Review: “Melodi Grand Prix 2024” – Semi-Final 3 (Norway)

Norway will choose an artist and a song for Eurovision 2024 via “Melodi Grand Prix 2024″.
18 acts will compete in 3 semi-final, 9 of them will qualify for the final (3 per semi-final).
In this post, I will review the 6 songs competing in the second semi-final (on 27th of January 2024)

#1.AnnPrincess – Save Me

It is a mid-tempo pop song.
The song starts with a short instrumental part, composed of keyboard playing and whistle effects.
AnPrincess opens the first verse singing in a mid-love tone of voice, while the melody is based on a mid percussion tempo and keyboard playing.
In the pre-chorus, she sings a bit faster, the melody is based on clap beat and keyboards playing.
The chorus is more soulful. She is supported by backing vocals. The melody is based on keyboards playing and sped-up percussion beat. Her voice sounds warmer. This part is finalized by whistles.
The second chorus continues the line of the chorus, as the tempo is faster. Her singing is denser.
The pre-chorus is based on singing with a lower voice and creates something that sounds like whispering.
The second chorus is quite similar to the first one, the backing vocals stand out more.
The bridge suggests a more laid-back production, where the percussion elements are gone. Thereafter, we get an additional chorus, but this time AnnPrincess uses a longer notes, and in general the singing is more powerful.
The song ends with whistles and simpler production.
I can’t say the song brought something new to the table. However, the singer conveys emotions through the song, and her voice is unique. We will have to include a strong staging to elevate it.

#2. KEiiNO – Damdiggida

It is an Euro dance club song.
The song starts with a short instrumental introduction, which is composed of electric keyboard playing, and percussion elements.
Alexandra opens the first verse with her well-known voice. The melody is based on synth elements. At the verse progresses, the synth elements become more powerful. In the second half of this part, we can hear Fred,
The chorus is based on keyboards playing, we can hear Alexandra as the lead singer, while Tom Hugo gives the backing vocals. Fred sings the “Damdiggidam” part with his low thick voice.
The second verse is similar to the first one. However, it is shorter and we can hear the backing vocals along.
The second chorus starts with Alexandra singing, and we can hear Tom as well. This part continues into the “joiking” by Fred.
Thereafter comes the bridge, which is more laid-back for the synth elements, the melody is based on keyboards playing. Alexandra sings it with high pitch of voice, and the peak point is a very long and impressive note.
Tom sings the chorus alone, supported by Fred later on.
Tom and Alexandra sing the last chorus together. Some parts are performed by Tom himself alone.
The song ends with “Damdiggida” singing.
I must admit I wasn’t a big fan of this song to begin with. It felt to me like an effort to create a dance pop from the 1990’s, even in price of less authentic.
However, I can’t ignore the catchiness and the way it is performed. I am not sure I liked the choice to name the song “Damdiggida”, and the big portion it takes from the lyrics.
Personally, I think the band have created better songs in the past, and in particular in the “Melodi Grand Prix”.

#3. MIIA – Green Lights

It is a modern mid-tempo ballad
The song starts with a short instrumental part of a vivid sound, composed of keyboards and wind instruments. The sound creates an effect of birds in nature.
The first verse relies on a minimal production and a simple piano melody. Miia sings it slowly with a mid-low tone voice. The second verse follows the same pattern.
The chorus builds up gradually. It starts slowly, the piano playing is more sparse. She sings some of the notes in a higher tone. As the first chorus progresses, more orchestral elements are added. The last part is performed in half falsetto.
The third verse suggests a faster tempo, the melody is based on violin stringing combined with piano playing. She sings this part in a mid-tone voice. The verse is longer, and towards the end she sings is a longer high note, backed up by backing vocalists.
The second chorus starts differently. The backing vocals play a more significant role. Sometimes it might sound too shouty. Towards the end of this part, the violin playing becomes more intense, and we can also hear humming.
The last chorus is laid-back, the production is minimal and in fact this is the bridge of the song. The orchestral elements are still in, and we can also hear the instrumental part from the beginning.
The song ends with an outro which is similar to the standard chorus from previously.
Overall, this is a decent ballad. But I feel the lyrical effort has to improve. It felt like a story had been told, but the message itself was missed. Production-wise, it should have been much braver.

#4. MISTRA , Benedicte Adrian and Anders Odden – Waltz of Death

It is a pop rock song with metal influences.
The song starts with a short intro: We can hear guitar stringing, while Benedicte sings in semi-whispers.
The first verse is also based on acoustic guitar playing. The atmosphere is less mysterious compared to the intro.
The first chorus kicks in with electronic guitar and more powerful singing. The guitar riffs take over the melody, but we can also hear a secondary tempo combined.
The second chorus follows, where the vocals are emphasized by an effect that resembles radio or megephone sound. This part repeats the lyrics from the introduction, but under different light of production.
The second chorus brings back the metal foundations, this time they originated at bass and electronic guitar. Towards the end of this part, we can hear Benedicte whispering.
An instrumental break follows the chorus, however we get some vocal improvisations from the leas singer in parallel.
The last chorus doesn’t include metal references. It is almost unplugged and the melody is based on piano playing. She sings it emotionally, and we can hear a kind of wind effect in the production.
Overall, a different flavour from the other songs in this semi-final. The production is metal-oriented, but it is definitely on the soft side.
I love the way her voice sounds like, and I think this fusion of genres is blessed. I would like the song even more, if we get more lyrical parts. But it ticks the box of being original via a dark atmosphere and a great musical experience.

#5. Thomas Jenssen – Take Me To Heaven

It is a pop song with influences from the 1980’s music.
The song starts with humming with an instrumental part
The first verse opens with airy singing. The melody is based on soft electric guitar riffs and drums. From time to time, we can hear some gasps. Then, keyboards playing is added to the composition as well. Towards the end of this part, Thomas sings in a higher tone of voice.
The chorus is based on a simple electric guitar playing, and later on drums are added as well. The chorus starts with counting, and later on he sings in a higher tone of voice.
The second verse is based on a soft drum loop and electric guitar. Once again we can hear the breaths, but also some baking vocals.
This time, we also get a short pre-chorus with a more theatrical spoken word singing.
As the second chorus follows, it has a softer production this time. You can hear Thomas using falsetto backing vocals from time to time. The melody explodes, and we get an additional chorus, where the tempo is faster. Thomas decorates his singing with some manners.
Unfortunately, this one felt too middle of the road for me. It can be considered a radio-friendly song, but sometimes it was just too theatrical. I don’t see it as one of the standouts of this semi-final.

#6. Vidar Villa – MER

It is a mid-tempo pop song, performed in the Norwegian language.
The song starts with a shirt instrumental part, composed of keyboards and orchestral elements
The first verse melody is based on keyboards, guitar stringing and a mid-percussion beat. He sings effortlessly, with a mid-tone of voice.
The first pre-chorus is bases on humming of “oh oh” and singing. The melody is based on a denser clap beat. keyboards and guitar
The first chorus begins and brings a more uplifting atmosphere. The first half of the first chorus is mainly based on electric guitar stringing. He sings in a higher tone of voice, and later on joined by backing vocals and keyboards playing.
The second verse is a bit faster. This time we get more of the backing vocalists.
The second pre-chorus is similar to the first one, but this time the tempo is mainly impacted by the electric guitar.
The second chorus follows. Once again, we get some of the string elements. He sings this part in a higher tone of voice. Part of the words are decomposed differently.
The bridge comes after, it is faster, and the melody is based on the string elements and the keyboards. The melody is more intense this time. Thereafter, the production is laid back.
The singer moves on singing another chorus, but this time unplugged. The melody is bases on acoustic guitar.
The last chorus is similar to the first one. However, the presence of the backing vocals is stronger.
Along the song, the singer shows diverse vocal abilities. However, I felt like half of the song was performed too effortlessly. At a certain point, it becomes too repetitive, especially when the lyrics are almost the same.
I think it can have a great success i the Norwegian digital platforms, but it is the kind of songs that the public will struggle to connect to.

Personal Ranking

MISTRA , Benedicte Adrian and Anders Odden – Waltz of Death
KEiiNO – Damdiggida
AnnPrincess – Save Me
MIIA – Green Lights
Thomas Jenssen – Take Me To Heaven
Vidar Villa – MER

Prediction

At the moment, it seems to me that the 3 qualifiers will be KEiiNO, Vidar Villa, and MIIA.
If “Save Me” has a convincing live performance, it might sink in instead out of the 2 last acts in this list.

Which song is your favorite one?
What’s your prediction for the 3 qualifiers from this semi-final?

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