While this week has been full of Eurovision news and interviews, we were able to arrange an interview Melodi Grand Prix contestant Bjørn Olav Edvardsen over zoom.
Our conversation covered a number of topics, with the most important showcasing who Bjørn Olav Edvardsen is as a singer and a songwriter. Throughout his answers Bjørn shared a number of times the importance of sharing emotions and stories through his music, and about his background in the Theater. He also spilled a small nugget of information that while he did participate at the songwriting camps for Melodi Grand Prix this past summer, but he mentioned that “those songs were not intended for 2023”. What that means, we don’t quite know – but it’s possible that we could see more entries from Bjørn in the future as either a singer or songwriter.
Bjørn also shared with us that he’s been dying to work with Christian Ingebrigtsen for several years now, but their schedules had never aligned well enough to collaborate. Last year was a moment of divine intervention that allowed them to sit down and finally collaborate a song together – and that song turned out to be his Melodi Grand Prix entry “Turn Off Your Heart”. We also asked Bjørn about the meaning behind his song and it’s lyrics, and his answer was simple: “It’s about being able to turn off your heart and your mind, just wishing you could turn it off for a while so you can do your job and go about life. But you can’t do that, you can’t turn it off. But I wanted to tell people that sometimes I wish I could.” He also promised a big surprise for the MGP viewers at home this coming Saturday.
He also mentioned that he loves to connect with people across the world and is prone to read all the messages and comments he receives on social media. For those who are interested in following his career or connecting with him, you can do so through Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or on YouTube!
Bjørn Olav Edvardsen is set to compete in the second semi-final of Melodi Grand Prix this coming Saturday January 21st at 19:50 CET. You can tune in via NRK’s website live and are also able to cast your one vote to support any of the seven artists performing in the semi-final. The three acts with the highest total of public votes will move on to the Grand Final on February 4th.
Are #YOU team Bjørn? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum page!
