Tonight the third and last semifinal of the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix was held. In the city of Florø eight acts competed for the remaining spots in the final which will take place next Saturday. At the end Yaseen & Julie Maria, Tooji and Petter Øien & Bobby Bare got a ticket and kept the chance of representing Norway in Baku.
The songs: (You can read more about the participants in our Get To Know article)
1) Tooji – Stay
Tooij kicked off tonight’s show. He could be the Norwegian Eric Saade. His song is very modern, uptempo and with lots of beats and drums. During the intro we hear an oriental sound which continues throughout the song. Tooij is accompanied by four dancers on stage – two men and two women. He wears black pants, a blue shirt with a hood and a dark brown jacket. His vocal performance is good without any hearable mistakes.
2) Marthe Valle – Si
After the uptempo beginning the show continues with a song in Norwegian. The song starts as a ballad, but changes to a more midtempo rhythm after the first chorus. Marthe wears a long grey-coloured dress and delivers a good and flawless vocal performance. On stage she is accompanied by three men playing the guitar, the keyboard and the drums.
3) Petter Øien & Bobby Bare – Things change
The songs starts with a girl playing the violin, but if you expect a song like Fairytale, you are wrong. For the first time during this year’s Melodi Grand Prix we hear a country song on stage. According to this Bobby wears a cowboy hat and a black leather jacket. Petter is dressed in black pants and a blue shirt. The melody is very catchy and the vocals are flawless. But could this kind of style be successful at the Eurovision Song Contest? The audience in Florø like it.
4) Yaseen & Julie Maria – Sammen
Song no. 4 is the second one sung in Norwegian tonight. The verses are rapped – the first one by Jaseen and the second by Julie Maria. The chorus is sung. At the end of the song they are accompanied by a big choir on stage. Both singers are dressed in black with a green jacket (Julie Maria) and a brown jacket (Jaseen). They seem to be the youngest artists tonight and especially Julie Maria appears to be very nervous.
5) Håvard Lothe Band – The greatest day
The Håvard Lothe Band performs a conventional midtempo pop song which could easily be played on every radio station. The guys are all dressed in black pants and white shirts, some of them wear a black tie as well. The vocals are flawless and the whole performance and the arrangement come across very professionell. Big applause for them.
6) Silya Nymoen –Euphoria
Silya Nymoens delivers a very strong, energetic and confident performance. Her song is very modern and has an uptempo beat. She is accompanied by five female dancers on stage. All of them wear a sexy outfit – black body tights and black boots. The choreography on stage is perfect. Silya and her dancers are synchronic all the time. The audience likes it very much and gives a big applause.
7) The Canoes – It seemed like a good idea at the time
During song no. 7 we see the first technical problems. After the first chorus the music suddenly breaks down. The guys continue a capella, but stop very soon. So they are allowed to perform their song again. The song style is not easy to describe. It is sung four-part which means that all four singers sing the same notes during one chord. The melody is catchy and you feel like swaying to it. It is definitely a funny performance. All band members are dressed in black suits with striped ties.
8) Lise Karlsnes – Sailors
This is the last song of this year’s Melodi Grand Prix’s semifinals. It is influenced very much by the 80s disco music. Lise wears a tight black jumpsuit and has two female dancers with her on stage. The melody is catchy and the song is well received by the audience.
The show:
The show started on 19.55 CET and was hosted by Marte Stokstad and Per Sundnes. At the beginning of the show all artists were presented and their numbers of televoting were revealed. Before each performance there was a short introduction film. After all eight performances and a reprise the lines were opened and the show was interrupted for about 30 minutes.
The results:
Like the last two weeks before every artist who is announced as a qualifier for the final performs his entry again. And these are the three qualifiers for the Norwegian final:
1. Petter Øien & Bobby Bare
2. Tooji
3. Yaseen & Julie Maria
The final will be held in the Oslo Spektrum next Saturday, February 11th. Beside the acts chosen today we will see Reidun Sæter, The Carburetors, Nora Foss-Al Jabri, Tommy Fredvang, Malin and Plumbo performing there.
