On Saturday evening, it was Alessandra Mele (20) who ran away with first place in Melodi Grand Prix. She joined the song “Queen of Kings”, this year’s Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Mele took the grand slam and won both the Norwegian viewer votes and the international jury votes, with a whopping 233 points.
Good evening Norway has spoken with MGP experts from our neighboring countries. Both Sweden and Denmark’s experts are positive about Mele’s chances when she will be on the Eurovision stage in Liverpool in May.
The Swedish Melodifestivalen is underway with its first semi-final. On February 18, we will get the result of whether the Norwegian twin duo Marcus and Martinus will represent the neighboring country in Eurovision.
– I think Norway will get a safe place in the final
Both Denmark and Sweden’s MGP experts Ole Tøpholm and Torbjörn Ek believe Mele’s contribution has good potential in the upcoming competition.
– A strong show. She has a great vocal. A melody that people remember from the large number of other Eurovision songs, and therefore I believe that Norway will get a safe final place, especially considering that only the viewers can vote in the Eurovision semi-final, says Tøpholm.
Ek also believes that Mele’s success already ahead of the international final will be an advantage for the singer in Liverpool.
– Alessandra has a clear song, with an immediate and strong “hook” that sticks. It has also already gone viral internationally, and that means it will cause a stir in Liverpool in May, so it was not wrong for Norway to vote “Queen of Kings” for Eurovision.
The MGP experts disagree about whether it was right to send Mele.
– It depends on which songs the other countries bring. If the rest of Europe sends many ballads to Eurovision, Norway is very strong. If Europe sends a lot of Dance songs, Norway can come under pressure in the final, says Tøpholm.
COMPETITORS: Ulrikke Brandstorp and Alessandra Mele before the MGP final. Photo: Ola Thingstad
– More fun to send another
Ek thinks it would have been cool and brave if the Norwegian contribution had instead been JONE (27), with the song “Ekko inni meg”.
– Alessandra was the safest choice. But I think it would have been even funnier if Norway had voted JONE and “Ekko inni meg” for Liverpool instead. It is the biggest hit domestically, and songs in the national language have done well in Eurovision in recent years. It would have been a brave choice to send it, and it is also a very strong and accurate song that says a lot about the music that is popular in Norway right now.
Despite Mele’s largesse, Ulrikke Brandstorp (27) has been a favorite with both Norwegian and international audiences. Tøpholm does not rule out that she could also make the Norwegian people proud.
– Ulrikke had also been a strong card for Norway. She is very confident and sings like a dream. She would be able to secure many jury points in the Eurovision final for Norway.
– Ulrikke is a strong artist, but it would have felt like a consolation prize if Norway sent her now, when the pandemic prevented it last time. Her song is nice, but more of a typical and fairly generic Eurovision ballad, which could have competed for any country, says Ek about this year’s second place.
Tøpholm goes on to say that Mele and Brandstorp would possibly make up their own jury.
– There are strong women, each of whom will be able to do well in Eurovision in their own way. Alessandra’s weakness is that it can become very Eurovision-concept-like, which the judges don’t vote for, but the viewers love it. Ulrikke, on the other hand, would have been a dream for the jury groups.
– “Queen of kings” is a hit-and-miss and playful stage show that has the potential to be developed into a neat and cool Eurovision show.
– Stands out
Tøpholm thinks Brandstorp’s contribution “Honestly” is “classic Norway”, and thinks the Norwegian people should have sent her, if not Mele.
– Norway is known for occasionally sending great ballads to Eurovision, more than, for example, Denmark. Ulrikke’s song had been yet another in the series, which had an exciting building and a good development along the way.
– I clearly believe that Ulrikke would have been a good alternative. It cannot be ruled out that Ulrikke hits several target groups and could get a lot of jury points in Eurovision, Tøpholm concludes.
Ek also believes that Brandstorp’s contribution is classic Norwegian, where Mele stands out.
– Ulrikke is a skilled artist and strong singer, and her song in the English version feels like a fairly classic, but also very generic, Eurovision ballad. It had felt very typical of Norway to send such a song. In Eurovision, you have to stand out. Norway did that in 2013, 2021 and 2022, among other things. That’s why I’m glad that they chose a song that stands out this year too, concludes Ek
