Three weeks of semifinals and a second chance round culminate tonight, as NRK hosts the final of the Melodi Grand Prix 2008. This week, Ole Ivars and Tinkerbells joined the lucky eight finalists after being awarded their second chance by the voting public.
The show opens, as with the semifinals, to sweeping panoramic shots of the host city. This time, it’s Oslo, and thousands must be tuning in as the names of tonight’s contenders appear against the cityscape. With the now familiar fanfare of the Melodi Grand Prix, we’re in the studio and the audience is goes wild as the welcome is announced!
“Finally, Norway; finally, Oslo!” is the motto of the night. The artists are sitting at special tables in the audience, ready and waiting to fight it out.
Crash!
And it’s time for “Melodi nummer ett” – and Crash! The band turns in a textbook performance, throwing themselves into an energetic performance. Spot-on vocals despite the mania on stage makes for an excellent opener, and an entry that televoters will not easily forget. Screams from the audience prove that this is a very well-received song.
Ann-Mari Andersen
In her postcard clip, Ann thanks everyone for letting her sing the song at the Oslo Spektrum tonight, clearly delighted to be so far in the competition. Looking powerful and proud in her flowing claret frock (complete with wind machine lightly blowing away), the performance couldn’t be stronger. There is something hypnotically attractive about the whole presentation, making this an outsider to watch. The cheer is even huger than the one for Crash!, and most of the audience are standing to applaud Ann-Mari.
Tinkerbells
With a tusen takk for the votes they hope to get this evening, after coming through the second chance round against all the odds, Tinkerbells take the stage to enthusiastic cheers. With coquettish looks and big smiles all round, the girls look and sound very comfortable, dressed in red chiffons and velvets as for the semifinal. The audience clap along with gusto as Tinkerbells hold on with a good vocal performance. Again, a nice big cheer and some good support in the audience with a huge banner!
Veronica Akselsen
It’s Veronica’s greatest dream to represent Norway, she tells us, in her postcard bid for votes. Before long she’s gliding gracefully onto the stage in a black evening gown to deliver Am I Supposed to Love Again. Veronica’s voice is pitch-perfect and clear as glass, although it is a definite change of mood from the first three songs; perhaps the presentation is a little too gentle? The audience don’t seem to mind, waving glow sticks in the air. And the cheer says it all – with another standing ovation, they clearly love her. Could sultry, sexy ballads be the order of the day?
Christine Guldbrandsen is smiling in the audience as we move on to the next song.
King of Trolls
Lots of anticipation for this entry, and you can hear it amongst the audience already. And elves should beware, as the Trolls treat the audience to a strong, zanily unforgettable performance. If this is a Ruslana-Lordi crossover experiment, the power it gains as it builds to the pyrotechnic finale bodes well for the final vote. A big hand from the crowd.
Ole Ivars
Another gentle song sandwiches King of Trolls along with Veronica Akselsen. It may not be aiming at the same demographic as many of the other entries, but there is definitely a sector of the audience that this will appeal to. Ole gives an expectedly competent, solid performance, of the only Norwegian language song in this year’s final. The singer shows the personal touch as he leaves the stage to walk amongst the smiling audience.
Torstein Sødal
The songwriter reminds us of Torstein’s “fantastic voice” before the man himself takes the stage, and true to form, he gives a beautiful, controlled performance of Eastern Wind. It is notably popular with the audience. There is something understated about the man and his performance, all of which says ‘dark horse’.
Maria Haukaas Storeng
The second favourite of the night has the honour of finishing the first presentations. After a potentially shaky start, Maria soon gets into the flow of the performance. She is every inch the classy soul songstress in a beautiful purple dress. She ends the song on a big smile, and looks happy as the audience whoop and cheer.
And that's it – eight will soon become four, and the preview clips are played as the televoters begin to do their work.
That old favourite and Euro-veteran, Jahn Teigen, is our treat for the interval act. He begins with his 1989 MGP entry, Optimist, which soon turns into a medley of his greatest triumphs (and otherwise!) at the contest, including Mil etter mil (Norway 1978), Glasnost (MGP 1988) and Do-Re-Mi (Norway 1983). The audience clearly love him, some of them singing along. The performance is followed by a plethora of personal tributes to Jahn on thirty years at the top, by notables in the Norwegian entertainment industry, including Hanne Krogh and friends!
The superfinalists
And it’s time for the superfinalists to be announced. They are called out to perform again as follows:
Eastern Wind – Torstein Sødal
Am I Supposed to Love Again – Veronica Akselsen
Far Away – King of Trolls
Hold On Be Strong – Maria Haukaas Storeng
Those are our four – congratulations to them as they garner for more votes, and commiserations to the four eliminated entries.
Guri Schanke is on stage to entertain us while Norway votes, kicking off with a Norwegian rendition of If They Could See Me Now with lyrics poking a little fun at the contest itself! Then, asking "Spektrum? Shall we have one last dance?" she bursts into a performance of last year's Norwegian entry Ven a bailar conmigo, to rapturous applause. Christine Guldbrandsen, Norway’s star of 2006, stands to applaud her successor in the audience.
Results
Each of the three host cities have expert juries, after which the regional televotes are given. Maria Haukaas Storeng is the victor in almost all of them (with Torstein winning the Stavanger expert vote and the popular vote in Sørnorge), making Hold On Be Strong Norway’s contender for Serbia. Torstein was second, with King of Trolls in third and Veronica Akselsen in fourth place. Congratulations and good luck to Maria!
