While singing “Silent Storm” at Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix, Carl Espen frequently closed his eyes. It wasn’t a theatrical flourish. Over the course of three minutes he ferried the audience through sorrow and pain, disappointment and despair. Under that emotional weight, you’d close your eyes, too.
Carl’s voice carries meloncholy well, and any imperfections actually work in his favor. The occasional cracks and warbles fit with a performance about human frailty. Unlike so many Eurovision ballads, “Silent Storm” doesn’t rely on Carl singing louder and louder. His emotions are real. He drives the song with sincerity.
As recounted in his official biography, he served in the Norwegian military, including a stint in Kosovo, and has worked as a carpenter and moonlighted as a doorman at a rock bar. You could call him a jack-of-all-trades. But his varied career choices also suggest an inner turmoil, and an ongoing search to fill the void he so movingly sings about. The tattoos on his arm don’t smack of a gangster, but rather a creative type looking to tell a story.
We know he’s suffering, but we don’t know why: “I’m here to use my heart and my hands/ Somehow the bruises changed my plans.” He has to deal with all of this on his own. The storm rages but no one else can hear it.
Carl’s performance isn’t slick—nor should it be. Like a Per Petterson novel it’s sparse and raw and to the point. That’s one reason the live version is superior to the digitally re-mastered video below. Covering the cracks with gloss removes the vulnerability that makes this song so worthwhile.
Fortunately Eurovision is a live event, so we’ll hear Carl as we should.
Silent storm lyrics
Head to toe
Flesh and bones?
Should feel whole
But the void
A silent storm?
I’m here to use my heart and my hands
Somehow the bruises changed my plans?
And there’s a silent storm inside me
Looking for a home
I hope that someone’s gonna find me
And say that I belong
I’ll wait forever and a lifetime
To find I’m not alone
There’s a silent storm inside me
and someday I’ll be calm
Someday I’ll be calm
Ask myself
What comes next
Will I fly??
Will I fall?
My silent storm?
I’m here to use my heart and my hands ?
Somehow the bruises changed my plans?
And there’s a silent storm inside me
Looking for a home
I hope that someone’s gonna find me
And say that I belong
I’ll wait forever and a lifetime
To find I’m not alone
And there’s a silent storm inside me
Someday I’ll be calm
And someday I’ll be calm
And someday I’ll be calm
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Willy Lee Adams contributed this report from London. You can keep up-to-date on the latest Eurovision news and gossip by following the team on Twitter @wiwibloggs and by liking our Facebook page.
I agree with Vicky Carina Barcelona: best ballad, best song, beautiful voice, great performance. I voted for this song. I wish Carl Espen good luck in his carreer as a singer. I certainly hope to hear more from him.
Sorry did you just refer to people who normally have tattoos as gangsters? Haha come to the UK, it’s full of gangsters. This song is amazing, when I first heard it I wasn’t impressed but now it actually makes me cry the passion s so real. Not a winner though surely.
@Charles: I get where you are coming from and I do like Carl’s song a lot. But I would really love to hear it from a singer who would have the vocal abilities to make it fly and make me cry by hearing it every single time. As much as I like Carl and I respect he focuses on the feeling of the song, I can’t help but get distracted by his poor performance at the second half of the song where his voice just can’t reach the high melody. A great example of what I’m saying is Sanna’s song… Read more »
Ballad of the year my arse!!!
I’m not sure if I love it, or I hate it. But obviously this is not an ordinary song.
Too overrated.
Armenia, Montenegro, Sweden, San Marino and Azerbaijan have the best ballads of 2014.
I’ve heard better ballads in previous years. In 2013, for an example, the songs from San Marino, Iceland, Moldova, Estonia, Azerbaijan and Israel.
In 2012, from Serbia, Estonia, B&H, Slovenia, Iceland, Finland and Portugal.
Anyway.
“Silent Storm” is a good song. But not the best.
Honestly, honestly, I think this is gonna flop like Haba-Haba, I hope not, but I think the whole entry is just gonna get lost
This is not the best ballad. Spain is. Undoubtedly.
I respect any tough background the singer is coming from. However, the song is boring and the stage presence looks like the singer really doesn’t care. For me the best ballads of the year are from Spain and San Marino BY A MILE!!!!
Hands down the best ballad and also the best song of all this year. Full of emotions and beautiful lyrics. Needs improvent for may, but so does most song this year. I think this will be amazing on stage in may with the improvment that surly will come. It was much better already in the final compared to the semifinal.
I do love this one. It’s not a ESC type song. It’s somehow close to Jewel or Tory Amos. It’s very good.
As for the Greece or Hungary music, it’s also not a up-beat esc dance format. Those 3 countrys are my top 3. For 4 and 5 place, The UK and, yes, Latvia -it’s so simple and lovely.
@Charles – FYI Armenia’s entry was NOT written by the Swedes!
I think Armenia, Sweden and Austria have the best ballads that is if you consider Armenia’s entry as a ballad.
It surprises me when people say that this song could win. It won’t win. He’s not a good singer and the stage presence is awful to be honest. This will be Hungary 2011 all over again.
I listen the song from Montenegro and Sweden more often, for their ballad
@Dhani: You should make an anti-Scandinavian petition and force everybody to agree to sign it … in case you have nothing worth to do with your life .. or in case you still have a hard time accepting this is still a SONG contest (regardless from which country every song comes from), but u have proved to be a dummy survivor unable to understand that … or you are desperate to go to a sunny place. Well … take vacations and go to Greece … you don’t need Eurovision for that. 🙂 Say hi to fat Helena when u get… Read more »
@Mt: As if Ruslana, Helena Papacrap or Lordi were musical geniuses with a lot of musical craft and brilliance within their music …
The song is excellent, but he is a diabolical singer.
Straining to hit notes =/= emotion
If a different singer had been chosen, this could have been a brilliant song. Unfortunately, his inability to sing kills it.
I will say, this song is stuck in my head like nothing else right now. Quite a pretty composition.
The crappiest song I have ever heard in the history of ESC.
How could this possibly get points at the semi?
There is no music in it at all.
Not a fan. It reminds me a bit of Norway 2010. Though Didrik had better vocals (before ESC at least) and much more charisma.
Norway flopped big time in 2011 and also 2012 and in a way even 2010. I think it might happen again this year.
I absolutely love it. @Charles, you couldn’t have said it any better. I was thinking the exact same thing about those damn grannies and dancing Hershey kiss. It’s a beautiful song and if it wins, I couldn’t be any happier. Norway should be proud of themselves for sending this man to Eurovision.
i hope so much that he won’t win!!!! i cannot accept if we’re gonna have a eurovision contest in the nordics for the 3rd time in a row! more countries will drop out then, too!
As people have said it’s up there with the great Eurovision ballads and I think it is by far and away the best proper ballad this year. In my opinion it’s up there with “Kuula” and this maybe a very controversial opinon but it’s almost on a par with my favourtie ballad of all time (not just in Eurovision terms, in all music) which is Rona Nishliu’s “Suus” because that song was amazing and so heartfelt and “Silent Storm” echoes the same anguish and pain that “Suus” gave out. Both songs bring me to tears if I properly listen to… Read more »
I appreciate that it’s a good song. Melancholy and emotion are no excuses for a mediocre or poor vocal performance, though. If anything, the capacity to channel melancholy and emotion should make your performance better! Listening to this one again, it sounds like he could sing it better if it were several keys lower. He’s really straining to hit those higher notes which aren’t all that high. That’s really likely all he needs to change. It’s hard for me to be moved by a singer who’s not singing properly and who I know could very well do it better. It’s… Read more »
Are you seri… really?
No. Just no.
In my opinion, is not the best ballad of the year.
Armenia and Montenegro have the best songs.
I think it’s… MONTENEGRO!
Sweden is a product. Nothing special.
NOT AT ALL
by the way, the song is better than the artist, could he express something? Thanks.
I fully agree 100% with what Wiwibloggs commented on Silent Storm … anyone who does not like this song it’s pretty much because they cannot feel it and understand from where the singer is coming from to deliver the type of minimalistic performance he did. Carl is being as humble as he can be … not letting himself be the centre of the attention but instead letting the SONG speak for itself. He has never been a professional singer, and he does not hide that, he has never been on stage before and he does not hide that either …… Read more »
I really hope that Norway will win this year.. I adore this song! 🙂
1. Montenegro
2. Moldova (if you count that as a ballad)
3. Armenia
4. Austria
5. Azerbaijan
6. UK
7. Belgium
8. Sweden
9. San Marino
10. Albania
11. Spain
All but the last two I love.
Not the best ballad at all. The song is nice, nothing special, and Carl’s live voice isn’t good at all to be honest. Don’t understand the hype around it. The best ballads in the competition in my opinion are Azerbaijan and Sweden. Armenia’s good too but I don’t really consider that a ballad. Same with the UK.
One of the worst ballads. He cannot sing.
Top 5 ballads, in my opinion:
1.Azerbaijan
2.Austria
3.Sweden
4.Armenia
5.Montenegro
Spain is also up there.
Best Eurovision ballad since Kuula
not just best ballad. best song!!!! luv