The Norwegian national final for the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest is about to be held. Eight acts will compete for the ticket to Moscow.

Webcast

A webcast will be provided on NRK's official website just before showtime.

• Part 1 here or here.
• Part 2 here or here.

The show will also be broadcast on eurovision.tv here. (Octoshape required)

Participants

Composer/lyricist in brackets.

1. Espen Hana – Two ofa kind (Trond Andreassen/Trond Andreassen, Christian Bloom)
2. Ovi – Seven seconds (Simone Larsen, Simen Æriksrud/Simone Larsen)
3. Publiners – Te stein (Bertil Bertelsen/Olav Nygaard, Morten Horn, Ronny Bertelsen)
4. Alexander Stenerud – Find my girl (Alexander Stenerud)
5. Velvet Inc.– Tricky (Hanne Sørvaag, N2, Niklas Bergwall, Niclas Kings)
6. Alexander Rybak – Fairytale (Alexander Rybak)
7. Thomas Brøndbo – Det vart en storm (Thomas Brøndbo)
8. Tone Damli Aaberge – Butterflies (David Eriksen/Tone Damli Aaberge, Mats Lie Skåre, Billy Burnette)

LIVE

The show has started.

1. Espen Hana – Two ofa kind

Current poll result: 0.8% (8th)

The show starts with the song placed last in the esctoday.com poll. Espen Hana again delivers a confident performance that suits the nostalgic style of his entry very well. However, it is not sure if this entry is outstanding enough to do well in the Eurovision Song Contest.

2. Ovi – Seven seconds

Current poll result: 3.2% (5th)

Ovi is one of the acts that managed to enter the Norwegian single charts before the national final. It is one of the more laid-back entries in the final tonight. The melody of the songs is catchy and memorable, but the way it is presented on stage is a bit too conventional, despite the strong vocals.

3. Publiners – Te stein

Current poll result: 1.6% (6th)

Publiners have qualified through the last chance round last week. The performance is still strong and suits the song ver well, but as it used for the fourth time already, it is getting less and less interesting. However, the song is catchy although it might not stick in the heads of the televoters until the end of the show.

4. Alexander Stenerud – Find my girl

Current poll result: 6.4% (4th)

The first notes of this song remind of Sorry seems to be the hardest wordby Elton John. The songs is a strong ballad with a memorable chorus and it works very well on stage. The performance suits the song, althought the singer might even seem a bit too self-confident. However, this song has rather high chances of reaching the top fout tonight.

5. Velvet Inc.– Tricky

Current poll result: 10.4% (3rd)

Velvet present a very modern and catchy up-tempo girl group song that could easily be a hit by the Sugababes. The performance is very classy but still authentic and suits the song perfectly, especially as it abstains from too old-fashioned special effects. This entry has high chances of reaching the top four.

6.Alexander Rybak – Fairytale

Current poll result: 63.5% (1st)

Alexander Rybak presents one of the most intersting song tonights as it mixes folk elements with a Nostalgic tune. Minor problems in the performance might be that he is slightly overacting with his facial expressions and that there is too much happening on stage at a time, but generally this entry leaves a very strong impression and should easily make it to the second round.

7. Thomas Brøndbo – Det vart en storm

Current poll result: 1.3% (7th)

Wisely, Thomas has chosen clothes of the right size and inmore classy coloursfor tonight.His song is a rather strong ballad that is nevertheless not too outstanding in tonight's line-up. However, the vocals are very strong and the presetation is charming and the entry could well benefit from the fact that it is one of only two songs in Norwegian tonight.

8. Tone Damli Aaberge – Butterflies

Current poll result: 12.8% (2nd)

The show closes with one of the favourites tonight. Tone performs a sweet little pop song mixing elements of the 1990s pop music with an orchestral arrangement. The lyrics works well with the music and the singer is very confident but charming. A minor issue might be thevery classy white dressas a more casual outfit might work better with the laid-back song and the atmosphereit creates on stage.

The first part of the show is over. Please note that you will have to switch to the other webcats link if you are not watching the show on eurovision.tv.

The second part of the show has started.

The lines are clsoed now and the results are about to be revealed.

Alexander Stenerud has reached the second round. Tone Damli Aaberge is the second qualifier. Alexander Rybak and Publiners are the other qulaifiers.

Alexander Rybak won the national final.