"Lykken er" marked Norway's return to Eurovision after their first of only two absences to date since their debut, when they were one of five countries to boycott the 1970 contest in protest at the four-way tie in 1969 and the fact that they (along with Finland and Sweden) considered that the voting system of the late 1960s tended to place the Nordic countries at a disadvantage.
Before Eurovision
Melodi Grand Prix 1971
Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) held the Melodi Grand Prix 1971 on 20 February at its studios in Oslo, hosted by Jan Voigt. Twelve songs took part in the final, with the winner chosen by a 14-member public jury who each awarded between 1 and 5 points per song. Other participants included past and future Norwegian representatives Inger Jacobsen, Odd Børre, and Anne-Karine Strøm.[1]
On the night of the final Krogh performed last in the running order, following Finland. Lyrically, "Lykken er" (translated as "Happiness Is") was little more than a list of pleasant things and experiences which Krogh enjoyed, leading to much comment that it was an overly-obvious attempt to replicate the previous year's winner "All Kinds of Everything", with a good dash of "My Favourite Things" from The Sound of Music thrown in for good measure. At MGP Krogh had performed in normal teenage attire, but in Dublin she sang dressed in a Victorian gown, complete with a parasol which she opened, closed and twirled throughout the song. At the close of voting "Lykken er" had picked up 65 points, placing Norway 17th of the 18 entries, ahead only of Malta.[2] The poor result was largely attributed to the fact that the whole package of song, performance and presentation was much too cute, precious and twee for its own good, and was likely to have left a negative impression with the voters.[3]
Each participating broadcaster appointed two jury members, one below the age of 25 and the other above, who voted for their respective country by giving between one and five points to each song, except that representing their own country. All jury members were colocated at the venue in Dublin, and were brought on stage during the voting sequence to present their points.[4] The Norwegian jury members were Sten Fredriksen and Liv Usterud.[5]
^Roxburgh, Gordon (2014). Songs for Europe: The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Two: The 1970s. Prestatyn, United Kingdom: Telos Publishing. p. 60. ISBN978-1-84583-093-9.
