Tonight Norway will have their national final to select their entry to this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. And you can check out the ten songs right here. It’s not our favourite Norwegian line-up of recent years, to say the least. In fact it’s most probably the worst. But more on that in that there link above.
We’ve been casting our minds back over the past decade of Norway’s selection process for Eurovision. Its national final Melodi Grand Prix, which has produced some mega max trax. And we’ve been getting VERY excited once again about just how amazing some of the songs were, that competed but never actually won. And just what a shame it is that the rest of Europe never got to encounter them.
So – we’ve gathered together our eleven favourite songs from the last eleven years of Melodi Grand Prix. Excluding winners, as we want to pay a deserved homage to the songs that never made it out of the Norwegian national finals. These gems;
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Adelén – Bombo (2013 – 2nd in final)
In any other circumstances, we’d call it the biggest Melodi Grand Prix injustice of all time, that this TUNE AND A HALF had to finish second. But then it DID lose to the greatest Norwegian Eurovision entry ever, so…
Queentastic – Absolutely Fabulous (2006 – 3rd in final)
Two drag queens having the absolute time of their lives performing a schlager banger. There is nothing we don’t love about any second of this.
Hanne Sørvaag – You´re Like a Melody (2011 – final)
Super successful songwriter, picks up a guitar (and some pritt stick and glitter) and goes out onto the stage herself. If you’re like the melody in THIS song, then you’re perfect and don’t ever change for anyone.
Tone Damli Aaberge – Butterflies (2009 – 2nd in final)
An Idol graduate at the time, she ended up losing here to Alexander Rybak’s Eurovision winning ‘Fairytale’. Now she’s one of the most famous women in Norway, with a whole catalogue of even better pop songs than this one behind her.
Alexandra Joner – Cinderella (2015 – final)
A sugary pop treat dressed up in pink. The performance of this is even camper than the drag queens doing schlager from earlier. Yes, really.
Jannicke Abrahamsen – Rocket Ride (2007 – 2nd in final)
Ah the glory days of schlager in a Nordic national final. This one is so loveable, it might even have finished one place higher in neighbouring Sweden’s national final that year. Maybe…
Minnie Oh – You & I (2012 – knocked out in heats)
This sounds like someone writing a Robyn song for the Eurovision stage. Can someone do that again please?
Lene Alexandra – Sillycone Valley (2008 – Second chance round)
Glamour model turns popstar and sings a song referencing her surgically enhanced tits. And yet we’d still say Norway were taking Eurovision more seriously than the UK was in 2008.
Hungry Hearts – Laika (2016 – final)
Disco lesbians from space. We shit you not. This is an anthem that just WILL NOT QUIT. We’re still hammering it one year on. It would have been an amazing addition to last year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Oh well, maybe another year. On the streets of Moscow. With my girlfriend……
Venke Knutson – Jealous ‘Cause I Love You (2010 – final)
Schlager meets Motown. SHOW-TOWN! But really…”do you have to be so flirty, and size up every girl under thirty?”
Reidun Sæther – High On Love (2012 – final)
A country pop banger with a massive chorus and a gargantuan key change. But Reidun’s voice was even bigger than both. And so the whole thing was QUITE something to behold.
