ESC 2009: Norway, second quarter-final

Watching now ... :-) Am at KAS and trilltrall's house, we have just made and devoured a delicious chicken jambalaya, so we are ready to be entertained. :-) Oh, I like Maria's new hairdo ...

Song #1: Thomas Thörnholm, Michael Clauss, Danne Attlerud/Jan Vincent Johannessen: Alt har en mening nå, performed by Wenche Myhre. OK, when I heard that she was going to be in the contest, I rolled my eyes ... immediate reaction: enormously bad idea. Just her in the contest is a totally sucky idea. And this song is ... OMFG. Her outfit is awful, the song is awful, her performance is awful. And the thought that she is so admired in this country, and has so many fans, is truly awful!!! This song can't possibly win. I mean, seriously. I feel like someone's trying to forcibly pull me back in time 25 years. This is 2009, for Pete's sake!! :-o This is a completely gruesome entry and if we send this to Moscow we will be totally shaming ourselves in the eyes of the world. OMFG. Some people need to be protected from themselves.

Song #2: Bertil Bertelsen/Olav Nygaard, Morten Horn, Ronny Bertelsen: Te stein, performed by Publiners. I know, what an awful band name. Like, real 'fun' guys these must be. This is a real band though, they've been playing together for some years and have released a couple of albums. They call their musical style 'folk'n'roll'. :-) And this song is ... actually pretty good. In the sense that it certainly isn't bad. :-) They wrote it themselves, so kudos for that. And compared to the previous entry, this is a classic. ;-) It doesn't have much of a hook, so I'm not sure anyone will remember it for long ... but it's not disgraceful. Right now I feel like that's almost the best we can hope for. A perfectly acceptable entry. And they've got fire on stage, wooh ... :-o

Song#3: Marte Wulff: Ride, performed by Tine Wulff. What a fugly dress ... ! Awful dress, extremely unbecoming on a pregnant woman, but no matter what the dress had looked like, the fabric is so nasty that nothing made from it could have looked good. Oh well. She herself is pretty adorable. And she has a pretty good voice ... too bad the song is so boring. It's OK but there's nothing much to it. It doesn't have much personality, at least not on the first listen. Acceptable, a cute song, but I am not convinced. But she is really charming though. :-)

Song #4: Alexander Stenerud: Find My Girl, performed by Alexander Stenerud. OK, this is not for everyone, but I like it. :-) He's the singer in Zuma, they competed last year ... I dug their song, Always Always. This song is a lot like that song, actually. Quel surprise. ;-) Synthpop light ... catchy ... and I like his performance. The song starts off slow and then, suddenly, hey, it isn't a ballad after all. :-) I really like his performance! Stylized. I like. We may not do well with this, but it's a cool song. I'd be happy to send Stenerud to Moscow.

Song #5: Janni Santillan: Like You Did (Yesterday), performed by Janni Santillan. Another bizarro outfit. o_O She is 18 years old and she wrote this song when she was 14 ... bad sign. Although I do always like it when the performers have written their own entries. She's pretty, she has a relatively good voice, and the song is OK. But it's a ballad, which in itself isn't good ... and it's a ballad that basically goes absolutely nowhere. Bo-ring!! No way this will get through from this round. Sorry, girl, but yawn ... !

Song #6: Julius Winger, Ole Jørgen Olsen: Like an Angel, performed by Julius Winger. Piece of shit!! Dagbladet have the nerve to compare this guy to Elton John and Billy Joel ... !! How very dare they. And I read somewhere that some people think that he is a worthy successor to Erik Bye. o_O How very dare they! Don't listen to them ... this song is one big yawn, his singing voice is awful, and the lyrics are just embarrassing. You brought the sunshine to my life ... ? Gag me with a spoon. >:-(

Song#7: David Eriksen, Tone Damli Aaberge, Mats Lie Skåre: Butterflies, performed by Tone Damli Aaberge. This entry will go straight to the final. No prizes for guessing that. Just because it's Idol-Tone performing it. :-) But it actually is a pretty good song. One of the best of the night. Catchy chorus. It's a straightforward pop song, but it's not at all a bad one. Innocent and non-offensive, but solid craftsmanship. I quite like this one.

OK, results. I voted three times for Alexander Stenerud. My civic duty is done.

Semifinalists:
Publiners - Te stein
Janni Santillan - Like You Did (Yesterday)

Finalists:
Alexander Stenerud - Find My Girl
Tone Damli Aaberge - Butterflies

The piano ballad got through?? I am surprised. OK, whatever, it'll get the boot in the semi. And who cares, yay, the Zuma guy!! Alright! :-D Last year they only got to the semifinal, now he's in the final. Things are looking up. :-) And Wenche Myhre's out of the running. Whew! I don't watch Idol myself, but I sometimes find myself grateful that others do. >:-) A huge improvement over last week - these songs probably aren't champion material, but we won't disgrace ourselves with either of these. And I so want us to not disgrace ourselves ... :-)