Norway's Mediocre Grand Prix

I'm trying to do everything I can to avoid revising for tomorrow's Russian test.And seeing as I'm quite behind with recent Eurovision events,and seeing as Norway is by far my favourite European country,I thought I'd better have a listen to the contenders for the final of Melodi Grand Prix...
It seems a lot of people are a bit surprised Lene Alexandra didn't go through from the Siste Sjanse round in Oslo tonight.Why?!I don't mind Lene actually,but Sillycone Valley was awful in every way.Zuma however,I can understand.Always Always is fabulous!I love the guy's voice,the lyrics are hilarious,and it's soooo catchy.It would have done so well in Belgrade.


But alas,it seems Saturday's final will be pretty boring.I've had a listen to all the songs in it now,and can't say I'm that excited by any of them.There's not really any bad ones,they're all good in their own right I suppose,but there's nothing that I think will really stand out amongst the other 20 or so entries that Norway will be up against in the semi final on May 20th.
I heard Eastern Wind by Torstein Sødal about a week ago,and quite liked it.This may or may not be influenced by the fact that Christian Ingebrigtsen wrote it :) But yes, Torstein has a wonderful voice,and I'm sure he'd perform really well at Eurovision.But now I've heard Zuma,I can't get too excited about it anymore.

I'm liking Ann-Mari Andersen's Ándagassii too.Normally I find the ethnic-type songs boring and repetitive,but this is really good- more like a calmed down version of Neiokõsõ's Tii type ethnic than Lane Moje type ethnic.And it's nice to hear something sung in Sami for a change.It's not your typical Norwegian ESC song though,so I doubt she'll get through.
Then there's Crash! Complete with Jetzt Anders! style exclamation mark :) Get Up is Ok,a bit of pop rock never hurt anyone...

Not too excited about Veronica Akselsen (which is a shame,because I thought Like A Wind from 2006 was really good),or Maria Haukaas Storeng.

There's a place for people like Ole Ivars,but unfortunately I don't think that place is Eurovision.I don't mind Som i Himmelen,there's nothing wrong with a bit of old Norsk Dansband...but like a lot of people,I can't believe he got through to the final.Instead of Zuma.Someone commented on the youtube video saying "noe av det dårligste som har vært i mgp's historie" which made me laugh.Norway have been competing in Eurovision for years,I'm sure there's been a lot worse at some point.

Such as this This also got through instead of Zuma.Seriously Norway,what's happened?!First you choose boring Glenn Lyse to win Idol,and now this?!

Anyway,continuing with MGP,King of Trolls seems to be getting a lot of negative comments.But I think Far Away probably has the best chance of winning on Saturday.

All in all though,I'm really not bothered who wins,I don't think any of these songs would do very much in Belgrade.I think I'll stick with supporting Belarus for another year.Go Ruslan!