Tonight, the big six-week extravaganza continues live from Oslo. As Norway pays special attention to its contests’ sixtieth anniversary we will once again see four acts compete for a spot in the Grand Final on February 15th.
There are 5 artists pre-qualified for the Grand Final as chosen by a jury led by Stig Karlsen. For the remaining hopefuls, Melodi Grand Prix 2020 will consist of 5 semi-finals before the national final, one for each region of Norway (North, Central, West, South, East). The 2020 competition will not include a European jury. The winner of MGP 2020 will be strictly in the hands of the Norwegian viewers. The first ticket to the final through this method was awarded to Raylee and the second to Rein Alexander.
So who will emerge victorious and join the previous victors and the five acts selected by the expert jury in the Grand Final?
WHO WILL TAKE PART?
Alekandru – ‘Pink Jacket’
Alexandru, is best known for his time in boyband Suite 16. ‘Pink Jacket’ serves us the catchiness you would expect, even if this is not your favorite, it will be tough to forget.
Kristin Husøy – “Pray for me”
Music and Lyrics: Roel Rats and Kristin Husøy
Kristin is a veteran of the Voice Norway and offers us a soulful tune with a gospel-tinged feel. This is a very Spotify friendly track but might have trouble making an impact in 3 minutes on Saturday.
Sie Gubba – “Kjære du”
Music and Lyrics: Magne Almås and Petter Øien
The band Sie Gubba are well established in the region they hail from. They are the first to perform a song in Norweigan during the heat rounds this year. They offer a folksy catchy song that is fairly representative of their discography with “Kjære du” which translates to “Dear You”.
Thomas Løseth – “Vertigo”
Music and Lyrics: Idar Sørensen
Thomas is a winner from Norway’s ‘The Voice’ 2017 season. He made his mark that year on power ballads and stays true to form here in his duet with support from Erika Norwich.
WHO WILL DECIDE?
The songs will compete in a duel style faceoff until there is a winner. We don’t yet know the pairings and this may only be revealed at the time of broadcast. What we do know is that ultimately the fans will decide the winner. The jury has already determined the songs to be sent to the final, so the heats are the fans’ chance to decide which of the songs still looking for a spot in the final should go through. Viewers can only vote through NRK.no.
In total, there will be ten participants in the final on 15 February, and the Norwegian television viewers will announce the winner. The selected winning song will represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in The Netherlands.
WHO IS THE FAVOURITE TO WIN?
Fan polls are mostly showing that Kristin Husøy has the most support. However, bookmakers – as well as our intel from people on the ground in Norway, say that the favorite is Sie Gubba. I personally don’t think we can count out Thomas Løseth either! This one will be super interesting to watch!
WHERE TO WATCH
You can follow the show via ESCplus Live beginning at 19.50 CET.
All six shows will be presented by Kåre Magnus Bergh, Ingrid Gjessing Linhave and Ronny Brede Aase.
You can listen to the songs in our Spotify playlist here. Don’t forget to vote in our poll!