Norway Melodi Grand Prix Semi Final 4 - Aussievision picks

This weekend is the fourth semi final of the Norwegian national final 'Melodi Grand Prix'.

This semi final features artists from 'Western Norway' who will compete in head to head battles for a place in the Grand Final.

The songs and artists were released earlier this week, and the Aussievision team each chose their favourite entries...

Here are the results:

1st: Magnus Bokn - 'Over the Sea' (4 votes)

Steve: "Probably the toughest semi-final for me in terms of picking a favourite. Each song has its merits and negatives. After much deliberation, I’ll go for the folksy, “Irish fishing village” (I can totally see boats, fishing nets and smiling Irish people ☘️) ‘Over The Sea’ as it has charmed me. I think the rousing chorus and key change helped greatly."

Fleur: "Another difficult choice this week with songs that are good but not great. I have chosen ‘Over The Sea’ for the only reasons being that I like it and I could see it at Eurovision. It has a folk, country, pop sound with no specific genre overpowering it too much to alienate listeners, which is a tick in my book. Magnus, who is another graduate of 'Idol' and 'The Voice' has written the song with former MGP winners - Alexander Rybak and JOWST. Hopefully he has the right formula to reach the final."

Aaron: "Magnus' voice is quite pleasant to listen to, especially at the start, and I feel like he fits into this song well. It's my favourite of the four. The only issue I really have with this is that it feels like a folk-pop sandwich. It changes into a bit of a pop track mid-way, and I lose it a bit, before the more folksy style kicks back in and gets the energy back up.

Dale: "This feels very manufactured folksy.... but I can't help but like it! Immediately pleasing, I enjoyed the full three minutes without being wowed. Will lend itself to some good staging, can see this being popular."

2nd: Oda Loves You - 'Love Who We Love' (3 votes)

Emma: "A very now sounding track that is radio friendly but could also really go off in a stadium setting.  The title of the song is also in keeping with what Eurovision is all about.  It’s a catchy bop but staging will be all important here...this one definitely needs some backup dancers to get the message across."

Guy: "While this doesn’t totally float my boat, I think it’s the best of this round. I do like that it has a bit of a banger chorus, which we’re not seeing a lot of so far this year."

Laura: "The chorus is ridiculously catchy! From the simple pop structure to the positive lyrics (in English!) and even a name that harkens back to Guildo (Germany’s 1998 entrant who sang ‘Guildo Hat Euch Lieb’) of all people, it’s very Eurovision-by-numbers but with the right staging this could do very well! Personally I find it a little bit safe, but taking risks doesn’t always pay off."

3rd: Hege Bjerk – 'Pang' (2 votes)

Kyriakos: "I find Hege’s song the most catchiest out of the selection and the one I can picture doing something more interesting stage wise. It has a chorus that is really it’s hook, which invites you to join in. The songs’ subject matter about how an eating disorder can take over your life is interesting yet different. It’s always good to address taboos."

Mike: "Hege has an interesting vocal tone and her use of the Jærsk dialect sets this apart. It’s modern, quirky and the production choices gives this some real punch. My pick of the four for this semi final."

4th: Nordic Tenors - 'In This Special Place' (0 votes)

The fourth semi final takes place 19:50 CET Saturday 1 February which is 05:50 AEDT Sunday 26 January. You can watch it live at https://www.nrk.no/mgp/

Follow @aussievisionnet on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram for up to date details.