ESC 2009: Norway, final

Here we go ... !!! :-D

The big night is finally here. I'm all atwitter - how exciting!! :-D Seriously, this is exciting ... because this time we have the chance of picking a song that has a genuine chance of actually really getting somewhere on the really big night. A number of ESC fans internationally think that Fairytale would have major chances in Moscow. Of course that's a risky guess considering only about half the entries have been chosen. But, well, it's worth considering. ;-) There's no way we can pick any other song than Fairytale tonight. No way. We'd be idiots to send anything else. But Butterflies is a dangerous contestant too, just because of the singer ... there's a lot of Idol fans out there who are no doubt eagerly awaiting their chance to vote for Tone Damli Aaberge. The good news though is that those will probably mainly be girls, and Alexander Rybak is no doubt just the man to charm them. ;-) Boy, whatever. :-)

I'm watching at home this time too - Anne Ida and Anéa are here, we've cooked a delicious Greek dinner and now we're waiting to digest enough of it to manage Anéa's chocolate cake with ice cream. ;-) But of course the main thing is the show ... !! :-D

Tonight's competing entries:
Two of a Kind, performed by Espen Hana
Second Seconds, Ovi Martin
Te stein, Publiners
Find My Girl, Alexander Stenerud
Tricky, Velvet Inc.
Fairytale, Alexander Rybak
Det vart en storm, Thomas Brøndbo
Butterflies, Tone Damli Aaberge

The performances are basically the same as they've been all along. Some small costume changes here and there, that's all.

We are so full of jokes tonight ... ! :-D This show really is a fount of inspiration for the aspiring home comedian. The songs, the performers, the costumes ... the presenters ... the hairdos, the green room chats ... oh, there's no end to it. An example of our witticisms: Anne Ida doesn't like Seven Seconds much - she says that it's the kind of song that ends up as the third song during the end credits of a movie, when it can be assumed that the audience has mostly left the theater. lolz! :-D

It's weird how many other singers and bands seem to echo in this contest this year. We've got - in order of appearance - Roy Orbison, Vamp, a-ha, Spice Girls and D.D.E. Huh.

The final is divided into two parts - four of the eight songs will get through to the so-called 'golden final'. It sounds better in Norwegian ('gullfinalen'). Which four will that be? My guess is Fairytale, Butterflies, Find My Girl ... aand ... either Te stein or Tricky. Although since it's such a mystery to me that Seven Seconds has gotten this far, it may surprise me again and get through to the last round. o_O But I hope not.

I've voted ten times for Fairytale, Anéa once and Anne Ida four times ... so if this doesn't work out, don't blame us. :-)

OK, these are the gold finalists: Find My Girl, Butterflies, Fairytale - yes!! - and Te stein. OK, so, I could not possibly be happier! My choices exactly! Now to vote again ... ! :-D

I've voted six or seven times, or maybe eight, I've lost count. My duty's done. Good luck, Alexander ... !!

The votes are being read ... ! The juries are first, the juries from the four cities that hosted the quarter- and semifinal; each jury has 20,000 points to distribute between the four entries (in portions of 2, 4, 6 and 8). The Kongsvinger jury has Fairytale as #1. So does the Bodø jury ... and Grenland ... and Ålesund. Wahey!! :-D And then for the 'popular vote' - the audience votes cast via SMS, email or phone calls. For this purpose the country is divided into five districts ... northern Norway first. OMFG ... Fairytale has totally crushed everyone. It's ahead by almost 50,000 now. We have a winner already, I think! :-D Now the West Country - where Tone Damli Aaberge comes from ... but Fairytale has gotten more than six times as many votes as Butterflies! OMG, we have a winner. Absolutely no possible question about it. o_O

OK, this is completely unprecedented. Central Norway has given Butterflies, as their #2 - about 16,000 votes, and Fairytale more than 100,000 ... !!! This is ... I have no words. Fantastic. This rocks. I'm loving it. :-) The South Country has 18,000+ votes for Butterflies and 132,000+ for Fairytale .... !!! This is unbelievable. Now the East Country, that's where my votes went. 49,658 for Butterflies as #2 ... and 378,934 for Fairytale!!! OMFG!!!

You can see an overview of all votes cast here.

The winning entry is Fairytale, written and composed by Alexander Rybak. It's won by more than 600,000. Unprecedented. I have no words ... except ...

MOSCOW HERE WE COME!!!!!