ESC+Plus has talked to Pegasus, finalists of this year’s Norwegian national selection for Eurovision. The band will perform “Anyways” in the final of MGP 2016 set on February 27.
ESC+Plus: Hello! First of all, thank you so much for your time and congratulations on having been selected to take part in the Norwegian national selection for Eurovision 2016!
E+: Can you tell us about you, your musical career and important achievements?
Pegasus is a four piece Pop/Aor band that is fronted by the brothers Tommy & Ronny Nilsen. On keyboards there’s Sjur Lundstein and on drums we got Arne Overen. Pegasus started in the spring of 2006 and we released our debut album in February 2007. Since then we’ve released 8 studio albums including a ‘Best Of’. In 2013 we won a Norwegian Grammy(Spellemannpris) and in 2014 the brothers Tommy & Ronny received a ‘Songwriters of the year’ award. They are the sole songwriters for Pegasus and have written over 60 songs for other artists, both national and international.
E+: What impelled you to take part in “MGP 2016”?
Since 2008, people around us have suggested that we should give «MGP» a try, but we never submitted any songs. In the spring of 2015 we finally started talking about MGP and that it would be fun to try. We submitted the song ‘Anyway’, but failed to get a response. Oddly enough, the MGP-team contacted us a few months later and asked if we would like to try out for this years MGP. We told them that we already had submitted a song. They couldn’t find it in their database so we sent it to them again. They loved it and wanted us join the MGP-camp. It’s like it was meant to be, so we’re very grateful for that.
E+: How did you feel when you knew you had qualified for the final? Did you expect it?
No, we did not expect it at all. So when they called me and told me that Pegasus had been selected to be one of the ten contenders in «MGP 2016», I was shocked and then just extremely happy. Even though Norway is a small country, there was a thousand song submissions. That’s truly amazing. The rest of the guys had the same reaction as me when I told them the great news. We’re really looking forward to this.
E+: What it would mean for you to represent Norway?
Well, first of all; Anything you get to do for your country is great! And to represent your home country in a huge event like Eurovision is nothing short of an honour. An absolute honour.
E+: Can you tell us about your song? What is the story behind the lyrics?
Our song starts of with a little piano riff, then it just builds and expands until it becomes a big monster of a song. The lyrics tell a serious situation that is very hard to be in or around, especially if it’s happening to someone you care about. That when someone who is in a relationship is being used and taken advantage of and is fully aware of it, but still gives a 110% to make it work because they think they’re not strong enough to leave. It’s a very serious matter and it’s happening to millions of people. We love this song and we hope the listeners will too.
E+: Why do you think your song has to be selected for Stockholm? What are you strengths to reach the top in the competition?
It’s a great song with an amazing melody and powerful lyrics. We hope it can raise some awareness and give people the strength to believe in themselves and not let anybody but themselves control their own lives.
E+: Have you started to prepare your stage performance for “MGP 2016”?
No, not yet. We will be heading down to ‘MGP Headquarters’ on Monday the 25th of January. We are so psyched about this and what I can tell you, is that the stage atmosphere and props will be as big as the song.
E+: Do you usually watch Eurovision? What are your favorites songs in the history of the competition?
I watch Eurovision every year; scorecards and the whole shebang. My all time favourite Eurovision song is ‘Ein bißchen Frieden’ by Nicole from 1982. Other incredible songs are ‘In A Moment Like This’ by Chanée & N’Evergreen (Denmark) ‘Making Your Mind Up’ by Bucks Fizz (UK) ‘Waterloo’ by Abba (Sweden) ‘In My Dreams’ by Wig Wam (Norway) ‘Främling’ by Carola (Sweden) and the list goes on and on and on…….
E+: If you could choose a Eurovision former participant to sing with, who would it be?
Without a doubt; Celine Dion !!!
E+: Besides Eurovision, what are your plans for this year?
We are releasing our 10th studio album this year. It’s titled ‘One Step Closer’ and will be released in the first half of 2016. It will feature the song ‘Anyway’.
E+: Finally, can you send a message for our readers and Eurovision fans?
Thank you so much for letting me spend a bit of your time and thanks to all the Eurovision-fans out there. You, and you alone have kept the concept of Eurovision going for 60 years !!! That’s amazing.
E+: Thanks for your time and good luck!
You can listen to a snippet of “Anyways”, Pegasus’s song for MGP 2016, here.
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