Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1969

Eurovision Song Contest 1969
Country	Norway
National selection
Selection process	Melodi Grand Prix 1969
Selection date(s)	1 March 1969
Selected entrant	Kirsti Sparboe
Selected song	"Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli"
Finals performance
Final result	16th, 1 point

Norway was represented by Kirsti Sparboe, with the song '"Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli", at the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 29 March in Madrid. "Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 1 March. This was the last of three Eurovision appearances in five years for Sparboe.

The lyrics of "Oj, oj, oj, so glad jeg skal bli" – in which the singer appears to tolerate her partner's philandering ways by trying to convince herself that one day he will give them up and devote himself to her – caused a considerable degree of adverse comment from some sections of Norwegian society and became the subject of a good deal of debate.

Final

The MGP was held at the studios of broadcaster NRK in Oslo, hosted by Janka Polyani. Ten songs took part in the final, with the winner chosen by ten regional juries who each had 5 points to divide between the songs. Other performers included the previous year's Norwegian singer Odd Børre and Lill-Babs, who had sung for Sweden in 1961.^[1]

MGP - 1 March 1969

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Vigdis Mostred	"Friaren"	4	5=
2	Elisabeth Granneman	"BM Fordomsfri"	5	3=
3	Kirsti Sparboe	"Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli"	18	1
4	Inger Lise Andersen	"Eventyr"	1	9
5	Lill-Babs	"Juksemaker pipelort"	0	10
6	Per Müller	"Sangen om den flygender Hollender"	4	5=
7	Lillian Askerland	"La meg sove"	5	3=
8	Jan Høiland	"Om du går på en strand"	2	7=
9	Stein Ingebrigtsen	"Viddu ha tjangs"	2	7=
10	Odd Børre	"Lena"	9	2

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Sparboe performed 12th in the running order, following Switzerland and preceding Germany. "Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli" was one of the many uptempo pop offerings which dominated the 1969 contest, but appeared not to have been able to distinguish itself from the crowd, as at the close of voting the song had received only 1 point (from Sweden), placing Norway last of the 16 entries, the country's second time at the foot of the scoreboard.^[2]

See also

• Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Eurovision Song Contest 1969

References

1. ^ ESC National Finals database 1969
2. ^ ESC History - Norway 1969