Silje's appearances
the year 1985 - March 30.
The Norwegian preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 1985, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix, on March 30., was held at Château Neuf in Oslo and presented by Rita Westvik. In this list the basic info of the ten competitors can be found.
entry - artist - song place points lyrics music 1 - Pastel - Ring ring ring 3 66 Marianne Mørk Pete Knutsen 2 - Bjørn Eidsvåg - Gammal drøm [Old dream] 7 44 Bjørn Eidsvag Bjørn Eidsvag 3 - Zaz - Oh la la 9 27 Amund Enger Amund Enger 4 - Kai Eide - Love, amour og kjærlighet [Love, love and love] 10 22 Kai Eide Kai Eide 5 - Rolf Graf - II & II 5 50 B.A. Olsen Rolf Graf 6 - Anita Skorgan - Karma 2 74 Lars Kilevold Anita Skorgan 7 - Bobbysocks - La det swinge [Let it swing] 1 80 Rolf Løvland Rolf Løvland 8 - Mia Gundersen & Olav Stedje - Nattergal [Nightingale] 4 56 Astor Andersen Jonas Fjeld 9 - Hilde Heltberg - Livet har en sjanse [Life has a chance] 6 49 Stein Gulbrandsen Hilde Heltberg 10 - Silje Nergård - Si det, si det [Say it, say it] 8 36 Silje Nergård Silje Nergård Article magazine Det Nye, 29 January 1985
At OCs Grand Prix blogg an article in Norwgian can be found about Silje in this Grand Prix. Here you will find the translation, made by Dag Sirnes:
Melody Grand Prix 1985 - ''Si det, si det'' Silje Nergaard
A separate committee consisting of five professionals in Norwegian music life selected ten composers whom they invited to submit contributions to the Melodi Grand Prix 1985. To put it simply: The selection took place so that the five suggested a certain number of names - independently. These were collected, and those who received the most 'votes' were allowed to make contributions. There are probably trade-offs and nuances here, because it is far from certain that everyone who was asked would make a contribution. How the process then proceeded is not known. The composers could work with whoever they wanted.
Silje Nergaard was one of eight composers in the final who chose to perform their own contribution. She had written lyrics and melody for "Si det, si det". ( ''Say it, say it'')
Silje Nergaard was born in Steinkjer in 1966, but grew up in Hamar. She became interested in music at an early age, and developed a special love for jazz-inspired music, but listened to ABBA as much as Stan Getz to get musical inspiration. She played piano and sang in TenSing choir. There she became a soloist and as a 16-year-old she participated in a course in jazz singing. There she found her musical starting point.
She was discovered when she went on stage and sang during a jam session after the jazz festival in Molde. She was 16 years old and took the press and the audience by storm. Earlier that year, 1983, she had won a talent competition in Hamar. The prize was to record a single, and in 1984 it came. The A-side contained the jazz standard "My Funny Valentine", while the B-side contained "One of these Mornings", which she had written herself.
Silje Nergaard was 18 years old and the youngest of the composers when she delivered "Si det, si det" to the Melodi Grand Prix. The (Norwegian) final in 1985 is considered by many to be the very best of all time, and as a debutant, Silje Nergaard met the elite of pop music in Norway, both among artists and songwriters. No one left her special chances, and when she even had to play last, many were excited about whether the nerves would hold.
They did. She delivered well, so well that she actually got the top score and went straight up in the lead after the first jury group had given their points. The people's jury in the city of Tromsø was enthusiastic and gave her 11 points.
The juries consisted of four professionals from international music life who each gave their points, while the other five juries were folk juries, located around the country. Many people probably thought 'sensation' when the Tromsø jury had struck, but it should turn out to be a significantly lower enthusiasm among the other jury groups and among the four professional jury members. The points from these were at the very bottom of the scale, except for a kind of local patriotic bluff from the jury at Elverum (the neighboring town of Hamar), which gave seven points and had "Si det,si det" at its third place.
Although it ended with a position at the bottom of the list, (an 8th place), this was not a defeat, on the contrary. Silje Nergaard was seriously noticed, and the participation in the Melodi Grand Prix gave Silje Nergaard the national exposure she needed. Now there was only one way to go: up.
Silje Nergaard participated once ( in the Norwegian Melody Grand Prix competition), where she was the 'winner' for about one minute.