Norway 2012 : Tooji
Posted 25 March, 2012 - 16:03 by Kristján Sveinsson
Artist name:
ToojiSong title:
StaySong writer(s):
Tooji/Figge Boström/Pelle BoströmYear:
2012Language:
EnglishCountry:
NorwayStarting position semi-final 2:
16Points in semi-final 2:
45Rank in semi-final 2:
10Starting position final :
12Points in final:
7Rank in final:
26About the participant:
Young Touraj Keshtar, otherwise known as Tooji, was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1987. His life took a dramatic turn when aged one, he was brought with his mother Lily to Norway, where they were granted asylum. Despite what may by many have been perceived as a huge setback, Tooji and his mother managed to become fully integrated within Norwegian society.
Already has a teenager, Tooji had his first taste of stardom, when at the age of 16, he became a much sought after model, thanks to his handsome, brooding looks. Once inside the modelling circuit, media exposure followed, earning him the nickname "The Prince of Persia". His foray into the world of television was, as in all the best fairytales, a complete fluke. When working as a model, he was asked by a member of press about what it would be like to work at Norwegian MTV (Music Television), to which Tooji cockily replied that it would be a piece of cake! Little did he know that bigwigs at MTV already had him in their sights and would come to hold him accountable for that very statement!
Tooji was headhunted to MTV and took to the job like a duck takes to water. It was as if he had a natural talent, presenting live on air the US Top 20 show mere minutes after his arrival in the studio. What started off as a PR jippo led to bigger and better things, with the budding star landing a permanent position with the channel.
His singing debut also came about in much the same way as his televsion career did, with his singing talents being discovered by accident while he was making a modelling appearance. The artist who was meant to end the show fell ill, paving the way for Tooji to step in at the last minute. It was while sitting in the changing rooms humming away to himself that his vocal dexterity was discoverd by the organiser of the event and Tooji somewhat reluctantly agreed to take to the stage to perform and thus save the event. Initial nerves and scepticism soon gave way to feelings of euphoria however, when Tooji became overwhelmed by the positive feedback from people present on his voice.
Besides singing, Tooji also works full time in a very rewarding job. He buckled down at school, and, given the events earlier on in his life, he felt he wanted to make a difference in the world and to help others less fortunate by giving something back. It therefore came as no surprise that he studied child protection to become a social worker, working predominantly with children at nursery level, as well as youngsters and asylum seekers.
Already has a teenager, Tooji had his first taste of stardom, when at the age of 16, he became a much sought after model, thanks to his handsome, brooding looks. Once inside the modelling circuit, media exposure followed, earning him the nickname "The Prince of Persia". His foray into the world of television was, as in all the best fairytales, a complete fluke. When working as a model, he was asked by a member of press about what it would be like to work at Norwegian MTV (Music Television), to which Tooji cockily replied that it would be a piece of cake! Little did he know that bigwigs at MTV already had him in their sights and would come to hold him accountable for that very statement!
Tooji was headhunted to MTV and took to the job like a duck takes to water. It was as if he had a natural talent, presenting live on air the US Top 20 show mere minutes after his arrival in the studio. What started off as a PR jippo led to bigger and better things, with the budding star landing a permanent position with the channel.
His singing debut also came about in much the same way as his televsion career did, with his singing talents being discovered by accident while he was making a modelling appearance. The artist who was meant to end the show fell ill, paving the way for Tooji to step in at the last minute. It was while sitting in the changing rooms humming away to himself that his vocal dexterity was discoverd by the organiser of the event and Tooji somewhat reluctantly agreed to take to the stage to perform and thus save the event. Initial nerves and scepticism soon gave way to feelings of euphoria however, when Tooji became overwhelmed by the positive feedback from people present on his voice.
Besides singing, Tooji also works full time in a very rewarding job. He buckled down at school, and, given the events earlier on in his life, he felt he wanted to make a difference in the world and to help others less fortunate by giving something back. It therefore came as no surprise that he studied child protection to become a social worker, working predominantly with children at nursery level, as well as youngsters and asylum seekers.
About the selection:
NRK chose to stick with the tried and tested formula from previous editions of Melodi Grand Prix, when attempting to improve the dissappointing result of Stella Mwangi in Düsseldorf by calling for entries to their national selection as early as in June, with a deadline for submission being set for the 2nd of September.
This year saw broadcaster NRK hold the national selection Melodi Grand Prix for the fifty first time. Impressive viewing figures from the previous year meant that NRK wished to continue with the same show format, namely 3 heats culminating in a grand final held in Oslo Spektrum. The national selection did however go through something of a transformation, involving rebranding and significant changes to the process, including the decision to axe the Siste Sjansen heat and to let three artists qualify directly to the final instead of two artists as in previous editions.
Contrary to some countries, foreign composers were encouraged to submit entries to the Norwegian selection. Confirmation of acts began to emerge in November, following a great deal of specualtion in the national media. The Norwegian line up this year was much more varied than previous years, with some surprises and relatively known household names making their debut at the contest, as well as some people making surprising reappearances. Familiar names included musical star Lisa Stokke, known from her stint in London's West End with Mamma Mia, one time Dollie De Luxe member and 1984 entrant Benedikte Adrian making her return this year as part of a trio. Media darling Lise Karlsnes was welcomed to the fold, adding further credibility to the contest.
The line up featured an eclectic mix of music genres, including grand ballads, purebred rock and roll, dubstep, rap, dance, pop and electronica. The number of Norwegian language entries to make the final 24 artists was at an all time low however, with a meagre 4 entries, only 2 of which advanced to the final.
The national selection comprised three heats held in Ørland on the 21st of January, in Larvik on the 28th of January and in Florø on the 4th of February. Each heat saw eight acts battle it out for three spots in the grand final to be held in Oslo Spektrum on the 11th of February. With the omittance of the Siste Sjansen heat, NRK instead attempted to make the contest more accesible to the average viewer, with more extensive reports during the build up of each heat, with a mix of trivia and backstage footage featuring in a TV special each Thursday before the Saturday heats.
The final in Oslo featured predominantly little known names with the exception of the group Plumbo, previous MGP Jr entrant Malin Reitan, former Briskeby vocalist Lise Karlnes and country legend Bobby Bare (in a duet with Petter Øien). From the ten acts in the final, four advanced onto a super final based on their amount of televotes. The four acts to make it to the super final were Plumbo, responsible for a major Norwegian hit the previous year with Møkkamann and riding high on a subsequent wave of publicity alongside young singer Nora Foss al-Jabri with her disney style ballad Somewhere Beautiful. The final line up was completed with the country duet Things Change, performed by Petter Øien and 76 year old Bobby Bare as well as the newcomer Tooji with his dance number Stay, drawing parallels to last year's Swedish entry Popular in terms of looks and styling.
The voting was a thrilling affair, divided into three juries from the host towns, combined with the results from five regional votes. Each jury could award 2, 4, 6 or 8,000 points which led to an initial lead for Nora Foss al-Jabri. However, once the regional votes were announced it soon became clear that these juries were completely out of sync with the general public, with Tooji surging ahead in every single region. His final score of 137,480 votes was almost twice that of second placed Things Change.
Tooji's victory was a major surprise on the night, as the group Plumbo were the hotly tipped favourites to lift the title in most of the national media. Their song Ola Nordmann made quite an impact on both the iTunes and national charts with Tooji apparently coming from far behind to snatch the title from their grasp.Their failure in the super final has partly been attributed to something of a national backlash, following their scandalous behaviour at the prestigious Spellemann music awards, where band members made seemingly playful comments about the former Eurovision interval act Madcon, comments which were construed as blatantly racist by many.
The final results of the Norwegian voting were as follows:
1. Stay - Tooji 137,480 votes
2. Things Change - Petter Øien and Bobby Bare 71,685 votes
3. Somewhere Beautiful - Nora Foss al-Jabri 66,046 votes
4. Ola Nordmann - Plumbo 51,868 votes
This year saw broadcaster NRK hold the national selection Melodi Grand Prix for the fifty first time. Impressive viewing figures from the previous year meant that NRK wished to continue with the same show format, namely 3 heats culminating in a grand final held in Oslo Spektrum. The national selection did however go through something of a transformation, involving rebranding and significant changes to the process, including the decision to axe the Siste Sjansen heat and to let three artists qualify directly to the final instead of two artists as in previous editions.
Contrary to some countries, foreign composers were encouraged to submit entries to the Norwegian selection. Confirmation of acts began to emerge in November, following a great deal of specualtion in the national media. The Norwegian line up this year was much more varied than previous years, with some surprises and relatively known household names making their debut at the contest, as well as some people making surprising reappearances. Familiar names included musical star Lisa Stokke, known from her stint in London's West End with Mamma Mia, one time Dollie De Luxe member and 1984 entrant Benedikte Adrian making her return this year as part of a trio. Media darling Lise Karlsnes was welcomed to the fold, adding further credibility to the contest.
The line up featured an eclectic mix of music genres, including grand ballads, purebred rock and roll, dubstep, rap, dance, pop and electronica. The number of Norwegian language entries to make the final 24 artists was at an all time low however, with a meagre 4 entries, only 2 of which advanced to the final.
The national selection comprised three heats held in Ørland on the 21st of January, in Larvik on the 28th of January and in Florø on the 4th of February. Each heat saw eight acts battle it out for three spots in the grand final to be held in Oslo Spektrum on the 11th of February. With the omittance of the Siste Sjansen heat, NRK instead attempted to make the contest more accesible to the average viewer, with more extensive reports during the build up of each heat, with a mix of trivia and backstage footage featuring in a TV special each Thursday before the Saturday heats.
The final in Oslo featured predominantly little known names with the exception of the group Plumbo, previous MGP Jr entrant Malin Reitan, former Briskeby vocalist Lise Karlnes and country legend Bobby Bare (in a duet with Petter Øien). From the ten acts in the final, four advanced onto a super final based on their amount of televotes. The four acts to make it to the super final were Plumbo, responsible for a major Norwegian hit the previous year with Møkkamann and riding high on a subsequent wave of publicity alongside young singer Nora Foss al-Jabri with her disney style ballad Somewhere Beautiful. The final line up was completed with the country duet Things Change, performed by Petter Øien and 76 year old Bobby Bare as well as the newcomer Tooji with his dance number Stay, drawing parallels to last year's Swedish entry Popular in terms of looks and styling.
The voting was a thrilling affair, divided into three juries from the host towns, combined with the results from five regional votes. Each jury could award 2, 4, 6 or 8,000 points which led to an initial lead for Nora Foss al-Jabri. However, once the regional votes were announced it soon became clear that these juries were completely out of sync with the general public, with Tooji surging ahead in every single region. His final score of 137,480 votes was almost twice that of second placed Things Change.
Tooji's victory was a major surprise on the night, as the group Plumbo were the hotly tipped favourites to lift the title in most of the national media. Their song Ola Nordmann made quite an impact on both the iTunes and national charts with Tooji apparently coming from far behind to snatch the title from their grasp.Their failure in the super final has partly been attributed to something of a national backlash, following their scandalous behaviour at the prestigious Spellemann music awards, where band members made seemingly playful comments about the former Eurovision interval act Madcon, comments which were construed as blatantly racist by many.
The final results of the Norwegian voting were as follows:
1. Stay - Tooji 137,480 votes
2. Things Change - Petter Øien and Bobby Bare 71,685 votes
3. Somewhere Beautiful - Nora Foss al-Jabri 66,046 votes
4. Ola Nordmann - Plumbo 51,868 votes
About the song:
Stay is an uptempo, heavily coreographed dance number written by the performer Tooji in collaboration with swedish songwriting duo Peter and Figge Boström. The song is driven by a heavy beat, infused with a distinct middle eastern flavour, complementing artist Tooji's iranian heritage.
The lyrical content of the song deals with desire fulled both by passion and music, telling of how Tooji finds it difficult to stay in control when being almost overtaken by seductive rhythm and beats while at the same time falling under the spell of an unspecified love interest.
The winning entry of the 2012 edition of Melodi Grand Prix has so far failed to emulate the success of last year's entry Haba Haba, but has nevertheless gone on to become a major hit in Norway, peaking at number two for two weeks.
The lyrical content of the song deals with desire fulled both by passion and music, telling of how Tooji finds it difficult to stay in control when being almost overtaken by seductive rhythm and beats while at the same time falling under the spell of an unspecified love interest.
The winning entry of the 2012 edition of Melodi Grand Prix has so far failed to emulate the success of last year's entry Haba Haba, but has nevertheless gone on to become a major hit in Norway, peaking at number two for two weeks.
Lyrics:
"Stay"
I hear music as I walk down the street
Start moving to the rhythm, heart is pumping the beat
I hear the people shout out
Turn up the music louder
Better start running if you can’t stand the heat
What’s it doing to me, I feel it set me free
It’s like I’m losing all control
You know it’s making me hot, and baby I don’t stop
It’s like a fire in my soul
I don’t know what I am doing tonight
But this rush it is making me stronger
I don’t know if it’s wrong or it’s right
But I know: I want you to
Stay, nanananana
Stay, nanananana
My heart beats faster as I’m scanning the crowd
My meters are peaking, I can tell you’re around
It’s like I’m on a high now
Nothing can pull me down now
Sirens are calling and I can’t kill the sound
What’s it doing to me, I feel it set me free
It’s like I’m losing all control
You know it’s making me hot, and baby I don’t stop
It’s like a fire in my soul
I don’t know what I am doing tonight
But this rush it is making me stronger
I don’t know if it’s wrong or it’s right
But I know: I want you to
Stay, nanananana
Stay, nanananana
Work it, move your body baby, you better work, you better work, come on now
Work it move your body baby, you better work, you better work
I don’t know what I am doing tonight
But this rush it is making me stronger
I don’t know if it’s wrong or it’s right
But I know: I want you to
Stay (I don’t know what I am doing tonight)
But this rush it is making me stronger
I don’t know if it’s wrong or it’s right
But I know: I want you to
Stay, nanananana
Stay, nanananana
Video:
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