On January 23, Norway held its second of five heats for Melodi Grand Prix 2021. Four songs competed in two duels with the winners of each duel battling it out in a “Gold Duel” to decide who would advance to the national final. A fifth song was introduced before the Gold Duel as an automatic qualifier to the final.
Duel 1
The first performance of the night came from a name familiar to many Eurofans. Ketil Stokkan, the Norwegian Eurovision representative in both 1986 and 1990, returned this year with “My Life Is Ok.” The song is an upbeat number about shutting down the haters and being confident in one’s self. Ketil seemed quite confident indeed, performing it in a garish purple and pink leisure suit surrounded by three gorgeous ladies fake-playing the saxophone and in front of a video wall of remote background singers that included, somewhat inexplicably, Ketil himself. Gaudy and outdated, it was a performance that somehow seemed both on the nose and off the mark. Or, as Ketil would say, “This opener’s OK!”
Ketil’s competition in the first duel was Daniel Owen and his song “Psycho,” a very current number about a guy being driven mad by his crush. Daniel previously won Norway’s Got Talent as an 11-year-old hip-hop dancer. He attempted to employ his choreo skills here though their inclusion may have come at the expense of his vocal, which seemed nasally in the lower register and shrill in the falsetto. Despite the vocal woes, “Psycho” advanced to the Gold Duel over the Ketil Stokkan tune.
Duel 2
The second duel began with Raylee’s “Hero.” The song has a strong synth component that gave it a retro feel, which Raylee played up by wearing a bodysuit and sporting a large frizzy perm. Eurofans of a certain age may have been reminded of Jennifer Beals in the film Flashdance and they would be right to make that connection; at the climax of her song, Raylee sat in a chair silhouetted by dramatic lighting and pulled a lever releasing a shower of water onto her, a direct reference to that 1983 film. It’s a shame that there was no audience at MGP this year because one can imagine that a crowd would have gone wild at that point. It was the clear standout moment so far of this year’s Melodi Grand Prix.
As Raylee donned a towel to dry off, her competitor Maria Solheim took the stage with her song “Nordlyset.” The song could hardly have been more different than its predecessor. Set against a beautiful forest scene, “Nordlyset” seemed part-country song, part-lullaby with its simple string melody and Maria’s almost whispered singing in Norwegian. It came off as a very sweet (though slightly static) entry and was ultimately no match for Raylee’s ‘80s homage, with “Hero” advancing to the Gold Duel.
Auto-Qualifier
Prior to the Gold Duel, this week’s auto-qualifiers took to the stage. Stavangerkameratene are a group of four friends, each with a background in reality TV singing contests, who formed a band. Their song, “Barndomsgater,” is a nostalgic, folksy number about returning to one’s childhood home and was handsomely staged with LED screens full of childhood photos and mementos.
Gold Duel
The night wrapped-up with a reprise of “Psycho” and “Hero” followed by a final vote. In the end, Raylee was the winner. She will join Stavangerkameratene at the Melodi Grand Prix final on February 20. The other three entries in this heat will return on February 15 for the Second Chance round, where one of them may earn the right to return to the competition.
