Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020

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Eurovision Song Contest 2020
CountryFlag of Norway.svg  Norway
National selection
Selection process Melodi Grand Prix 2020
Selection date(s)Semi-finals:
11 January 2020
18 January 2020
25 January 2020
1 February 2020
8 February 2020
Final:
15 February 2020
Selected entrant Ulrikke
Selected song"Attention"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Final resultContest cancelled
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄201920202021►

Norway originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2020 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The competition was won by Ulrikke with the song "Attention". However, the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe.

Contents

Background

Prior to the 2020 Contest, Norway had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-nine times since their first entry in 1960. [1] Norway had won the contest on three occasions: in 1985 with the song " La det swinge " performed by Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with the song " Nocturne " performed by Secret Garden and in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. Norway also had the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final more than any other country and for having the most " nul points " (zero points) in the contest, the latter being a record the nation shared together with Austria. The country had finished last eleven times and had failed to score a point during four contests. Following the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Norway has only failed to qualify on three occasions. In 2019, Norway was represented by Keiino with the song "Spirit in the Sky", which placed 6th in the final with 331 points.

The Norwegian national broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), broadcasts the event within Norway and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The broadcaster has traditionally organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix , which has selected the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in all but one of their participations.

Before Eurovision

Melodi Grand Prix 2020

Melodi Grand Prix 2020 was the 58th edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix and selected Norway's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. [2] To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest, the competition consisted of five semi-finals based on Norway's five regions between 11 January 2020 and 8 February 2020 and a final on 15 February 2020. [3] [4] All shows were hosted by Kåre Magnus Bergh, Ingrid Gjessing Linhave and Ronny Brede Aase, televised on NRK1, NRK TV, broadcast via radio on NRK P1 as well as streamed online at NRK's official website nrk.no. [5] [6]

Semi-finals

  • The first semi-final (Southern Norway) took place on 11 January 2020. "Wild" performed by Raylee qualified to the final.
  • The second semi-final (Eastern Norway) took place on 18 January 2020. "One Last Time" performed by Rein Alexander qualified to the final.
  • The third semi-final (Central Norway) took place on 25 January 2020. "Pray for Me" performed by Kristin Husøy qualified to the final.
  • The fourth semi-final (Western Norway) took place on 1 February 2020. "Over the Sea" performed by Magnus Bokn qualified to the final.
  • The fifth semi-final (Northern Norway) took place on 8 February 2020. "I Am Gay" performed by Liza Vassilieva qualified to the final.

Final

Ten songs consisting of the five semi-final qualifiers alongside the five pre-qualified songs competed during the final on 15 February 2020 at the Trondheim Spektrum in Trondheim. This was the third time a Melodi Grand Prix final had been held outside of Oslo and the first time since 1989. It was also the first time that Trondheim hosted the final. [7] The winner was to be selected over three rounds of online voting, however due to technical difficulties with the online vote in the first round, the top four entries were selected by a 30-member demoscopic jury panel to proceed to the second round, the Gold Final. [8] [9] In the Gold Final, the top two entries were selected solely by the online vote to proceed to the third round, the Gold Duel. In the Gold Duel, the results of the online vote were revealed by Norway's five regions and led to the victory of "Attention" performed by Ulrikke Brandstorp with 200,345 votes. [10]

Final – 15 February 2020
DrawArtistSongResult
1Raylee"Wild"Gold Final
2 Didrik and Emil Solli-Tangen "Out of Air"Eliminated
3Magnus Bokn"Over the Sea"Eliminated
4Akuvi"Som du er"Eliminated
5 Kristin Husøy "Pray for Me"Gold Final
6Rein Alexander"One Last Time"Eliminated
7 Tone Damli "Hurts Sometimes"Eliminated
8Sondrey"Take My Time"Eliminated
9 Ulrikke Brandstorp "Attention"Gold Final
10Liza Vassilieva"I Am Gay"Gold Final
Gold Final
DrawArtistSongResult
1 Kristin Husøy "Pray for Me"Gold Duel
2 Ulrikke Brandstorp "Attention"Gold Duel
3Liza Vassilieva"I Am Gay"Eliminated
4Raylee"Wild"Eliminated
Gold Duel
DrawArtistSongVotesPlace
1 Kristin Husøy "Pray for Me"194,6672
2 Ulrikke Brandstorp "Attention"200,3451

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2020, 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 first semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2020, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. [11] However, due to 2019-20 pandemic of Coronavirus, the contest was cancelled.

Related Research Articles

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Alvedansen" written by Kjetil Fluge, Christine Guldbrandsen and Atle Halstensen. The song was performed by Christine Guldbrandsen. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2006 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2006 contest in Athens, Greece. 18 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 4 February 2006 where 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, "Alvedansen" performed by Christine Guldbrandsen was selected as the winner with 77,568 votes.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "In My Dreams" written by Trond "Teeny" Holter. The song was performed by the band Wig Wam. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2005 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Eight entries competed in a show that took place on 5 March 2005 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, "In My Dreams" performed by Wig Wam was selected as the winner with 75,667 votes.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Ven a bailar conmigo" written by Thomas G:son. The song was performed by Guri Schanke. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2007 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland. 18 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 10 February 2007 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, "Ven a bailar conmigo" performed by Guri Schanke was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three regional jury groups and a public televote.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "High" written by Thomas Thörnholm, Lars Andersson and Danne Attlerud. The song was performed by Knut Anders Sørum. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2004 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. Twelve entries competed in a show that took place on 6 March 2004 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, "High" performed by Knut Anders Sørum was selected as the winner with 82,427 votes.

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.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "On My Own" written by Ole Henrik Antonsen, Tom-Steinar Hanssen and Ole Jørgen Olsen. The song was performed by Haldor Lægreid. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2001 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2001 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. Twelve entries competed in a show that took place on 24 February 2001 and the winner was determined over two rounds of voting from a five-member jury panel and a regional televote. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the superfinal. In the second round of voting, "On My Own" performed by Haldor Lægreid was selected as the winner.

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.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Stay" written by Tooji, Peter Boström and Figge Boström. The song was performed by Tooji. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2012 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. 24 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals and a final. Ten entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 11 February 2012 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, "Stay" performed by Tooji was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three regional jury groups and a public vote.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "I Feed You My Love" written by Karin Park, Robin Lynch and Niklas Olovson. The song was performed by Margaret Berger. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2013 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. 21 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals and a final. Ten entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 9 February 2013 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, "I Feed You My Love" performed by Margaret Berger was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three regional jury groups and a public vote.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Silent Storm" written by Josefin Winther. The song was performed by Carl Espen. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2013 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. 15 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals and a final. Nine entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 15 March 2014 where 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, "Silent Storm" performed by Carl Espen was selected as the winner with 53,712 votes.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "A Monster Like Me" written by Kjetil Mørland. The song was performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2015 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Eleven entries competed in a show that took place on 14 March 2015 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, "A Monster Like Me" performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett was selected as the winner with 88,869 votes.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Grab the Moment" written by Joakim With Steen and Jonas McDonnell. The song was performed by Jowst, which is the artistic name of music producer Joakim With Steen, with unaccredited vocals from Aleksander Walmann. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2017 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2017 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 11 March 2017 and the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, the combination of votes from ten international jury groups and a public televote selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected "Grab the Moment" performed by Jowst as the winner with 46,064 votes.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodi Grand Prix 2020</span> 58th edition of Melodi Grand Prix

Melodi Grand Prix 2020 was the 58th edition of the Norwegian music competition Melodi Grand Prix (MGP) and served as the country's preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The competition was organized by NRK between 11 January 2020 and 15 February 2020, and a total of 25 songs participated – the highest number in the history of the competition.

<i>Melodi Grand Prix 2021</i> 59th edition of Melodi Grand Prix

Melodi Grand Prix 2021 was the 59th edition of the Norwegian music competition Melodi Grand Prix (MGP). The contest served as the country's preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. The competition was organized by NRK and was held between 16 January 2021 and 20 February 2021. A total of 26 songs participated – the highest number in the history of the competition.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Norwegian broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), used the national selection Melodi Grand Prix 2021 to decide their representative.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy with "Give That Wolf a Banana" performed by Subwoolfer. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix2022 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2022 contest. 21 entries were selected to compete in the national final, which consists of seven shows: four semi-finals, two Last chance round shows and a final. Ten entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final that took place on 19 February 2022 and the winner was determined over two rounds of voting.

<i>Melodi Grand Prix 2023</i> 61st edition of Melodi Grand Prix

Melodi Grand Prix2023 was the 61st edition of Melodi Grand Prix (MGP), the annual Norwegian music competition that serves as the country's preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was organised by Norway's public broadcaster NRK, and consisted of three semi-finals and a final, held throughout January and February 2023. The winner of the competition, Alessandra with "Queen of Kings", went on to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom in May 2023.

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with "Queen of Kings" performed by Alessandra. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2023 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2023 contest. 21 entries were selected to compete in the national final, which consists of four shows: three semi-finals and a final. Nine entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 4 February 2023, and the winner was determined following the combination of votes from ten international jury groups and a public online vote.

References

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