Eurovision Eurovision 2020 Norway

Tonight: Watch Melodi Grand Prix’s final heat

Tonight the last finalist of Melodi Grand Prix will be decided in Oslo.

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 previous tickets to the final awarded through this method were awarded to RayleeRein Alexander, Magnus Bokn and Kristin Husøy.

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?

ELIN & THE WOODS: “WE ARE AS ONE” 

Lyrics and Melody: Robin Lynch, Elin Koven, Ylva Persson and Linda Persson

The Sámi singer/songwriter Elin Kåven (40) and songwriter and music producer Robin Mortensen Lynch started collaborating in 2015. Elin is from Karasjok in the Sámi region, while Robin grew up in Sandnessjøen and now lives in Sweden. Their musical project is about tracing our roots. They call their music “indigenous electronic pop”, mixing elements of electronic music with heavy rhythms and joik.  

LIZA VASSILIEVA: “I AM GAY

Lyrics and Melody: Audun Agnar Guldbrandsen, Stian Nyhammer Olsen, Myrtoula Røe og Liza Vassilieva 

Music and songwriting, art and drawing, have been a passion for Liza throughout her life. Watching music videos on MTV after school became her introduction to pop music. As a 19-year-old, she moved to Trondheim where she earned a master’s degree in European studies. During her time there, she became a part of the local songwriting community. Her first single, “Run Run Girl” was released on Trondheim Calling’s compilation album. Liza has participated in the songwriting camp “Song: Expo” every single year since 2013. In 2017, one of the songs she co-wrote was picked up by a record label in South Korea and later released by the K-pop girl group TWICE, with the title “Eye Eye Eyes “. In 2018 she released the single “Third Wheel”. Liza has also contributed to a couple of songs at Norwegian MGPjr.

JENNY JENSSEN: “MR. HELLO” 

Lyrics and Melody: Mats Larsson, Jørgen Andson og Jenny Jenssen 

Jenny Jenssen (55) was raised in Bjerkvik outside Narvik in Nordland county. She has released a total of 16 albums throughout her career. Her first appearance on stage was as a three-year-old. She won talent contests in the 1970’s and appeared on national television for the first time in 1978. Jenny Jenssen has a long and varied music career and is known for her likability and great connection with her audiences. In 2007, she participated in the Melodi Grand Prix with the song “Vil du ha svar”

KEVIN BOINE: “STEM PÅ MÆ

Tekst og melodi: Tekst og melodi: Henning Olerud og Stanley Ferdinandez 

Kevin Boine (26) is from Tana in Finnmark. With 70 million streams, Kevin has become one of Norway’s largest Norwegian-language artists. Kevin made it to platinum in 2017, even without being signed by a record label. After that, he signed with Universal Music. In 2019, his popularity exploded in Sweden. 

As Finnmark’s self-proclaimed party king, he will do everything to make you get those dance moves going. He says he also has a serious message behind his MGP participation. With “Stem på mæ” (Vote for Me), Kevin wants to encourage everyone to follow their dreams no matter how much adversity they encounter, and he wants to tell people to believe in themselves and enjoy successes, whichever way they choose to go. 

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 FAVORITE TO WIN?

The bookmakers are split between Elin & The Woods and Liza. If there was a jury involved, I would put money on Elin & The Woods, but with this being 100% televote, may Liza has enough fans to push her out of the closet?

MGP Heat 5 odds (Source: Eurovisionworld.com)

WHERE TO WATCH

You can follow the show via ESCplus Live beginning at 19.50 CET.

Don’t forget to vote in our poll!

MGP 2020 (Semi-Final 5)
Liza Vassilieva – I Am Gay
174
Elin & The Woods– We Are As One
165
Kevin Boine – Stem på mæ
155
Jenny Jenssen – Mr. Hello
143
Number of voters: 17
Eurovision, National Final

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