Ven a bailar conmigo
Encyclopedia
"Ven a bailar conmigo" was the Norwegian
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
, performed in English
and Spanish
by Guri Schanke
.
The song is a Latin-inspired number. Schanke sings about how much she loves to dance and urges her unnamed listener (in Spanish) to "Come dance with me". BBC
commentary during the Contest explained that Schanke had participated in a reality-television show with a dancing theme, thus explaining the lyrics.
The song was written and composed by Thomas G:son
, who also contributed the Spanish
entry at the same Contest - "I Love You Mi Vida
". This represents one of a very small number of Contests where the same writer has represented two countries at once.
on January 27, and "Ven a bailar conmigo" soon became a hit on Gay bar
s in Oslo
,http://www.side2.no/musikk/article894327.ece to which her response was "Fantastic! I love it!".http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/side2/musikk/article894372.ece Schanke performed the song in the Norwegian national final
(February 10, 2007), in the English language
, however the title of the song is in Spanish
and means "Come Dance With Me". It scored shared 2nd place by the judges, but was a runaway winner by the televiewers, receiving almost 95 000 televotes.
The Norwegian entry's stage performance bore several similarities to that of "Tango! Tango!", another Latino
song by Thomas G:son
, performed by Petra Nielsen
in Swedish
Melodifestivalen 2004
.
in the top ten, the song was performed in the semi-final. Here, it was performed nineteenth, following FYR Macedonia
's Karolina
with "Mojot svet
" and preceding Malta
's Olivia Lewis
with "Vertigo
". At the close of voting, it had received 48 points, placing 18th in a field of 28 and failing to qualify Norway for the final.
(on radio since 1973), a weekly ranking of national pop songs based on a jury and the listener's suggestions.
A music critic in the Swedish
tabloid newspaper Expressen
, wrote about Guri Schanke that her performance "glows like a black hole", and that Norway's contribution to the Eurovision is among the worst contributions in this years upcoming contest. He gave his only top score of this year's contestants to the Swedish The Ark
with "The Worrying Kind
". http://www.seher.no/cm/SeHer/Kjendisnytt/Norske/1.452763
from NRK contains four remixes
. The main remix is made by Hallgeir Rustan, (from the original Stargate
production team,) with extra guitar play by Jarl Ivar Andresen. Another mix is the "DeepFrost Mix" by the Norwegian DeepFrost
team (Thomas J. Heyerdahl, Vegard Strand, Jan "Janski" Lindvaag and Rune Helmersen.) A third mix, the "East Remix", is made by Andreas Rickstrand (he is G:son's co-composer of Spain
's contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
, "I Love You Mi Vida
"). The press kit also contains the karaoke version.
, for her album Samba Sambero, which was released on March 14, 2007.http://www.scansat.no/index.php?fil=eldre_nyheter&vis_nyhet=3481 This was two months before Schanke was to perform the song at the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki. Anna Book was one of the contestants in Melodifestivalen 2007
with the song "Samba Sambero", also written by Thomas G:son
. Guri Schanke said, in a webchat with the Norwegian newspaper VG
before this was known, that the song was specially written for her, and that it was written on a request from NRK to Thomas G:son. Schanke's manager, Viggo Lund, said he was surprised to hear about the album release. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) has the rights for the songs that are part of Melodi Grand Prix, and the first right to use them.http://www.scansat.no/index.php?fil=eldre_nyheter&vis_nyhet=3487 The EBU and NRK started investigations on the case.http://www.scansat.no/index.php?fil=eldre_nyheter&vis_nyhet=3490
The Melodi Grand Prix project leader for NRK said in a statement to VG, that "We have to look at this positively, and hope the song gets popular in Sweden."
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...
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
, performed in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
by Guri Schanke
Guri Schanke
Guri Schanke is a Norwegian actress and singer. She is known in Norway for her acting career, and was part of the 2005 round of the Norwegian version of Dancing with the Stars, where she came in second....
.
The song is a Latin-inspired number. Schanke sings about how much she loves to dance and urges her unnamed listener (in Spanish) to "Come dance with me". BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
commentary during the Contest explained that Schanke had participated in a reality-television show with a dancing theme, thus explaining the lyrics.
The song was written and composed by Thomas G:son
Thomas G:son
Thomas Gustafsson is a Swedish composer and musician from Skövde, Västergötland, Sweden, north-east of Göteborg. However, he is much more known nationally and internationally simply as Thomas G:son, his artistic name. Since 1998, Thomas has worked full time as a songwriter for the company G:songs...
, who also contributed the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
entry at the same Contest - "I Love You Mi Vida
I Love You Mi Vida
"I Love You Mi Vida" is a song performed by the Spanish boyband D'Nash.The song was entered into Misión Eurovisión 2007, which is the Spanish national preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest....
". This represents one of a very small number of Contests where the same writer has represented two countries at once.
Melodi Grand Prix
Guri Schanke won the Norwegian semi final in Melodi Grand Prix 2007Melodi Grand Prix 2007
Melodi Grand Prix 2007 was the television show in which the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was chosen....
on January 27, and "Ven a bailar conmigo" soon became a hit on Gay bar
Gay bar
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clientele; the term gay is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT and queer communities...
s in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
,http://www.side2.no/musikk/article894327.ece to which her response was "Fantastic! I love it!".http://pub.tv2.no/nettavisen/side2/musikk/article894372.ece Schanke performed the song in the Norwegian national final
Melodi Grand Prix 2007
Melodi Grand Prix 2007 was the television show in which the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was chosen....
(February 10, 2007), in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, however the title of the song is in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and means "Come Dance With Me". It scored shared 2nd place by the judges, but was a runaway winner by the televiewers, receiving almost 95 000 televotes.
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
song by Thomas G:son
Thomas G:son
Thomas Gustafsson is a Swedish composer and musician from Skövde, Västergötland, Sweden, north-east of Göteborg. However, he is much more known nationally and internationally simply as Thomas G:son, his artistic name. Since 1998, Thomas has worked full time as a songwriter for the company G:songs...
, performed by Petra Nielsen
Petra Nielsen
Petra Nielsen is a Swedish singer and actress. She has starred on Broadway during her career. Her mother is Swedish actress Monica Nielsen and her father Adam Inczédy-Gombos. She is best known for her appearances at the Chinatheater in Stockholm in the 1990s, in musicals including Grease and Fame...
in Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Melodifestivalen 2004
Melodifestivalen 2004
Melodifestivalen 2004 was the selection for the 44th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 43rd time that this system of picking a song had been used. Five semifinals had taken place to select the ten songs for the final, in Karlstad, Gothenburg, Umeå, Malmö and a...
.
- Both Petra Nielsen and Guri Schanke are experienced performers of musical theatreMusical theatreMusical 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...
. - Both very short dresses were designed by drag artists. Nielsens dress was designed by Lars-Åke Wilhelmsson aka Babsan and Cårejonny Enderud, a former member of the Great Garlic GirlsGreat Garlic GirlsGreat Garlic Girls is a Norwegian drag group that has performed a number of drag shows since 1981. Up until 1992, the group consisted of Olav Klingen, Jonny Nymoen and Terje Schrøder. Olav Klingen had to quit the group in 1992 when he was involved in an accident which put a stop to his career...
, was hired by NRK to design Guri Schanke's costume for her Melodi Grand Prix performance. - Both performances featured a woman dancing with two men dressed in black. Both women are lifted high up in the air at one point in the performance.
Performers
- Guri Schanke - vocals
- Christer Tornell - dancer
- Stefan Clarin - dancer http://www.karlskoga-kuriren.se/artikel.asp?intId=50772&blnLista=1
Eurovision Song Contest
As Norway had not finished the previous ContestEurovision Song Contest 2006
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
in the top ten, the song was performed in the semi-final. Here, it was performed nineteenth, following FYR Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
's Karolina
Karolina Goceva
Karolina Gočeva, often credited as Karolina Gocheva is a Macedonian singer. She represented Macedonia in the 2002 and 2007 Eurovision Song Contests, ranking 19th and 14th, respectively...
with "Mojot svet
Mojot Svet
"Mojot svet" was the Macedonian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, performed in Macedonian and English by Karolina Gočeva. The song was composed by Grigor Koprov and written by Ognen Nedelkovski, both of whom have previous Contest experience. Karolina, too, has previous Eurovision...
" and preceding Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
's Olivia Lewis
Olivia Lewis
For the comic book character, see Menagerie.Olivia Lewis, born 18 October 1978, is a singer from Qormi, Malta. She has competed 11 consecutive times in the Malta Song For Europe festival, which selects the country's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest...
with "Vertigo
Vertigo (Olivia Lewis song)
"Vertigo" was the Maltese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, performed in English by Olivia Lewis.The song is a moderately up-tempo number. Lewis describes the difficulties she faces in her relationship, as her lover apparently spends much of his time doing exactly the opposite of what she...
". At the close of voting, it had received 48 points, placing 18th in a field of 28 and failing to qualify Norway for the final.
Performers
- Guri Schanke - vocals
- Bjørn Holthe - dancer
- Asmund Grinaker - dancer http://www.nrk.no/programmer/tv/melodi_grand_prix/1.2276600
- 3 backing singers (Karianne Kjærnes, Åshild Stensrud and Jorunn Hauge)http://www.escnation.com/mbnews/newsitem.html?id=420
Charts and responses
Guri Schanke has not yet released a single, but the song entered as number 1 on the Norwegian radio program NorsktoppenNorsktoppen
Norsktoppen is a musical hit list at NRK Radio, with songs with Norwegian artists. Until 1986, the songs had to be in the Norwegian language. Norsktoppen has aired since 1973. Norsktoppen airs once a week. On Thursday 21 February 2008, it became known to the show host, that Norsktoppen would be...
(on radio since 1973), a weekly ranking of national pop songs based on a jury and the listener's suggestions.
A music critic in the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
tabloid newspaper Expressen
Expressen
Expressen is one of two nationwide evening tabloid newspapers in Sweden, the other being Aftonbladet. Expressen was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and slogans "it stings" or "Expressen to your rescue", always on the reader's side....
, wrote about Guri Schanke that her performance "glows like a black hole", and that Norway's contribution to the Eurovision is among the worst contributions in this years upcoming contest. He gave his only top score of this year's contestants to the Swedish The Ark
The Ark (band)
The Ark was a Swedish glam rock band formed in 1991 by Jepsson Mikael , and Lasse Ljungberg, when Ola Salo and Leari were only fourteen years old. Martin Axén officially joined the band in 1997, and Sylvester Schlegel in 1999. In late 2005, Jens Andersson joined The Ark as an official member...
with "The Worrying Kind
The Worrying Kind
"The Worrying Kind" is a rock song performed by The Ark, written and composed by Ola Salo. It was released as the second single of their fourth album, Prayer for the Weekend. On March 10, 2007 the song won Melodifestivalen 2007 and therefore became Sweden's Eurovision Song Contest 2007 entry...
". http://www.seher.no/cm/SeHer/Kjendisnytt/Norske/1.452763
Remixes
A new electronic press kitElectronic Press Kit
An electronic press kit is a press kit equivalent in electronic form. An EPK usually takes the form of a website or e-mail, though they are also known to exist in CD and DVD form....
from NRK contains four remixes
RemixeS
RemixeS is a compilation of French singer Mylène Farmer's singles by various famous DJ's, including JXL, Felix Da Housecat and Paul Oakenfold.-Brackground, writing and release:...
. The main remix is made by Hallgeir Rustan, (from the original Stargate
Stargate (production team)
This is a list of songs written and produced by the Norwegian production team Stargate.-Produced singles:-1999:5ive - Invincible*05. "Two Sides to Every Story"*06. "You Make Me a Better Man"Noora Noor - Curious*01. "Curious"...
production team,) with extra guitar play by Jarl Ivar Andresen. Another mix is the "DeepFrost Mix" by the Norwegian DeepFrost
DeepFrost production team
DeepFrost is a music songwriting & production team operating in the pop, r and b and hiphop genres. The team is based in the Scandinavian city of Trondheim, Norway. Team members are Thomas J...
team (Thomas J. Heyerdahl, Vegard Strand, Jan "Janski" Lindvaag and Rune Helmersen.) A third mix, the "East Remix", is made by Andreas Rickstrand (he is G:son's co-composer of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
, "I Love You Mi Vida
I Love You Mi Vida
"I Love You Mi Vida" is a song performed by the Spanish boyband D'Nash.The song was entered into Misión Eurovisión 2007, which is the Spanish national preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest....
"). The press kit also contains the karaoke version.
Covers
In late February 2007, it became known that "Ven a bailar conmigo" was to be recorded by Swedish artist Anna BookAnna Book
Anna Book is a Swedish pop singer. She participated in Let's Dance, the Swedish version of Dancing With The Stars, in 2006 and finished in 2nd place....
, for her album Samba Sambero, which was released on March 14, 2007.http://www.scansat.no/index.php?fil=eldre_nyheter&vis_nyhet=3481 This was two months before Schanke was to perform the song at the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki. Anna Book was one of the contestants in Melodifestivalen 2007
Melodifestivalen 2007
Melodifestivalen 2007 was the selection for the 47th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 46th time that this system of picking a song has been used. Five semifinals took place to select the ten songs for the final, in Jönköping, Gothenburg, Örnsköldsvik, Gävle and a...
with the song "Samba Sambero", also written by Thomas G:son
Thomas G:son
Thomas Gustafsson is a Swedish composer and musician from Skövde, Västergötland, Sweden, north-east of Göteborg. However, he is much more known nationally and internationally simply as Thomas G:son, his artistic name. Since 1998, Thomas has worked full time as a songwriter for the company G:songs...
. Guri Schanke said, in a webchat with the Norwegian newspaper VG
Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang , generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper...
before this was known, that the song was specially written for her, and that it was written on a request from NRK to Thomas G:son. Schanke's manager, Viggo Lund, said he was surprised to hear about the album release. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) has the rights for the songs that are part of Melodi Grand Prix, and the first right to use them.http://www.scansat.no/index.php?fil=eldre_nyheter&vis_nyhet=3487 The EBU and NRK started investigations on the case.http://www.scansat.no/index.php?fil=eldre_nyheter&vis_nyhet=3490
The Melodi Grand Prix project leader for NRK said in a statement to VG, that "We have to look at this positively, and hope the song gets popular in Sweden."
See also
- Guri SchankeGuri SchankeGuri Schanke is a Norwegian actress and singer. She is known in Norway for her acting career, and was part of the 2005 round of the Norwegian version of Dancing with the Stars, where she came in second....
- Melodi Grand Prix 2007Melodi Grand Prix 2007Melodi Grand Prix 2007 was the television show in which the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was chosen....
- Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007Norway chose their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 during Melodi Grand Prix 2007. Actress turned singer, Guri Schanke, won the right to represent Norway with the song "Ven a bailar conmigo". The selection process consisted of four semi-finals and a final on 10 February 2007...
External links
- Lyrics, "Ven a bailar conmigo" at diggiloo.net