is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Porsgrunn. Some other notable settlements in Porsgrunn include the town of Brevik and the villages of Langangen and Heistad.
Norway has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 61 times since making its debut in 1960 and has only been absent twice since then. In 1970, the country boycotted the contest over disagreements about the voting structure, and in 2002, they were relegated. The contest is broadcast in Norway by NRK, which also broadcasts Norway's national selection competition, Melodi Grand Prix.
Keep of Kalessin is a Norwegian extreme metal band from Trondheim, formed in 1993. The group's early lineup consisted of Ghash on vocals, Obsidian C. on guitars and keyboards, Warach on bass, and Vyl on drums. They released two albums under this lineup: Through Times of War in 1997, and Agnen: A Journey Through the Dark in 1999, before splitting up. Obsidian C. then toured with Satyricon, but revived the Keep of Kalessin name for a 2003 EP, Reclaim. In 2006, he reconstituted the group with a new lineup and released a third full-length, Armada. They toured with Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir early in 2008. Their fourth album Kolossus was released on 6 June 2008. They take their name from Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea series of books, where Kalessin is the name of the arch-dragon who is the bearer of the Earthsea world. Keep of Kalessin was nominated for a Spellemannprisen in the metal category in 2008.
Fredrik Kempe is a Swedish songwriter and opera and pop singer, who was born in Vårgårda. He has participated in Swedish versions of the musicals Les Misérables and Chess. In 2002, Kempe had a hit with Vincerò, where he mixed opera and Euro disco. He was a jury member in Idol 2016 which was broadcast on TV4.
Tine Thing Helseth is a Norwegian trumpet soloist specializing in classical repertoire.
Hanne Margrethe Fredriksen Sørvaag is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. For many years she was based in Stockholm, Sweden, mostly composing for other artists via Universal. Today she works from Oslo, Norway and has a career as a recording and performing artist.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "My Heart Is Yours" written by Hanne Sørvaag and Fredrik Kempe. The song was performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen. In addition to participating in the contest, the Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) also hosted the Eurovision Song Contest after winning the competition in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. NRK organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2010 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo. 21 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals, a Last Chance round and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 6 February 2010 where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, "My Heart Is Yours" performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from four regional jury groups and a public televote.
"Don't Wanna Lose You Again" is a song by British-Norwegian boy band A1, released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Waiting for Daylight (2010).
"Yes Man" is an English language hit single by Norwegian singer Bjørn Johan Muri, written by Simone Larsen, Simen Eriksrud, and Muri himself. The song took part in the Norwegian contest Melodi Grand Prix 2010, held to select the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, finishing fourth in the final on 6 February 2010. The eventual winner was Didrik Solli-Tangen with the song My Heart Is Yours.
"That Sounds Good to Me" is a song written and composed by Pete Waterman, Mike Stock and Steve Crosby that finished last when it represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 held in Oslo, Norway. The song and performer was revealed as Josh Dubovie on 12 March 2010 who won Eurovision: Your Country Needs You.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Haba Haba" written by Beyond51, Big City and Stella Mwangi. The song was performed by Stella Mwangi. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2011 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. 21 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals, a Last Chance round and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 12 February 2011 where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, "Haba Haba" performed by Stella Mwangi was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from four regional jury groups and a public vote.
The Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2010 was Norway's ninth national Melodi Grand Prix Junior for young singers aged 8 to 15. It was held in Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway and broadcast live Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK).
Best Kept Secret is a 2010 single release by Norwegian recording artist Didrik Solli-Tangen, released as the second single from his first studio album Guilty Pleasures (2010). The song features the Norwegian trumpet soloist Tine Thing Helseth.
Guilty Pleasures is the first album by Norwegian recording artist Didrik Solli-Tangen, and was released on November 1, 2010. The album's lead single, "My Heart Is Yours", was released on January 20, 2010. On 6 February 2010, it was selected as the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010, held in Oslo in May 2010. The second single, "Best Kept Secret" featuring the Norwegian trumpet soloist Tine Thing Helseth, was released on September 3, 2010. At an interview on the day of the album's release date, Solli-Tangen confirmed that "Compass" would be the third single.
Compass is a song written by Diane Warren and originally recorded by Australian singer Mark Vincent, the winner of the third edition of Australia's Got Talent, for his second studio album of the same name (2010).
Emil Solli-Tangen is a Norwegian opera singer.
Oslo Fagottkor is a Norwegian gay choir / show ensemble established in 2004 consisting of 35-40 gay men. The choir is known for its varied repertoire and at times humorous approach to interpreting old classics and newer contemporary hits. The choir is directed by Steinar Svendsen and conducted by Therese Kinzler Eriksen.
"My Heart Is Yours" is a song by Didrik Solli-Tangen, Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Icebreaker" written by Agnete Johnsen, Gabriel Alares and Ian Curnow. The song was performed by Agnete. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2016 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 27 February 2016 and the winner was determined over two rounds of public televoting. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of public televoting, "Icebreaker" performed by Agnete was selected as the winner with 166,728 votes.
Melodi Grand Prix 2018 was the 56th edition of Melodi Grand Prix, Norway's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition was held on Saturday, 10 March 2018 in the Oslo Spektrum; which has hosted all the Norwegian finals since 2001. The hosts were Kåre Magnus Bergh and Silya Nymoen, who also hosted the finals in 2015 and 2016, and the former also in 2017. Ten songs participated in the final, and like 2017, the winner was chosen by the viewers together with ten international jury groups. Alexander Rybak won the competition with his self-composed song "That's How You Write a Song". Rybak also won both the Norwegian and international finals in 2009. Rybak represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Portugal in May 2018. There, the song finished as number 15 in the final.
