Over three weeks NRK and esctoday.com has presented you the 18 participants for the 2007 Norwegian selection, a selection that contains of 3 semi-finals. We have previously introduced you for the first 12 and now that we present you for the last six you can judge for yourself � who will Norway choose?
The third and last semi-final that will take place in Stokke on 3rd of February will include these 6 participants:
Song nr. 1: Jannicke Abrahamsen – Rocket Ride
Jannicke is a Eurovision fan, one of her biggest idols isthree time Swedish Eurovision participant and former winner,Carolaand last year her dream came through when she took part in the Norwegian semi-final with the song I Wanna Be. She made it to the second-chance round, but didn’t reach the final. She is an example that not all children stars are forgotten when they become adults.
As a child, Jannicke made 10 albums that together sold more than 450,000 records. She has since been working as actress, dancer and choreographer on different theatres in both Norway and Copenhagen. In 1996 she received the Karoline Krüger award. Karoline represented Norway in Eurovision Song Contest in 1988 and the award goes to young people who are able to combine school with achieving great results within sport, art or culture.
The song Rocket Ride is about space and what the great events waiting for us if we go out there! It is written by Knut Øyvind, a Eurovision fan, a member of OGAE Norway and actor of profession. He wrote the song together with two Swedes, Andreas Rickstrand and Thomas G:son. Thomas needs no further introduction as he has previously written 5 songs for the Norwegian selection, 21 for Sweden, 4 for Finland and one for Latvia.
Song nr. 2: Trine Rein feat. Andreas Ljones – Maybe
Trine Rein took part in the Norwegian selection last year while it is first time for Andreas who is a folksinger who played at the opening ceremony at the winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994. Trine has been playing all over the world and managed to be number one on 16 different charts in Japan – at the same time! The songwriter trio RedFly Music AB, who previously wrote songs for both Norwegian and Swedish selections, wrote the song which is about knowing yourself.
Song nr. 3: Monica Hjelle – Creator
Ever since Monica was a little child she have wanted to take part in the Melodi Grand Prix. When she worked with the songwriter Jan Eggum in 2005 she asked him to write a song for her. He wrote the song Creator which has now been selected for the Norwegian semi-final. Monica has been working with films, TV and a few theatre performances before, but it will be a dream coming true when she goes on stage singing Creator, a song full of metaphors so people can make of it what they want. The lyrics are written by Kaia Huuse who has not previously been in Melodi Grand Prix, while songwriter Jan Eggum has participated before.
Song nr. 4: Crash – Wannabe
Crash is the name of a young rock band who had their stage debut only 18 months ago. Since that time things has gone really fast, they released an EP with six songs and went on a five days mini tour, but the Eurovision Song Contestwas never something that crossed the minds on the 4 young boys named Vegar Neeb, Remo G. Monkeboe, Daniel Pedersen and Stig Buckholm. That was until they met Trond Holter, also known as Teeny from the band Wig Wam, who represented Norway in 2005 with the song In My Dreams, that was the year after their song Crazy Things had given them a third place in the national final.
When Teeny told about his own Eurovision experiences and asked the band to sing this song they accepted. The song is about making yourself noticed; to do what you want and not what others expect from you – also within the music industry, something Teeny definitely have experience with himself!
Song nr. 5: Christina Undhjem – Here
Though Christina also took part in the Norwegian semi-final last year with the song My Dream she is rather unknown in Norway. In Denmark, however, she has become quite a big name. She went to Copenhagen in 1995 to study music for one year, but fell in love with the Danish capital that she decided to stay there permanently. Along with two friends she made the band You Know Who, but is also known as a songwriter for many Danish singers. Christina originally thought she was going to be a hairdresser, some skills she could definitely use during a concert in Aalborg, Denmark some years ago when her hair caught fire on stage. Professional as she is she continued singing while she with one hand tried to stop the fire on her hair! The song is written by Eirik Husabø and is about a woman who wishes to be able to go back in time and with her love save a guy who has been hurt in his love life.
Song nr. 6: Jenny Jenssen – Vil Du Ha Svar
For 43 year old Jenny, Melodi Grand Prix has been a dream ever since she was a little child. She was on the way home for the hospital with her newborn child when the phone rang and she was asked to sing the song. A dream coming true on a day which was already one of the best moments in her life. Since the age of 11 she has been singing in different bands, mainly the so-called 'dansband' style that can easiest be described as easy- listening. She has been singing with the band Septimus since 1988 and sold more than 150,000 records.The song Vil Du Ha Svar is written by two more Swedes, Mats Larsson and Åsa Karlsström and translated into Norwegian by Yngvar Gregersen.
The Norwegian semi-finals start at 20th of January and each semi-final will contain six songs. Two songs will qualify directly for the final 10th of February in Oslo. The songs coming third and fourth in each semi-final will get a second chance to qualify. This special heat will take place two days before the final and select the last two songs for the final that will then include 8 songs. Read about the first 12 participants, click here.
