Norwegian broadcaster, NRK has presented all the artists which will be competing for a chance to represent Norway at Eurovision 2024. The show will feature three semi-finals and a grand final. The three artists with the most votes from each of the semi-final will be advancing to the final which is set to take place on 3rd of February. The result of the final will be determined by a 60/40 combination of the votes from the public and an international expert jury, giving more weight to the televote The hosts of the show will be Marion Ravn and Fredrik Solvang. The semi-final split is as follows
Semi-final 1 : 13th of January
Margaret Berger – “Oblivion”
Lyrics and music: Margaret Berger, Anders Kjær, Monica Engeseth and Sivert Hjeltnes Hagtvedt
Margaret Berger has already won MGP 2013 and ended on 4th place at Eurovision 2013 with “I Feed You My Love”. She was the runner up of “Idol” back in 2004. Margaret won Spellemann prize and took part at “Hver gang vi møtes” in 2016 and “Maskorama” (The Masked Singer) in 2021.
Myra – “Heart on Fire”
Lyrics and music: David Atarodiyan, Svein Hermansen and Regina Tucker
Myra is an award-winning songwriter and artist from Bergen. This 29 years old singer got popularity in Norway with her recent hits “Hjemløs i egen by” and “Dovre faller“. In addition to that Myra has performed at the Øya Festival, had the song of the week on NRK P3, was nominated for newcomer of the year on P3 Gold and won the Edvard Prize in 2020 for the lyrics to the song “Hjemløs i egen by”.
Throughout her life, Myra has experienced flight from war and a childhood in many different orphanages and foster homes. Her MGP entry is a declaration of love and the hope of always keeping the heart on fire.
Ingrid Jasmin – “Eya”
Lyrics and music: Ingrid Jasmin Vogt and Jonas Kroon
Ingrid Jasmin released her debut single in 2021. She grew up in Telemark and has family ties to Latin America. Ingrid studied flamenco together with traditional Norwegian music. She won Spellemann 2022 in Open class for this album.
GOTHMINISTER – “We come alive”
Lyrics and music: Bjørn Alexander Brem
GOTHMINISTER is the stage name of Bjørn Alexander Brem. He recently performed for over 30.000 people in Germany and has toured in more than 40 countries over the years. Last year he released the album “Pandemonium”, which won the award “Dark Album of the Year”, and featured Rammstein and Placebo among others. GOTHMINISTER has numerous chart positions in Germany and won a total of 19 international film awards for two of the music videos last year. MGP entry “We Come Alive” has been a collaboration with producer Jesper Borgen (Alan Walker, Coldplay) and is about believing in yourself and standing together against all injustice.
Fredrik Halland – “Stranded”
Lyrics and music: Fredrik Halland, Jenson Vaughan and Ruthy Raba
Fredrik Halland moved from Bergen to Los Angeles when he was 16 in order to follow his dream. He studied at the Musicians Institute for a year before touring with American artist Colbie Caillat. Later on he started working in the studio as a songwriter, producer and guitarist.
He has played, written and toured with artists such as Justin Bieber, Michael Jackson, Colbie Caillat, Gavin DeGraw, Becky G, Babyface and many more. Now he moved back to Norway and wants to focus on his own artistic career. “Stranded” is about the importance of being there for someone in difficult and lonely times.
Mathilde SPZ ft. Chris Archer and Slam Dunk : “Woman Show”
Lyrics and music: Audun Agnar Guldbrandsen, Silje Montsko Blandkjenn, Emmy Kristine Guttulsrud Kristiansen, Linda Dale, Christopher Colin Archer and Mathilde Espeseth
Mathilde SPZ is an artist who has written and performed her own songs since she was nine years old. She has sung on an impressively long list of festivals and stages and annually entertains tens of thousands of people. “Woman Show” is described as a show for introverts
She will be joined by Chris Archer who has over 50 million plays, from Russian music to pop and he has a very recognizable voice from festive music. Alongside them there will be Petter Haga, better known as Slam Dunk. Petter went from being a civil engineer and entrepreneur to an artist, conference host and speaker with his humorous songs.
Semi-final 2 : 20th of January
Gåte – “Ulveham”
Lyrics and music: Sveinung Eklo Sundli, Ronny Graff Janssen, Marit Jensen Lillebuen, Gunnhild Sundli, Magnus Børmark and Jon Even Schärer
Gåte had its breakthrough at the start of the 2000s. Their unique combination of traditional Norwegian folk music and explosive rock lifted them out of the rehearsal basement and onto big stages in record time.
The band experienced huge success with spectacular live shows, two critically acclaimed studio albums, two EPs and a live album. During this period, Gåte sold more than 100,000 albums, went straight to the top of the VG list and won the Spellemann award in 2002 as “best newcomer”.
The critically acclaimed band took a 12-year hiatus before making a long-awaited return in 2017.
Super Rob, Erika Norwich – “My AI”
Lyrics and music: Lars Horn Lavik, Super Rob, Erika Norwich and Kristian Liljan
Erika Norwich is a talented songwriter and artist from Trondheim. She has made a name for herself with songs such as “Til Lillebror” and the EP “Fra hjertet til hodet og ut”. Erika has found an unexpected partner and best friend in Super Rob: a nearly three-meter-tall robot updated with the latest AI technology. He works a bit like the digital assistant Siri.
Mileo – “You’re Mine”
Lyrics and music: Miles Curtis Sesselmann
Mileo is a Norwegian-Australian singer, songwriter and producer. He grew up traveling between Oslo and Sydney with his Norwegian father and Australian mother. As a child, he learned about music through school. The song “You’re Mine” is described as a captivating synth-heavy production, with horror film-like beats and an entertaining and disturbing nerve.
In recent years, Mileo has written and produced for several Norwegian artists, including Madcon, Chris Holsten, Mugisho, Alexandra Joner and Adelen.
Eli Kristin – “Touch of Venus”
Lyrics and music: Ronny Graff Janssen and Eli Kristin Hanssveen
Eli is a real opera diva. She has been a permanent employee at the opera for a number of years and has had leading roles in the most famous productions. She really became known as a participant in “Stjernekamp”, where in recent years she has also been both an opera coach and a duet partner for the participants. Now she has written “Touch of Venus” together with Ronny Janssen. The song is about how we – at our most vulnerable point in life – can either succumb or discover how strong we really are. The message is largely based on Eli Kristin’s own life.
Dag Erik Oksvold and Anne Fagermo – “Judge Tenderly of Me”
Lyrics and music: Dag Erik Oksvold, Alexander Pettersen and Anne Fagermo
They found the tone musically during “The Voice” last year. The former competitors have subsequently collaborated on the music, participated in “Beat for beat”.
Anne Fagermo has quickly made a name for herself as a talented singer and songwriter. With her distinctive voice and unique musical style, she has appeared on both large and small stages in recent years and released several singles.
Dag Erik Oksvold has slightly longer artist and music career behind him, and in 2021 he released his debut album “Back Then”, a country record recorded in Norway and Nashville.
Farida – “Heartache”
Lyrics and music: Farida Louise Bolseth Benounis, Kristian Wiik, Ilja Eriksson and Olav Tokerud
Farida is a returnee to MGP as she was a finalist of the contest in 2022 with “Dangerous”. In December 2022, she wrote two K-pop songs for the groups Red Velvet and WayV. She wrote these together with Karen Poole, known for having worked with, among others, world stars David Guetta and Zara Larsson. In addition to that she performed at Øyafestivalen, Bylarm twice, won the award for “Role model of the year” at the same festival, and not least was seen at South By Southwest in Texas.
In 2021, Farida reached the final of the prestigious “John Lennon Songwriting Competition” in New York with the self-composed song “Do About It”.
Semi-Final 3 : 27th of January
KEiiNO– “Damdiggida”
Lyrics and music: Alexandra Rotan, Fred Buljo, Tom Hugo Hermansen, Alexander N. Olsson and Jakob Redtzer
Another act which doesn’t need a special introduction. Five years have passed after KEiiNO won the hearts of the audience at Eurovision 2019 and after that they have released 28 songs, topped the charts, become radio favourites, won awards and been nominated for Spellemann award. They also competed at MGP 2021 with “Monument” where they ended as runner ups of the show.
MIIA – “Green Lights”
Lyrics and music: Benjamin Dan Ravn Fahre, Mia Virik Kristensen, Mugoshi David Nhonzi, Emelie Hollow and Ida Botten
MIIA released her debut single “Dynasty” in 2015. The song was featured by Billboard and was part of charts such as New Music Friday globally. At the time of writing, it has over 161 million plays on Spotify.
Mia Virik Kristensen is from Kragerø. In 2023, MIIA lifts the veil on a new chapter, a debut EP with painful and strong stories from her life. It is a soundscape that bends through emotions, shaped by experience and passion, and which marks the beginning of a timeless artistic journey, full of authenticity and power.
Annprincess – “Save Me”
Lyrics and music: Annprincess Johnson
Annprincess is an artist and songwriter from Lier. She is originally from Liberia and fled to Norway with her mother when she was seven years old. She signed up for Norske Talenter when she was in her teens, and took part in “The Voice” in 2022.
Annprincess made a professional commitment to music in 2019 after studying psychology. In the same year, she released her debut single “Middle of the Night”, which received international attention from, among others, Sky News.
The MGP song “Save Me” is about the loneliness you feel when others point out how different you are. The contribution is also about accepting it, accepting how you are and standing up for yourself.
Thomas Jenssen – “Take Me To Heaven”
Lyrics and music: Thomas Jenssen, Ricky Hanley, David Fremberg and Jonas Holteberg Jensen
Thomas Jenssen is an artist and songwriter from Levanger in Trøndelag. In recent years, he has studied music at the University of Agder and is now in his final year of a master’s in songwriting. Trønderen has written songs and collaborated with several producers in recent years.
Thomas was a tenor in the Oslo Fagottkor for many years, before he chose to pursue a solo career as an artist. “Take Me To Heaven” is about being captivated by someone and daring to be vulnerable. Dare to be yourself is an important topic, especially in the queer environment. The message in the song is something Thomas is passionate about.
MISTRA – “Waltz of Death”
Lyrics and music: Benedicte Adrian and Anders Odden
In the new duo MISTRA, two extremes in the Norwegian music industry collide: pop queen Benedicte Adrian and metal pioneer Anders Odden.
Benedicte Adrian is back in MGP 40 years after the success of Dollie de Luxe. The duo, which consisted of Benedicte and Ingrid Bjørnov, won the competition with “Long live life”. The two followed up the success with the album “Rock vs. Opera” and has composed music for several musicals together. They released their last album as “Adrian/Bjørnov”. As a solo artist, Benedicte has, among other things, sung the role of Queen of the Night in “The Magic Flute” at Den Norske Opera, released the solo album “Desember” and guested on various stages both as a pop artist and a classical singer.
Anders Odden has a long life behind him in black metal. In 1990, his band, Cadaver, debuted with Norway’s first death metal LP “Hallucinating Anxiety”. Since then, Cadaver has released six albums and gained cult status worldwide. Anders has also toured the world as a musician for other bands such as Celtic Frost. He has also collaborated with famous musicians such as Ronni Le Tekrø, Ledfoot, Hank von Hell, Tony Harnell and Satyricon.
Vidar Villa – “MER”
Lyrics and music: Vidar Mohaugen, Jonas Thomassen, Martin Thomassen and Mathias Nilsen
Vidar Villa took part at MGP 2018, right at the start of his career. He performed in a band which has now played over 500 concerts and been streamed over 200 million times, and as many as 17 of the songs have received a gold or platinum trophy. Some of their songs include “One Night Stand”, “Den Samme Jævla Sangen” and “Fy Faen Så Deilig”. Vidar Villa was also nominated for Spellemann in 2022 in the category “party music”.
His MGP entry is a song about embracing all parts of life – both the good and the bad. The lyrics depicts the desire to get out of the old, trodden rut one can quickly end up in, and to want more – more of everything
Dates of the show and song release
All of the competing entries are available on Spotify. You can check the songs below each of the entries description or at the playlist below. The dates of the shows are as follows:
- Semi Final 1 — Saturday, 13th January
- Semi Final 2 — Saturday, 20th January
- Semi Final 3 — Saturday 27th January
- Grand Final — Saturday, 3rd February
Playlist of all competing entries at Melodi Grand Prix 2024
Don’t forget to vote for your favourites of each semi final at our polls below
Semi Final 1
[democracy id=”243″]
Semi Final 2
[democracy id=”244″]
Semi Final 3
[democracy id=”245″]
What are your impressions of the artists, which songs are your favourites and what are your expectations of MGP 2023? Let us know your impressions in the comments below and at our social media @escbubble
