eastern Europe get it?


SINGER – Stella Mwangi
SONG – Haba Haba
MUSIC – Stella Mwangi, Beyond51 and Big City
WORDS - Stella Mwangi, Beyond51 and Big City