Norway: NRK reveals the 4th semi-final MGP 2021 acts
The Norwegian national broadcaster, NRK, has revealed the Melodi Grand Prix 4th semi-final acts of , the show through which Norway will determine the its ESC 2021 representative.
During a press conference at the NRK haeadquarters in Oslo, the contestants of the second semi final were presented along with the titles of their songs.
According to the NRK timeline the competing entries of the semi finals are going public every Monday ahead of Saturday’s semi final show, whilst during the semi final one prequalified act will perform its Grand final entry which is published one day before the show.
Fourth Semi final acts
The four acts that will compete next Saturday in the 4th semi final are the following:
1. Royane – “Circus”
(Lyrics and melody: Royane Harkati (Royane) produced by Junior Paris, Mixed by Simen Handeland.)
Royane, Royane Harkati (28) has her origins from both Spain and Morocco but grew up in Morocco before moving to Norway when she was nine years old.
She has been involved in music all her life but has made a serious commitment over the past two years. Her music is inspired by the music of independent and original women both in Norway and internationally.
Royane has released several singles since her debut with “Antidote for Love” in 2019. Her latest release was “Takashi Aruto” at the end of January this year.
Many know Royane best through TikTok and Instagram, where she appears with a distinctive style and humor. She has also been seen in season 3 of “The Influencers” (A Norwegian TV show).
Royane has received praise for original lyrics and melodies. She has especially excelled with her music video productions, where she takes responsibility for the design of clothes/costumes, make-up and hairstyles.
Royane is an unsigned, independent artist who takes charge of most of the production process herself, together with her own creative team consisting of a manager, producer and videographer. She describes herself as a perfectionist who does not give up until the music becomes the way she wants it both in quality and originality.
2. Marianne Pentha & Mikkel Gaup – “Pages”
(Lyrics and melody: Vanessa Liftig, Robin Lynch, Marianne Pentha and Mikkel Gaup)
Marianne Pentha (40) from Os in Østerdalen and Mikkel Gaup (53) from Alta are behind this year’s second MGP song which contains joik. These two artists have known each other all their lives and are in fact also related. They have collaborated on several occasions, and already in 2017 started working on this song which they are now looking forward to finally show the MGP audiences and the world.
Marianne Pentha has a long career behind her in the Norwegian music industry. She has been a backup singer for several of Norway’s greatest artists, both on records and on tour. In 2012, she really took the step into the spotlight when she participated in the very first season of the music program “The Voice” on TV 2. There have been many more TV appearances since then, including “Beat for Beat”, the morning show “Go morgen Norge”, and “Sommeråpent”. Marianne has released two albums with the band Ánnásuolo, and in 2019 she had the Sami voice of Elsa in “Frost 2”. Last year she participated on the album “Juleroser”, in a Sami / Norwegian duet with Herborg Kråkevik.
Many Eurovision fans may remember that she was a backup singer for KEiiNO in Tel Aviv in 2019.
Mikkel Gaup’s first joik was a small sequence he made in the Oscar nominated film “Veiviseren” from 1987, where he also played the lead role. The career as an actor has since taken up most of Mikkel’s time, with films and several TV series. This versatile artist has also been joiking at countless performances in Norway and abroad. He has also participated in several recordings, including with Dimmu Borgir and Trine Rein. In 2018 he released his debut album “Run Wolf”.
3. Landeveiens Helter – “Alt det der”
(Lyrics and melody: Lars-Erik Blokkhus, Petter Bjørklund Kristiansen and Thor-Erik Claussen)
Landeveiens Helter is a new band, consisting of four artists well known to the Norwegian public: Rune Rudberg, Dag Ingebrigtsen, Lars Erik Blokkhus and Stian Staysman Thorbjørnsen.
There is no place in Norway where these four has not performed, and they have many hits behind them before starting this new collaboration. Combined, they have played 10,000 concerts and they are known to create a good party vibe wherever they go.
“Alt det der” is their first song as a band and is about hos even though there are some setbacks in life, it is worth living. The guys in the band hope that other people, who may also have experienced trouble in their own lives, can feel a little better after hearing this song.
Three of the four band members have previously participated in the MGP, while for Dag Ingebrigtsen this is his debut on the MGP stage.
4. KIIM – “My Lonely Voice”
(Lyrics and melody: Kim Rune Hagen, Espen Andreas Fjeld, Vebjørn Jernberg and Niklas Rosström)
KIIM, Kim Rune Hagen (30), was born in Porsgrunn, grew up in Heddal in Telemark and now lives in Notodden.
KIIM became known when he made it to a third place in Norwegian Idol in 2007. After that he was active for a couple of years with the band “Spinning Foundation” which, among other things, warmed up for headliners such as A1 and Europe. The band also made the supporter song “Nå har vi kommet hjem” for the football team Odd Grenland.
Kim Rune stopped pursuing a career in music and wanted to become a real estate agent, but was soon after back in the music industry and has played with “The Norwegian Soulband” at festivals such as Sildajazzen, Notodden Bluesfestival and Skien Live.
We have also seen him in The Voice 2015, the music show “Beat for beat” and “Allsang på gensen”.
In recent years, he has done many events with Hans Orkester, primarily with cover songs. In MGP, he participates with a song he has written about his own experiences in life.
Pre-qualified act
In addition the fourth pre-qualified artist out of six will be showcasing her song:
Atle Pettersen: “World On Fire”
(Lyrics and melody: Atle Pettersen, Jesper Borgen, Magnus Clausen, Alexander Pavelich, Peter Daniel Newman)
Atle Pettersen (31) is a singer, songwriter and TV host from the city of Skien. He is previously known as a vocalist in the band Above Symmetry and The Scheen. In 2014, The Scheen won the Emergenza Festival, the world’s largest music competition for unsigned bands with as many as 34,000 participants from 150 countries. Atle Pettersen had his breakthrough in Norwegian X-factor in 2010, and the same year released his debut single “Light on” as a solo artist. The song reached a 6th place on the Norwegian pop chart “VG lista”. He released his debut album “Based on a true Story” in 2011, which went straight into a 3rd place on the same pop chart.
Atle is no stranger to music competitions on TV and has also participated in “Stjernekamp” in 2013 and “The Hit” in 2014. He won Norwegian “Dancing with the stars” in 2011. For the past four years he has been the host of “Beat for Beat” on NRK.
In recent years he has released music mostly in Norwegian and has also written songs for other artists, including “Darkside” for Alan Walker. He released a Christmas album in 2020.
«World On Fire» will be released Friday, February 5th.
MGP 2021 dates
The Norwegian national selection commenced on January 16 with the first semi final show and continues this Saturday with the 3rd semi final show and will conclude on February 20 with the Grand final.
This is the Melodi Grand Prix schedule:
Semi-final 1 – January 16
Semi-final 2 – January 23
Semi-final 3 – January 30
Semi-final 4 – February 6
Semi-final 5 – February 13
Second Chance Round – February 14
Grand final – February 20
