Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Country  Norway
National selection
Selection process Melodi Grand Prix 2015
Selection date(s) 14 March 2015
Selected entrant Mørland & Debrah Scarlett
Selected song "A Monster Like Me"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final result Qualified (4th, 123 points)
Final result 8th, 102 points
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2014 • 2015 • 2016►

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "A Monster Like Me", written by Kjetil Mørland. The song was performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett. Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2015 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. After two rounds of public televoting, "A Monster Like Me" performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett emerged as the winners. In the second of the Eurovision semi-finals "A Monster Like Me" placed fourth out of the 17 participating countries, securing its place among the 27 other songs in the final. In Norway's fifty-fourth Eurovision appearance on 23 May, "A Monster Like Me" finished in eighth place, receiving 102 points.

Background

Prior to the 2015 Contest, Norway had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-three times since its first entry in 1960.[1] Norway had won the contest on three occasions: in 1985 with the song "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with the song "Nocturne" performed by Secret Garden and in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. Norway also has the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final more than any other country and for having the most "nul points" (zero points) in the contest. The country has finished last eleven times and has failed to score a point during four contests. Since the introduction of a semi-final round to the format of the contest in 2004, Norway has, to this point, finished in the top ten five times. Wig Wam finished ninth with the song "In My Dreams" in 2005, Maria Haukaas Storeng was fifth in 2008 with "Hold On Be Strong", Alexander Rybak won in 2009, Margaret Berger was fourth in 2013 with "I Feed You My Love" and Carl Espen finished eighth in 2014 performing "Silent Storm".

The Norwegian broadcaster for the 2015 Contest, who broadcast the event in Norway and organised the selection process for its entry, was Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK). The broadcaster confirmed that Norway would participate in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest on 21 May 2014.[2] On 5 June 2014, the broadcaster revealed details regarding their selection procedure and announced the organization of the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2015.[3]

Before Eurovision

Melodi Grand Prix 2015

Melodi Grand Prix 2015 was the 53rd edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix, which selected Norway's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. The competition underwent major changes compared to the most recent editions. For the first time since 2005 there was no semi-final shows; only one show that features eleven competing songs that took place on 14 March 2015 at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo.[4] The show was hosted by Silya Nymoen and Kåre Magnus Bergh.[5] NRK also reinstated a live orchestra as part of the show, a feature that has been absent from the competition for 17 years. The 54 members of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra accompanied each performance in varying capacities.[4]

Competing entries

A submission period was opened by NRK which lasted between 5 June 2014 and 1 September 2014.[3] In addition to the public call for submissions, NRK announced that it would also directly invite certain artists and composers to compete. At the close of the deadline, 800 submission were received – a 30% increase over the previous year.[6] The eleven competing entries were revealed by the broadcaster during a press conference on 21 January 2015.[7] The jury that selected the eleven competing entries consisted of Vivi Stenberg (Melodi Grand Prix producer), Marie Komissar (radio host and music producer), Tarjei Strøm (musician and radio host) and Kathrine Synnes Finnskog (director of Music Norway).[7] Among the competing artists are former Eurovision Song Contest entrants Tor Endresen, who represented Norway in 1997 and Elisabeth Andreassen (Bettan), who represented Sweden in 1982 and Norway in 1985, 1994 and 1996.[7] Andreassen formed half of the duo Bobbysocks!, which won the competition for Norway in 1985.

Final

Eleven songs competed during the final on 14 March 2015. Six of the songs were performed together with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra: "Thunderstruck", "All Over the World", "Ta meg tilbake", "En godt stekt pizza", "A Monster Like Me" and "Cinderella". The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. The first round of voting selected four superfinalists to proceed to a Gold Final. The four superfinalists were "All Over the World" performed by Tor and Bettan, "En godt stekt pizza" performed by Staysman and Lazz, "A Monster Like Me" performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett, and "Thunderstruck" performed by Erlend Bratland. The votes in the Gold Final were revealed by region. "A Monster Like Me" performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett was the winner at the conclusion of the voting.[8]

Final – 14 March 2015
Draw Artist Song (English Translation) Composer(s) Result
1 Erlend Bratland "Thunderstruck" Joy Deb, Linnea Deb, Erlend Bratland Gold Final
2 Raylee "Louder" Andreas Stone Johansson, Ricky Hanley Out
3 Tor & Bettan "All Over the World" Are Selheim, Tor Endresen Gold Final
4 Jenny Langlo "Next To You" Jenny Langlo, Robin Mortensen Lynch, Niklas Olovson Out
5 Ira Konstantinidis "We Don't Worry" Øyvind Blikstad, Bjarte Giske, Ali Pirzad, Julie Bergan Out
6 Contrazt "Heaven" Jan Lysdahl, Jacob Launbjerg Out
7 Marie Klåpbakken "Ta meg tilbake" (Take me back) Marie Klåpbakken, Linn Hege Sagen, Olav Tronsmoen Out
8 Staysman & Lazz "En godt stekt pizza" (A well-done pizza) Stian Thorbjørnsen, Petter Kristiansen, Lars-Erik Blokkhus, Jesper Borgen, Magnus Clausen Gold Final
9 Mørland & Debrah Scarlett "A Monster Like Me" Kjetil Mørland Gold Final
10 Alexandra Joner "Cinderella" Erik Smaaland, Kristoffer Tømmerbakke Out
11 Karin Park "Human Beings" Karin Park, Guy Chambers Out
Gold Final – 14 March 2015
Draw Artist Song Eastern Norway Northern Norway Central Norway Southern Norway Western Norway Total Place
1 Tor & Bettan "All Over the World" 19,834 5,222 4,670 5,574 8,386 43,686 4
2 Staysman & Lazz "En godt stekt pizza" 49,068 5,392 3,595 7,010 4,134 69,199 3
3 Mørland & Debrah Scarlett "A Monster Like Me" 47,303 7,778 7,013 17,340 9,435 88,869 1
4 Erlend Bratland "Thunderstruck" 37,334 8,504 7,161 10,816 21,558 85,373 2

At Eurovision

Mørland and Debrah Scarlett at a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation.[9] The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[10] On 26 January 2015, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Norway was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 21 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[11]

Once all the competing songs for the 2015 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Norway was set to perform in position 6, following the entry from Malta and before the entry from Portugal.[12]

All three shows were televised on NRK1, with commentary by Olav Viksmo Slettan.[13] The Norwegian broadcaster also broadcast the three shows with sign language performers for the hearing impaired on NRK1 Tegnspråk.[14] The final was broadcast via radio on NRK P1 with commentary by Per Sundnes.[15] An alternative broadcast of the final was also televised on NRK3 with commentary by the hosts of the NRK P3 radio show P3morgen Ronny Brede Aase, Silje Reiten Nordnes and Markus Ekrem Neby.[16] The Norwegian spokesperson, who announced the Norwegian votes during the final, was Margrethe Røed.[17]

Semi-final

Mørland and Debrah Scarlett at a dress rehearsal for the second semi-final

Mørland and Debrah Scarlett took part in technical rehearsals on 13 and 16 May,[18][19] followed by dress rehearsals on 20 and 21 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.[20]

The stage show featured the duo in costumes designed by Elisabeth Stray Pedersen: Mørland appeared in a white and black suit and Debrah Scarlett appeared in a white crop top and skirt with an ornate silver hair clip. The performance was simplistic and was largely captured using one camera. The stage atmosphere was dark for the beginning of the song with bronze and orange lighting intensifying as the song progressed. The performance choreographer, Mattias Carlsson, stated: "all the focus should be on the song and the artists, so we don't think we need any graphics".[18][19] While Mørland and Debrah Scarlett appeared on stage alone, they were joined by four backing vocalists: Julie Lillehaug Kaasa, May Kristin Kaspersen, Håvard Gryting and Bjørnar Reime.[21]

At the end of the show, Norway was announced as having finished in the top ten and subsequently qualifying for the grand final.[22] It was later revealed that the Norway placed fourth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 123 points.[23]

Final

Shortly after the second semi-final, a winner's press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Norway was drawn to compete in the first half.[24] Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Norway was subsequently placed to perform in position 9, following the entry from Serbia and before the entry from Sweden.[25]

Mørland and Debrah Scarlett once again took part in dress rehearsals on 22 and 23 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show.[26] The duet performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 23 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Norway placed eighth with 102 points.[27][28]

Marcel Bezençon Awards

The Marcel Bezençon Awards, first awarded during the 2002 contest, are awards honouring the best competing songs in the final each year. Named after the creator of the annual contest, Marcel Bezençon, the awards are divided into three categories: the Press Award, given to the best entry as voted on by the accredited media and press during the event; the Artistic Award, presented to the best artist as voted on by the shows' commentators; and the Composer Award, given to the best and most original composition as voted by the participating composers. "A Monster Like Me" was awarded the Composer Award, which was accepted at the awards ceremony by the song's composer Kjetil Mørland.[29]

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.[30]

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Norway had placed seventeenth with the public televote and seventh with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Norway scored 43 points, while with the jury vote, Norway scored 163 points.[31] In the second semi-final, Norway placed fifth with the public televote with 104 points and third with the jury vote, scoring 144 points.[32]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Norway and awarded by Norway in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:[23][28][33][34]

Points awarded to Norway

Points awarded by Norway

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Norwegian jury:[30]

References

  1. ↑ "Norway Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (21 May 2014). "Norway: NRK confirms its participation in Eurovision 2015". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  3. 1 2 Russell, Peter (5 June 2014). "Norway: MGP 2015 call for submissions now open!". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  4. 1 2 Bakken, Hege Riise (11 November 2014). "Kringkastingsorkesteret tilbake i MGP" (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  5. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (11 December 2014). "Norway: MGP hosts revealed; tickets go on sale". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  6. ↑ Hidalgo, Rodrigo Romero (17 September 2014). "Norway: Preparations for Vienna underway". escXtra.com. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Storvik-Green, Simon (21 January 2015). "Norwegian National Final participants revealed". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Storvik-Green, Simon (14 March 2015). "Mørland & Debrah Scarlett take the Norwegian flag to Vienna!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Siim, Jarmo (10 February 2015). "Australia to compete in the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  10. ↑ Brey, Marco (25 January 2015). "Tomorrow: The semi-final allocation draw". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  11. ↑ Escudero, Victor M. (26 January 2015). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Siim, Jarmo (23 March 2015). "Running order of Semi-Finals revealed". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  13. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2015 23.05.2015" (in Norwegian). NRK. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Bjerkeland, Øystein (18 May 2015). "Ragna fra Midsund er tegnspråktolk i Eurovision" (in Norwegian). rbnett.no. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  15. ↑ Nordseth, Pål (7 May 2015). "Per Sundnes blir Grand Prix-kommentator for NRK". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "P3morgen ESC: Vorspiel P3morgen ESC" (in Norwegian). NRK. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  17. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (23 May 2015). ""Good evening Vienna" - Voting order revealed". eurovision.tv. EBU. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  18. 1 2 Storvik-Green, Simon (13 May 2015). "When the Norwegian monster became a swan". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  19. 1 2 Storvik-Green, Simon (16 May 2015). "A big crescendo for Mørland & Debrah Scarlett". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  20. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (20 May 2015). "Time for the juries to make up their minds". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  21. ↑ Bakken Riise, Hege (22 May 2015). "Norges korister «kastet av» Eurovision-scenen". nrk.no (in Norwegian). NRK. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  22. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (21 May 2015). "Line-up is now complete for the Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  23. 1 2 "Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Second Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  24. ↑ Brey, Marco; Escudero, Victor M. (21 May 2015). "The second Semi-Final winners' press conference". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  25. ↑ Storvik-Green, Simon (22 May 2015). "Running order for Grand Final revealed!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  26. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (22 May 2015). "Decision night for the 40 juries around Europe...and beyond". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  27. ↑ Storvik-Green, Simon; Roxburgh, Gordon (24 May 2015). "Sweden wins 2015 Eurovision Song Contest". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  28. 1 2 "Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  29. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (25 May 2015). "Winners of the Marcel Bezençon Awards 2015". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  30. 1 2 Bakker, Sietse (1 May 2015). "Exclusive: Here are this year's national juries!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  31. ↑ Quinn, Angus (24 May 2015). "Eurovision 2015 Split Results: Who Did the Jury Hurt?". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  32. ↑ Adams, Willy Lee (25 May 2015). "Semi final split results: Who the jury hurt at Eurovision 2015". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  33. ↑ "Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Second Semi-Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  34. ↑ "Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 Grand Final". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
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