Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Spirit in the Sky", written by Tom Hugo Hermansen, Fred-René Buljo, Alexandra Rotan, Henrik Tala, Alex Olsson and Rüdiger Schramm. The song was performed by the group Keiino. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2019 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2019 contest in Tel Aviv, Israel. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 2 March 2019 and the winner was determined over three rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, the combination of votes from ten international jury groups and a public vote selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, a public vote exclusively selected the top two entries to advance to the competition's third round—the Gold Duel. In the third round of voting, a public vote again exclusively selected "Spirit in the Sky" performed by Keiino as the winner with 231,937 votes.
Norway was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 16 May 2019. Performing during the show in position 15, "Spirit in the Sky" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 18 May. It was later revealed that Norway placed seventh out of the 17 participating countries in the semi-final with 210 points. In the final, Norway performed in position 15 and placed sixth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 331 points.
Prior to the 2019 contest, Norway had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 57 times since their first entry in 1960.[1] Norway had won the contest on three occasions: in 1985 with the song "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with the song "Nocturne" performed by Secret Garden, and in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. Norway also had the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final more than any other country and for having the most "nul points" (zero points) in the contest, the latter being a record the nation shared together with Austria. The country had finished last eleven times and had failed to score a point during four contests. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Norway has finished in the top ten seven times, including their 2017 entry "Grab the Moment" performed by Jowst.
The Norwegian national broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), broadcasts the event within Norway and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. NRK confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest on 31 January 2018.[2] The broadcaster has traditionally organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix, which has selected the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in all but one of their participation. Along with their participation confirmation, NRK revealed details regarding their selection procedure and announced the organization of Melodi Grand Prix 2019 in order to select the 2019 Norwegian entry.[2]
Before Eurovision
Melodi Grand Prix2019
Melodi Grand Prix 2019 was the 57th edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix and selected Norway's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The show took place on 2 March 2019 at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, hosted by Heidi Ruud Ellingsen and Kåre Magnus Bergh.[3] The show was televised on NRK1, broadcast via radio with commentary by Ole Christian Øen on NRK P1 as well as streamed online on NRK TV.[4][5] The national final was watched by 961,000 viewers in Norway with a market share of 62.1%.[6]
Competing entries
A submission period was opened by NRK between 31 January 2018 and 9 September 2018. Songwriters of any nationality were allowed to submit entries, while performers of the selected songs would be chosen by NRK in consultation with the songwriters. In addition to the public call for submissions, NRK reserved the right to directly invite certain artists and composers to compete.[2][7] At the close of the deadline, over 1,000 submissions were received.[8] Ten songs were selected for the competition by several focus groups and the competing acts and songs were revealed on 25 January 2019 during a press conference at NRK's Store Studio, presented by Heidi Ruud Ellingsen and Kåre Magnus Bergh and broadcast via NRK1 and online at mgp.no.[9][10] Among the competing artists was former Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest entrant Mørland who represented the country in 2015 alongside Debrah Scarlett.[11][12]
Final
Ten songs competed during the final on 2 March 2019. The winner was selected over three rounds of voting. In the first round, the top four entries were selected by a 50/50 combination of votes from ten international juries and a public vote to proceed to the second round, the Gold Final. The viewers and the juries each had a total of 580 points to award. Each jury group distributed their points as follows: 1–8, 10 and 12 points, and only the 12 points of each jury were announced during the show. The viewer vote was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved through the following voting methods: SMS and online voting.[13] For example, if a song gained 10% of the viewer vote, then that entry would be awarded 10% of 580 points rounded to the nearest integer: 58 points. In the Gold Final, the top two entries were selected by public voting to proceed to the third round, the Gold Duel. In the Gold Duel, an additional round of public voting was held and the votes were aggregated to the results of the Gold Final, leading to the victory of "Spirit in the Sky" performed by Keiino with 231,937 votes.[14][15]
Following Melodi Grand Prix2019, Keiino filmed a music video for "Spirit in the Sky" at the studios of Krypton Film in Oslo. The video, which was directed by Martin Sofiedal and Alice Asplund, was released to the public on 4 April.[19]
Promotion
Keiino made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Spirit in the Sky" as the Norwegian Eurovision entry. On 8 March, Keiino performed during the Melfest WKND Pre-party, which was held at the Club Estelle in Stockholm, Sweden.[20][21] On 6 April, the group performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the AFAS Live venue in Amsterdam, Netherlands and hosted by Edsilia Rombley and Marlayne.[22] On 12 April, Keiino performed during the Eurovision PreParty Riga, which was organised by OGAE Latvia and held at the Crystal Club Concert Hall in Riga, Latvia.[23] On 14 April, Keiino performed during the London Eurovision Party, which was held at the Café de Paris venue in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Nicki French and Paddy O'Connell.[24] The group concluded promotional activities by performing during the Eurovision Pre-Party Madrid event, which was held on 21 April at the Sala La Riviera venue in Madrid, Spain and hosted by Tony Aguilar and Julia Varela.[25]
At Eurovision
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 28 January 2019, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Norway was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 16 May 2019, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[26]
Once all the competing songs for the 2019 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Norway was set to perform in position 15, following the entry from Albania and before the entry from the Netherlands.[27]
In Norway, the two semi-finals and the final were broadcast on NRK1 with commentary by Olav Viksmo-Slettan.[28] An alternative broadcast of the final was also televised on NRK3 with commentary by the hosts of the NRK P3 radio show P3morgen Ronny Brede Aase, Silje Reiten Nordnes and Markus Ekrem Neby.[29] The final was also broadcast via radio on NRK P1 with commentary by Ole Christian Øen.[30] The Norwegian spokesperson, who announced the top 12-point score awarded by the Norwegian jury during the final, was Alexander Rybak, who represented Norway in 2009, winning the competition for the country, and in 2018.
Semi-final
Keiino during a rehearsal before the second semi-final
Keiino took part in technical rehearsals on 6 and 10 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 15 and 16 May. This included the jury show on 15 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.[31]
The Norwegian performance featured the members of Keiino performing on stage in black outfits. The group members began the performance on different part of the stage before moving to the centre as the song progresses. The stage colours transitioned from black and blue to red, yellow and gold and the LED screens displayed starry skies, snowy mountains in the colours of northern lights and fire. The performance also featured smoke and pyrotechnic flame effects.[32][33] Keiino was joined by three off-stage backing vocalists: Frode Vassel, Kine Ludvigsen Fossheim and Marianne Pentha.[34]
At the end of the show, Norway was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Norway placed seventh in the semi-final, receiving a total of 210 points: 170 points from the televoting and 40 points from the juries.[35]
Final
Shortly after the second semi-final, a winner's press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine which half of the grand final they would subsequently participate in. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Norway was drawn to compete in the second half.[36] Following this draw, the shows' producers decided upon the running order of the final, as they had done for the semi-finals. Norway was subsequently placed to perform in position 15, following the entry from Israel and before the entry from the United Kingdom.[37]
Keiino once again took part in dress rehearsals on 17 and 18 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. The group performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 18 May. Norway placed sixth in the final, scoring 331 points: 291 points from the televoting and 40 points from the juries.[38]
Voting
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.[39]
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Norway and awarded by Norway in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Norway
