Norway04

	A Message from Knut Anders "I was born and raised in a small place in Norway called "Skreien". It's so small that you won't find it on the map. You could probably find "Toten" on the map. Cause Toten is a really big place, but with a rather modest population according to the size of it. If you compare with, take Tokyo or Mexico City, there's nobody here, but, if you compare it with the North Pole, Toten is placed in a rather central position. It's about one and a half hour drive north from Oslo, the capital of Norway. Which is also a very small place, compared with Tokyo. Well, there are only small places in Norway, so that wouldn't make me any special from the rest of the people who live in this rather unpopulated, big country." "I live on the edge of the forest and I try to visit it as often as possible. In the winter; with snowboard and ski's in all different shapes and sizes. I just love snow and minus degrees. I would say; beautiful corner of the world." "These days I live in an old "storehouse on pillars". In Norwegian: a "stabbur". It's from 1922 and placed on my father's farm. Yes, he's a farmer! On the first floor I have my own little studio where I make my music, and on the second floor I've build my living room, containing a big TV, bookshelf, sofa, bed, fridge and a small bar." "Livin' in such cold and lonely environment makes favourable conditions for the growth of art. A lot of great singers and musicians have breath these woods and felt the silence of these environment become a great inspiration for their work. Of course all of us ends up in Oslo, but, what the heck, it was a nice thing to write! Wasn't it?" "I've done a lot of different things since I started of playing piano at the age of… I don't remember! I've been traveling for ten (!) years with the band Expect. Expect is a band who almost exclusively have been playing original songs. Mostly written by Lewi Bergrud and myself. We've released two albums and one EP." "What's worth mention is that I'm also a hobby actor! I've been acting in both theatre and movies."











	The Singer If his website is anything to go by Batman-loving Knut is one moody fellow. There's many a darkly lit photo of his sombre homestead, swathed in snow. Or is that just Norway in general for you? He comes from Toten, which really should make him a Pole, but he's Norwegian. (Toten Pole? No? I'll get my coat, it's cold out there).













	The Past Norway have been labelled the nil pointers of the contest. But they are also fairly successful having won it twice. Bobbysocks gave us all a sniff of mature Norwegian rotten whalemeat (the type they bury in the ground for weeks and then eat), and Secret garden gave us ethereal wailing. Unlike their Swedish neighbours, Norway refuse to stick to the norm. Can I also point out that if have a superstitious nature and believe in the power of numbers, then Norway may just pull it off in 2005. Why? Well, the reason is although they may have excelled themselves by getting no points on four separate occasions, they have won the thing twice. When? 1985 and 1995. So will 2005 provide the next triumphal stage in the rollercoaster ride that is Norwegian Europop.




	The Song The song is a corker. Tight as a nut. There's nothing remarkably different about it, but it's not quite a ballad, nor it is crazey dancefloor schlager (as they say in the bizarre world of ESC). It settles rather nicely in the middle, and is good value at that. It's my favourite, outsider of choice, and dependant on attractive odds, I may be placing a small wager on its success. "Wanna" Count - 3...and third.




	Overall My heart says top three, my stats say 21st. How confusing. I suppose its the quality middle-of-the-road effort of the year, like Birgitta's of last year. Un-fussy, catchy, and mildy rousing, rather than arousing. Knut is on early doors which may not help, but follows Austria which may well help. One of a few songs which has not been tinkered since the public originally chose it, "High" deserves such a finish. In a Nutshell "Put some money on this thru Toten"