NORWAY – Tix – Fallen Angel
Scene: A cosy log cabin somewhere in Northern Norway. It is a Tuesday evening in May. A logfire glows, for once in the fireplace. Olive Olafssen is snuggling with her husband.
“Olaf. My beloved. Centre of my life, key to my heart. Don’t say a word, let me just look at you. Not saying anything. I really can’t emphasise enough how important it is that you’re not saying anything. In particular, don’t say -“
“Whi-“
“Shhhh. Thank you.”
Ah, it’s so nice to leave them sharing a happy moment.
Now, let me get this out of the way from the outset. Norway have missed out on a winner this year. The hype behind KEiiNO’s Monument was completely justified, and it would have won the 2021 European Festival Of Singy Thingies by a decent distance, Destiny or no Destiny. But KEiiNO aren’t here, and great-great-great grandad Olaf’s descendants all around Europe (and Oceania) don’t care about them.
What they’re going to see instead is another textbook staging from my exclusive eBook Stage Your Entries The Embarrassingly Literal Way. For the song Fallen Angel, Mr Tix (you will recognise him, he’s the one wearing a headband with the word TIX written on it) plays the role of an angel. With wings. And all dressed up in white and gold and stuff. The lyrical concept of him being in a battle with demons trying to tear him apart is interpreted by… a group of people dressed as demons… trying to tear him apart.
In spite of this, it does just about all hang together, even though the song is very much a cast-off from a 90s boyband (and not one of the famous ones). It’s Beigey McBeigeface from Beigeburgh. Yet Tix still somehow coaxes a sympathetic and memorable performance out of what are actually some pretty low-grade materials.
I don’t think this is storming the semifinal and it might be an accidental NQ, but if it sneaks through the gap then it could do absolutely anything in the final.
Which is a lot of words to say “No idea, mate…”, really.
Nick’s Score: 6/10