"Ola Nordmann" is a

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regio ...

song by the Norwegian band

Plumbo Plumbo is a Norwegian rock and folk rock band from Sande, Vestfold, Norway. The three-piece band consists of Lars Erik Blokkhus (vocals, guitar), Tommy Elstad (bass) and Hasse Rønningen (drums), with assistance from supporting musician Glenn Hau ...

. The music was written by band member Lars Erik Blokkhus and the lyrics is by another band member Glenn Hauger. It is about the traditional Norwegian character

Ola Nordmann Ola Nordmann is a national personification of Norwegians, either for individuals or collectively. It is also used as a placeholder name. The female counterpart is Kari Nordmann, and collectively they are referred to as Ola og Kari Nordmann (Ola a ...

. The song was a follow up to Plumbo's successful single "

Møkkamann "Møkkamann" is a major hit by the Norwegian rock / folk band Plumbo from their third studio album ''Råkk'n Råll Harry'' that was released in 2010. In 2011, it became their biggest single the 2011 hit "Møkkamann" from the album that reached No. ...

" that topped

VG lista VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart. It is presented weekly in the newspaper '' VG''. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continents around the world. The data are collected by Nie ...

, the official Norwegian Singles Chart. Plumbo took part in the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It dete ...

in a bid to represent

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in the

2012 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azer ...

. On 28 January 2012, at the semi final 2 stage held in

Arena Larvik Jotron Arena Larvik is an indoor arena in Larvik, Norway. It was opened in September 2009. The arena will be primarily used for handball, but the hall has additional permanent floor marks for basketball, volleyball and floorball. Starting in S ...

Larvik Larvik () is a List of cities in Norway, town and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold in Vestfold og Telemark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Larvik. The municipality ...

, the song came first in 10 participating songs, winning the right to be featured in the Final 10 section. On 11 February, it took part in the Final 10, reaching the Top 4 stage but was voted out in favour of

Tooji Touraj Keshtkar ( fa, تورج کشتکار; born 26 May 1987), known professionally as Tooji, is a Norwegian singer, painter, model and television host. He represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan and finished 2 ...

and his song "

Stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

Music video

Plumbo released a music video that shows Norwegian pride and is based on the effect of the traditional

character in his traditional cloths on the Norwegian psyche. The video was produced by Royal Picture and directed by Christer Aase. The video starts with quick snapshots of friends sitting gloomily in a room near an empty table, some youth skateboarding in an indoor skateboarding venue, a band playing in a small club and a man jogging on an empty road near a forest. Suddenly the character Ola Nordmann appears on the empty road where the man is passing and starts planting small Norwegian flags Ola takes from his back sack on some trees. Then Ola Nordmann is shown going to the indoor skateboarding center where, to the surprise of the youth there, he takes out a skateboard from his back sack and starts skateboarding. Then Ola Nordmann visits the home of the three individuals and cheers them up by producing spirit drinks and sharing it with them creating a cheerful atmosphere and putting a flag on their table they are happy and start waving their own Norwegian flags. Finally Ola Nordmann visits the club where the band is performing (actually Plumbo) and starts dancing on the stage. The band is shown displaying small Norwegian flags on their microphones and on their playing instruments. While the band plays on the refrain of "Ola Nordmann", there are also flashbacks of the youth skating carrying flags on their hand, the three friends jubilant singing the song waving their flags. The last scene, shows the Norwegian man that had briefly appeared at the beginning of the music video now jogging carrying a huge Norwegian flag in his hand while Ola Nordmann exits the scene disappearing in the woods.Music video for Plumbo's "Ola Nordmann"
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Chart performance

Despite not qualifying for Eurovision Song Contest, the song "Ola Nordmann" proved very popular and charted in the VG lista Norwegian Singles Chart, peaking at #4 the week following the Melodi Grand Prix final.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ola nordmann 2012 singles Norwegian-language songs 2012 songs Songs about Norway Songs about fictional male characters Melodi Grand Prix songs of 2012