Tim: Christer Wulff and Oda Kvingedal Larsen wanted to sing for Norway, and, since they presumably thought their names were too long, adapted a moniker that would be well-suited to a mad old woman and dancing dog routine on Britain’s Got Talent. This song here got them through to the final, though not the Gold Final, and I reckon it’s worth your time.
Tom: Side note: the Melodi Grand Prix graphics are rather nice and minimalist, aren’t they?
Tim: I suppose so, but mostly because here they can be – the music has absolutely everything, because isn’t it a happy happy track? The first time he starts singing that chorus melody you get taken straight in there with smile forced upon you.
Tom: Oh. Um, alas, I didn’t.
Tim: Oh. Really?
Tom: It was all a bit too much for me: there’s some weird dissonance where they don’t sound enthusiastic or sincere enough. And there’s at least one, possibly two, too many “sings” in each line of that chorus.
Tim: I’d dispute all of that, to be honest, though let’s not get distracted from the main thing: you might notice in the background the bloke standing on the platform, wondering what he’s doing there, and then come the end of the chorus you’re “Ah! That’s what it is. That’s why he has pride of place.”
Tom: Yes, to be fair, I can’t fault the trumpeter.
Tim: I’m not sure there’s anything I don’t like about this song – the only criticism I could level is that I’m not sure either of their voices is quite strong enough to carry the verses solo), but while in most songs that would be enough to kill it, here it really doesn’t matter that much, as there’s EVERYTHING ELSE.
Tom: Such as…?
Tim: The aforementioned trumpeter up on Pride Rock, the random high five for emphasis, the ‘look at us pretending we’ve already won’ confetti, the way there are spare instruments lying around that the singers pick up and play when they get bored in the middle eight – this whole song has a massive sense of fun to it, and all it’s really missing is a dancing dog.
Tom: For me? All it’s missing is heart. And I know that’s a terribly vague criticism to level, but that’s how I feel.
Tim: As is your prerogative, though it’s pretty much the opposite of what I feel.