Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Participating broadcaster	Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK)
Country	Norway
Selection process	Melodi Grand Prix 1981
Selection date	7 March 1981
Competing entry
Song	"Aldri i livet"
Artist	Finn Kalvik
Songwriters	Finn Kalvik
Placement
Final result	20th, 0 points
Participation chronology
◄1980 • 1981 • 1982►

Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981 with the song "Aldri i livet", written and performed by Finn Kalvik. The Norwegian participating broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), selected its entry through the Melodi Grand Prix 1981.

Before Eurovision

Melodi Grand Prix 1981

Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) held the Melodi Grand Prix 1981 at its studios in Oslo, hosted by Sverre Kjelsberg who represented Norway in 1980. Ten songs took part in the final, with the winner chosen by a 9-member jury, two of whose members were Ellen Nikolaysen, who represented Norway in 1973 (as a member of the Bendik Singers) and 1975, and Anita Skorgan, who represented Norway in 1979, who awarded 10 points to their favourite song down to 1 point to the least-liked. ^[1]

Final – 7 March 1981

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Alex	"Rock'n Roller"	52	5
2	Unit 5	"Lei mæ hjem"	64	2
3	Dollie	"1984"	49	6
4	Berit Nyheim	"Rock'n Roll"	19	10
5	Inger Lise Rypdal	"Tankar"	63	3
6	Eigil Berg	"Lorelei"	35	9
7	Halvdan Sivertsen	"Liv laga"	39	7
8	Darlings	"Født på ny"	36	8
9	Tramteatret	"Det er vår tur nå"	59	4
10	Finn Kalvik	"Aldri i livet"	79	1

Detailed Jury Votes

Draw	Song	Åsmund Feidje	Turid Pedersen	Halvard Kausland	Bjørn Kruse	Ellen Nikolaysen	Sigurd Jansen	Kari Svendsen	Anita Skorgan	Bjørn Jacobsen	Total
1	"Rock'n Roller"	4	3	5	7	9	5	4	7	8	52
2	"Lei mæ hjem"	8	9	2	8	10	6	9	9	3	64
3	"1984"	3	5	8	3	3	4	6	8	9	49
4	"Rock'n Roll"	5	1	4	2	1	1	1	2	2	19
5	"Tankar"	7	6	10	10	8	7	7	3	5	63
6	"Lorelei"	1	2	3	1	6	2	8	6	6	35
7	"Liv laga"	6	8	1	6	5	3	2	4	4	39
8	"Født på ny"	2	4	9	5	2	9	3	1	1	36
9	"Det er vår tur nå"	10	7	7	4	4	10	5	5	7	59
10	"Aldri i livet"	9	10	6	9	7	8	10	10	10	79

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Kalvik performed 13th in the running order, following Ireland and preceding the United Kingdom – in one of Eurovision's stranger coincidences, this was to be the first of six consecutive contests in which Norway was drawn to perform immediately before the United Kingdom. Kalvik performed the low-key ballad seated and strumming a guitar, and it was surmised that the song may have suffered by being sandwiched between the Irish and British entries, both of which were uptempo, instantly catchy pop songs with eye-catching stage presentations. "Aldri i livet" got totally lost, and at the close of voting had failed register any score, giving Norway a second nul-points in four contests and a sixth time at the foot of the scoreboard. ^[2] The Norwegian jury awarded its 12 points to Switzerland. ^[3]

Voting

Norway did not receive any points at the Eurovision Song Contest 1981. ^[4]

Points awarded by Norway ^[4]

Score	Country
12 points	Switzerland
10 points	Spain
8 points	Israel
7 points	Cyprus
6 points	Sweden
5 points	France
4 points	Germany
3 points	United Kingdom
2 points	Greece
1 point	Yugoslavia

References

1. ESC National Finals database 1981
2. "Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
3. ESC History - Norway 1981
4. "Results of the Final of Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.

External links

• Full national final on nrk.no