JOWST and Alexander Walmann bring contemporary pop for Norway
Norway was one of the most successful Eurovision countries between 2013 and 2015. They reached the top 10 three years in a row with Margaret Berger’s 4th place in 2013 as best result. Last year however, Agnete’s ‘Icebreaker’ stranded in the semi finals. For this year, the Norwegian people selected the duo JOWST and Alexander Halmann in hopes that they will bring the country back to the top 10 with their contemporary electro pop track ‘Grab The Moment’.

JOWST, born as Joakim With Steen, is the producer of the track and he paid close attention to what is hot these days in the top 40. His ‘Grab The Moment’ takes some inspiration from hit producers like Kygo and Major Lazer and made this into a suitable mix for Eurovision. It is nowhere near original, but it is one of the tracks that I could picture getting played on radio internationally after the contest. JOWST asked The Voice contestant Alexander Walmann to provide the vocals and he does so pleasantly. He has got some likable stage presence as well. ‘Grab The Moment’ is catchy, contemporary and the only track in this genre for this year’s contest, so I don’t see problems for Norway qualifying from the semi finals. The song and performance might be a little too light to make much of an impression on the saturday night however.

UPDATE – Review on semi final performance:
After three dated songs in a row, Norway brought us back to the year 2017 with their contemporary electronic pop track ‘Grab The Moment’, performed by vocalist Alexander Halmann. Producer JOWST might have been inspired by the also Norwegian Kygo who had worldwide hits with tracks in the same genre. The futuristic staging for ‘Grab The Moment’ works well on screen and vocally Alexander is completely on point. This is one of the few entries this year I could actually see becoming a hit around Europe outside of the contest.

UPDATE – Review on final performance and result (10th):
Norway brought one of the most contemporary and radiofriendly songs to the stage. Alexander’s vocals are flawless and the visuals do work for the song, although I have to admit, in an evening with 26 performances, this one did not stand out as much. Apparently that was just me though, as the song reached a respectable 10th place!

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