Norway’s six-week-long national selection process is almost at an end. The country’s entry for Eurovision 2021 will be chosen during the final of Melodi Grand Prix 2021 on Saturday. And now NRK has revealed the show’s running order. Atle Pettersen will kick proceedings off with “World On Fire” while Jorn will close with “Faith Bloody Faith”.
The running order also confirms that all 12 songs will be in English. Stavangerkameratene publically announced their language-switch shortly after performing in semi-final two. Meanwhile, TIX had hinted at changing to English, but there was nothing official before now.
Melodi Grand Prix 2021: Final running order
- Atle Pettersen – “World On Fire”
- Raylee – “Hero”
- Stavangerkameratene – “Who I Am”
- KIIM – “My Lonely Voice”
- Blåsemafian feat. Hazel – “Let Loose”
- Emmy – “Witch Woods”
- TIX – “Fallen Angel”
- Kaja Rode – “Feel Again”
- Rein Alexander – “Eyes Wide Open”
- IMERIKA – “I Can’t Escape”
- KEiiNO – “Monument”
- Jorn – “Faith Bloody Faith”
Melodi Grand Prix 2021 — Running order reactions
February evenings might be chilly in Norway, but Saturday is starting off hot as Atle Pettersen will be first out of the blocks with “World On Fire”. He’s undaunted about opening the final. “A great honour…I do not know if it is an advantage or a disadvantage, the most important thing is the three minutes you are on stage. That is when you have to deliver the best you can because that is what people should vote for”.
Eurovision 2019 stars KEiiNO will be the penultimate act of the evening. They say: “We got what many considered a “difficult position” in Eurovision 2019, but it went well anyway”. Tom adds that “when we got the order, we saw how sick a good show it will be on Saturday. We think it’s really cool to get warm-up for Jorn, which is a very good choice to end the party with a bang”.
Head of Delegation Stig Karlsen had the final say on the running order. “The order has been prepared with a goal of spreading the songs so that each artist and song stands out in the best possible way in the big picture. And in line with those choices, also ensure a varied and good TV broadcast”, he explains. “In addition, we always have technical and logistical challenges, related to scene changes and production that also contribute to the choices we make. The order has now been set, but there will always be a small reservation about changes when our plans are now to be tested in practice”.
What do you think of the MGP running order? Where are your favourites positioned? Sound off below.
Sadly making history now as the year when the Norwegian language finally died, as I can’t ever imagine MGP having had a 100% english song selection before. ;-(
Atle Pettersen, underrated!!! He’s like the Norwegian version of Danny Montell.
i think it’s a mistake for tix to switch to english. singing in norwegian would’ve made his entry stand out.
I heard a snippet of an English version of his insta and it sounded promising.
TIX may be popular in Norway but in the other countries people will feel they say see an arrogant bloke with a very silly staging. This could easily be a NQ. Raylee looks ok, but I do not think the jury will give many points. In the end Norway has only one option to score at ESC 21 and that is KEIINO.
I completely agree with you that TIX probably wouldn’t qualify from SF1.
KEiiNO are an obvious Top 10 for Norway, and have the potential to at least win the televote again if they get the staging right.
Glad that Raylee is 2nd in de running order. She is the most overrated artist ever and doesn’t deserve better.
Thats Keiino …She opened last year as well the grand final, its clear that NRK wants Keiino win, but they will not win ESC with that trash song …
Agree on the song!!! At least someone things the same way.
Keiino is the most overrated act, at least raylee have the 80s references on point and her choreography have a lot of energy, but keiino is just a random mess triying to showcase everything that made then famous in one song, obviously NRK put then in the perfect place to win.
KEiiNO’s song is pretty good but TIX is lever higher. Hope he will win.
TIX’ song is honestly very average. People mostly like it because it was in Norwegian. I won’t be surprised if it turns out to be that the majority begins to dislike his translated English version.
I know so many people who like TIX and his song because of it’s soft melody and thoughtful lyrics. We’ve already saw a part of English lyrics and it is very strong and closely connected with staging. Also, he has his original style which can be likely to Eurovision audience.
Agree!
Imerika has the best song, Tix has the most powerful fanbase (inside Norway), Raylee has the best show, Emmy has the “out of the box” entry, and I still think Blåsemafian’s song is the dark horse. And Rein and Horn have support from faithful fans… So, it won’t be easy for Keiino. “Monument” is a beautiful song, but lacks charisma, one that “Spirit In The Sky” had. I find them quite overrated this year; eurofans are giving them more credit than they deserve having into account “Monument” is not THAT strong entry. You can’t deny the quality of this NF.… Read more »
Agreeee with Keiino
Didn’t knew english was the official language in Norway.
It is one of the official languages , yes
One song I find EXTREMELY underrated is Kaja Rode’s Feel Again. It’s a really good and powerful song with an interesting structure, great lyrics, and a singer with a fantastic voice (those high notes…). I don’t understand how it can be so low in all those rankings.
Its a schlager. Dull and boring thats what it is. Nothing interesting about its structure!!!
it’s the worst song in there imo. her lisp is way too noticeable, and i feel uncomfortable listening to it bc it feels like she’s running out of breath anytime.
KEIINO boosted? Yeah maybe. I’m still rooting for Atle Peterson (killed by the running order) and IMERIKA. KIIM and TIX are good too.
If nothing changed, 4 qualify to a second round and than 2 to the final round, right? So, I don’t think running order is a big deal, though I think it’s weird to put Raylee 2nd, especially when Stavangerkamaratene e KiiM will perform back to back with calmer songs right after her and Atle.
Raylee gets the death slot then and Keiino the pimp slot.
My ranking is… KEiino Emmy Jorn IMERIKA I think I Can’t Escape is probably the BEST song, but I don’t necessarily want it to WIN, because I know we’re promised similar fare from Roxen and Victoria )’: Whereas I don’t see anything like the other three as much! And even if they’re less likely to win Eurovision, I like seeing a mix of fun stuff. That’s why Witch Woods is so high for me – it’s not GREAT per se, but it’s just so much quirky fun and you know it’d be a blast to watch on Eurovision! Overall though… Read more »
I think people are really underestimating Emmy and Atle Pettersen. I strongly suspect they will be in the Top 6 with Keiino, Imerika, Raylee and Tix. Pretty sure Keiino and Imerika will be in the top 4, and any of the remaining 4 may grab the last 2 spots.
We only ever get to know the top 4 in this stupid voting system that norway has. So 5th and 6th wont be known, ever… Unfortunately.
I still think it will be between Keiino and Tix, with Imerika as a dark horse.
i don’t think keiino is as popular as eurofans make them. I really love them, but looking at streams, TIX is way more popular, and we all know what juries think.
The most voted ones will be KEiiNO and IMERIKA. In my opinion, KEiiNO has proved that they have lots of fans in and out of Norway. Most probably we are gonna watch another fascinating up-tempo performance in ESC show.
They are obviously favoring KEiiNO, giving them a good slot. Same as last year, with Ulrikke… Raylee is robbed once again, as last year they gave her opening act
Pfft robbed? Imagine calling a bad song robbed. Stop being a simp and get to reality.
Agree!
All of these songs are really good!
My top:
1, KEiiNO
2, IMERIKA
3, Atle Pettersen
4, Raylee
5, Blåsemafian ft. Hazel
6, TIX
7, Stavangerkameratene
8, Jorn
9, Kaja Rode
10, Rein Alexander
11, KIM
12, Emmy
I can’t fanthom honestly why TiX is so high up… I feel if he was to go to ESC he would be a NQ for Norway which is a shame especially when you have songs like KeiiNO, Jorn and Raylee.
Can you imagine if Jorn wins and Lillasyster wins it for Sweden? All that would be left for Finland to have Blind Channel going up and we’ll have a bit of a Nordic Metal Fest (not that I will complain 😀 )
You repeat yourself, but yes, I’d like the idea 🙂
Yeah it’s different pages so 😛 I do honestly think Jorn will be the biggest surprise of the MGP though. The last position did give him a boost up.
TiX if he sings in English will most probably lose most of the appeal of the Norwegian followers. Song is quite forgettable but yeah sometimes popularity wins you stuff even if your song is downright average.
In that case they would all cancel each other out and none of them get almost any points and all loose out in the semis. Rock does best when there is almost no other rock songs in the contest. Oh by the way..there is another rock song in this weekends semifinal in Sweden as well.
Finally, now that silly Angel act performance by TIX in the first semi will actually make some sense!
Thanks for reminding me. At least “Monument” will offer us some bilingual realness.
TiX sings in English??? Noooooo 🙁
I am not happy with then putting Raylee second, but her song is strong and performance excellent that it might not matter that much in the end… I have always suspected TIX, KEiiNO, Jorn and probably blåsemafiaen to get to the final 4 – All from the first semifinal. Usually 2nd slot in Eurovision or Melodifestivalen is reserved for a no-hoper or someone qualifying in 10th position from semis in Eurovison. Or well, in other countries fanfavorites are put 2nd to really ruin the fanfavorites chances in those respective countries. But as said, Raylees song and performance will overcome this… Read more »
good
It’s weird that they put Raylee second, KIIM fourth, Blasemafian fifth but
KEiiNO eleventh. It’s so obvious that they want this….
In the final round of voting there is just 2 acts if Keiino makes it there may be a big anti-Keinno vote because people want someone new to go. I personaly want Keiino but there are lots of great tracks
You r right. And therefore they shouldn’t let foreigners vote at all. The should resume to sms voting.
Raylee!!!
She won’t win but still, Hero is the best!
Everyone needs to stop freaking out about Raylee being slotted in the “death slot”. Norway literally proved that you could win out of the death slot YESTERDAY when Jorn won the wildcard out of spot 2 of 15. I have no doubt Raylee will still qualify into the top 4 from slot 2
U realise people actually didn’t watch the show? So many just tuned in to vote for their act, probably havent watched any of the semis, and didnt even care about the other songs. They tuned in, voted and changed channel. Songs were presented from first semi to 5th semi so there wasnt really a “running” order. Jorn did great with mass mobilisation in social media… He had 4 weeks to do it, unlike, for example RIVER that only had 2 days to do it. Not quite fair of NRK to make it like this… Many many flaws in this system.
Honestly I’m sick of it: each country seems to be Lithuania this year: you want to see KEiiNO back to the ESC, just send them and don’t use your running order to pretend that it’s the people’s choice.
You are not compelled to vote for KEiiNO just because they are placed 11th, you know? The final result will be people’s choice, unless they have another mishap with the APP voting (but it would be quite a scandal if it repeats).
If you’re sick of it, don’t watch it. Simples.
Really hope it won’t be Keiino. The song is much weaker than 2019 they got better songs this year quite a few of them like Raylee & Imerika for example 🙂
Yes! Raylee & Imerika have very good songs
Agree, but I guess I have to live with that they will pick them…
Put Raylee at #2? I think NRK may don’t want her to win.
Yes, Verona and Yodel It both won from the 2nd spot because the televoters *really* wanted them to win. However, placing a song in the 2nd spot (unless it’s a random draw) indicates that the broadcaster doesn’t have the biggest wish for it to win. They are still not in charge of the jury nor the voters, though. Anything can happen in a fair voting process.
If it is like in the last few years, the first round should include both televoting and the juries, while the second should be 100% televote. However, I think that the last year had some changes in having planned 100% televote from the get-go. Those changes were scrapped, as online voting crashed, so the first round was decides solely by the juries. Key people from NRK were criticized for it, so they promised that the online voting will be intact this year. We’ll see on Saturday. I am excited to watch it.
I share your opinion, I am not a fan of Tix switching to English but hopefully that won’t affect my opinion on the song
Seems an odd choice to put Raylee 2nd. And she was 1st last year! She has drawn the short straw twice.
ok, seriously, you gave raylee first last year…now second- what is it next year? third, like stop doing her so dirty.
Her song isn’t good, she doesn’t deserve better.
so you’re obviously hating on her in every single comment? ?
Big push to Keiino. I’m not against it, haha. They’re my absolute favorite to win the whole contest!
I loved keiino in 2019, but don’t (yet) love monument. It’s such a good selection that so many of the songs can get a good result for Norway, but for me I’d love it if TIX, Raylee, IMERIKA or Blåsemafian feat. Hazel won 🙂
This is a crowded final, so the running order will of course be of interest. I think Stig did a good job there. There are only really two “slow” songs in the entire final (“My Lonely Voice” and “I Can’t Escape”) – both are surrounded by either loud bands or other theatrics, so both slow numbers won’t lose out. Keiino and Jorn have the prime positions at the end. The only other interesting part is the 6-7 transition from “Witch Woods” to “Fallen Angel” – both of these are heavy costume shows, so I am guessing there might be a… Read more »
I guess that there will be a break between 6 and 7, right in the middle of the show. Other option would be two smaller breaks between 4 and 5 and between 8 and 9, but judging by the running order, I think they want to highlight both Emmy and TIX. I am pleasantly surprised that the song with a most difficult path to the finals (Faith Bloody Faith) got the ”pimp spot”. Even if it is just to make KEiiNO stand out more, it’s still a nice gesture. Surprised (and a bit disappointed) to see Raylee at 2nd, but… Read more »
All valid points. Actually, Jorn has an advantage already because it beat 13 other entries to win it’s wildcard; that’s proven winning power there. The viral video of supporters no doubt helped with that.
He even beat the legendary farmers, so he must be outstanding! 🙂
(And no, this isn’t sarcasm, I just have a weird taste sometimes. 😉 )
No, that’s just good sarcasm. 🙂
Oh, you are correct. I forgot an entry, looks like.
Remember in norway you just have to make the Top 4 and then the voting resets. Anyone can still win and by that I mean one of Keiino , IMERIKA , TIX , Raylee or Emmy . Going by bookmakers odds which coincide with my taste.
Thanks, I forgot about that. It certainly didn’t help Laila Samuels’ “Afterglow” in 2016.
Afterglow was my favorite that year. But it was staged poorly… So unfortunate. Would have been a great eurovision entry. Gotta listen to it right now 🙂
Laila was 7th in the running order that year , the songs on 6,7,9 and 10 made the gold final.
Laila performed first in the gold final and finished fourth though. Don’t know how she placed in the first round vote.
Yeah but if the running order ruins your chance of progressing to the Top 4 then you’ve had it
I get it z running order will be a concern for songs fighting for 3rd place or 4th but a bad running order won’t make u slip from 1st place to 5th place. So songs not qualifying were not going to win anyways.
TIX should have kept his song in Norwegian. Stavangerkameratene doesn’t matter, because that song is boring anyway.
They REALLY want KEiiNO to win, don’t they? Just because it’s KEiiNO. It is one of the weakest songs in the final. Watch it qualify over Croatia just because it’s Norway, even though Croatia’s entry is much better. Smh.
What a ridiculous comment
Why? Not everyone will like Keiino keep it real
It’s more like the opposite—both Wild and Hero are high energy numbers that are well-placed at the beginning of the show to engage the audience and keep them from switching off.
The producers may know from the voting that she’s unlikely to win, in which case they may use her performance to serve the show rather than the show needing to serve her chances to win.
Offtopic:
Benny Cristo’s song for Eurovision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oduzB_nYEdE
Owhhh Myyy Gahhh, owhhh myyy gahhh; why don’t you let me Av it!
😀
I don’t know if that’s the one but It’s a lot of fun, great stuff. Plus it’s so… British!!
I’m really glad to see the interview William did with Raylee. I *wish* this was the Raylee we saw on stage, because she comes across really well—sweet but fierce, intelligent and authentic. I just don’t get any of that from the contrived aesthetics her team keep giving her. As William says, Raylee’s stage presence is as a dancer as much as a singer and I’m sure she could win MGP in the future if she comes back with something that really comes from within her and feels true and original.
Luckily there will be the 2nd round with the 4 best acts so in the end running order won’t be the biggest problem
Unless the running order ruins your chances into progressing into the 2nd round
That’s the end of Raylee!
Nah, she still has many more years left. 🙂
Gladly so. She is nothing special.
I know Jorn might not win but I really hope he does well. I really enjoy rock at Eurovision and it’s not something we get all the time so it would be good to see him go but unfortunately I don’t think it’s his year due to people like some other songs more. Closing the show is going to be awesome no matter what. Good Luck Jorn bloody Jorn.
Keiino is winning
No. 6, 10 and 11 are my loved ones.