On Saturday TIX literally spread his wings in the grand final of Melodi Grand Prix 2021, winning one of the toughest finals in recent memory. And on Monday — with TIX’s gold chains freshly polished and his dark angels still limber from the weekend — NRK got to work filming the back-up performance for Eurovision 2021.
As you’ll remember, the EBU has taken the wise and practical decision to have all contestants film a back-up recording ahead of Eurovision. This is to safeguard the contest amid the ongoing and ever-changing pandemic. The pre-recorded performances can be used if a delegation can’t make it to Eurovision, or if an artist has to quarantine on-site at ESC.
NRK shared a snap of the recording on Instagram and Twitter.
For å bekrefte, TIX vil synge den engelske låten «Fallen Angel» i Eurovision 2021 for Norge.
— Melodi Grand Prix (@NRKmgp) February 22, 2021
Stig Karlsen, head of MGP and Norway’s Head of Delegation, says it went very well.
“Today we have recorded what could be TIX and Norway’s performance during the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. We all dream of traveling to Rotterdam to contribute to and be part of a music festival for 200 million people, but if that is impossible the ‘live on tape’ recordings luckily mean that Eurovision will take place this year, even if we are not allowed to travel to the Netherlands.”
Norway is the very first of the 41 participating countries to deliver their taped performance. Stig adds that his crew followed all the rules and instructions, as delivered by the EBU and the Dutch host broadcasters.
“TIX and the production team were on fire during today’s recording, and were cheered on by a very satisfied committee from the EBU and the Dutch broadcaster.”
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And what about TIX himself?
“The dream is of course to travel to Rotterdam, so I hope it will take place. It was amazing to tape the recording today. We have actually only had one day to prepare and adjust what may be our contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest, but it seems that the entire NRK team feels they have a worthy contribution.”
“I have hardly slept since before the final, so now I am really ready to get home, check missed calls and take a shower.”
Tix will sing in English at Eurovision 2021
And that’s not the only news coming out of Oslo. NRK confirms that he will sing “Fallen Angel” — the English version of his song — rather than the Norwegian-language “Ut Av Mørket” from the semi-finals.
As the English-language lyrics make evident, the song is about a man’s battle with his personal demons. There’s a sense that he doesn’t feel deserving of love. As he sings: “I’m fighting all of my demons tryna tear me apart, and I’m still not sure what you ever saw in me…”
TIX to Norway: Ugly ducklings become swans
On stage he exudes the confidence of a performer with countless hits and the ease of an influencer who commands around 229,000 Instagram followers.
But, in an interview with Norwegian newspaper VG, TIX has said he wasn’t confident that he’d win the final. In fact, he tells the paper he was convinced Eurovision alums KEiiNO would win the night and book their place in Rotterdam.
His emotion was evident on stage in the moments after the announcement.
“Norway… I have felt like the ugly duckling for a very long time, both in the music industry and growing up,” he said. “It turns out that one day the duckling does become a swan.”
“I hope that all you ugly ducklings at home understand that one day everyone will see you as swans.”
In a text message to the newspaper, the bookies’ favourites KEiiNO said they were “incredibly disappointed.”
“We really felt we had the song and the show that would take home the victory at Eurovision. At the same time, we congratulate TIX on the win.”
Are you happy that TIX will keep the song in English? Are you as touched by his message as we are? Let us know down below!
Photo credit at top: NRK / Camilla Sand
Background and context for “Fallen Angel”: This video tells much about TIX’s music style and his standing among the people in Norway, especially the young. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbRQFhOJKDI
the song is not even good, i don’t get why some fans here are trying to hype it up.
I guess some people like what they like… I mean if we all loved, liked and did the same thing life would have no vibrancy and the Eurovision would be a one song show.
Roko Blazevic wants his wings backkk
The song is not that bad, though I am not saying it is a winner material. But the staging…hmm why so literal?
We shall start a petition to NRK that TIX should sing in Norwegian…?
On my side it is already clear…I won’t give any votes to ‘Fallen Angel’. On the other hand the Norwegian version ‘Ut Av Mørket’ would have scored very high in my ranking. So from 12 points to nul point… sorry Norway…? unless he starts with English and ends with Norwegian…
Honestly…who cares about the lyrics? The important is how the song sounds and how the artist is performing the song and transmits his emotions. The Norwegian version was more pleasant and sounds nicer.
I really think that you should all stop believing in all the polls you see around. You really thought Keiino were going to win among 26 song in MGP and then Eurovision even them three also believed it. And we all know what happened to them two years ago… Deserved televote but very bad with juries 🙁
People have gotta realise that it’s not just the nerdy Eurovision fandom who watch the show. Plenty of casual viewers who only care about the show during May tune in, and will be voting for their favourites, which in some cases will include TIX. Lots of viewers will only hear the English version, and have no clue that a Norwegian version even exists.
with the same hideous outfit ? Ok …
Yup … go research. Xxx
Indeed. I feel like a lot of the KEiiNO fans were getting ahead of themselves. Like, yeah, KEiiNO won the televote in 2019, but that itself was kind of a surprise really.
William, i think we need more posts about TIX this season. The hype is unbelievable. 😀
I dont see any problem that Norway get more attention right now as it is new entry. Still, that doesnt change my opinion aboyt the song.
Its too early to talk about odds but Norway in top 10 to me sound as a joke.
Me either. I was pretty serious. I’m excited!
I gotta be honest, I really didn’t like this when it won, but this really changed since Saturday. Though it’s probably not gonna be my personal winner this year, but I really do like it now. I do feel sad that he’s not using the Norwegian version though. Also, KEiiNO fans gotta get over themselves. I know how much it sucks when your fave doesn’t win, but at least have the decency to not give the artist who won fair and square the hate.
First of all, I have to say, this song is a big grower for me. I can’t get it out of my head and it has quickly became one of my favorites. I don’t know where is all the hate coming from. I understand that you do not have to like a song but calling it horrible or the worst song ever is an exaggeration. The first version of the song I’ve heard was in English but I also like Norwegian. However, I do not think that any version is significantly better than the other. I can understand why he… Read more »
“We really felt we had the song and the show that would take home the victory at Eurovision”. Guys calm down, I like you but it’s presomptuous to say that and not really true sorry, firstly your song, it’s a good song, a Keiino ‘s style song but nothing really incredible, phenomenal, breathtaking or special sorry. Imo thunder and gloria it’s really too much, it remains a good song but if this song was sung by an “unknown group” it would have less success and nobody would say it can be an esc winning song, people are biased because Keiino… Read more »
I also didn’t like this comment… It never seems fair to me to speak like that about someone’s own song. Everyone believes in their entry and it is okay, but everyone should know that it is a competition and no one can be sure that they will win, so I don’t think anyone should feel disappointed in this way…
Yes true, of course you have to believe in your song, but to say you have the absolute formula to win the whole thing, it’s too much, you can think it even if it’s not the reality, but don’t say it, it’s so pretentious.
Being entirely confident in one’s song is a positive thing, I wouldn’t consider it presumptuous. At least KEiiNO are 100% convinced about what they do, I honestly wish more artists had that attitude towards their songs. Monument truly is a song they can be proud of and it’s without doubt that they have grown a lot over the past two years. On the other hand, I think it was a bit naive of them to think that they had good chances to win Eurovision when the winner often cannot be predicted so easily, especially not when the other entries they’d… Read more »
Being sure that your song is good and believing in it is one thing and claiming that you have 100% of everything to win is another thing. It just sounds arrogant. Eurovision is full of good songs, anyone could win and you can never be really sure who will be the winner. Either way, you have to accept the results. It seems that some fans trear KEiiNO like some kind of Eurovision gods, who are a perfect recipe to win, just because they won televote once…
Why would anybody love the lyrics? Imagine being in love and be told “you are too good for me “. So cynical.
I don’t wanna comment on his song but I do want to point out that if his currently filming his performance or if he’s already finish with it, then we can totally see what scenario is going to happen in Eurovision, even if all 3 remaining scenarios allows pre-filmed performances. I mean, if it’s scenario B, he can still perform in Rotterdam and NRK or TIX himself can just release his pre-filmed performance later on or just use the pre-filmed and not go. If it’s scenario C or D, NRK has no choice but to use the pre-filmed performance. Either… Read more »
They’re recording it as a precaution, everyone does it. And even if Scenario D is going to happen, that doesn’t mean Eurovision will “never be as it was before”. Stop being so dramatic.
So there goes the song down in my ranking. I had it at number 4 assuming it was the Norwegian version. Now it’s going to second last (only Spain’s song is worse) after it’s been confirmed it will be in English.
The same for me. Very disappointed that the English version has been chosen.
Did he fire a dark angel to fit into the six person rule?
Back to the pits of hell(ish staging).
They probably had to draw straws lmao
This means they are not going to change much about the performance and I just gonna say I really wanna give a chance to Tix after Keiino’s and Jorn’s loss, but the song is just really forgettable
Oh no. This’s gonna be epic fail. As much as i love the song, i hate the staging. I’m gonna listen to the song with my eyes wide shut in May.
I would easily cope with bad staging if the song is good. Unfortunately this is the worst possible scenario- bad song is bad song.
I think it’s hilarious how everyone is assuming that TIX is going to do poorly and that only teenage Norwegians who can’t vote will care about him when back in 2016 Frans who ALSO appeals mostly to teenage girls competed with a mediocre song with mediocre staging and still managed 5th even though Swedes couldn’t vote for him.
Like hmmmm maybe teenage girls are more powerful than you think they are
Sweden gets votes just for being Sweden.
If I were sorry was actually a decent song.
But this one….
If I Were Sorry sounded very much like a chart friendly song from 2016 though. Fallen Angel is a fine enough song but this is not the comparison I would cite.
I’ve always said it, the power of boners is stronger than the power of being a past televote winner hahah. Also don’t forget Dina Bilan’s win in 2008, he also had a huge teenage girl audience.
Not assuming anything. It is the result of a dispassionate analysis of the entry, which has determined that the song and the staging objectively suck and people who don’t know who he is won’t vote for them. Including teenage girls.
Another post looking for sympathy to deflect from an absolute trash entry.
The entire TIX package (song, staging, promotion) is a total embarrassment! Ashamed to be Norwegian!
I think he’ll be like Norway 2012
Probably!
This reminds of 2005 when Sweden could have sent Alcazar who would have won Eurovision. Instead they sent something that came in almost last. Somehow the swedes got caught up in the hype and ignored Alcazar because they weren’t new. This is what happened to Keiino.
Nanne won the televote that year…and rightfully so.
Nanne was better than Stenmarck. But Alcazar would have won Eurovision.
Against Helena Paparizou? Nothing was beating her that year. There’s a reason she’s the most successful 2000s winner in terms of post career success…
It’s a trash beyond languages. He can sing it in Swedish if he wants to. Doesn’t really matter at all.
Shame. Sounded better in Norwegian.
Good decision, it will make the performance more accessable 🙂 Btw I am a Keiino stan, but people really need to calm down and give other acts a spot at Eurovision, too ^^
Every year there are a few selections of singers/groups who generate a ton of hype and buzz in their country, and so many people in that country get lost in the hype, they think the singer/group must be the best selection for eurovison.
But then at eurovision, nobody else outside the country shared in the hype/hysteria, and when the singer performs everyone outside the country reacts with “huh?? we don’t get it.”
That explains Norway 2021.
Not okay that he ignores his fans and sings it English, despite all the demands to sing it in Norwegian. I’m a bit disappointed to be honest 🙁
I am so disappointed to. I will not pick up my phone and vote for Tix and ‘fallen angel’. The Norwegian version would have scored very well by me. So nul point instead of 12 points. Sorry Norway.
i thought it could be good if it was back to norwegian and they changed up the staging a bit, but…. ig RIP Norway
I heard English and went “oh??” Not going to rule out a non qualification especially with the powerhouses in Semi 1 he’s up against.
I’m in a minority and quite liked the staging, would love to support Norway and wear angel wings myself to eurovision! It would of been nice if there was a new concept to elevate the performance. Will be a little stale by May if it’s exactly the same as on MGP.
So they’re keeping the staging for sure? I really hoped they would rethink that…
I wonder if their is a rule that the staging has to be same as what your prerecorded track is.
No , the rule is quite the opposite to that !
They are free to change the stage-show
It’s a bit early IMO…he has a couple of months to refine staging and ensure he has the best vocal performance to showcase
I assume they want to utilise the nice and big stage they had for MGP, before it gets dismantled.
Well he’s using auto tune anyway so don’t see what you mean about ensuring he has the best vocals . I wish they didn’t use these special effects this year and you’d all see how bad he is at singing. Then Keiino would’ve won
In the semi, he used less autotune and his singing sounded totally fine to me. Much better than Raylee, for example.
If Raylee sets the bar for singing, then everyone is a singer! She’s a good performer/entertainer… but singing is not exactly her strongest game. That being said I think Tix is just as weak vocally and in my opinion primarily won due to his local fame. He’s lucky this is the year of pre-recorded backing vocals. For trasparency’s sake I thought Keiino were a perfectly fine choice but they didn’t excite me with this song. I was team Imerika all the way. Frankly she has the only song that did excite me this year so far. Not just in Norway.… Read more »
But does it mean that the staging will be different to the one in Rotterdam? I don’t get it. They taped it so quickly so my guess is that they used the national final staging.
… Which they can’t do because there are too many guys onstage.
One thing I don’t remember reading anywhere: can the staging concept in Rotterdam be different than the one on live-on-tape performance?
I guess most countries with national finals will take the opportunity to tape these performances right away. But I’m curious to find out if it’s possible to make a change (besides the obvious adaptations to a bigger and different stage) and if any country will completely shake things up if everything works well and they can travel to Rotterdam.
That might be true for somebody who doesn’t speak Norwegian. They rely on the emotion instead of the actual words. A Norwegian who hears Norwegian every day and doesn’t speak English could have the reverse experience.
I just mean that ignorance of language makes us immune to bad lyrics.
You could see how disappointed KEiiNO were on stage when the results were coming in…I hope they continue to stay together and make more music.
I don’t think they were disappointed, more like they saw it coming with the first votes, plus they knew Tix was more popular. Keiino will continue doing music.
They have released epic material outside Eurovision and I am sure they will continue to do so.
I love their latest singles and debut album. Seriously, great work!
They were clearly disappointed and have publicly expressed this disappointment since the show ended. Have you not read the article where it explicitly states that they are disappointed? Lol
No, that’s not true They uploaded new posts but they are clearly not disappointed and they congratulated the winner. Ofc there is disappointment when you’re close to winning but it’s not something that leaves them bitter.
I love them so much, it broke my heart to see them so sad. Especially Tom. The poor guy had a rough time last year according to an interview. I really hope they can move on from this unfortunate result. Monument is a brilliant song and apart from a slightly underwhelming/too minimalistic staging, they did everything right. Sometimes things just don’t work out, no matter what you do – and it’s not the end of the world but I can understand how disappointed they were, most likely because they put so much into this song – and because they don’t… Read more »
From the comments I saw on Saturday night I was apprehensive to listen. People made this out to be complete trash. I’m pleasantly surprised! It’s not really my taste, but it’s a fine song, I wouldn’t choose to listen to it, but if it was on I’d have no issues. “Fans” really need to calm down when their favourite doesn’t win.
The fact that they chose a song most people ‘wouldn’t chose to listen to’ over a potential esc top 5 says it all. Why are we defending the fact that Tix is not the right person for esc? You really think people are going to vote for it if it’s “not their thing” or “they wouldn’t choose to listen”? Apart from Robin from wiwibloggs I don’t know anyone who had hyped this song up
Why don’t you just calm down 😀
imo he should keep it in norwegian. he doesn’t really have international appeal so singing in english takes away the charm from the song
They recorded the live on tape already!?
They want to make sure they get that studio vocal perfectly in sync before showtime …
Damn I was really hoping for at least version in Norwegian since the last time we heard it was in 2006 and that song was brilliant!
I’m very mixed. I prefer the Norwegian version (I was used to as well and it’s so pleasant) but at the same time I can understand why going in English might be a better choice to compete with this kind of songs in Eurovision.. which sucks but It’s what we’ve been proven sadly. There’s also the message factor and staging in this case.
I love both versions. My ears just had to get used to the english one (it took one and a half listen only).
well KEIINO’s not wrong…
With the english title it is undestood why the performance is staged this way. However imo the english lyrics do not fit the melody of the song.
So I am not sure that this is the right choice.
well it doesn’t matter the meaning, the staging should be tasteful, it does not have to be literal.
Still would do better than this. They weren’t my favourites, but they certainly wouldn’t fare worse than this dated song. It’s staging was done before and ridiculed but sonehow it’s ok here and the Norwegian version is far better. They set themselves up for a bad score. Just like with Bilal, his fanbase can’t support him at ESC.
Awww, I wish he would sing in Norwegian. It sounds so much better, and I think he sings with more passion in Norwegian.
It’s my fav so far… and it should tell you a lot about the quality of that song as i’m not a typical [outdated] Eurofan but a superior here
TIX noooo pls don’t sing in english