Spirit in the Sky (Keiino song)

"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by Norwegian music group Keiino. It was released as a digital download and for streaming on 25 January 2019 as the lead single from their debut studio album Okta. It represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel.^[1] It was performed during the second semi-final on 16 May 2019, and qualified for the final.^[2] It placed first in the televote with 291 points and finished in sixth place with 331 points overall.^[3]

"Spirit in the Sky"
Single by Keiino
from the album OKTA
Released	25 January 2019
Recorded	2018
Genre	Dance-pop electropop yoik Sámi folk
Length	3:05
Label	Self-publishing
Songwriter(s)	Tom Hugo Hermansen Fred-René Buljo Alexandra Rotan Henrik Tala Rüdiger Schramm Alexander Olsson Alexander N Olsson
Keiino singles chronology
"Spirit in the Sky" (2019) "Shallow" (2019)
Music video
"Spirit in the Sky" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 entry
Country	Norway
Artist(s)	Keiino
Languages	English Northern Sámi
Composer(s)	Tom Hugo Hermansen Henrik Tala Fred-René Buljo Rüdiger Schramm
Lyricist(s)	Alexander Olsson Tom Hugo Hermansen Fred-René Buljo Alexandra Rotan Alexander N Olsson
Finals performance
Semi-final result	7th
Semi-final points	210
Final result	6th
Final points	331
Entry chronology
◄ "That's How You Write a Song" (2018)
"Attention" (2020) ►

Background

The song is an uptempo number, inspired by 80s disco and dance music, which has been described as dance-pop,^[4][5][6] electropop,^[5][7][4] yoik,^[8][4][6] and Sami folk^[7][8] music. It is about the struggles for equal rights regardless of ethnicity, gender identity and sexuality, given their long struggle in pursuit of equal rights.^[1] The music video of "Spirit in the Sky" was released on 4 April 2019.

It contains some lyrics in the Northern Sami language, Čajet dan čuovgga ("Show me the light") and the non-lexical vocables, He lå e loi la as part of the yoiking segment.^[9]

Eurovision Song Contest

Main article: Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

The song was selected to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, after Keiino were chosen through Melodi Grand Prix 2019, the music competition that selects Norway's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. On 28 January 2019, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Norway was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 16 May 2019, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. After all the competing songs for the 2019 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the show's producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Norway performed in position 15, and qualified for the final, which took place on 18 May 2019.^[10] It placed first in the televote with 291 points and overall finished in sixth place with 331 points.

Charts

Chart (2019)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)^[11]	61
Estonia (Eesti Tipp-40)^[12]	11
Euro Digital Songs (Billboard)^[13]	5
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)^[14]	19
Greece International Digital Singles (IFPI)^[15]	53
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)^[16]	11
Ireland (IRMA)^[17]	84
Lithuania (AGATA)^[18]	12
Netherlands (Single Top 100)^[19]	59
Norway (VG-lista)^[20]	1
Scotland (OCC)^[21]	7
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[22]	33
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)^[23]	7
UK Singles (OCC)^[24]	61

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Norway (IFPI Norway)^[25]	3× Platinum	180,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

• "Sámiid ædnan" by Sverre Kjelsberg and Mattis Hætta. Another song containing joik representing Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980.

References

1. Johannessen, (NTB) NTB-Gitte (25 January 2019). "Gamle helter og nye stjerneskudd i Melodi Grand Prix-feltet". smp.no (in Norwegian Nynorsk). Retrieved 2 March 2019.
2. "Second Semi-Final: Last 10 acts qualify for Eurovision 2019 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
3. "Results of the Grand Final of Tel Aviv 2019". European Broadcasting Union. from the original on 23 May 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
4. Alt du trenger å vite om KEiiNO
5. MGP-vinner beskyldes for plagiat
6. Dette betyr joiken i Melodi Grand Prix-vinnerlåten
7. Tel Aviv 2019 | Participants KEiiNO
8. – Veldig fin joik, men vanskelig å lære
9. KEiiNO sing and joik in Norway's first rehearsal
10. "Second Semi-Final: Last 10 acts qualify for Eurovision 2019 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
11. "Keiino – Spirit in the Sky" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
12. "EESTI TIPP-40: Official Estonian Singles Chart". Eesti Ekspress. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
13. . Billboard. Archived from the original on May 23, 2020. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
14. "Keiino – Spirit in the Sky" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
15. "Official IFPI Charts – Digital Singles Chart (International) – Week: 21/2019". IFPI Greece. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
16. [The Music – Songs: Week 22 – 2019] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. 2019-06-02. Archived from the original on 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
17. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Keiino". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
18. "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
19. "Keiino – Spirit in the Sky" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
20. "Keiino – Spirit in the Sky". VG-lista. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
21. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
22. "Keiino – Spirit in the Sky". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
23. "Keiino – Spirit in the Sky". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
24. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
25. "Norwegian single certifications – Keiino – Spirit in the Sky" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.

Notes