Norway 2019: All you need to know about Keiino and their entry “Spirit in the sky”
The Norwegian national broadcaster determined once again its Eurovision act through the national final format of Melodi Grand Prix. In this year’s national final a total of 10 acts competed in order to win the right to represent Norway at Eurovision 2019. The winner was determined after three rounds of voting. During the first round only the international juries voted while in the next two rounds the results were determined only by televoting. Eventually Keiino and their entry Spirit in the sky won the national final with a percentage of 58,8% of the televoting.
A few words about Keiino
Keiino is three member group formed by Alexandra Rotan, Tom Hugo and Fred Buljo. The group was formed especially for Melodi Grand Prix and Eurovision to follow, while their name in the language of Sami (from who Fred comes from) means “road” and according to Fred Buljo it stands for the road that brought the members together as a group.
Tom Hugo Hermansen was born on October 27 ,1979 in the city of Kristiansand in Norway. He made his first steps in music in 2007 when he moved to Hamburg while in 2009 he released his first EP entitled “I apologise”. Later in 2012 his first album came out under the title Sundry Tales. He was the leading vocalist of the group Radiojam. As a composer he wrote songs that met great success in Norway, Germany and South Korea. he has made two attempts in the past to represent Norway in Eurovision as a solo act. First time was in 2013 with his song Det er du which didn’t even pass the semi finals stage and in 2018 with his entry I like, I like, I like which got eliminated in the first round of the final.
Alexandra Rotan was born on June 29, 1996 in the city of Råholt, and made her first appearance in MGPjr 2010, the Junior version of Melodi Grand Prix, with the song Det vi vil which achieved to reach the Super final. She became widely known after her participation in the Norwegian Idol in 2016 during which she reach the semi final stage. In 2017 she was one of the backing vocalists for the famous Norwegian singer Alan Walker during his European tour. In 2018 she took part for the first time in Melodi Grand Prix with the entry You Got Me performing in a duet with Stella Mwangi , who had represented Norway in Eurovision 2011 with the song Haba Haba (17th place in the semi final), and reached in the 3rd placing of the super final round.
Fred Buljo was born on February 6, 1988 in the city of Kautokeino and is a member of the rap group Duolva Duottar , which combines with the traditional music of Lapons ( Sami) .Fred Buljo’s group came to fame when it participated in the talent show Norske Talenter (Norway’s got talent) during which it reached the final. after that the group held several concerts in the Scandinavian countries and in Russia. Fred Buljo is an active member of the cultural and political community of Sami people, as he has been elected since 2013 till 2016 parliament member and leader of the party “Arja” in Sami’s parliament which fights for the cultural autonomy and the protection of Sami’s tradition.
The entry Spirit in the sky
Spirit in the sky is α Rhythmic pop dance song with Joik elements, the traditional music of Sami. The biggest part of the song is written in English with the addition of the sentence, ” Čajet dan čuovgga” which in the language of Sami means “Show me the light”. This will be the first time the specific language will be heard on the Eurovision stage. Although references on Sami’s culture have been included in past participations , such as in Norway 1980 (Sverre Kjelsberg & Mattis Hætta –Sámiid ædnan– 16th placing), the Finnish entry in 1977 (Monica Aspelund – Lapponia – 10th place) and the Swedish entry in 2000 (Roger Pontare – When Spirits Are Calling My Name – 7th place).
The song is inspired by the fights made for equal rights regarding either national or religious minorities, or gender equality or for the rights of the LGTB community. Initial composers of the song were Tom Hugo with his husband Alex Olsson, and later on the rest of the members of Keiino, Alexandra Rotan, Fred Buljo and Henrik Tala with Rüdiger Schramm as well joined the composing team.
The Lyric of “Spirit in the sky”
Can’t you stay
Stay with me into the night
Stay, I need you close
You can go back when the sun rise again
Just stay tonight, just stay
Have you seen my spirit
Lost in the night
The violent nightshade
They took away my light
They call us nothing
My name is nothing
Come see me
Please see me
Cause I’ve been running with the demons now
They all see my fear
They say there’s nothing
Nothing here
I see your spirit in the sky
When northern lights are dancing
He-lo e loi-la
I hear you calling me at night
Whenever wind is blowing
He-lo e loi-la
I can see your spirit in the sky
When northern lights are dancing
He-lo e loi-laČajet dan čuovgga
I’ll follow you until the daylight
Shy us away
I need a her
oI need my light
Her shining lightwaves
Will break away the night
I call it freedom
Our name is freedom
Come find mePlease find me
Cause I am dancing with the fairies now
They all sing our name
I got my light here
Shining here
I hear you calling me at night
Whenever wind is blowing He-lo e loi-la
I can see your spirit in the sky
When northern lights are dancingHe-lo e loi-la
Čajet dan čuovgga
I hear you calling me at night
Whenever wind is blowing
He-lo e loi-la
I can see your spirit in the sky
When northern lights are dancing
He-lo e loi-la Čajet dan čuovgga
I can see your spirit in the sky
When northern lights are dancing
He-lo e loi-la Čajet dan čuovgga
The Eurovision story so far
