As we reported at the weekend, Heat 1 of the national selections for Eurovision 2011 kicked off in both Norway and Iceland on Saturday night. And this morning, both countries unveiled the songs that will be participating in Heat 2 of their competitions this coming Saturday. The quality level has been upped tremendously in both countries, which is a relief. And between them we have three songs that we’re VERY excited about, plus a handful of other promising tracks too.
Here’s our review of the songs on offer, plus links to listen.
NORWAY
Norway have treated us to a MUCH better heat than the one we were subjected to at the weekend. In it, we have what sound like our first two amazing songs of the competition, another two that we quite like also, and then three which aren’t to our tastes at all. Although we can even see what the appeal might be in a couple of those last three.
You can listen to 30 second clips of the seven songs at NRK’s website here. And below are our thoughts on them.
Låt nr 1: Pernille & Marius – ‘I’ll Be Yours’
UTTER TRIPE! This gives cheese a bad name. Although judging by the pic of them, they look like they could well be amazing on stage. It’s just a shame that we’re probably gonna have to watch with the sound off.
Låt nr 2: Babel Fish – ‘Depend On Me’
These look like an Il Divo type of act, but sound more like Westlife. We like this one, a drama filled ballad with some heavy strings evident in the clip.
Låt nr 3: Marika – ‘Hungry For You (Gipsydance)’
Norway’s attempt at creating an Eastern European sound? We weren’t sure about what to think of this, but then a friend pointed out that this has a very high likelihood of turning out like a total hot mess on stage, so we’re quite looking forward to it now.
Låt nr 4: Isabella – ’Sand’
Boring.
Låt nr 5: Endre – ’Oh Oh (Puppy Love)’
About as boring and uninspired as a song with ‘Puppy Love’ in its title is destined to be. We don’t like it, but we think that it’ll do very well indeed. Not just because he’s so damn cute, but also because it’s quite similar in sound to ‘Yes Man’ by Bjørn Johan Muri, which did really well last year, and ended up being an even bigger hit in Norway than the winning song.
Låt nr 6: Hanne Sørvaag (pictured above) – ‘You’re Like A Melody’
*scream* Here’s the first of the two properly brilliant clips. As the title hints at, Hanne’s song is big on melody. It’s irresistibly good, and it’s the type of good that we think would be universally liked, not the type of good that only we seem to think is amazing and that everyone else thinks is rubbish. And for that reason, it’s something that we’d like to see Norway send to Eurovision, and thus win this competition.
Låt nr 7: Mimi Blix (pictured below) – ’Allergic’
And speaking of songs that we think are amazing, but that most other people probably won’t – meet Mimi Blix! Although actually, we do think that this will be quite popular amongst a certain type of Eurovision fan. It’s a massive club style dance track. Very commercial, and with Stargate-esque synths to boot. We hope that NRK turn the stage into a huge, lazer filled club for this one. Smoke machines aplenty, and backing dancers raving out behind her.
The full length versions of those last two songs can’t come quickly enough for us! The full length radio rips should surface on Wednesday, and they’ll be released to iTunes on Friday.
ICELAND
Iceland have also done the decent thing and awarded us a better heat than the weekend’s Heat 1. And we also get the first excitingly good song of their competition – the return of YOHANNA!
The songs are available to stream in full here, and below are our thoughts on them.
Kristján Gíslason og Íslenzka Sveitin: ‘Þessi þrá’
A simple ballad with a big melody. The songs builds and builds in a similar style to what Stuart Price did with Take That’s ‘The Flood’. Obviously we’re not comparing the two songs, but you’ll hear what we mean when you listen to it!
Yohanna: ‘Nótt’
The triumphant return of Iceland’s Eurovision representative in 2009 with ‘Is It True’. This is another stunning ballad, extremely epic. It makes us want to learn Icelandic JUST so that we can sing along to it with some conviction. That last chorus is unbelievable. We know it’s early days and there’s one more heat to go after this, but surely Iceland will end up sending this to Eurovision?
Matthías Matthíasson og Erla Björg Káradóttir: ‘Eldgos’
We’re not sure WHAT the hell is going on here, but we don’t like it. Not one iota!
Bryndís Ásmundsdóttir: ‘Segðu Mér’
Melodious retro Motown ballad that we really like. She sings the chorus in a heart-wrenchingly despairing style. We’re really looking forward to the performance of this, and it’s going on our iPod right away!
Rakel Mjöll Leifsdóttir: ‘Beint á Ská’
Dreamy jazz-lite track. It’s not awful by any stretch, although we’re struggling to find anything good to say about it, so that must be a ‘No’ then.
