By Marcel Stober
The folk-rock band Gåte is representing Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö. Their song "Ulveham" is entirely in Norwegian, which is rare at the ESC. Gåte won the final of the Norwegian "Melodi Grand Prix" in Trondheim. They had the highest score of the evening, especially from the televoting. "Ulveham" ("Wolf Skin") was written by some of the band members and marks the first Norwegian-language song at the ESC since "Alvedansen" in Athens 2006. When Christine Guldbrandsen competed with that song, Gåte already had a number-one album.
Folk-Rock with Medieval Texts
Gåte was founded in 1999 in central Norwegian Trøndelag. Today, the band consists of singer Gunnhild Sundli, Sveinung Sundli, Magnus Robot Børmark, Gjermund Landrø, and Kenneth Kapstad. Almost all of them have been there since the beginning. In 2005, Gåte performed at several festivals in Germany, including the M'era Luna Festival in Hildesheim and the Highfield Festival in Hohenfelden, Thuringia. The band took a break from 2005 to 2017. Gåte's music is folk-rock, heavily influenced by Norwegian legends and folk songs. The lyrics of "Ulveham" were originally from a medieval ballad, so the band had to completely revise them before the Norwegian final to comply with ESC rules.
Narrow Victory in the National Final
Gåte narrowly won the Norwegian final, but only due to a rule change. Last year, the international jury voting and televoting each accounted for 50 percent of the final score. In 2024, however, the audience had 60 percent weight. Gåte's strong showing in the televoting secured their victory. Under the old system, KEiiNO would have had a slight edge. The Norwegian ESC candidates from Tel Aviv 2019 came second with "Damdiggida" and in 2021 with "Monument." The song "My AI," featuring a robot powered by artificial intelligence, took third place. Margaret Berger, Norway's 2013 contestant, tried her luck again with "Oblivion" but only reached seventh place in Gåte's victory.
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