Melodi Grand Prix 2020 will feature five semi-finals and one grand final show.
Norway’s Eurovision selection show, Melodi Grand Prix, will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year. In light of this, the 2020 edition will be made up of five semi-finals and one grand final, as opposed to the one grand final seen this year. Each show will take place live in Oslo, but will focus on artists from the following regions:
- Northern Norway
- Central Norway
- Western Norway
- Eastern Norway
- Southern Norway
It’s down to the Norwegian public to decide which artist qualifies from each semi-final, with the jury also choosing their favourite from each show to qualify, making a total of ten finalists. In the final, the public will decide who will represent the country at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest.
The head of MGP, Stig Karlsen, states that:
“We are really looking forward to conveying great music involvement from all over the country”.
The submissions window for the 2020 contest is open from now until May 17th 2019. The rules of the submissions are similar as to in previous years. However small changes have been made:
- All registered entries must have a minimum of one Norwegian songwriter on the team
- Each producer / songwriter can submit a maximum of three songs
This year’s Melodi Grand Prix was won by KEiiNO, a group made up of Sámi rapper and joiker Fred-René Buljo, and Norwegian singers Tom Hugo Hermansen and Alexandra Rotan. The latter are no strangers to Melodi Grand Prix, as they both appeared in the 2018 edition of the contest, with Alexandra finishing in the superfinal alongside Stella Mwangi. The trio created KEiiNO towards the end of 2018, specifically for Melodi Grand Prix.
Source: NRK
Norway debuted in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960, and have won the contest three times – in 1985, 1995 and 2009. The country has the dubious record of finishing last the most times, eleven in total, and have received nul points four times. Norway last won the contest in 2009 when Alexander Rybak broke all records with his song “Fairytale”. He scored 387 points in the final, receiving 16 sets of 12 points and scoring points from every country.
