Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
| Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Norway | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Melodi Grand Prix 2008 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-finals 12 January 2008 19 January 2008 26 January 2008 Second Chance 6 February 2008 Final 9 February 2008 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Maria Haukaas Storeng | |||
| Selected song | ""Hold On Be Strong"" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Qualified (4th, 106 points) | |||
| Final result | 5th, 182 points | |||
| [[ Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest| Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest]] | ||||
| ||||
Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 by Maria Haukaas Storeng, performing the song "Hold On Be Strong". Storeng was chosen through the Norwegian national final, Melodi Grand Prix, organised by the Norwegian broadcaster, Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK).
18 artists in total competed in Melodi Grand Prix 2008, with only eight songs progressing to the grand final. After the votes of both the juries and televoting, Storeng was announced the winner of the contest, and would represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Storeng's song, composed by Mira Craig, competed in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2008 on 20 May 2008. She qualified to the final, coming 4th of 19 with 106 points. At the final, closing the contest, she received 182 points, coming 5th in a field of 25. This was Norway's best placing at the contest since 2003, and their best placing since semi-finals were introduced in 2004.
Background
Norway first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960, coming fourth in their debut entry. Shortly afterwards, however, Norway began to fare worse at Eurovision, becoming known for coming last place. Having come last place six times, their best place at that point was third place in 1966, when Åse Kleveland represented the country with "Intet er nytt under solen" (There's nothing new under the sun). In total, Norway has come last 10 times, the most for any country at Eurovision, with its latest in 2004.[1]
Norway first win came in 1985, when duo Bobbysocks, Hanne Krogh and Elisabeth Andreassen, won the contest with "La det swinge" (Let it swing). In 1986 Norway hosted the competition for the first time in the city of Bergen. Norway won again ten years later, at the 1995 contest, when Secret Garden beat the competition with "Nocturne". At the 1996 contest, held again in Norway, this time in the capital of Oslo, Norway came close to winning again, coming second with "I evighet", performed again by Elisabeth Andreassen.[1]
Since the country's debut Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK) had been in charge of the Norwegian entry, holding the Melodi Grand Prix in almost every case to select their Eurovision entry. The broadcaster is also responsible in broadcasting Eurovision in Norway.
Melodi Grand Prix 2008
Melodi Grand Prix 2008 was the selection process for the 47th song to represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest.
Format
Melodi Grand Prix featured a total of five shows, held over five weeks from 12 January to 9 February. Three semi-finals were held, each containing six participants. From each semi-final the top two songs in a televote progressed to the grand final. The third and fourth placed songs in the same televote went on to the Siste Sjansen round, a second chance round held on 6 February where these songs were given a second chance to qualify for the final. The final of the competition, held on 9 February, featured the six direct qualifiers from the semi-finals and the two winners of Siste Sjansen. In the final, the top four songs selected by televoting and jury voting qualfiied to the Gold Final, where the winner was selected through another round of jury and televoting.
Planning
NRK began their campaign for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest on 9 July 2007. An open call for songs was made by NRK for Melodi Grand Prix 2008. NRK will also directly invite composers to submit songs for the contest, as they did in 2007. All entries had to be received by NRK by 1 September.[2][3] Composers of all nationalities were again welcome in the competition, despite the controversy that has arisen in recent years over the amount of songs written by Swedish composers that can be found in the competition. However NRK said that they do support songs composed by Norwegians, but they would still like to open the contest to foreign composers, hence all entries were under consideration.[4]
The initial dates and venues for the competition were announced on 28 September, when it was revealed that the second semi-final would be held in Kongsvinger, the third semi-final in Bodø and the final in the Spektrum in Oslo.[5][6] The first semi-final was later revealed to have been set to be held in Stavanger, along with the news that Per Sundnes would be the host of the contest, having previously commentated for NRK at Eurovision.[7][8] For 2008, however, it was revealed by NRK that Sundnes would not be commentationg for Norway.[9]
Schedule
| Date | City | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 January 2008 | Stavanger | Sandvigå | Semi-final 1 |
| 18 January 2008 | Kongsvinger | Semi-final 2 | |
| 25 January 2008 | Bodø | Bodø Spektrum | Semi-final 3 |
| 6 February 2008 | Oslo | Oslo Stratos | Second Chance |
| 9 February 2008 | Oslo | Oslo Spektrum | Final |
Entries
NRK received 600 submissions for MGP, substantially higher than the previous year's total of 464.[10][11] 34% of entries were written by Norwegians composers, with the rest coming from elsewhere in Europe and beyond.
Rumours of who would compete in the 2008 MGP arose early on. The first major name to be mentioned was former Eurovision winner for Sweden Carola.[12] However this later did not come to pass, having later entered as a wildcard to the Swedish national selection Melodifestivalen.[13] Another name mentioned to be competing was Lene Alexandra, who had previously had success with the song "My Boobs Are OK".[14] Alexandra later confirmed her participation at MGP.[15]
Names of composers in the competition were released, which included Mira Craig, Wig Wam band members Glam and Teeny, Christian Ingebrigtsen and Jan Groth.[16][17] The final list of the 18 competing songs were released on 13 December. However, this list only contained the song titles and composers, leaving out the final performing artists.[18][19] The final list contained songs composed purely by Norwegian composers, which arose suspicion over whether NRK has changed their policy on non-Norwegian composers. Stian Malme of NRK confirmed that no change in policy had occurred and that the jury appointed by NRK had chosen the songs which they had thought were best.[20]
The artists for each semi-final were revealed over three weeks. The artists for the first semi-final were revealed on 18 December 2007, and included the Tinkerbells and Podium, as well as soloists Nicholas Carlie, Ann-Mari Anderson, Michelle, and Veronica Akselsen.[21][22]
The second semi-finalists were revealed on 28 December. Boyband Crash! would return to Melodi Grand Prix in this semi-final, after coming third in 2007, and would be joined by Maria Haukaas Storeng, Sven Garås, Anne Hvidsten, Zuma and Cube.[23][24]
The final semi-finalists, who would compete in the third and final semi-final, were revealed 4 January 2008. Lene Alexandra was revealed to be competing in this semi-final, along with Torstein Sødal, Maria Trøen, Ole Ivars, as well as Avalanche and the King of Trolls.[25][26]
Semi-finals
The semi-finals of Melodi Grand Prix 2008 began on 12 January 2008. Four semi-finals were held in Stavanger, Kongsvinger, Bodø and Oslo (Siste Sjansen), leading to the final held in the Oslo Spektrum on 9th February.
In the three semi-finals, the top two songs of the six competing went directly through to the final. The third and fourth-placed songs went to the Siste Sjansen round, with televoting selected the qualifiers.
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final of MGP 2008 was held at the Sandvigå in Stavanger on 12th January.
The two songs that progressed automatically to the final were "Andagassi" by Ann-Mari Andersen and "Am I Supposed to Love Again" by Veronica Akselsen. The two songs that passed to the Siste Sjansen round were "Lystgass" by Podium and "Hold On" by the Tinkerbells.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Podium | "Lystgass" | Håkan Fjerdingen, Tørje Lennavik | Siste Sjansen |
| 2 | Ann-Mari Andersen | "Andagassi" | Stein Austrud, Ann-Mari Andersen | Final |
| 3 | Nicholas Carlie | "Colliding" | PK Ottestad and Nate Campany | Out |
| 4 | Michelle | "Don't Stop the Music" | Fred Ball, Hannah Robinson | Out |
| 5 | Tinkerbells | "Hold On" | Aina Beate Gundersen, Svein Gundersen, Jan Groth | Siste Sjansen |
| 6 | Veronica Akselsen | "Am I Supposed to Love Again" | Anne Takle, Lalia Samuelsen | Final |
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final was held in Kongsvinger on 18 January.
The two songs that progressed automatically to the final were "Get Up" by Crash! and "Hold On Be Strong" by Maria Haukaas Storeng. The two songs that passed to the Siste Sjansen round were "Always, Always" by Alexander Stenerud and "A Little More" by Anne Hvidsten.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zuma | "Always, Always" | Alexander Stenerud | Siste Sjansen |
| 2 | Cube | "Would You Spend the Night With Me" | Åge Sten "Glam" Nilsen | Out |
| 3 | Anne Hvidsten | "A Little More" | Anne Hvidsten | Siste Sjansen |
| 4 | Crash! | "Get Up" | Trond "Teeny" Holter | Final |
| 5 | Sven Garås | "I'm in Love" | Robin Nordahl, Ingrid Nørsett | Out |
| 6 | Maria Haukaas Storeng | "Hold On Be Strong" | Mira Craig | Final |
Semi-final 3
The third and final semi-final of MGP 2008 before the Siste Sjansen round was held on 26 January at the Bodø Spektrum in Bodø.
The final two songs to progress directly to the final were "Eastern Wind" by Torstein Sødal and "Far Away" by King of Trolls . The two songs that passed to the Siste Sjansen round were "Som i himmelen" by Ole Ivars and "Sillycone Valley" by Lene Alexandra.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camilla Alvestad and Kjetil Røsnes | "Two Monkeys (On The Roof)" | Kjetil Røsnes, Kirsti Johansen | Out |
| 2 | Maria Trøen | "Hear When I'm Calling" | Jarl Aanestad | Out |
| 3 | Ole Ivars | "Som i himmelen" | William Kristoffersen | Siste Sjansen |
| 4 | Lene Alexandra | "Sillycone Valley" | Ivar Winther, Kam An Leung | Siste Sjansen |
| 5 | Torstein Sødal | "Eastern Wind" | Robin Nordahl, Ingrid Nørsett | Final |
| 6 | King of Trolls | "Far Away" | Frode Anderssen | Final |
Siste Sjansen round
The third- and fourth-placed songs in each semifinal perform in Siste Sjansen (Second Chance) round, held on 6 February at the Oslo Stratos in Oslo. Six songs performed, like in the other semi-finals, with the top two songs from televoting qualifying to the final.
The winners of Siste Sjansen, qualifying for the final, were "Hold On" by the Tinkerbells and " Som i himmelen" by Ole Ivars.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Podium | "Lystgass" | Podium | Out |
| 2 | Tinkerbells | "Hold On" | Aina Beate Gundersen, Svein Gundersen, Jan Groth | Final |
| 3 | Zuma | "Always, Always" | Alexander Stenerud | Out |
| 4 | Anne Hvidsten | "A Little More" | Anne Hvidsten | Out |
| 5 | Ole Ivars | "Som i himmelen" | William Kristoffersen | Final |
| 6 | Lene Alexandra | "Sillycone Valley" | Ivar Winther, Kam An Leung | Out |
Final
The final of Melodi Grand Prix 2008 was held on 9 February 2008 at the Spektrum in Oslo. The six direct qualifiers and the two Siste Sjansen winners competed in the final, where two rounds of televoting and jury voting selected the winner that would represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The first round of televoting selected the four songs that would compete again in the Gold Final. The second round, along with the jury voting, selected the winner from these four songs.
The interval act for the final was Jahn Teigen, who represented Norway at the 1978, 1982 and 1983 contests, as well as competing in 14 Melodi Grand Prix's between 1974 and 2005.[27]
The winner of Melodi Grand Prix 2008 was Maria Haukaas Storeng with the song "Hold On Be Strong", receiving a total of 195661 votes, 26000 from the juries and 169661 points from the televote, receiving almost double the amount of points over the second-placed song.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crash! | "Get Up" | Trond "Teeny" Holter | Out |
| 2 | Ann-Mari Andersen | "Andagassi" | Stein Austrud, Ann-Mari Andersen | Out |
| 3 | Tinkerbells | "Hold On" | Aina Beate Gundersen, Svein Gundersen, Jan Groth | Out |
| 4 | Veronica Akselsen | "A Little More" | Laila Samuelsen, Anne Takle | Gold Final |
| 5 | King of Trolls | "Far Away" | Frode Anderssen | Gold Final |
| 6 | Ole Ivars | "Som i himmelen" | William Kristoffersen | Out |
| 7 | Torstein Sødal | "Eastern Wind" | Christian Ingebrigtsen, Eivind Rølles | Gold Final |
| 8 | Maria Haukaas Storeng | "Hold On Be Strong" | Mira Craig | Gold Final |
Gold Final
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Jury | Televote | Total | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torstein Sødal | "Eastern Wind" | Christian Ingebrigtsen, Eivind Rølles | 18000 | 100095 | 118095 | 2nd |
| 2 | Veronica Akselsen | "Am I Supposed to Love Again" | Laila Samuelsen, Anne Takle | 16000 | 93957 | 109957 | 4th |
| 3 | King of Trolls | "Far Away" | Frode Anderssen | 6000 | 109811 | 115811 | 3rd |
| 4 | Maria Haukaas Storeng | "Hold On Be Strong" | Mira Craig | 26000 | 169661 | 195661 | 1st |
Promotion
Shoprtly after winning Melodi Grand Prix, "Hold On Be Strong" became the number one single on the Norwegian singles chart, VG-lista, and was the first Eurovision 2008 song to top the charts anywhere in Europe.[28][29] Maria later signed a record deal with Universal Music, and released her latest album in Norway before competing at Eurovision in Belgrade.[30][31]
Before competing at Eurovision, Maria attended the UK Eurovision Preview Party in London on 25 April 2008 to promote her entry internationally.[32] She performed "Hold On Be Stong" during the event, and performed along with acts from eight other competing countries in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest.
Before Eurovision, it was announced by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organizers of the contest, that Norway would be one of the stops on the Winner's Tour, in which the final winner of Eurovision would tour Europe.[33]
At Eurovision
After Guri Schanke failed to qualify Norway to the final in 2007, Norway were obliged to compete in one of the two semi-finals in order to compete in the final.[34] The EBU split up countries with a friendly voting history into the two different semi-finals, to give a better chance to other countries to win. On 28 January 2008, the EBU held a special draw which determined that Ireland would be in the first semi-final, held on 20 May 2008.[35]
For the contest, the commentator for the semi-finals and the final was Hanne Hoftun, who took over from the 2007 commentator Per Sundnes.[36]
Semi-final
Maria competed in the first semi-final on 20 May 2008, performing 9th on the night. She performed the song in a mid-length blue dress, and was accompanied on stage by three female backing singers, dressed in blue tops and black trousers, and two male backing singers, dressed in black suits. The stage was filled with blue light, and showed a starry background on the LED screens in the background. For her performance, she received 106 points, placing fourth in a field of 19. She received 1 points from, Belgium and Germany, 2 points from Slovenia and Spain, 3 points from Moldova, 4 points from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania, 5 points from the Netherlands, 6 points from Israel, 7 points from San Marino, Azerbaijan, Poland and Russia, 8 points from Estonia, Armenia and Ireland, 10 points from Andorra and the maximum 12 points from Finland, with Greece being the only country to give no points to Norway. As such, Maria qualified to the final of the contest, after being the last name to be pulled out of the envelopes.[37]
Final
After qualifying to the final, Maria was alsked by the Norwegian delegation to cancel all activities and to not speak until the final, so that she would be able to give her best on the night.[38][39]
Maria gave a repeat performance in the final on 24 May 2008, where she performed 25th and last in the running order, performing after eventual winners Russia. She received 182 points in the final, placing 5th of 25 competing countries. Maria received the most points from neighbouring Finland and Sweden, who each gave their 12 points to Norway. Maria also received 10 points from Denmark and Iceland, as well as 8 points from Estonia. Norway itself gave 8 points to Iceland, 10 to Bosnia and Herzegovina and their maximum 12 points to Denmark. Maria's result gave Norway its first top 5 placing since 2003.
Over 1.5 million Norwegians watched the final of Eurovision on television, with numbers increasing to almost 1.8 million during the voting. This was almost 82% of the TV share available who watched the show, as was the second highest viewing figures experienced for Eurovision ever senn in Norway, beated only by the 1996 Contest, held in Norway.[40]
After Eurovision
Maria returned to Norway after the final as a heroine, with much praise given to her after her fifth place in Belgrade.[41][42] "Hold On Be Stong" was later released in Sweden after Eurovision, where it peaked on the Sverigetopplistan at #8.[43][44][45] The song also reached #37 on the Danish singles chart.[46]
In November 2008, Maria performed in the musical Grease at the Oslo Spektrum, playing the character of Betty Rizzo. She becomes one of the many number of artists who have competed at Eurovision to go on to perform in Grease, with others including Sally-Ann Triplet, who represented the United Kingdom in 1980 and 1982, and Olivia Newton-John, who represented the United Kingdom in 1974 and became famous for acting in the film version of the musical.[47][48]
After receiving such a strong placing from a Norwegian-composed song, NRK decided to clode off Melodi Grand Prix to foreign composers, something which the broadcaster was once reluctant to do. Stian Malme, project manager for Melodi Grand Prix, said that NRK "wants the Melodi Grand Prix to be a forum where Norwegian songwriters can develop and present themselves both nationally as well as internationally."[49] Maria returned to Melodi Grand Prix in 2009, this time as co-host of the contest with Per Sundnes.[50][51]
Despite hosting MGP, Maria was rumoured to be one of the participants in the Swedish preselection for Eurovision 2009 Melodifestivalen. She was rumoured to be competing in the contest as a duet with another former Eurovision artist, Anna Sahlene, who represented Estonia in 2002 with "Runaway". Due to conflicting dates with her hosting duties with MGP, the only possible semi-final she could compete in was the final semi-final, held one week after the final of MGP 2009.[52][53] This news was comfirmed by Sveriges Television (SVT), with Maria and Sahlene competing in the fourth semi-final, held on 28 February 2009, with the song "Killing Me Tenderly".[54][55] The duo failed to qualify to the final of Melodifestivalen 2009, placing seventh in the semi-final.[56]
See also
References
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{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Konstantopoulo, Fotis (2008-12-08). "Local newspaper claims the final MF 2009 names". Oikoptimes. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Viniker, Barry (2008-12-08). "Maria Haukaas Storeng to Eurovision again?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Konstantopoulos, Fotis (2008-12-09). "SVT announce more names for Melodifestivalen". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Viniker, Barry (2008-12-09). "Five more names in Eurovision race for Sweden". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Klier, Marcus (2008-02-28). "Sweden: Another two acts chosen for the final". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
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