On Feb. 13, 2021, Melodi Grand Prix wrapped up its semifinals with its 5th and last heat. Competing in this semi are:
TuVeia “Bli med meg på gar’n” vs RIVER “Coming Home”
Ane.Fin “Walking In My Sleep” vs IMERIKA “I Can’t Escape”
First Duel:
TuVeia - Bli med meg på gar’n
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBx74hndzNw
Norwegian farm boys meet rap in this barnyard rockabilly number. Neither the song itself nor the rapping is anything to write home about, but the colorful set will keep your toddlers entertained.
RIVER - Coming Home
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aIaQ-Yy3pI
The duo RIVER then takes the stage with their country-pop song “Coming Home.” A nice-enough performance all around, if a little European-take-on-country-genre-by-the-number.
Winner: RIVER - Coming Home
Second Duel:
Ane.Fin - Walking In My Sleep
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7sv6Gi8q0M
Ane.Fin takes the stage with her electric-pop tune, “Walking in My Sleep,” in a Barbara Dex Award-worthy ill-fitting suit. Her thin, slightly reedy voice adds a unique touch to the song, even if the vocal color might not be to everybody’s taste.
The non-geoblocked stream of the show on the NRK website also died right after her performance began to overseas Eurofans’ chagrin, who must now rely on either Norwegian fans’ reports or use VPN to access another geoblocked NRK1 web broadcast. (I went for the second option after finding a link a kind Norwegian fan shared so I’m not sure if the international stream ever came back.)
IMERIKA - I Can’t Escape
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC7DQ4M94yg
There’s something different about IMERIKA’s performance. The staging might be simple, but all she needed was the stage and her voice. It is one thing to elevate a song with a masterful staging, but it’s quite another to accomplish it with just a superb live performance where the simple staging elements only serve to highlight your voice and the song.
Winner: IMERIKA - I Can’t Escape
After the two duels, the last pre-qualified finalist, Rein Alexander, unveiled his song “Eyes Wide Open,” which was also written by Eurovision familiar Mørland of “A Monster Like Me” fame.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24lSz5I1z5w
Gold Duel: RIVER - Coming Home vs IMERIKA - I Can’t Escape
Winner: IMERIKA - I Can’t Escape
With the semifinals completed though, there is still one spot in final still left open: the newly-implemented "Sistesjansen," or the wild card entry. The results of the online vote was decided through online votes from the Norwegian audience, and the result was announced on Monday, Feb. 15 through a show broadcasted for both TV and radio. The Siste sjanse show was a simple recap of the 15 eliminated acts, with pre-recorded performances from the respective semifinal shows, with some commentaries from the hosts from the NRK radio studio. At the end, Jorn, with the song “Faith Bloody Faith,” took home the final ticket to the final.
- Cindy Zhang