Norway is helping to keep January exciting with its current national music competition, the Melodi Grand Prix 2024, being in full swing. During this time, we have had the opportunity to chat with a couple of the artists. Our conversation of the day featured Dag Erik Oksvold and Anne Fagermo. Throughout this interview, we delved into their beginnings in the music and entertainment scene, uncovered some intriguing facts about them, and explored how their track “Judge Tenderly Of Me” came to be.
Hello Anne and Dag Erik, welcome to ESCUnited! Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. For the benefit of those who may not be familiar with you, could you please introduce yourself?
– Of course. We are a duo from Telemark and Trondelag in Norway. We met on The Voice Norway last year. We were on the same team and became good friends. The first song we wrote together is the one we are competing with in the MGP 2024.
How would you describe your music or musical sound to our readers? What genres and artists have influenced your sound as it is at the moment?
– We are influenced by many genres and artists, but most of all genres we love country music. Both of us grew up playing rock’n’roll and pop music and are using that in “Judge Tenderly Of Me.” Some artists we like are; Dolly Parton, Vince Gill, and Bobbysocks 🙂
Some people, especially from Norway, might recognize you from the song competition The Voice Norway, as you both competed in last year’s rendition. How has this experience helped you to prepare for heat 2 of MGP 2024?
– On the Voice Norway, we got to sing live on national TV and experienced the pressure of performing live in front of hundreds of thousands of people in prime time. We learned some techniques that we will use before our performance on Saturday.
Not only that, but you both actually had the same coach in Espen Lind. How has working with him benefited both of your musical journeys and did being on the same team before help to build up this duo?
– We both learned a lot from Espen, and since we are in the same genre we helped and backed each other on The Voice.
Have either of you considered the possibility of representing Norway at Eurovision 2024? What is your current mindset – now that your heat is a few days away?
– Our mindset is to focus on the song and the performance this Saturday and get to the big final in Trondheim. We are very happy with the lyrics, and we think it’s important to convey the words with heart and soul.
I’d like to ask about some things in your life outside of the music sphere. Could each of you share something about yourself that is relatively unknown to most people?
– Dag Erik: Played drums in the Norwegian Final with Petter Øien and Bobby Bare in 2012.
– Anne: Is the daughter of one of the best football managers in Norway.
How do you both wind down after a long day? Any calming hobbies?
– Anne: Likes to play Super Mario on Switch
– Dag Erik: Likes to watch football and be at the gym sometimes.
Now, to speak about your entry a bit, can you walk us through the writing- and production process a little? Was this song specifically created for this year’s MGP?
– This song was not specifically written for MGP, but we made this song after The Voice Norway was over and found out that we wanted to release it. We then discussed after being on a TV-program, Beat for Beat on NRK, that we should try and send it to MGP. The way the song was made started when Dag Erik came up with a melody and sent it over to Anne. Then Anne wrote lyrics to the song and it was finished in 1-2 days!
We are getting closer and closer to the live shows. As a little teaser, could you give us one word to describe your performance?
– Elegant!
Lastly, is there anything that you would like to share with our readers here at ESCUnited? If anyone would want to hear more about you, where can they find you both?
– You can find both of us on social media! On Instagram: @dageoartist and @annefagermo. We also have a TikTok: @annefagermo and @dagerikoksvold.
Dag Erik Oksvold and Anne Fagermo are one of the six acts in this year’s heat two of Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix. Tune in to www.tv.nrk.no at 19:50 CET this upcoming Saturday (the 20th) to see if they qualify for the final.
Do #YOU want to see Dag Erik Oksvold and Anne Fagermo at Eurovision? Share your thoughts with us on social media @ESCUnited, Discord, or our forum page.
