It’s Monday, and that means Norwegian broadcaster NRK has released the songs that will compete in the second Semi Final of Melodi Grand Prix 2023! The show will air on Saturday 21st January at 19:50 CET.

Three of the songs below will move on to the Grand Final on 4th February, and those songs will be chosen 100% by the audience during the show. With NRK’s app, those in Norway will be able to vote during the show.

You can still vote in our ESCBubble poll at the end of this article, even if you can’t vote from Norway on Saturday!

Alejandro Fuentes – “Fuego”

Alejandro was born in Chile, but grew up and lives in Kristiansand. After failing to advance to the Gold Final of MGP 2018 with “Tengo otra”, Alejandro is back this year for his second time at the Norwegian national final. He rose to fame in 2005 when he came third in Norway’s version of Idol. He released two albums (2005, 2007) that did quite well, spending 17 and 12 weeks respectively on the Norwegian charts.

Bjørn Olav Edvardsen – “Turn Off My Heart”

Bjørn is a 40 year-old singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor. He grew up on Tromøy, an island in southern Norway where he studied classical singing. Like Alejandro, Bjørn also participated in the 2005 series of Norway’s Idol. In 2020, he was the Norwegian voice for the first gay main character in a Disney Pixar film ever (“Out”), creating many headlines.

Ella – “Waist”

Ella Antonia is a Brazilian/Norwegian singer and model, living in Norway. She promises to bring Scandinavian pop into a new genre mixed with Brazilian Funk and Brega Funk. MGP 2023 will be her first time participating in Norway’s national final.

Elsie Bay – “Love You in a Dream”

Elsa Ingeborg Søllesvik is originally from Kvinnherad, south-east of Bergen. After graduating high school, she studied law and criminology, obtaining bachelor’s degrees from the University of Oslo and the University of Stavanger. In 2014, she formed a duo with Emilie Haaland Austrheim, achieving great success before splitting in 2019. Elsie first dabbled with MGP in 2021, when she wrote Emmy’s song “Witch Woods.” She stepped on the MGP stage for the first time herself last year with the entry “Death of Us”, finishing in the top 4.

Jone – “Ekko Inni Meg”

Jonas is a 27 year-old singer, songwriter, and music producer from Oslo. His music career started as a kid when he first learned to play the guitar. From 2018 to 2021 he obtained a bachelor’s degree in music producing and songwriting. Saturday will be Jone’s first time participating in MGP.

Sandra Lyng – “Drøm d bort”

Sandra is a singer who comes from the town of Mosjøen on Norway’s central north coast. She placed 4th in the 2004 version of Pop Idol and has been releasing singles and albums ever since. She has appeared on TV and film on and off since her Idol days, and in 2020 wrote a series of children’s books about Corny the unicorn. 2023 marks her MGP début.

Swing’it – “Prohibition”

Swing’it is a Norwegian band that loves the Roaring 20s era. Founded by Martin Jarl whilst studying jazz music in London, the group has developed into one of the most successful ‘trad jazz’ bands in Norway and Europe. The group released its first single, “Party Like it’s 1923”  in 2019. The song is a story about flappers and dappers partying like they’re in ‘The Great Gatsby’. Their new song “Prohibition” marks the band’s MGP début.