Han har rapportert for såvel Sky News som BBC samt utgitt en rekke bøker rundt Eurovision: John Kennedy O’Connor er dagens – og vår siste – MGP-skribent:

O’Connor er brite , men han har bodd i 20 år i USA hvorav de fleste av disse årene i San Fransisco. Han er snart aktuell med en flunkende ny bok om ESC-historien.

Vi har valgt å beholde vurderingene hans akkurat slik vi mottok dem – på engelsk:

NORWAY MELODI GRAND PRIX REVIEWS 2015

1. All Over The World (Elisabeth Andreassen & Tor Endresen)
Maybe to celebrate the contest’s birthday, All Over The World is a rather clichéd Euro song of old performed by two veterans of the competition, one being Norway’s most successful contestant, the other one of their ignominious nul pointers. I can’t really get beyond the hackneyed lyric of this track, which ticks every one of dozens of Eurovision tried and tested boxes. The tune is certainly catchy and as it’s the 60th contest, it’s sort of fun to hear an attempted amalgamation of 60 years of Euro song writing all in one. I just hope it never escapes outside Norway, let alone go all over the world.

2. Cinderella (Alexandra Joner)
There’s something a bit irritating about the chorus of this song, but it’s certainly memorable. An ear worm indeed as it’s hard to forget it once heard. Very modern and certainly Alexandra has a good voice, but it’s possibly too repetitive to triumph in Vienna, even if it would be likely to qualify. Romeo and Casanova didn’t work for Norway. I can’t imagine Cinderella would provide the magic this time around either. My hunch is that Alexandra won’t go to the ball.

3. En Godt Stekt Pizza (Staysman & Lazz)
I’m a bit scared by the photos of this duo and certainly the singing is dubious in the least, but musically it’s quite enjoyable. An amalgam of hillbilly and rock, it might benefit from being sung in English as the lyric is harsh to say the least. It’s a novelty that sounds fun on first listening, but I suspect it would get very annoying after a few listens. Yee-Har indeed.

4. Heaven (Contrazt)
If Elisabeth and Tor are a throwback to another Eurovision golden era, Contrazt are a throwback to something far less impressive from the annals of time. It really does sound like something from a national final from the 80’s that stood no chance of ever making it to the Eurovision stage and it certainly is unimaginable it would do so this year. It’s not offensive, but it’s just bland to the point of pointlessness.

5. Human Beings (Karin Park)
I expected a lot more from this track, but it never really seems to deliver the anticipated promise. Karin’s rather flat delivery suggests she’s building to something dramatic, but the chorus just falls away. Lyrically it’s interesting and it has a good melody. It just doesn’t go anywhere and would need a truly stunning live performance to lift it from the ordinary to being a contender.

6. Louder (Raylee)
Right from the start, ‘Louder’ sounds familiar. It’s got a really catchy beat and despite the staccato production, it does register in the memory. It just doesn’t sound very fresh. As I tried to imagine where I’d heard it before and concentrate on the lyric, it abruptly ended, which leaves an even bigger sense of dissatisfaction. It won’t be going to Vienna methinks, but if by some fluke it does, I’d be very surprised to hear it in the final.

7. A Monster Like Me (Kjetil Mørland & Debrah Scarlett)
What a drama. Very dark lyrics that bring back memories of Hungary’s song of child abuse from Copenhagen 2014. I didn’t care much for that effort, but I’m really hooked by this powerful duet. Debrah has a very distinctive voice that reminds me of another singer I can’t place. She blends effortlessly with Mørland and it really is a strong, dramatic effort that could score very well in Vienna. This would have to be my pick for Norway.

8. Next To You (Jenny Langlo)
Another strong, but somehow familiar voice. Jenny delivers this really powerfully, but the chorus is rather over produced and her voice somewhat fades into the production when it should be the focus. For that reason, the song fails to deliver and unless it’s rescued by a stellar live performance, I can’t imagine it resonating with the MGP voters. Good track, but not a Eurovision song.

9. Ta Meg Tilbake (Marie Klåpbakken)
A stark contrast to the only other song in Norwegian, Marie really does have a strong voice that sounds very appealing. There are quite a few musical styles fighting for attention in this track and the chorus comes as a surprise as it doesn’t seem to follow where the verse was taking us. Lots of violins and folk sounds, but not entirely successfully deployed.

10. Thunderstruck (Erlend Bratland)
Not terribly keen on Erlend’s voice. A rather flat opening immediately put me on the defensive and he seems to struggle with the range of the song throughout, which doesn’t bode well for the live performance. It has a very catchy, strong chorus, but getting there is somewhat tedious. The writers would have been better served extending the chorus and cutting back on the dramatic lulls.

11. We Don’t Worry (Ira Konstantinidis)
From her name, I don’t know if Ira is a Norwegian native or from a recent generation of settlers, but this is definitely the least ‘Scandi’ sounding of all the songs on offer. It’s let down terribly by the addition of «Oops, upside my head» which is a great shame, as it otherwise it’s got a lot going for it. With the right live presentation, this could be a real contender in Vienna based on all that’s been selected thus far. I’d expect it to be a contender in MGP, but probably not the winner.

Vi takker både O’Connor og våre fire andre gjesteskribenter for velvillig å ha delt sine synspunkter med oss denne uken.

Du kan lese de andre vurderingene ved å følge linkene under.

Tilrettelagt av Eivind Charlie M. Sætre