Birgitte Einarsen
Encyclopedia
Birgitte Einarsen is a Norwegian singer and musical theatre
artist from Helgeroa in Larvik
, Vestfold
county. She was born in 1975. Birgitte has performed in popular musicals like Grease
, Fame
and The Little Shop of Horrors. She has also done the show My First, My Last, My Everything.
She became famous both in Norway
and abroad in 2003, following her performance in that year's Melodi Grand Prix
, which is used to select the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest
. Her entry was the uptempo disco song Good Evening, Europe!
, which is the phrase used every year when the ESC hosts address millions of viewers across Europe
. As the title, almost all the lyrics were a reference to the Song Contest, usually direct quotes from past Eurovision entries, or else from other songs sung by former Eurovision participants. The song was written by Arve Furset, who also composed the winning song by Jostein Hasselgård
.
In 2006, Birgitte sang again, in Melodi Grand Prix 2006
, performing another disco tune, Saturday. Her entry did not win direct entrance to the national final, but going through the Second Chance round, it did ultimately qualify. Singing in the grand final, she failed to make the top four.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
artist from Helgeroa in Larvik
Larvik
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. Larvik kommune - has about 41 364 inhabitants and covers 530 km2....
, Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
county. She was born in 1975. Birgitte has performed in popular musicals like Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
, Fame
Fame (musical)
A stage musical based on the 1980 musical film Fame has been staged under two titles. The first, 'Fame – The Musical' conceived and developed by David De Silva, is a musical with a book by Jose Fernandez, music by Steve Margoshes and lyrics by Jacques Levy. The musical premiered in 1988 in Miami,...
and The Little Shop of Horrors. She has also done the show My First, My Last, My Everything.
She became famous both in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and abroad in 2003, following her performance in that year's Melodi Grand Prix
Melodi Grand Prix
Melodi Grand Prix is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1960.The festival has produced three Eurovision winners and...
, which is used to select the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
. Her entry was the uptempo disco song Good Evening, Europe!
Good Evening, Europe!
Good Evening, Europe! is a national final song for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was performed by musical theatre singer Birgitte Einarsen in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix 2003, where it ended third, placing after Jostein Hasselgård and Alfie. It has since become a tiny gay anthem in parts of...
, which is the phrase used every year when the ESC hosts address millions of viewers across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. As the title, almost all the lyrics were a reference to the Song Contest, usually direct quotes from past Eurovision entries, or else from other songs sung by former Eurovision participants. The song was written by Arve Furset, who also composed the winning song by Jostein Hasselgård
Jostein Hasselgård
Jostein Hasselgård was the winner of Norway's national pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest and he won Norway a fourth place in the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the ballad "I'm Not Afraid To Move On"....
.
In 2006, Birgitte sang again, in Melodi Grand Prix 2006
Melodi Grand Prix 2006
Melodi Grand Prix 2006 is the television show in which the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was chosen....
, performing another disco tune, Saturday. Her entry did not win direct entrance to the national final, but going through the Second Chance round, it did ultimately qualify. Singing in the grand final, she failed to make the top four.
External links
- Listen to Saturday
- NRK presents Birgitte Einarsen (in Norwegian)
- MGP official site