The review is continuously updated during transmission…
New Saturday, new Stjernekamp party!
Last week, my dear favorite Mia Gundersen had to leave the competition after taking the opera task far too lightly – she chose to interpret the genre with typical musical gestures, again in English. A pity, because Mia could probably have gone very far if she had treated opera with the respect it deserves.
Regardless! Mia or not, the show must go on. Tonight we’re going to wear buffalo shoes and No Fear sixpence, we’re going to bleach our ends and we’re going to sit the wrong way on the chair and stare intently into the camera and give teenagers all over the country heart palpitations.
It’s ready for a 90s party in Stjernekamp!
Tonight I can’t see so many brave song choices. The participants have mostly chosen wisely and safely, which can give both advantages and disadvantages. If you don’t deliver 100% in your own genre, it’s easy to fail, while if you get a standing grade, it’s perhaps less impressive than if you’ve chosen a song that’s a bit daring. For example, I think it is strange that Mari Bella with his very strong vocal technique has not chosen a Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey/Celine Dion variant, but rather Britney Spears’ “Crazy”. Here there were opportunities to impress the judging panel!
Otherwise has great favourite Odd René Andersen chose something that is close to his own chest: Aerosmith must be plank riding for the rock vocalist.
Tonight, I also think it will finally be the hook on the door for Adrian Sellevoll, unfortunately. “Jump Around” by House of Pain is not gutsy enough from an artist who is already balancing on the edge of a knife.
But! 90s party in Stjernekamp always offers fantastic costumes, intense energy and delicious nostalgia. All that’s left to do is be happy – we’ll be rolling soon!
Tonight’s performances in order:
Damien: «Let Me Entertain You»
Thought Beat for Beat was over, say! This song is probably the very first thing that comes to mind when a broad cultural event is about to be kicked off! Every company’s official kickoff song is perhaps the least exciting choice today. Damien must still have the confidence needed to take on the open ballet task.
He has put on the Robbie make-up, sequins, glitter and glam – so the task is in any case taken seriously. It nevertheless quickly becomes clear that it is very difficult to really take someone’s breath away with such a well-played song. It’s like just the opening number in the Olympics no matter what you do. There are no mistakes here, but neither is there any spice that elevates the song to something else. You probably have to make this your own in order to get some special benefit out of it, that is.
On a regular basis, simply put. Like sour cream, maybe?
Elle Maija Klefstad Bær: «I Want it That Way»
Elle Maija will interpret one of the biggest and most unforgettable hits of the 90s, and it’s probably not the stupidest thing you can do if you want to hit the millennial hearts out there in the audience.
Elle Maija has once again gone for a bit with the kødding, and has really got to wear the boy band costume. But the vocals here are quite a crisis, that is. This is so weak that it should be a joke for further participation. Elle Maija has the charisma and abilities of someone who plays the last song in the spring before it goes out on the town. She has lots of charm and charisma, but this is after all a singing competition, and here Elle Maija sings like an amateur from end to end. Unfortunately!
Adrian Sellevoll:« Jump Around»
Adrian has one of the least exciting song choices today. I understand that he wants to show off his genre, but there is quite a lot of fat and laid back west coast rap from the 90s that could show off Adrian’s individuality a bit more.
“Jump Around” is, like “Let Me Entertain You”, a fairly played-out song that is often associated with opening parties. But! Adrian has achieved something pretty cool on stage here anyway! Goes all into the role of an old trickster, and manages both verse and chorus with brash and brash. Played to death or not, this is a demanding song to get through, and Adrian is in full control of this. Interspersed with some utter idiocy around him on stage, this is nothing short of a hoot. A big thank you should go to the ensemble up there, but Adrian is the protagonist with his accurate tongue and solid flow.
Great work!
Aleksander With: «I Will Come to You»
Aleksander With Hanson! The second boy band song of the evening is a piece from “Mmmbop”, and can be considered by many as a Hanson “deep track”. Now he has set out to break the ladies’ knees, and he does so primarily by putting the island on camera and refusing to blink.
Struggles a bit to carry the vocals in the bridge, and the performance can become somewhat static when you are parked at the piano the whole way through. When he eventually gets up, he tries to show that there are few who can carry the boy band genre better than Aleksander With, but it feels like he is always a little bit away from the optimum. Struggles too often with the vocals and is simply too safe in the performance.
Aleksander With had good prerequisites to perform well with a boy band song, but this turned out just right, unfortunately.
Tone Damli: «Don’t Speak»
Tone Damli may have one a little more mushy expressions than Gwen Stefani, so here she has wisely opted out of No Doubt’s most punk songs. Don’t Speak is a milder affair that should sit well with Tone.
The disadvantage of the song, for Tone, is that the vocals are almost the only vessel from start to finish. She is said to be trying to break away from her safe and familiar vocal style, offering a bit more of the fierce, yet hurtful Gwen Stefani sound. It is probably clear that there is a reason why Tone Damli is not the frontman of a skapunk band. Here, there are only tentative successes to be traced, and even if Tone’s vocals are rarely totally sour, it’s just too far between Stefani and Damli, that is.
Mari Bella: «You Drive Me Crazy»
Mari Bella should have chosen a Houston/Carey/Dion song! Her vocals could really captivate both the audience and the panel experts, that is. Instead, she has chosen the icon Britney, who is not exactly known for her incredible singing performances. But it’s clear that it’s easy to fall for the Britney temptation once it’s a 90s party!
Could it be Britney’s weak vocal splendor that makes Mari Bella fall a little through in the opening here, then? Britney’s distinctive vocal expression does not suit Mari at all, and even if the attitude is closer to where it should be, it is quite difficult to see anything other than untapped potential in this performance, that is. The dance steps also take their share of the attention, so perhaps we have to attribute this uninspiring Britney interpretation to wrong song choice, twisted choreography and nerves?
Odd René Andersen: «I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing»
Photo: Jonathan Kise / NRK
2023-09-30 17:28:22
#90s
