God Kveld Europa , Godmorgen Australia ! Yes, it’s that time again folks! Tonight Norway continues its search for their act to represent them at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Rotterdam , Netherlands. Tonight another 4 acts will compete in the 3rd heat for a place in the Grand Final of Melodi Grand Prix, to take place on 20th February at the H3 Arena in Fornebu , Norway. Just to recap on last week, Raylee was successful in winning Heat 2 with her song ” Hero ” and therefore goes through to join 6 prequalified acts and the winners of Heat 1 Blåsemafian ft Hazel with their song “Let loose”.

Tonight’s four contenders are ;

Dinaye-“Own Yourself “

Big Daddy Karsten -” Smile”

Emmy -“Witch Woods”

Ole Hartz-“Vi er Norge”

We will also get a performance from one of the pre qualified acts , tonight it’s the turn of Kaja Rode with the song ” Feel again .

As in the previous two heats the acts will compete in two duels ,to be drawn at the start of the show , with the winners of each duel going through to a Gold Duel where they will perform again . The winner will go through to the Grand Final on 20th May while the runner up will go through to a second chance round to take place on 15th February .

Please sit back, relax and join me , Sarah when I will be bringing you my thoughts and comments on the action in our live blog from 19:50 CET , 18:50 GMT . Please also feel free to give us a shout and let us know your own views in the comments box below , it’s always interesting to see how musical tastes differ !

You know the drill, to follow the action just keep

REFRESHING THIS PAGE

You can also follow the live show HERE

#Joinus for the action at 18:50 GMT 19:50 GMT

LIVE BLOG STARTS HERE

Welcome back everyone. So in about 10 minutes, hopefully NRK will give us access to the live show at the H3 Arena. As in the last couple of weeks and throughout the contest , there will be no audience due to the ongoing restrictions on public events caused by the pandemic . Our hosts this evening as always are Ronny, Kåre and Ingrid , you’ll have grown to love them by now !

And we’re in ! Starting off with the Norwegian lottery , someone will hopefully be very lucky in Norway tonight !

Here we go…ready for the off ! Recapping on last week

Just going through proceedings for tonight and introducing tonight’s hopefuls . Time for the draw of the duels ….

Duels -Danaye V Big Daddy

Emmy V Ole Hartz

First up Danay with Own Yourself :

Danaye is only 17 years old,she has performed in Norwegian Idol and also in Norway’s Got Talent , she’s joined on stage by umpteen backing dancers , dressed a bit like the mystic east . It’s catchy, very Eurovision , with a simple dance routine . It’s ok but nothing really outstanding . Nice stage effects and she looks like she is enjoying herself

Big Daddy Karsten-Smile

My colleague James had the pleasure of interviewing this nice guy earlier this week . He’s a rap performer who has performed in various events around Norway. He has promised an amazing performance tonight , with backing dancers like ” The Village People ” ! He hasn’t disappointed ! Big Daddy is gay and proud and this reflects in his staging and dress with the pride colours as stage backdrop,. Backing singers are dressed as promised ! I really like the effort he has put into this .Great performance .Rap generally has mixed fortunes at Eurovision. Can Big Daddy Carsten change that ?

We’re having a recap now of the first duel performances . I have to say I think this one might just go Big Daddy Karsten’s way for the enthusiasm and entertainment

Nerve wracking times ….And Duel one goes to……..

BIG DADDY !!

So now for Duel 2

Emmy -Witch Woods

Emmy competed in Junior Melodi Grand Prix in 2015 , now she’s having a try at the adult contest . Some of the ESC media has predicted her to win this heat , so let’s see if that prediction is right !Emmy is joined on stage by 6 scantily clad dancers , with a bit of the goth look . Impressive staging with use of fire effects and city backdrop , mysterious dark imaging and you really do feel like you’re in witch woods !It’s catchy this is a contender for the win.

Ole Hartz -Vi er Norge

Ole has been singing since the age of 6 and has enjoyed millions of streams and a growing fanbase in Norway and Sweden. His song is very Norwegian in style with traditional norwegian sounds. Joined on stage by umpteen dancers ,doing a lot of singing and shouting . It’s always good to hear a song sung in a native language , some of the sounds even sound irish in nature but will this be what voters want ?

Because there is no audience allowed , the acts have virtual greetings from family and fans after their performances

Recap of the acts now ,this duel is a bit harder to call but I think Emmy will take it

Here goes……..

As expected …Emmy is through

So it’s Emmy V Big Daddy Karsten in the God duel …..

Now we’re going to see a perfomance from Kaja , one of the pre qualified finalists.

Kaja -Feel Again

Kaja is alone on stage and I think she’s borrowed Loreen’s outfit from 2012 , she moves a bit like her too ! Can’t fault her vocals and it’s a confident performance. It’s a little bit repetitive in parts for me , but she performs well. Not as strong though as some of the other pre qualifiers we have seen , I think .

The hosts are out spying on the streets again ……….

So …onto the Gold Duel Big Daddy Karsten V Emmy !

Big Daddy Karsten-Smile

You really can’t take away Big Daddy’s enthusiasm , he clearly enjoys performing on stage . I am not a fan of rap , it usually gets a mixed response at Eurovision . Could Big Daddy Karsten change this ?

We’re just getting a look at some of the pre qualified finalists and the acts already qualified from the last two heats

Emmy -Witch Woods

A second look at this and it makes me wonder if this wouldn’t look out of place in a West End show . This is a favourite to win tonight but there’s just something about it that makes me not quite like it as much as I probably should. It’s certainly foot tapping . She’ll have to lose one of her backing dancers though if she goes to Eurovision to stick within the stage limit for performers on stage .

We have the recap now ……hard to call but I have a feeling Emmy will take this , although in all honesty it would be nice to see Big Daddy win .For the enthusiasm more than anything

Results now…..this is tense

And ……EMMY IS THROUGH TO THE FINAL ! commiserations to Big Daddy Karsten

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source : NRK Results on their