God kveld Europa og godmorgen Australia! It’s time to find out who Norway will be sending to the Eurovision Song Contest this year with the final of Melodi Grand Prix 2019!

Sit back and relax, and let Eurovision Ireland’s own James Scanlan entertain and inform you. As always, feel free to tell me what you think and give your opinions about tonight’s Final and who your favourites are! I might even shout out to you in the blog 😉

We have 10 songs all wanting that ticket to Tel Aviv in May. Tonight they’ll perform in the following order:

Chris Medina – “We Try”

D’Sound – “Mr. Unicorn”

Mørland – “En Livredd Mann”

Anna-Lisa Kumoji – “Holla”

Erlend Bratland – “Sing for You”

Ingrid Berg Mehus – “Feel”

Hank von Hell – “Fake It”

Carina Dahl – “Hold Me Down”

Adrian Jørgensen – “The Bubble”

KEiiNO – “Spirit in the Sky”

If you want to watch too, have a look here HERE from 19:55CET / 18:55 GMT.

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LIVE BLOG STARTS HERE!!

Hei! Dere er alt for tidlig! Kom tilbake senere i kveld! Hi! You’re too early! Come back later tonight! 😀

It’s about 15 minutes till show time everyone! I’m already watching two skiers yell at each other in Norwegian… not a clue what’s happening! 😀

OK, so I just checked our stats are wondered why so many hits – I made a slight mistake with timezones and Melodi Grand Prix starts at 20:55 CET… not an hour earlier as I originally posted! Ooops… Sorry for the confusion and if you’ve been waiting for the last hour!

Just a little more sport and we should be on to a riotous cavalcade of quality song… or the musical equivalent of a crime against humanity… such is our beloved contest! ❤

Here we go!

Alexander Rybak, last year’s MGP winner reprising his entry “That’s How You Write A Song” – who will he pass that baton on to this year?

Some of you are saying you’re having trouble with the link to the live show… try THIS ONE HERE

Our 10 hopefuls – one of them will get the green light for Tel Aviv this very night! Question is, who?

Our lovely hosts:

Surprised how much Norwegian I can understand from learning on Duolingo. And it looks like our first singer Chris is also learning Norwegian!

Chris Medina – “We Try”

The arena are going wild for him! Chris starts out sat down at his piano and the effect of the lights across the audience is quite magical. It’s quite a modern up beat song with a positive message. I think the fact the audience are really getting behind him is perfect for the mood of it all – a fantastic start!

D’Sound – “Mr. Unicorn”

Just for you Chloe, a song about unicorns! 😀 Wearing what looks like hazmat suits and singing in glass cubes, it’s definitely a memorable look as are the psychedelic colours and trance music… I must have missed the “take drugs now” warning flash across the screen… unicorns are very in vogue at the moment, so maybe that’ll help when the voting starts! From a purely personal point of view, I’m not convinced just yet.

Chatting to Chris Medina in the Green Room pa engelsk now. But not for long, we’re off to Song #3! And a familiar face to Eurovision fans…

Mørland – “En Livredd Mann”

Oh wow… it’s all very Scandi noir! Love the use of the televisions with Mørland’s face on them. With it’s smoky staging, gagged dancers and soulful yet haunted sound, this feels very moody and artistic. I think this will definitely be one to watch with the juries later tonight! Is it strong enough to go to Tel Aviv? Might be a touch too avant garde for the televoters, but it’s jury bait for sure!

Anna-Lisa Kumoji – “Holla”

From a subdued ballad to a loud and brash urban track! Anna-Lisa owns that stage and delivers a very confident performance backed up by her jumpsuit clad dancers. Musically, it’s loud, in your face repetitive to the point of being a tad irritating but I am mindful that just might be because it contrasts SOOOO much with what came before it. But she should be proud, that was a very slick performance!

Back to the Green Room for some more chatting with the contestants. Have we already seen tonight’s winner?

We’re coming up to the half-way point of tonight’s show. Remember, 10 songs will perform, then our international juries will vote and the Top 4 will go through to a Gold Final. Our winner will be chosen from here!

Back to the songs! 😀

Erlend Bratland – “Sing for You”

A very simple but powerful ballad from Erlend. I often think performances like this are much better for Eurovision – no flashy gimmicks or weird staging, just a singer, their voice and their song. Admittedly, this does remind me very much of another song (whose name I can’t remember right now!) but a very solid effort. I think this will be another one to watch for the Gold Final.

Ingrid Berg Mehus – “Feel”

Blonde hair and blue eyes, Ingrid looks stunning in her red gown. I was just saying “this wouldn’t be a bad choice to send to Tel Aviv” when she brought out the violin ❤ Norway’s Eurovision secret weapon! Although I’m not sure what the dancer brings to the performance, I think this is easily my favourite so far tonight – yes, I’m a sucker for a violin, but her voice and the music are so hypnotic! ❤

Hank von Hell – “Fake It”

Looking like the love-child of Liberace and Brian Blessed, Hank von Hell is one hell of a showman! Rock songs usually fall flat at Eurovision because the performances concentrate on the arena and not the cameras… but Hank connects perfectly with the camera AND is rocking out the arena in Oslo… you don’t need to fake it Hank, you can do it!! Very impressed – and the audience LOVE him!!

The audience are still calling his name even as he leaves the stage!

Having a little chat with some of the international spokes people – including North Macedonia’s beautiful Aleksandra in Skopje!

Carina Dahl – “Hold Me Down”

Hold me now, don’t cry… don’t say a word… oops, sorry, wrong song! Well… Johnny Logan it ain’t! It’s very sexy and modern with Carina in her orange jumpsuit – complete with a reveal moment! (don’t you miss those at Eurovision?) The first thing I’m noting is there are clearly more that 6 people on that stage, and I do wonder if the staging will have the same impact with fewer people… but it’s a very slick routine and Carina gives a very accomplished performance – brava!

With Hank von Hell in the Green Room – gosh, they love him in that arena… could he be one to watch for that ticket to Tel Aviv?

Two more songs to go – let’s go!

Adrian Jørgensen – “The Bubble”

Standing alone on stage with his guitar, Adrian is giving us a very Ed Sheeran-esq performance, also with touches of Germany’s entry last year with the photos on screen behind him. It’s quite a sweet little song that builds throughout, which can be a good thing to help keep fickle televoters’ attention. I enjoyed that 🙂

(takes advantage of slight break in proceedings to check on result in Finland)

It’s time for our last song tonight. Now, this is the one Eurovision Ireland’s readers have tipped to win tonight – has Norway saved the best till last?

KEiiNO – “Spirit in the Sky”

I’d heard of the hype around this entry and was curious to see what they would do with it live… meaning I was afraid they’d wreck it with overly ridiculous staging… but oh wow… KEiiNO have staged this perfectly and let their vocals and natural chemistry together shine through. This may be very premature… but I feel like we may have just seen the winner of MGP 2019… and possibly a contender for Eurovision 2019’s crown too…

Listen to that audience… they’re going crazy for KEiiNO!!

So while there’s some catching up with Anna-Lisa and Carina, I’m going to think about tonight’s songs and who I think will be our final 4 – brb!

Norway have really outdone themselves this year and there are several songs that I feel could do really well at Eurovision! Condensing that down into just 4 is tricky, but I think the international juries are going to respond well to KEiiNO, Ingrid, Erlend and Mørland.

There are a few others that I think could also grab their attention, Hank von Hell definitely being one of them – if he gets into the public televote, I think he’ll be going to Tel Aviv!

Although everyone thinks this is KEiiNO’s night, as 2019 has been a bit *ahem* brutal to fan favourites, I’m going to wait and see what happens!

Time for a recap – it’s 5 krone for a vote, which I think is about 50p

And it’s time for the jury votes – Italy are up first! And they gave their maximum points to Anna-Lisa and Holla!

Georgia up next – Mr Unicorn gets their max points. I did wonder at the time that it’s a lot like their 2014 entry!

Spain give Mr Unicorn another max mark!

Neighbours Denmark give their points to Mørland!

Anyone else noticing these points are going everywhere? *gulp*

Portugal give their points to The Bubble

Scoreboard so far… and we’re off to Switzerland now!

The Bubble gets more points from Switzerland

Yes Aleksandra – it really is time Europe comes to North Macedonia for Eurovision!!

North Macedonia give their points to Mr Unicorn

Ireland up next! And we gave our flag to – Mr Unicorn as well…

As usual, I’ve proved I’ve got no idea how to predict Eurovision national final results!

Hungary give their flag to The Bubble

This year’s host Israel give the last flag… and it goes to KEiiNO! The only flag they got, which is baffling!

The results of the international juries:

I did say unicorns are very in vogue now…

The female vocalist from D’Sound is in shock… I think we all are!

Literally no idea what’s happening now… big hairy man with a beard and a feather boa wandering round a party in a sparkly outfit with a large flower in his hair… did I miss the “take drugs now” warning again??

Even the host looks a little unsure about what’s going on…

The Internet reacts to the Norwegian entries for Melodi Grand Prix – I think they are in it to win it too – but who is getting that ticket to Tel Aviv??

Guess we’ll find out later, now it’s time for a piece entitled ESC-Burlesque… clearly the Norwegians taking some inspiration from their Nordic brothers in Iceland… leather…

This is fantastic! It’s like Eurovision meets Chicago meets Moulin Rouge! Loving the choreography and choices of songs – bravo Norway, very impressed!!

Now Bobbysocks! are being flash-mobbed with their winning entry La Det Swinge – a Eurovision classic if ever there was one!

Think at last we’re getting the results of the televote

Adrian and The Bubble are through – not surprising with his multiple jury points!

Anna-Lisa Kumoji is also through!

So far I’m 0/4 in my selections hahaha maybe I’ll have better luck with the next two?

KEiiNO are through! The public must really love them as they were quite a way behind in the jury vote (which I still find utterly inexplicable!)

Who is the last finalist? It’s D’Sound and Mr Unicorn – again, not surprising with their massive jury result!

So our 4 finalist are Adrian, Anna-Lisa, KEiiNO and D’Sound – one of these acts is going to Tel Aviv – a new wave of voting starts now!

Tor Endresen sitting on throne here, looking back at his numerous entries in the Norwegian national selection. He’s entered 12 times, and won once in 1997

Now time for a look around the continent (and Australia!) to see what else it making it’s way to Tel Aviv in May. What will Norway be sending to join them?

Say what you will Eurovision fans, there are some great entries this year – and even ones I didn’t initially like, have grown on me! 😀

So from my understanding, the public votes will determine the Top 2, who will perform once more and then it’ll be open to another vote. At least that’s what happened last year…..

Adrian is through to the Gold Final, meaning Anna-Lisa’s road to Tel Aviv ends here

now for the bands…

D’Sound are going home, meaning KEiiNO are still in with a chance to go to Eurovision!!

Still not entirely sure what’s going on here… if my adopted Norwegian family Nils and Fredrik are reading along tonight, please do explain what’s happening. I’m literally clueless at this point 😀

Super Final – Adrian Jørgensen – “The Bubble”

I must admit, I like it more on a second listening, which is a good sign but I do worry how much a song like this will stand out in Israel. The staging is simple and the ending with Adrian being joined by a female singer is a nice touch, but I do feel this is a safe option. And safe rarely stands out at Eurovision.

Quick chat to last year’s winner Alexander Rybak in the Green Room.

Super Final – KEiiNO – “Spirit in the Sky”

I usually try to be impartial and fair when writing these blogs – but c’mon Norway, this is the obvious choice! Good dance beat, great vocals, solid staging that doesn’t upstage the song, quirky, but not outrageously weird – and it’s hugely memorable! Please Norway…

The audience were on their feet screaming their name!!

The lines have just closed. Norway, what have you decided? While the votes are tallied, here’s reigning Eurovision queen Netta with Toy – the reason we’re off to Tel Aviv is just over 2 months time!!

I thought this show was supposed to finish about 20 minutes ago now… hmmm… good thing I’m having fun!

The acts are on stage… and the winner is…

KEiiNO!!!!!

They look as happy as I do!!

Tusen takk Norge! That was a really briliant show! That was Melodi Grand Prix, this was James, thanks for reading along everyone! Good night!

Author: James Scanlan
Source: NRK
Image Source: NRK