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Melodi Grand Prix 2020 was the 58th edition of the Norwegian music competition
Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norsk Melodi Grand Prix, is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster (NRK). It determines for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been sta ...
(MGP) and served as the country's preselection for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. This w ...
. The competition was organized by
NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...
between 11 January 2020 and 15 February 2020, and a total of 25 songs participated – the highest number in the history of the competition. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Norway's debut in the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
, five heats and a final were organised instead of a single final. Each region in Norway was assigned its own heat, in which four acts from that region competed for a spot in the final on 15 February 2020. In addition, five pre-qualified finalists had been selected by the broadcaster. The heats were held in the H3 Arena in
Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...
, while the final took place in
Trondheim Spektrum Trondheim Spektrum (formerly Nidarøhallen) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Trondheim, Norway. It is located on the peninsula of Øya next to the Nidelven river. It is the home arena for men's basketball team Nidaros Jets and the alternat ...
. This was the first time
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
hosted a Melodi Grand Prix final, and also the first time since
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
that the final was not held in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
.
KÃ¥re Magnus Bergh KÃ¥re Magnus Bergh (born 22 December 1978) is a Norwegian television host. Among other things, he has hosted several editions of the Melodi Grand Prix, which he is one of the program managers for, and the '' Stjernekamp''. Personal life Bergh ...
hosted Melodi Grand Prix for the sixth time, while Ronny Brede Aase and Ingrid Gjessing Linhave debuted as presenters of the competition. In the final, the pre-qualified entry "
Attention Attention or focus, is the concentration of awareness on some phenomenon to the exclusion of other stimuli. It is the selective concentration on discrete information, either subjectively or objectively. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...
" by
Ulrikke Brandstorp Ulrikke Brandstorp (born 13 July 1995), also known mononymously as Ulrikke, is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, musical actress, voice actress and television presenter. Early life Ulrikke Brandstorp was born on 13 July 1995 in Skjeberg, a distri ...
received the most votes and was selected to represent
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. This w ...
in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
,
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, before it was cancelled on 18 March 2020 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.


Format


Song submissions

As in previous years, NRK had invited Norwegian and foreign musicians to submit songs for the competition. Registration for Melodi Grand Prix 2020 opened on 2 March 2019, with the deadline being 31 July of the same year. Each submission had to have at least one Norwegian songwriter, and each songwriter could submit a maximum of three contributions. These changes to the rules led to a significant decrease in the number of songs submitted. In total, the broadcaster received about 800 submissions, compared to about 1,000 in previous years. A total of 25 songs were selected to participate in the competition: 20 songs were divided over the five heats, and five songs qualified directly for the final.


Shows

2020 marked the 60th anniversary of Norway's debut in the
Eurovision Song Contest 1960 The Eurovision Song Contest 1960 was the fifth edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on Tuesday 29 March 1960 at the Royal Festival Hall in London, United Kingdom, and hosted by British television presenter and actress Catherine Boyle. ...
with the song " Voi Voi" by
Nora Brockstedt Nora Brockstedt (20 January 1923 – 5 November 2015) was a Norwegian singer. She was the first person ever to represent Norway in the European Song Contest, appearing as the Norwegian entrant in 1960 and 1961. She was first nationally kno ...
. On the occasion of the anniversary, NRK decided to expand the competition with five heats. This is the first time since 2014 that NRK organised heats ahead of the finals. Each of the five heats was centered around one of Norway's geographical regions:
Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...
, Central,
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
, Southern and
Eastern Norway Eastern Norway (, ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet. Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norw ...
. Four acts from each of these regions competed in their respective heats for a spot in the final on 15 February. The heats were broadcast directly from the H3 Arena in
Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...
, while the final was hosted by
Trondheim Spektrum Trondheim Spektrum (formerly Nidarøhallen) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Trondheim, Norway. It is located on the peninsula of Øya next to the Nidelven river. It is the home arena for men's basketball team Nidaros Jets and the alternat ...
. This was the third time a Melodi Grand Prix final had been held outside of
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, and the first time since 1989. It was also the first time that Trondheim hosted the final. The competition was hosted by three presenters.
KÃ¥re Magnus Bergh KÃ¥re Magnus Bergh (born 22 December 1978) is a Norwegian television host. Among other things, he has hosted several editions of the Melodi Grand Prix, which he is one of the program managers for, and the '' Stjernekamp''. Personal life Bergh ...
hosted for the sixth time, whereas Ronny Brede Aase and Ingrid Gjessing Linhave hosted the show for the first time.


Voting

The audience could vote for the competing acts in each heat, with the act that received most votes after two rounds proceeding to the final. A jury led by Stig Karlsen, the Norwegian head of delegation for the Eurovision Song Contest, selected the five pre-qualified finalists. In each heat, one of the pre-qualified finalists performed to ensure equal broadcasting time for all ten finalists. Viewers could only vote through the broadcaster's website ''nrk.no''. In the final, the same method of online voting was used to determine the winner of the competition. Due to excessive server load caused by the emoji reaction function of the app, the four gold finalists were determined by a thirty-member backup demoscopic panel as the NRK website was down.


Competing entries

The competing acts were announced during a press conference in Oslo on 6 January.


Heats


Heat 1 – Southern Norway

The first heat took place on 11 January 2020 at the H3 Arena in
Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...
.


Heat 2 – Eastern Norway

The second heat took place on 18 January 2020 at the H3 Arena in
Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...
.


Heat 3 – Central Norway

The third heat took place on 25 January 2020 at the H3 Arena in
Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...
.


Heat 4 – Western Norway

The fourth heat took place on 1 February 2020 at the H3 Arena in
Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...
.


Heat 5 – Northern Norway

The fifth heat took place on 8 February 2020 at the H3 Arena in
Fornebu Fornebu (local form ''Fornebo'') is a peninsular area in the suburban municipality of Bærum in Norway, bordering western parts of Oslo. Oslo Airport, Fornebu (FBU) served as the main airport for Oslo and the country since before World War II and ...
.


Final

Ten songs consisting of the five heat winners alongside the five pre-qualified songs competed in the final which was hosted by
Trondheim Spektrum Trondheim Spektrum (formerly Nidarøhallen) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Trondheim, Norway. It is located on the peninsula of Øya next to the Nidelven river. It is the home arena for men's basketball team Nidaros Jets and the alternat ...
in
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; ), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2022, it had a population of 212,660. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is ...
on 15 February 2020. The running order for the final was announced on 10 February 2020. In the first round, all ten finalists performed once, after which the four best songs proceeded to the gold final. After a second voting round, the two best songs from the gold final proceeded to the gold duel. A third voting round then determined the winner of Melodi Grand Prix 2020. After the gold duel, the results of the online voting were revealed by representatives of Norway's five regions, which led to the victory of "
Attention Attention or focus, is the concentration of awareness on some phenomenon to the exclusion of other stimuli. It is the selective concentration on discrete information, either subjectively or objectively. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...
" performed by
Ulrikke Brandstorp Ulrikke Brandstorp (born 13 July 1995), also known mononymously as Ulrikke, is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, musical actress, voice actress and television presenter. Early life Ulrikke Brandstorp was born on 13 July 1995 in Skjeberg, a distri ...
.


Spokespersons

* Southern Norway – Tom Hugo (winner MGP 2019, as part of Keiino) * Central Norway –
Margaret Berger Margaret Berger (born 11 October 1985) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, music director, and DJ. She made her debut on Sony BMG after she placed second on the second season of '' Norwegian Idol'' in 2004.Hoffman, K. Ross. Review"">"Chameleon ...
(winner MGP 2013) * Northern Norway –
Agnete Johnsen Agnete Kristin Johnsen Saba (born 4 July 1994), also known as Agnete Saba, Agnete Johnsen or simply Agnete, is a Sami-Norwegian singer and songwriter. Saba is best known for being the lead singer of the Norwegian teen punk band the BlackSheeps. Sh ...
(winner MGP 2016) * Western Norway –
Bjørn Johan Muri Bjørn Johan Muri (born 4 January 1990) is a Norwegian singer known for having taken part in Series 5 '' Idol'' (the Norwegian ''Pop Idol'') in 2007 where he came runner-up. In 2010, he took part in the Norwegian qualification for the Eurovisi ...
(fourth place MGP 2010) * Eastern Norway –
Åge Sten Nilsen Wig Wam is a Norwegian glam metal band formed in Halden in 2001. Wig Wam's lineup—consisting of vocalist Glam (Åge Sten Nilsen), guitarist Teeny (Trond Holter), bassist Flash (Bernt Jansen) and drummer Sporty (Øystein Andersen)—has remain ...
(winner MGP 2005, as part of
Wig Wam Wig Wam is a Norwegian glam metal band formed in Halden in 2001. Wig Wam's lineup—consisting of vocalist Glam (Åge Sten Nilsen), guitarist Teeny (Trond Holter), bassist Flash (Bernt Jansen) and drummer Sporty (Øystein Andersen)—has remain ...
)


Ratings


See also

*
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest Norway has been represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 63 times since making its debut in and has only been absent twice since then. In Eurovision Song Contest 1970, 1970, the country boycotted the contest over disagreements about the votin ...
*
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 Norway was set to be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2020 contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. ...
*
Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was planned to be the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It would have taken place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's victory at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. This w ...


References

{{Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
2020 song contests January 2020 in Norway Eurovision Song Contest 2020 February 2020 in Norway Events in Trondheim