So what happened in the fourth heat, then? Kiim charmed Norwegian voters with ‘My Lonely Voice‘ and got rewarded with a ticket to the grand final on February 20th.
And what’s happening in heat 5? In the fifth and final heat, four more song will compete, only one of which will be voted through to the final by the Norwegian public. They’ll have to choose between this lot that you can find below.
Marvellous stuff. And also tomorrow night, will be a performance from the latest pre-qualified finalist, which was released today – and which you can also find below;
THE PRE-QUALIFIED FINALIST
Rein Alexander – Eyes Wide Open
(Rein Alexander Korshamn, Christian Ingebrigtsen, Kjetil Mørland)
After last year’s Viking dance banger, Rein has decided to, well, rein in the tempo somewhat, and this year delivers a slightly more sombre affair. The drama and the theatrics are still present and correct – cos heaven knows, he does them oh so well – but this time they’ve been integrated into something of a classier pop tune. Bond theme is the first thing that springs to mind, based solely on those gorgeous strings. And now we want nothing more than a Nordic espionage themed performance from our suave and sophisticated entertainer.
THE HEAT 5 COMPETITORS
Ane.Fin – Walking In My Sleep
(Ane Caroline Finstad (Ane.Fin), Niklas Rosström, Espen Andreas Fjeld, Kim Rune Hagen, Vebjørn Jernberg)
Ane offers up some intentionally warperd r&b funk with a touch of the early 00s to it. Normally one might benefit from having the most straightforward pop song in the line-up, the song that would sound most at home home on radio. But Melodi Grand Prix 2021 has thrown up a lot of surprises so far, so if anything, its adherence to popular music could well be a hindrance to the song.
TuVeia – Bli Med Meg På Gar’n
(Kristian Galaaen Bredalslien, Roar Galaaen Bredalslien, Bendik Johnsen, Torgeir Ryssevik, Carl-Henrik Wahl, Jonas Holteberg Jensen, Sindre Timberlid Jenssen, Sarah A. V. Johnston)
Purposely eccentric country-boy rap, and unsettlingly catchy! Over the last few weeks, however, Norway hasn’t responded very well to lads larking about on stage and not taking the whole thing seriously. It’ll be a high point of Saturday night watching this unfold before our eyes – but we can’t imagine we’ll be seeing it again on Feb 20th.
RIVER – Coming Home
(Thomas Heiland, Lennart Karlsen, Magnus Claussen, Simen Meland Handeland, Tommy La Vardi)
Our favourite of this week’s bunch – ‘Coming Home’ is instantly infectious country-pop with an almighty kick to it. It’s already sounding better than half of what’s currently in the final.
IMERIKA – I Can’t Escape
(Erika Dahlen (IMERIKA), Bjørn Olav Edvardsen, Morten Franck, Ben Adams)
A gorgeous ballad – much more contemporary and competitive than the one that won last week’s weaker heat. It’ll be between this and ‘Coming Home’ for the win this Saturday, we reckon. Though the final 45 seconds of ‘I Can’t Escape’ really do make a compelling push forward for the lead – so if that’s echoed in the performance on Saturday night, then it’s IMERIKA’s to lose.
