The real winners?

Not letting go of the ESC quite yet ... ;-)

I'm not saying this to toot our own metaphorical horn, but I have to say that I think the interval entertainment was to a very high standard this year. I'm so glad that NRK didn't go for anything 'typically Norwegian' - whatever that would have been - but instead decided on something modern and original. I loved what NRK head Bjerkaas said about the production as a whole ... that this wasn't Norway's party, this was all of Europe's party, and we as host had a duty to make it fun for everyone. I think we can call that mission accomplished. :-)

I'm not really a Madcon fan - it's not really my kind of music - but I like those guys a lot and I think it was a great idea to make them part of this event. And now one might say that they are ending up as the real winners of the contest, without even taking part. :-) The song they came up with for the event, Glow, is now above Satellite on the German charts. That is pretty impressive. It's shooting up the charts all over Europe, apparently, but that it's doing so extremely well in Germany is just ... fun. :-) OK, sure, Satellite was out as a single long before the contest, and has been topping the charts for what, two months ... so it has had some time to climb and peak ... but still, it won!! Fairytale had been out for at least a fortnight before the final last year, but I think it would have been extremely surprising if the Red Army Choir had topped the charts in this country a week after Rybak won. :-)

Even if you're not into the ESC, you should check out this video ... it really is fun to watch. The whole concept is so entertaining and creative and it's so well carried out. The ... Vilnians? did it best IMO. :-) Not too shabby in Dublin either. (But in London, sheesh, don't get me started.) I love the idea of filming from someone's living room in every country. Dance on the sofa!! :-D