The first semi final of the Norwegian national selection for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest is about to be held. Seven songs will be presented and two will move forward directly to the national final.

WEBCAST (the webcast will only start shortly before the show)

Participants

Composer/lyricist in brackets.

1. Surferosa – U look good (Surferosa, Lars-Erik Westby/Mariann Thomassen)
2. Chicas del Coro – Men, men, men (Hilde Marstrander)
3. Ke Sera – Party (Robin Nordahl, Thomas Ewel/Ke Sera)
4. Espen Hana – Two ofa kind (Trond Andreassen/Trond Andreassen, Christian Bloom)
5. Charite – Sweeter than a kiss (Christian Ingebrigtsen, Laila Samuelsen)
6. Thomas Brøndbo – Det vart en storm (Thomas Brøndbo)
7. Velvet – Tricky (Hanne Sørvaag, N2, Niklas Bergwall, Niclas Kings)

LIVE

The show has started. 2008 Eurovision Song Contest representative Maria Haukaas Storeng and Per Sundnes welcome the audience.

1. Surferosa – U look good

Current poll result: 25.3% (2nd)

Song number one tonight is one of the favourites among the esctoday.com poll voters. The lead singer appears on stage slightly looking like American singer P!nk being dressed by The Ark. The song is a catchy pop tune and the colourful performance works well with it, even if some people might have expected even more of an eye-catcher. This is likely to do very well in MGP 2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JET6Ne5xMSY

2. Chicas del Coro – Men, men, men

Current poll result: 7.6% (5th)

Chicas del Coro are obviously afraid of losing their luggage as they even bring it on stage to have an eye on it. The song is a nostalgic swing entry with a very charming appeal. The performance is cute and goes well with the song. However, it should be noted that songs in such a musical/cabaret style that are written more for the stage than for the radio or CD (Sweden 2005, Cyprus 2008) tend to not do too well in the Eurovision Song Contest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGwb3VcI9DM

3. Ke Sera – Party

Current poll result: 1.3% (7th)

The first Scandinavian wind machine in the 2000 national final season! The entry startswith ashort ballad part with a dramatic Carola-like performance but quickly turns into a modern hip-hop party music entry. The performance is cheerful and goes very well with this song. One line sounds very similar to the line "I just came here to party" from the Rihanna song Don't stop the music, although that should not affect the result in any way. An interesting entry that is well accepted by the audience but still might not do well in Moscow as hip-hop style entries are usually not very well accepted (Ukraine 2005, UK 2006).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc-8QORK44M

4. Espen Hana – Two ofa kind

Current poll result: 8.9% (4th)

After three eye-catching performances, the stage show of the fourth entryis more in a classy way. The vocals for this rather old-fashioned mid-tempo song are flawless and the atmosphere tried to be created comes across well on screen. However, this is by far the least specatcular entry so far, which could still make it stand out in a row of colourful performances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAhWW659dWA

5. Charite – Sweeter than a kiss

Current poll result: 13.9% (3rd)

If anybody thought a stranger outfit than the first one tonight could not exist – you were wrong! The singer appears on stage in tight black leather pants with plush turn-up cuffs and a blue ballerina-like outfit. The wind machine seems a bit out-of-place this time, but, well, some people seem not to get enough of it. The song is professional and has an interesting country theme, but it is by far not the most outstanding entry tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvH3HGkmznw

6. Thomas Brøndbo – Det vart en storm

Current poll result: 5.1% (6th)

Another mid-tempo song. Thomas sings it ver well, but the outfit is a little bit disturbing as the cardigan in the wrong size and the shirt and tie of the same colour make him look more like a 1970s geography teacher than a pop singer. However, a charming performance and song that might still get lost in tonight's line-up, although it might appeal to older viewers as it is both classy and entirely performed in Norwegian.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zpxUcRkV7I

7. Velvet – Tricky

Current poll result: 38.0% (1st)

The last entry tonight (and favourite of the esctoday.com poll voters) is a very Swedish up-tempo pop song in a 1990s style that is very catchy but also a bit predictable. Velvet perform it very well and perfect for the genre, the vocals are flawless and the audience seems to be entertained. However, it should be mentioned that girl groups with up-tempo songs often do not very well in the Eurovision Song Contest (Croatia 1997, UK 1999, Germany 2008).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xXeowHpgi8

The results will be revealed after a series of interval acts.

Results:

Espen Hana to Siste sjansen!

Surferosa to Siste sjansen!

Velvet to the final!

Thomas Brøndbo to the final!