Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Eurovision Song Contest 1981
Country	Norway
National selection
Selection process	Melodi Grand Prix 1981
Selection date(s)	7 March 1981
Selected entrant	Finn Kalvik
Selected song	"Aldri i livet"
Finals performance
Final result	20th, 0 points

Norway was represented by Finn Kalvik, with the song '"Aldri i livet", at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 4 April in Dublin. "Aldri i livet" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 7 March.

Final

The MGP was held at the studios of broadcaster NRK in Oslo, hosted by the previous year's Norwegian performer Sverre Kjelsberg. Ten songs took part in the final, with the winner chosen by a 9-member "expert" jury who awarded 10 points to their favourite song down to 1 point to the least-liked.^[1]

MGP - 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

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. The Norwegian jury awarded its 12 points to Switzerland.^[2]

See also

• Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Eurovision Song Contest 1981

References

1. ^ ESC National Finals database 1981
2. ^ ESC History - Norway 1981