National Final, Nordic Super Saturday: Norway

All-righty then, who's gonna win in Spektrum tonight? The speculations are of course running wild on the Internet, and even though it looks like we most likely would have to practice our Haba Haba dance routine for Düsseldorf, and thank God for that, we are not yet completely sure whether Stella has it in the bag.

Let's have final glance at tonight's line-up!

Helene Bøksle: Vardlokk
If someone told us a month ago that Helene is not going to be the big favorite to win, we would have laughed. But that was before Stella came along and before Åste&Rikke surprisingly blew us all away at Ørlandet, and now we're not so sure anymore. If Helene wants to stand a chance tonight she has to get rid of the nerves which almost ruined her performance in the semi-final. So no pressure there whatsoever...

Sie Gubba: Alt du vil ha
This song lacks about everything in order to be a contender in Eurovision and has about everything needed in order for the folks around Norway to actually go head and vote for it. Which is a rather scary combination in our opinion. Mind you, this has been topping the sales charts in Norway the last few weeks so don't count it out even if it had to become a Lucky Loser to make it to the big final. We pray that our worst nightmare will not come true and just for the record there's no way we will cheer for this number in Düsseldorf.

Babel Fish: Depend on Me
Another bunch of middle aged men we don't want to hang out with in Düsseldorf. Some things are just better left behind. Babel Fish is one of them, they kind of lost us in 97. And one should think that a band of experienced blokes like them should be able to do better than the shaky performance in Skien.

The Lucky Bullets: Fire Down Below
This number has really grown on us, we like it! Suppose it proves that some songs need a dip by the Second Chance final for the voters to realize its potential. Like Bjørn Johan Muri last year. It's not exactly suitable for Eurovision and we don't think The Lucky Bullets will win, but we love them for giving us a hell of a show and for looking swell and dandy. And for the chick with the saxophone, groovy!

The BlackSheeps
We didn't believe much in this number until we actually saw them on stage in the semi-final. Lead singer Agnethe has a stage presence and charisma which far more experienced artists only can dream of. Lots of teenagers will vote for them and we would be happy for them to get a decent placing.

Stella Mwangi: Haba Haba
We have already declared our love for Stella. Being a favorite is a dangerous position to be in, but we think Stella will win Norway's hearts over tonight. Go girl!

Åste&Rikke: Not That Easy (Ah-Åh Ah-Åh)
Poor Åste has been all over the news lately as she has spent time hanging around the toilet bowl puking instead of rehearsing in Spektrum with her partner Rikke. Will she be able to get back in shape on time? At least the duo has gotten a lot of press and they might even get some sympathy votes tonight, however strange that might sound. But there's in fact something about these girls that really gets to you. They seem so downright nice, sincere and bubbly and it makes you really wish for them to do well even if you don't care much for their song.

Hanne Sørvaag: You're like a Melody
This one is tricky for us, since we are fans of Hanne and like her style and attitude. But what about the song Hanne, the song? It's just not good enough in our opinion and to be quite frank we don't think she sings well enough to be taken as a serious contender for the victory. Looking smashing on stage in a pink Leila Hafzi frock and a glittery guitar scores a lot of extra points though.


We look forward to enjoying the show tonight and will of course give you some updates along the way. Happy voting fellow Norwegians, let the best Haba Haba girl in town win!

Retro Sunday: Norway 1984

After quite a tiresome period of semi finals in Norway, we really have to bring you this:



We mean, we were getting completely delusional over here, thinking Norway can't do anything right. We just seem to be splurging on cheer leaders, opera wannabes, grown boybands, old farmers and acnecious teenage boys in desperate need of haircuts thinking they're Justin Bieber these days. Sorry to be blunt, but man, that hurts.

But dear friends. Just in case you watched some of the semi finals: We promise, promise, promise there have been times when we weren't this boring. There was a 1984 of the glorious Dollie De Luxe. A 1984 of dressing up in hillarious clothing, tied up hair in weird places and killer sandals while being watched by four dark somethings up on a podium. That year when everyone started walking back and forth with large steps swinging their arms resolutely from side to side without looking at all like soldiers, just like happy, crazy chicks. We Norwegians actually did that too, and we're oh, so proud of it. Aren't you?

Guess Orwell was all wrong about 1984, because those were the days, we tell you. We wanted our lives and hopes to last forever, and we were just happy joy joy people. Ok, so we didn't win that year. But we did good. Much better than now. We believed in ourselves. And everyone's still in love with Benedicte Adrian. 1984 FTW!

PS We are seriously suggesting NRK introduces affirmative action into the semi finals next yer. Because way too many boring men make it to the final it seems. And it's the women who do the trick, there as other places in society. At least we're really happy Stella Mwangi is in the final. She's our hope when it comes to evoking the glory of the 80s. Haba haba!

Lucky Losers' Night

The lucky losers from the previous three semi-finals in Norway will battle it out in Sarpsborg tonight over the last two tickets for the big final in Oslo Spektrum next Saturday. Tonight's show is being neatly organized with duels and a tournament kick out system, but we are not exactly bouncing off the walls and have a hard time seeing how this can become more exciting than watching paint dry. The novelty of the numbers sort of wears off and even though it's likely that one of the lucky losers might score a decent placing in the final, it's very unlikely we have a winner in this bunch.

It's funny how all the Norwegian tabloids keep obsessing about Mimi Blix, when it's pretty obvious that she has one of the weakest entries to have made it this far, and chances are that the group Sie Gubba, which after all has been topping the sales charts in Norway after their performance at Ørlandet, will be one of the acts to qualify. Dagbladet's breaking news could inform us that the above mentioned Mimi woke up with a headache yesterday. Most interesting. Suppose that only proves to show that a picture of a pretty young face generates far more clicks than a few middle aged lads.

We will be rooting for the bad boys tonight, however the duel set up is working against us, so we will be happy if either Gatas Parlament or Susperia scores one of the remaining tickets. The duels on the opposite side of the chart we frankly couldn't care less about.

Third time's a charm? MGP semi-final in Skien tonight!

Oh well, we finally managed to dig us back up from that hole we fell into after last Saturday's travesty in Florø. And it's picking up. We could actually listen to most of the songs in tonight's line-up, without getting the urge of throwing the MacBook out the window even once, which is not bad at all.

Susperia is this year's rock alibi, and it makes sense for Norway to send an act like this to the international ESC final. Much more than salsa/latino rhythms or balkan beats which just appears as a phony way of getting votes from countries which would not normally vote for Norway. That's just embarrassing and it ain't working either. But Nothing Remains is the kinda song that folks would vote for regardless of nationality. It's a strong melody with powerful vocals and it feels real. We didn't care much for Turkey's polished family rock last year, nor the Finnish orks or the Norwegian glam rockers from a few years back for that sake, but this is something else. As GEE rock chicks we can definitely see ourselves having a beer with these blokes in a dodgy basement kneipe in Düsseldorf in a few months. Hell yeah!

Next up is Nora Noor and she is one cool, funky soul sister, that's for sure. Teamed up with one of our favorite song writers, Simone Larsen, it's off to an extremely positive start before we've even heard the first cord. Gone With The Wind has a rather cheesy title we must say, but Nora seems to pull it off, this is groove, feel and flow to the rim. We are much in favor of her soulful, sexy, credible performance over let's say Åste&Rikke from the first semi-final who operate in the same musical landscape. Looking forward to watching the live performance and we hope Nora doesn't go all overboard with the vocal improvisations. Sometimes less is more, baby.

There's been much talk about the group Girl Happy this week. Supposedly they are the Alexander Stenerud replacements this year. And if that's a fact we might as well coin them as the poor man's Alexander Stenerud straight away. We're sorry guys, thanks for trying, but there's no way you can live up to our MGP God.

We wish we could have said something clever and funny about the next soul chick coming up, but unfortunately we fell asleep about three seconds into Grethe Svendsen's Like Dreamers Do.

The BlackSheeps should wake us up quite quickly, and this is one of the acts we had highest hopes to right from the moment the participants were announced. However, we must admit we're disappointed. How much can one expect from a bunch of youngsters half our age, we guess we ought to cut them some slack, they have the future ahead of them. We would be happy to welcome them back at a later stage, with a stronger song than this year's Dance Tonight which is nowhere near the same league as the smashing JMGP Nordic winner "Oro Jaska Beana".

Stella Mwangi got us back on our feet alright, and got our groove back in a flash. Just having a corny song title such as Haba Haba is basically sufficient to keep us on our toes and wonder WTF this is all about. We can't stop thinking about France from 1990 and Guadeloupean Joëlle and her Caribbean oil barrel drums. Of course she had the svengali and French legend Serge Gainsbourg behind her, so it would be a shame to compare the two. But this is a happy go lucky song in the "Guilty Pleasure" department, and it can't be ignored. The Hakuna Matata vibes are about as subtle as a kick in the teeth and that's just too much to our taste.

The award to best dressed act, it there had been such a thing, would probably go to The Lucky Bullets. We love their sharply dressed Don Draper look, which is more than enough to set Fire Below. They're keeping it real musically also, no compromises, just honest straight forward rockabilly. We think that's cool, but in MGP, no thank you, we're afraid.



Finally some decent competition for Helene Bøksle. During the couple of last years the MGP winner came out of the semi-final in Skien. We're guessing that would probably happen this year as well. Third time's the charm and so on and so forth...

Retro Sunday: Norway 2010

This week's Retro flashback sort of just came to us when contemplating the ridiculously poor quality of last night's MGP semi-final:



It just dawned on us when watching Alexander doing a medley of his previous three MGP entries during the interval act that it can't get any better than this. It puts all this year's participants in an extremely awkward position cause it is so utterly revealing when you compare the quality. Alexander totally owned the stage setting pretty much every panty in Norway on fire. Why on God's green earth could he not win last year with this sublime Eurovision schlager anthem is completely beyond us. And mind you, we did actually vote for Alexander, so we are not to blame.

So here we are, giving it to you, this is what you missed seeing in Telenor Arena last year. If only just...

First MGP Semi-Final: The Aftermath

One down, three to go (including Sistesjansen), and so far we don't feel particularly shaken, nor stirred. Here's a few observations on what went down at Ørlandet last night!

Best Copycat
Carina Dahl surprised us with a rather strong live performance, she actually can sing. Well done! Afterwards she entertained us with cheeky comments. Shows this girl has potential, but she should consider coming up with something of her own style for next time around. Lose the Cheryl Cole act and try something else than copying Kesha's talk/singing which she in her turn stole from Uffie.

Cutest Doll
How old is Sichelle anyways? She says she's 22, but we're thinking more like 12. Perfect for JESC. She claims to be inspired by Aqua so we suppose that's why she decided to go for the Barbie Doll look. She really is adorable, but perhaps she should consider coming back in say ten years time?

Prettiest nerve-wreck
Is it just us, or did Helene Bøksle look extremely nervous last night? She did look stunning on stage, we loved her classy frock and the laser beams behind her, not to mention the kettledrums! She's one of the most experienced artists in the bunch, but perhaps the high expectations upfront brought her down. Shaky on the highest notes and moments of looking like a shit scared deer caught in the headlights. Better get your act straight before the big final Helene!

Biggest surprise
Could it really be that the voting public actually prefer talented, no nonsense, hardworking artists over fabricated, artificial wannabes? Yup, looks like it since Åste&Rikke apparently received by far most votes yesterday scoring a ticket to the final. We're still a bit "Meh" towards the song, but it was touching to watch how genuinely happy these two became when their names were called up last.

Most boring zombie
Wake up Anne Rimmen, you're on live TV!

Greatest disappointment
So how come this act did not proceed to the final? KoK featuring Alexander Rybak FTW!

Tonight's the night: First semi-final in Norway!

It's with somewhat mixed emotions we're now about to embark on the national final season. Don't get us wrong, this is something we have longed for since Lena hearted all the folks that voted for her on that glorious evening back in May. But the road leading to the 42 entries that will be presented in Düsseldorf seems to be paved with a neverending story of hopeful wannabes and godawful hasbeens. In order to preserve our sanity we have come to the realization that it's simply not possible to follow all the semi-finals, internet selections, pre-qualifying heats and what have you. It sort of makes sense to focus on the finals where at least the line-ups have been reduced to a manageable size and quantity.

We will however pay special attention to the semi-finals in Norway, and don't be surprised if we can't help ourselves sticking our opinionated noses into the odd semi-final heat in Melodifestivalen or Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins either.

Ok, nuff said on our part. Let's move on to our review of the first MGP semi-final heat ready to perform at Ørlandet tonight.

Big Brother babe and biker girl Carina Dahl kicks off the show with her upbeat number Guns & Boys and we really wish she wouldn't. The combination of trashy and talentless is not winning our hearts over and something is telling us (or should we rather say screaming at us) that she won't pull this off live. She might be able to save herself from total humiliation if she presents the song with tons of humor and an over the top extravagant show, there are at least enough metaphors in the lyrics which can result in some interesting choreography.

Next up is Use Me. We thought for a minute we were stuck in the mid 90s when listening to Daisy which is kinda ironic since these guys were all still in diapers back then. Nothing wrong with a bit of nostalgia, but we're sort of done with Buffalo shoes, bare bellies, twirly hairdo's and skirt over trousers combos, so we would prefer this reminder to stay in the semi.

And then there's Helene Bøksle. Makes us wonder why we even bother to go through with four semi-finals and a final in Norway this year since it's so obvious that she's the one to represent us in ESC 2011. A well connected bird whispered this into our ears during the Eurovision weeks in Oslo in May, and so far it seems like everything is leading up to the inevitable. Helene's song Vardlokk is not that bad. We like the darkness in it and that it is not some cheerful milkmaid yodeling. And we are after all suckers for the ethnic sound. It's sounds very much like Alvedansen, maybe too much, and that's not a good thing. So it should be interesting to see if this number can stand on it's own feet and if Helene manages to impersonate the strong and misterous huldra instead of the mild and innocent milkmaid. 

Sie Gubba represent the average joe, and believe us there's a lot of those around our beautiful godforsaken rural country. That's why we won't be surprised if Alt du vil ha is one of the entries that will score a ticket to the final. The song is crappy allright, but sadly people tend to like this kind of crap.

Gatas Parlament contrast Sie Gubba nicely with their urban rap number Jobbe litt mindre og tjene litt mer. They have already managed to create a great deal of controversy with their politically charged lyrics loaded with foul language (is it against the rules?). We like their attitude and appreciate the fact that they have obviously strained themselves to adjust to the Eurovsion format incorporating ethnic gypsy beats and a sing along chorus.

Sichelle seems to be a sweetheart and we applaud her for choosing to sing in Norwegian. And thank God the lyrics are in Norwegian cause Trenger mer sounds like it's written by a 10 year old. Perhaps this entry would have been a smash hit in JESC, but in ESC for grownups this is just embarrassing.

We really want to like the ladies Åste&Rikke. We know Åste from an Idol season a few years back and boy she sure can sing! But the song Not that easy (Ah-Åh- Ah-Åh) just isn't strong enough we think. What's up with the Ah-Åh- Ah-Åh's anyways, it will certainly win the prize for the lamest song title for what it's worth. No matter how talented and hardworking these girls might be, it just won't cut it.

We'll put our money on Helene tonight. Everything else would just be a waste of money, really.

Glorious!

Yesterday we watched the Norwegian Sports Gala 2010 where all the glorious sports heros from the Land of the Vikings and the Midnight Sun got their fair share of well deserved honor. Plenty of Olympic gold medalists and even a road cycling World Champion, the God of Thunder Thor Hushovd! And let's just be crystal clear, pre-written jokes awkwardly performed by dolled up athletes pulled out of their natural habitat makes up for plenty of embarrassing hide behind the pillow moments. We made new nominations for the Barbara Dex Award like every other minute.

But let's give the athletes a break, they were after all not the main reason why we watched the show. A major Eurovision alert went off at the GEE Head Quarter when we got the word that Haddy N’jie and Erik Solbakken would reappear as the hosting couple. Haddy looking as fab as ever and Erik cheesy and charming as usual. This year's MGP-hostess Anne Rimmen practiced her presenting skills on stage, apparently with welded-on hair imported from London. We like the sound of that, clearly a new Diva in the making.

And since Eurovision Diva Maria Haukaas Mittet has been nowhere to be seen for like the last five minutes it was about time she claimed back her rightful place in the limelight! Maria performed the official song for this year's Nordic Ski World Championship in Oslo. Our favorite Schlagerboys seemed to like it a lot!

But behold, Maria was not the only Eurovision Diva in the running to perform the World Championship song! It turns out Didrik had a go at it as well. Can we detect a change in media strategy for Didrik? It seems like he's been everywhere lately, and he's even funny, in his own cheesy way. Kudos Didrik, we never knew you had it in you!

Last MGP finalists revealed

Finally NRK has given us the last names to compete for a place in the Norwegian national final, Melodi Grand Prix. Here they are all together:

For the Florø semi final:
Pernille & Marius: "I’ll be Yours"
Hanne Sørvaag: "You’re like a Melody"
Isabella: "Sand"
Endre: "Oh, Oh (Puppy Love)"
Marika: "Hungry for You (Gipsydance)"
Mimi Blix: "Allergic"
Babel Fish: "You Can Depend on Me"

For the Skien semi final:
Grethe Svensen: "Like Dreamers Do"
Girl Happy: "SOS"
The BlackSheeps: "Dance Tonight"
Noora Noor: "Gone With the Wind"
Susperia: "Nothing Remains"
Stella Mwangi: "Haba Haba"
The Lucky Bullets: "Fire Below"

For the Ørlandet semi final: 
Carina Dahl: «Guns & Boys»
Use Me: «Daisy»
Sichelle: «Trenger mer»
Sie Gubba: «Alt du vil ha»
Åste & Rikke: «Not That Easy»
Helene Bøksle: «Vardlokk»
Gatas Parlament: «Jobbe litt mindre»

Hmm, ok. What can we say about this? We are certainly really happy about Hanne Sørvaag, who is a doll, and who we like better when she sings her own songs instead of handing them over to teenagers and their likings. And like we told you, we are happy about Gatas Parlament and The BlackSheeps. Moreover Noora Noor is pretty cool, and we're excited about what Endre's puppy love implies.

Towards Helene Bøksle we are indifferent, since we guess we have to deal with her no matter what. But what's up with this Babel Fish, classifying their participation as a mid life crisis, yet saying they have made the best song ever? We only remember them as something annoying from the 90s, but hey, revivals have proven to work before. So guess we are more skeptical towards Mimi Blix, characterized by her local news paper as the Tyra Banks of Norway. Well, sorry, a good pose and an African father doesn't automatically give you that, but whatever. Tyra is not exactly a Eurovision lady anyway.

And why so many unknown names Mr. Sundnes? Kinda makes us wonder if the line-up is custom made for a certain lady... On the other hand, we don't mind getting new names out there, after all Alexander Rybak wasn't all that big either when he first entered the MGP stage.

Anyways, this is a lot to take in. We'll have to give you more comments later.

More MGP leaks...

According to Norwegian gossip magazine Se&Hør, this will be the line-up for the first MGP pre-selection round at Ørlandet, 15th of January:

1. Helene Bøksle - Oh really, didn't see that one coming! 
2. Hanne Sørvaag - Gal behind this year's "My Heart is Yours" disaster
3. Gatas Parlament - Yup
4. Carina Dahl - Big Brother bimbo
5. Sie Gubba - Holy crap, this can't be happening....
6. Sichelle - RnB chick, last seen in MGP 2009
7. The Blacksheeps  - Yay, the winners of Nordic MGP Junior in 2008!
8. Nora Noor - Soul chick

"Hurray, we're finally old enough to participate in MGP for grown-ups!"



We will of course come back with reviews as soon as it all becomes official and the songs have been released. All though it almost seems pointless as long as someone seemingly has decided that Helene Bøksle will win anyways... We fear that her contribution will be dire and dull, similar to Christine Guldbrandsen's "Alvedansen" which we didn't like at all. But, there's still plenty of opportunities to prove our predictions wrong, and if she wins with a good song, we will support her with great enthusiasm!

Haddy on CNN's African Voices

This week our favorite Eurovision Song Contest presenter is featured on CNN's African Voices:



So, Haddy, how about you entering ESC as an artist next year? That would have been something!

Guess who's back, back, back?

We were all sad to see our Eurovision Diva Maria Haukaas Mittet go after an excruciatingly exciting dance duel with the super hunky Åsleik "Knerten" Engmark on Strictly Come Dancing last Saturday.

But, now she's back!

One of the other contestants had to withdraw due to an injury, and it turns out you don't have to ask twice for Maria to get back into the limelight! What a shocker. And hurrah!

But, hang on a minute, will this mean that darling Maria won't have time to participate in MGP 2011 after all? Oh, no! Or yeah, whatever...

Show!

There has been quite a few people up on their feet in Norway today, raising and collecting money for The Norwegian Refugee Council, this year's beneficiary for the annual NRK broadcasted event. The Telethon has taken place every fall since 1974 and has become an institution and a tradition in Norway. A very worthy cause and we hope all our fellow Norwegians have taken the opportunity to dig deep into their well filled pockets.

Former ESC host Haddy N'jie is also hosting the TV-show today and we are yet again super impressed, she does an excellent job! And it seems like we are not quite over the Eurovision fever we caught when hosting the big event earlier this year. Just take a look at this video, made by the comedians Bye & Rønning, in an attempt to get even more people off the couch when one of the over 90 000 volunteers carrying a collection box comes knocking on the door. The Glow parody is right on the money, so to speak, and very funny. And if you look closely you can even spot a few ESC celebs on those couches!

If you wish to give a donation, you can find more information here.

No Rybak for China

OK, so no use for Alexander Rybak to start digging a hole to China. Because China doesn't want him.

You see China is mad at Norway for giving the Nobel Peace Price to Chinese Liu Xiaobo acknowledging his work for the freedom of speech. And of course China doesn't want freedom of speech. Nor do they want freedom of playing a violin and singing like it's your last day on earth.

Yeah, that makes perfectly sense. And we're really happy Eurovision is outside politics. But we guess the real question is: Who is getting punished here, Norway or China? We'd sure opt for the latter. Go spit on your own carpet, grumps.

X-Factor ready to be Eurovisionized

Ok, here's the deal, glamourous GEE blogger girls have better things to do on a Friday night than hiding behind a pillow trying not to watch self-absorbed teenagers ridicule themselves on national TV. We have a life you know, friends to see, places to be, G&T's to be consumed. At least that was the case until the new season of Norwegian X-Factor introduced good old Eurovision Queen Bettan "Bobbysocks" Andreassen as one of the judges on the show. And now it turns out that she has invited Alexander Rybak as a sidekick when selecting the finalists in the "over 25" group. OMG! Seems like all our Friday nights in the weeks to come suddenly became all booked up... Stay tuned peeps!

Will this lovely couple find Norway's next superstar? Hell yes!

So do you think you can dance, Maria?

Last night on the premier of this season's Norwegian Dancing with the stars/Strictly come dancing, our favorite Eurovision Diva showed us that she is not just a one trick pony. By the look of it, Maria Haukaas Mittet (yep, she's newlywed) actually can dance as well!

(pic from vg.no)


By scoring a decent 30 points with the judges and finishing on top of the scoreboard during this first round she's off to a flying start. So hold on be strong guys, this lady will be airing on a TV screen near you for yet many weeks to come!

Norwegian MGP Retro Extravaganza on YouTube

One of our favorite Norwegian bloggers, The Glamourous Librarian tipped us off about a real gem on YouTube. Someone has been so gracious to post all the Norwegian MGP-finals from the late 70s and 80s on YouTube. Oh joy, loads of childhood memories for the GEE girls there, back in the days when Saturday night was spent in front of the telly with our parents, stuffing our faces with Norwegian style homemade pizza with not the slightest resemblance to the real Italian one...

We can really recommend checking this out, as a trip down memory lane for our Norwegian readers and as a treat of 70s and 80s nostalgia for all you International readers out there. And for a good laugh, be warned of crazy pastel outfits, killer shoulder pads, big hair and funky kick ass synth drums peeps!

One of our retro favs, the runner up from 1984, Beate Jacobsen with "Strand Hotel":

Eurovision Diva gone Dancing Diva?

To prove our point on what we said about Maria Haukaas Storeng in our previous post. According to vg.no the Diva is now ready for yet another challenge in the limelight as a participant in the next season of Dancing with the Stars here in Norway. Now it's starting to sound like we don't like her, but we do honestly, she's great, and we think she could do very well as a dancing diva. But, yeah, sometimes less is more Maria! Previous seasons have showed that swinging your feathers on the dance floor can be a smart career move, so we wish her the best of luck, however we have reached a point where seeing her pretty face on screen just makes us wanna switch off the telly…

Retro Sunday: Norway 2003

Today let’s turn to patriotism in the name of love. Because in GEE we are forever in love with this beautiful man:

Jostein Hasselgård quickly became a true Norwegian hero after scoring a great fourth place in the 2003 Eurovision final. We just love his dreamy look and clear voice as he tells us how he's in love with a beautiful girl from a magical world while his hands cherishes the piano. Ballads don't get much better than this. 

Oh, don’t we all just cherish that lovin feeling as the summer is heating up. Just lie down on a blanket by the sunset while Jostein lull you to sleep. And while we wait for Jostein to return to the Eurovision world, we can at least hear his lovely voice in the vocal ensemble Pust.

Have a great summer.

How hard can it get? Part 1 in which we woo our fav punk

In Norway it’s time to look forward as broadcaster NRK is advertising for applicants for MGP 2011. Rumor has it that Per Sundnes plans to put Helene Bøksle on the ESC stage for Norway next year. Miss Bøksle is lovely and all that, but not exactly our cup of tea. So we decided to ask ourselves the following: “In a country with so many great artists, why can’t we show Europe some decent music? What makes our best artists and songwriters stay away from such a great audience? And how hard can it get next year?” Follow us this summer as we challenge our favorite song writers to join and let them carry on the challenge to their favorites.

Let’s forget about the phantom of the opera. This year Norway needs to punk things up a little with someone already knowing their way around Germany. Null$katte$nylterne and their fab lead singer Torkil Torsvik might actually consider the job.

He’s one of the coolest Norwegians we know with a rough, dirty, but still very honest punk rocker style. He is Torkil Torsvik, aka Torkil the Reptile, and how can we not crave for him to rip off his shirt at the Eurovision stage in Germany next year? Wouldn’t that be fun, Reptile? “Well, I’ve never really considered participation”, he admits. “As a rocker, I’ve kinda thought of MGP as a phenomenon pretty far away from what I am doing. But since you ask me so directly, I might actually consider it. Some metal from Keep of Kalessin didn’t hurt this year, so maybe a little Trønder punk would shake things up a little next year?”

Trønder punk in their own dialect
Torkil and his band Nullskattesnylterne, translating to something as untranslatable as zerotaxcheaters, represent what we in Norway like to call Trønder rock. Trøndelag is the name of the counties in the middle of the country, around the cities Trondheim and, not the least, Namsos – the official rock capital of Norway and home city of Torkil and his buddies (although for connoisseurs, Torkil grew up in Kolvereid, a recruitment base for Namsos). A lot of good rock music has originated from this town, with Nullskattesnylterne being among the best. And of course they all sing in their own fab dialect, so no English and a lot of great guitar riffs for MGP there. We couldn’t think of a better contender for Helene Bøksle, whom we know Per Sundnes wants for next year. No nonsense Trønder punk over family friendly folklore pop anytime.

Sing-a-long and choir chicks unleashed
But what does Torkil think is a good song? “It's the one tune people can't listen to without moving their body and perhaps also sing along”, he describes. “Our band loves sing-a-long and party atmosphere. But a song is also good if it can hit a certain mood in people, and then both text and melody is important. I also guess if you are to make a typical Eurovision-song, then the sense of recognition is important. And it should fit the concept of a gigantic stage, pyro effects and 3 choir chicks unleashed”, he upholds.

Well, so far we're even more certain this man could make a great song for us. When we contacted Torkil, we kinda didn't expect him to digg Eurovision, but he ensures us he gets the good entertainment of it all. “I did love Jan Teigen in the 80s. It was heating up a little with Glasnost, but it was cold war, goddamnit. Romeo by Ketil Stokkan was also lovely”, Torkil says. The problem is more the fact that he doesn't like to compete in music, which he thinks is a general opinion among musicians. Along with the fear of being labeled as a Eurovision artist, similar to how Idol participants gets their Idol prefix, he predicts this to be the reason established artists stay away from MGP.

 "Hey, Per, we'd show Europe the real pyro"



No more playback, please
Nonetheless, Torkil thinks it could be good PR for a band to participate as long as it is carefully planned. Although if he were to adjust the competition, he would lose the chairs in the arena, make the stage smaller and more intimate plus get rid of choir chicks and playback music. “Today this is a competition in studio production and costumes more than being able to actually play a decent song. That's more about hitting the right trends in Europe”, he nags.

Torkil's main concern along with only being able to play one single song is having to perform with playback. If he were to contribute a song for MGP, he would prefer for him and Nullskattesnylterne to perform it. “But not with costumes and choreography. We would play live, but suspect it's not allowed? That would be a reason for not participating. And I would only play our own song with my band. I'm a vocalist in Nullskattesnylterne, not a solo artist”, he maintains. Well, no problem for GEE, that, as we also love the rest of this tight band with their great guitars and drums. And we are very sure the MGP and Eurovision crowds would love these hunky men's tendency of ripping of their shirts and lighting up their pyros, so not much more choreography needed there. This is the whole package on a silver platter, maybe even for Mr. Sundnes?

So, when Nullskattesnylterne win MGP 2011, what would be their preferred destination for Eurovision in Germany? "Nürnberg", Torkil replies instantly. "It's a great city, and we have many fans there after touring a lot in that area. The historical context also adds to the greatness", he finishes. And GEE can't wait to see him there.

Our hard verdict:
Sing-a-long and party mood, pyromaniacs and ripping off your shirt. This certainly evokes dreams in GEE's hearts. As for playback, NRK won’t give us a decent answer, but most playbacks are due to the rule of only six people on stage, we think. And Nullskattesnylterne will follow that rule. Dear Torkil with friends. We want you in MGP. And we would be so happy to escort you to Germany. There's really nothing else to say except when can we expect your song to be finished?

Up next: Lars Vaular
It's time for Torkil to pass on the challenge to someone he would like to see in MGP. What's his hard choice? "I would like to challenge Lars Vaular to give it a try", he says. "Norwegian lyrics are far too few in MGP, and in Norwegian music in general. Besides Lars Vaular has a cool attitude that could be a hit in Europe." Well, we couldn't disagree on that one, so let's see if we can find him in the summer heat.

In the meantime, follow them on TV and get up and dance to the Norwegian kind of punk, aka Null$katte$nylterne: