Norway: Ulrikke Brandstorp releases "Attention" for MGP 2020

We are half way through the six shows in Norway's Melodi Grand Prix 2020, and one of the pre-qualified finalists, Ulrikke Brandstorp, has just released her song for MGP: "Attention".

"Attention" is written by Christian Ingebrigtsen, Kjetil Mørland, and Ulrikke Brandstorp herself, and is one of the pre-qualified songs for Melodi Grand Prix 2020 in Norway.

Ulrikke: I'm sooooo excited!!!

Eurovisionworld spoke with Ulrikke about her song "Attention", her career, and her passion for Eurovision.

In just 2 weeks Ulrikke will be on stage for the Melodi Grand Prix Final in Tronheim, but is she ready?

– I'm sooooo excited!!! I got so many butterflies in my stomach! I have a good feeling, and I can’t wait to finally showcase the song. At the same time, I really hope everyone will love the song as much as I do, says Ulrikke.

Ulrikke is already a well-known singer in Norway, after she participated in Idol in 2013, MGP 2017, and most recently she played Liesl in the musical Sound of Music on Folketeateret in Oslo:

– My dream to become an artist and actress began when I started playing at a childrens teatre in my hometown of Sarpsborg. I later studied music in High School, and this is when I made the big decision that music was something I wanted to devote my whole life to!

– I went on tour with two big tribute shows: One for Michael Jackson, and one for Queen. I learned so much during this time!! After that I started auditioning for different TV shows.

Attention: Power ballad!

As you can hear in Ulrikke's MGP song "Attention", it is truly a song with power but it also comes with a message:

– It’s a power ballad. The song is basically asking a question to the listeners; Why is it OK to change ourselves for others when it comes to love? It's written based on my own experiences, but I hope people are able to identify themselves with the message.

Why is it OK to change ourselves for others when it comes to love?Ulrikke Brandstorp

Ulrikke co-wrote the song together with Christian Ingebrigtsen, from the the British–Norwegian pop group "A1", and Kjetil Mørland, who represented Norway in 2015 together with Debrah Scarlett (A Monster Like Me). To work with them was a dream come true, and such an honor for her:

– Wow, they are both so talented and professional, and we matched really well. So I hope we can work on more music together in the future.

Stage show: Dress and strings

The song has a message and it is composed by some very talented guys, but as we all know, Melodi Grand Prix and Eurovision are much more than music. The staging and visuals are just as important. So can she reveal some of her stage show?

– I'd like to keep some details to myself for now, but what I can say is that I'm not using the same dress in the final as I am on Saturday, Ulrikke says while she laughs.

– We have really worked hard to create a moment, and hopefully make the people in the audience and at home get goosebumps. There's a lot of string on the song, so don't be surprised if some stringers join me on stage.

Ulrikke has followed and watched Eurovision every year, for as long as she can remember. It is one of the highlights for her every year:

– I just loooove Loreen and Euphoria. I mean... what a song!! I’ve done the song several times at my own shows, and people always gets in such a good mood when they hear it!

Now she has a chance to be a part of the world's largest music show:

– It's without a doubt one of my biggest dreams – to be able to represent Norway in ESC!

Norway in Eurovision Song Contest

Since the debut in 1960 Norway has participated 58 times in Eurovision. They have won the competition three times:

• 1985: Bobbysocks - "La Det Swinge"
• 1995: Secret Garden - "Nocturne"
• 2009: Alexander Rybak - "Fairytale"

In 2009, Alexander Rybak's Fairytale was the song that has received most points with the old voting system: 387 points – got 12 points from 16 countries. But Norway holds another Eurovision record: The country that ended last most times – 10 last places!

Since the introduction of Semi-finals in 2004, Norway has been very succesful with qualification to the Grand Final 13 out of 16 times.