Norway NORWAY 2023 - Alessandra - Queen of Kings

[ESC United Mod Team]

 

[Datura]

Yes, hence Tix and Subwolfer recently

I really don't get my countrymen voting. Before they would take the most boring and safe ballad over anything, now with Tix and Subwolfer last years it's 180 the other way and seems the more crazy the better. Following this trend Skrellex will win it since it's the same international 'jury' as well. If not, the celebrity factor will also kick in and see Ulrikke and Atle Petterson up there, but who knows.

the norwegians are always up for a surprise. i was kind of shocked that they picked Tix over Keiino that year tbh. i'm not a big fan of spirit in the sky but i think monument was (and still is) kinda great. I think subwolfer was the right choice though.

 

[BorisBubbles]

Tix winning over Keiino was a surprise for us. I think the Norwegians were fully expecting it?

Like, NRK might have been surprised by Tix's win because they have a tendency to hand-pick their preferred winners (Keiino, Elsie), and then the Norwegian audience just disobeys and chooses someone else lol

In that sense I wouldn't be shocked if Alessandra or Atle beat Ulrikke at the end. Especially if the Gold Final is back, which is effectively a 1-v-1.

 

[Datura]

i (re)watched the semifinal 3 performances and i gotta say Atle absolutely deserved to qualify, he sang great and sold that song perfectly and i think it was the overall best performance of the night. having said that, the song itself is still generic AF and should not win imo.

i was pretty impressed by Eline Thorps vocals but - aswell - the song doesnt do much for me, it's ok but not really memorable imo, the verses are better than the chorus

skrellex is not really my kind of music but i don't mind that it qualified, don't think it will be a contender for the victory in the final

i am quite surprised about Freya not qualifying (aswell), the song is not my favourite, but i don't think the staging and performance were that bad and the song is still better than most of the others of that semifinal.

songwise i like break it the most in this semifinal but i guess there was nothing too confincing about that performance tbn

something different: what really disturbs me is: why are the female vocals in Jone's song not performed live? it's not even backing vocals, in parts its main vocals that HAVE TO BE SUNG LIVE at eurovision. so are they not even expecting it to win themselves? (the beginning of queen of kings is not live either but at least it's obvious she would pull it off)

 

[jatojo]

It's always hard to say something general about the tendencies in the voting in the Nordic contests, but I do think there are some patterns. For instance:
- The Norwegians don't like slow stuff, unless it's presented in an extremely impressive way.
- The Norwegians are not buying all that is kitschy, unless there is real quality in it.
- The Norwegians don't like things that seem too arty-farty.
- The Norwegians often know the participating artists, and that relation can sometimes influence the voting.
So based on this, my guess is that Elsie Bay will not win the final because of 3. On the other hand, Ulrikke looks good on all the above parameters. The "weakness" of the Norwegian public's approach to Melodi Grand Prix is that they don't seem to fully appreciate unique entries of high quality - this means that there is a high risk of potential Norwegian ESC winners losing out in the national voting.

 

[Looren]

My personal ranking for the final :

1. Alessandra Mele - Queen Of Kings
2. Atle Pettersen - Masterpiece
3. Elsie Bay - Love You in a Dream

4. Jone - Ekko Inni Meg
5. Ulrikke - Honestly

6. Skrellex - Love Again

7. Eline Thorp - Not Meant To Be

8. Swing it - Prohibition

9. Unami Tsunami - Geronimo

 

[jatojo]

None of the eliminated Songs would have won ESC.
I think a Top10 is still possible for Norway.
Ulrikke will be between 8-15 if she wins I would say.

That's where the bookmakers have her. They expect her to win in Norway, and Norway is currently in 13th spot overall.

Norway has actually dropped a few places since yesterday, so maybe at least some bookmakers saw potential in 'Freya' and 'Break It'. I still think 'Freya' was the best possibility for a Eurovision win (if we disregard the annoying Ukraine bias), but of course, the live performance on stage matters, and I fully understand that the song was overtaken by other songs in the semi.

 

[Sparky]

The only acceptable winners would be Alessandra and Jone. They have catchy good songs. Alessandra's performance live was a concern, so I give the final nod to Jone.

I hope Ulrikke will fail in the end. That was mediocrity writing on the wall really.

 

[RainyWoods]

Eline Thorp - Not Meant To Be 10/10
Skrellex - Love Again 8/10
Alessandra Mele - Queen Of Kings 7/10
Atle Pettersen - Masterpiece 7/10
Elsie Bay - Love You in a Dream 6/10
Swing it - Prohibition 5/10
Jone - Ekko Inni Meg 5/10
Ulrikke - Honestly 2/10 (This whole thing gives I've just won a reality tv singing contest and here's my winner's single)
Unami Tsunami - Geronimo 2/10


Not Meant To Be is melodically gorgeous and just such a goddamn earworm. Those bittersweet verses followed by that infectious pulsating chorus. Eline carries it all so well. I love it.

The performance of Love Again really lifted the song. This really should be my kind of thing (glittery schlager) and yet I found it all a bit middling to begin with. Skrellex is wonderful on stage though and I very much enjoy the 3 minutes with her. There's something old school about this package I like.

Queen Of Kings I'm not as wild for as I hoped. I almost struggle to get through it because of how monotonous it is, but it does pack a nice punch and the production certainly sticks with you. It would be a decent entry.

Masterpiece is quite underrated. Stick Cornelia Jakobs on it and I think the fandom would be wetting themselves with excitement, seeing as the song essentially is Hold Me Closer part 2 in certain ways. The artist of course is an important part when it comes to our enjoyment of a song but I don't think Atle is bad at all. He sells Masterpiece actually really well and the staging is top notch. This is a slick package that is ready for Eurovision.


The rest I'm not into. I will go back and give Love You in a Dream another go to see if I can get past the cursive singing as the song itself is rather nice. I think Honestly is really poor but at the same time, Ulrikke was robbed of her Eurovision experience due to the pandemic. If she wins then so be it. She deserves her Eurovision experience.

 

[CPV4931]

I wasn´t able to watch yesterday and so ab it shocked when hearing that Freya didn´t make it... but after watching the performance today, I can clearly see/hear why.
Now, my personal favorites for the Final are Alessandra and Skrellex, but I see Ulrikke as the favorite to win on Saturday, which wouldn´t be undeserved

 

[burrito]

Fingers crossed for Jone, Ekko inni meg is a banger

 

[Lighthouse]

I hope Norway chooses Masterpiece, it's so so good.

 

[jatojo]

I think this would have been a pretty good final, too (better tbh):

- Rasmus Thall
- Kate Gulbrandsen
- Sandra Lyng
- Alejandro Fuentes
- Ella
- Akuvi
- Tiril
- Stig van Eijk
- Maria Celin

 

[A-lister]

I'm not sure people in general are thinking of the voting system at Eurovision when they choose to support a particular song at the national final.

True, but the juries should? No? Or are there no juries in this year's selection? Maybe I missed something...

But do the public really like that stuff? Anyways like I said, each to their own, not sure the European public would vibe though.

 

[jatojo]

True, but the juries should? No? Or are there no juries in this year's selection? Maybe I missed something...

But do the public really like that stuff? Anyways like I said, each to their own, not sure the European public would vibe though.

There is an international jury in the Norwegian final. I hope they and the televoters will go with whatever they think of the songs and less with considerations about how a certain song will do at Eurovision compared to others.

 

[Neo]

Running order for the final on Saturday:

1. JONE: «Ekko Inni Meg»
2. Eline Thorp: «Not Meant to Be»
3. Skrellex: «Love Again»
4. Ulrikke Brandstorp: «Honestly»
5. Umami Tsunami: «Geronimo»
6. Atle Pettersen: «Masterpiece»
7. Swing’it: «Prohibition»
8. Elsie Bay: «Love you in a dream»
9. Alessandra: «Queen of Kings»

About Norwegian voting, at the core Norwegians are followers, so if the papers (consensus) promote someone, then they tend to follow. This is what happened with Tix. All sorts of social justice articles (because of his issue) to whatever his love interest was etc. Keiino became too slick and professional, so the papers pegged them back. This also means if someone is known or a celebrity (i.e. written about), that will likely sway the voters. Meaning Atle Pettersen (a TV host), or Ulrikke, but who knows. It's all still a mystery to me. By putting Alessandra: «Queen of Kings» last in the final, at least it's obvious who MGP wants to win, but I agree with that anyway. Likely our best scorer at ESC, don't you think.

 

[empo21]

This draw is kinda giving me life

Jone first twice. Rip Eline.

Ulrikke sandwiched between a very good performance by Skrellex and the N-pop boy band screams this girl did not win her semi.

Elsie and Alessandra got nice pimp slots with Alessandra likely overshadowing Elsie, which seems to be the plan.

 

[randajad]

Ulrikke really said oh you like boring, ill give you boring. Skrellex should be banned just for the name alone.
That's all.

 

[martin]

The running order show that NRK want Elsie Bay or Alessandra to win. Every year the winner is one of the last two songs. So that probably meen they won semi 1 and 2? Atle won probably semi 3.

 

[rasmuslights]

hate norway at esc. also they have few options every year but they always end up selecting something that i hate.

so you can expect either skrlexx, jone, umami tsunami or alessandra to win because i hate those songs and they are cheap and dated - something that norway enjoys

 

[elanyvx]

Alessandra Mele will work on an Italian version of Queen of Kings: "For now I only have the choruses and the refrein, I still have to work on the verses".

Intervista | Alessandra Mele, protagonista al Melodi Grand Prix 2023 - EIN

Alessandra Mele è una cantante italo-norvegese impegnata ora in gara al Melodi Grand Prix 2023.

eurovisionin.com