Norway: NRK introduces changes in Melodi Grand Prix 2023
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Norway's national broadcaster, NRK, has decided to implement some changes in next year's national selection of Melodi Grand Prix.
The next edition of Melodi Grand Pirx, the show that determines Norway's Eurovision representative, will be going through several changes in its format.
The MGP 2023 selection will consist of three semifinals and one grand final show that will decide the winner. The show that will be presented by Arianrhod Engebø and Staysman will see the following changes accorging to NRK:
Fewer semis and contestants
In the 2023 MGP the semi-final heat will be reduced from five rounds that we saw the previous editions down to three. The second chance semi-final will also be removed from the next national selection.
In addition no prequalified acts for next year's competition. During the three semifinals 21 acts will all have to compete for a spot in the Grand final and we won't see six prequalified acts having reserved a spot in the final.
Stig Karlsen commenting on the decision for the prequalified acts reveals that it came as a results from the audience's feedback:
“There were several good reasons for the solution with pre-qualified acts, but MGP is in constant development. We are now going for a competition model that is easier to understand, and where all the artists compete with the same starting point. More is at stake for everyone from day one.”
Semis without duels
In the three semifinals 21 acts will take part, but instead of competing in duels as in previous editions the will compete against each other in sets of 7. In each semi final round out of the seven contestants the top three with the most votes will advance to the Grand final.
Also for the first time the final will not take place in Oslo but will be transfered to Trondheim which will be hosting the next edition with the grand final set for February 4, 2023. Norway's head of delegation stated:
“After two years of a pandemic, we can finally bring MGP back to a large arena. We have dreamed of a packed venue since we last had a full house, just weeks before the country shut down in March 2020. The commitment we saw from the audience of 8,500 is difficult to describe in words, but the TV images speak for themselves. We are looking forward to creating a Grand Final again from the middle of the country, to the whole of Norway”,
The results
Unlike previous edition, MGP 2023 will see the return of the international juries, as an effort to increase the chance of winning the Eurovision Song Contest. The jury will be made up by music experts from a number of countries, while their . Mr Karlsen explained:
“MGP is part of an international music competition, and we want to use a similar voting model to that used in the Eurovision Song Contest. This is to increase the chances of winning in ESC. A model with both a professional jury and audience votes also gives us a better basis for creating a more exciting MGP”.
The timeline
On January 4, 2023 we will have the chance to find out the artists that will be participating in the Norwegian national selection while the songs of each semi final will be released the Monday before each show. MGP 2023 will unfold according to the following schcedule:
- 1st Semi-Final – January 14
- 2nd Semi-Final – January 21
- 3rd Semi-Final – January 28
- Grand Final – February 4
Norway in Eurovision
Norway has been taking part in the Eurovision Song contest since 1960 and has won the contest three times, in 1985, 1995 and 2009. However the country has marked some records , as it has finished in the last place most times than any other country, finishing in the last placing on the scoreboard 11 times. A total of four times it has received zero points, while in 2009 victory it received the remarkable number 16 sets of 12 points and was voted by every single country, reaching the impressive winning score of 387 points! Norway hasn’t qualified two times in the final the last decade, in 2011 with Stella Mwangi and in 2016 with Agnete
In 2019 the three member group KEiiNo with their entry “Spirit in the Sky” defended the Norwegian colors in Tel Aviv achieving a remarkable 1st place in the televoting while they finished 6th on the overall scoreboard.Ulrikke won Melodi Grand Prix 2020 and was set to go on and represent Norway at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam with her entry “Attention” .Unfortunately the contest was cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic and the female act never saw her Eurovision journey completed. Last year TIX was crowned winner in the national final with his song 'Fallen Angel' which he performed on Rotterdam Ahoy's stage achieving to qualify to the grand final, where he finished 18th.
This year, Subwoolfer were crowned winners of Melodi Grand Pirx 2022 with the song 'Give that wold a banana' and flew the flag in Turin where they achieved to finish 10th with 182 points in the overall score.
News Source: NRK
Image: Sarah Louise Bennett
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Angelos D.
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