Ulrikke represents Norway with the power ballad ‘Attention’
Norway was easily the biggest surprise at Eurovision in 2019 when KEiiNO managed to win the televote during the final. Because the juries did not rate them as high, their ‘Spirit In The Sky’ finished sixth overall. This year, Norway decided to organize a new version of their national final MGP, which lasted six weeks and introduced online voting as their method of selecting their representative. After a major technical issue during the final with the voting system, the first selection of the four super finalists had to be done with a back-up jury, which caused outrage online in Norway. In the end, they managed to select a winner through online voting out of the four remaining songs, which turned out to be Ulrikke with the power ballad ‘Attention’.

‘Attention’ was co-written by Ulrikke Brandstorp herself, Christian Ingebrigtsen (of the band A1) and Kjetil Mørland, who represented Norway in 2015 with the ballad ‘A Monster Like Me’, finishing in a respectable eighth place. They wrote a stunning power ballad about being in a toxic relationship, not being able to even recognize your own actions anymore. “why do I think it’s okay not being me ’cause of you?”, she asks herself, admitting she would do everything to get her lover’s attention. The track has quite a modern production with a backdrop of soft drums and a sound that resembles dripping water in the verses. As the track progresses, the violins of the intro become more and more prominent, while Ulrikke starts belting for her life. The climax of ‘Attention’ is very satisfying and the big and dramatic melody of the chorus is an ear worm too.

Ulrikke’s performance at the MGP stage does not really need any improvement for the Eurovision stage. Her vocals are outstanding and she simply does not miss any note, not even when being tearful after just winning the Norwegian show. The staging is simple but beautiful and the light show and fireworks underline the song’s strengths. Based on her performance in MGP, I would not be surprised if Ulrikke gives Norway their second top 10 placement in a row.

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