Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Eurovision Song Contest 2009
Country	Norway
National selection
Selection process	Melodi Grand Prix 2009
Selection date(s)	Semi-finals 24 January 2009 31 January 2009 7 February 2009 Second Chance 14 February 2009 Final 21 February 2009
Selected entrant	Alexander Rybak
Selected song	"Fairytale"
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Qualified (1st, 201 points)
Final result	1st, 387 points
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2008 • 2009 • 2010►

Norway and Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK) won the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia on 16 May. Their song was chosen at a national final, Melodi Grand Prix, held on 21 February 2009.

After three semi-finals, a Siste Sjansen, second chance qualifier, and the grand final, the winner was singer/songwriter and violinist Alexander Rybak with "Fairytale", winning in the biggest landslide in Melodi Grand Prix history.^[1][2][3]

Background

Norway first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960, following their Scandinavian neighbours Denmark and Sweden, who debuted in 1957 and 1958 respectively. Their first entry, "Voi Voi" performed by Nora Brockstedt, won the inaugural Melodi Grand Prix in 1960, and went on to place 4th at the international contest in London. Before 1985, their best result came in 1966, when Åse Kleveland came third for Norway with "Intet er nytt under solen" in Luxembourg.^[4]

However, by the 1980s Norway had become synonymous with coming last place at the contest, with the country gaining six last-place finishes in the contest, and a total of three entries getting nul points. However, in 1985, Norway gained their first victory, with Bobbysocks! (consisting of Elisabeth Andreassen and Hanne Krogh) winning with "La det swinge" in Gothenburg, and bringing the contest to Norway for the first time - in 1986 the contest was held in Norway's second city, Bergen.^[5] 1995 brought Norway its second win at the contest, with Secret Garden winning in Dublin with Nocturne, and became the first mainly instrumental song to win the contest. As such the 1996 Contest was held in Oslo.^[4][6]

However between, and after, these two wins at the contest Norway still managed to keep its last-place reputation intact, gaining another four last-place finishes in the contest, along with outright relegation from competing at the 2002 Contest.^[4] Throughout Norway's 50 year participation at Eurovision the organisation of the national selection process, and the broadcast of the international final and semi-finals has been the job of Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK).

Melodi Grand Prix 2009

Melodi Grand Prix 2009, the Norwegian national final, selected the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. The entire contest was to be hosted by last year's Norwegian entry Maria Haukaas Storeng and past MGP host and Eurovision commentator Per Sundnes.^[7] For 2009, at least 50% of the songwriting team must be Norwegian or live in Norway which is due to the success of Norway in the 2008 contest with Norwegian songwriter Mira Craig.^[8] Additionally, NRK has announced that foreign singers will not be allowed to compete.

More than 350 songs were submitted, less than the more than 600 in 2007, but a respectable figure when the new songwriter rules are taken into consideration.^[9] The 21 artists selected to compete in Melodi Grand Prix 2009 will be announced over three weeks: the artists of the first semi-final will be announced on the week beginning 22 December, and the artists in the second and third semi-final will be revealed in the weeks commencing 29 December and 5 January respectively.^[10] The three semi-finals of the contest were held on 24 January, 31 January and 7 February 2009, along with a second chance round, which was held on 14 February, and the final of the contest, held on 21 February 2009.^[11][12]

Schedule

Participation

A possible participant to this year's Melodi Grand Prix may be Hanne Krogh, who previously represented Norway in the 1971, 1985 and 1991 contests (the last two appearances as part of Bobbysocks and Just 4 Fun respectively), after she announced in 2007 that she might compete in MGP in 2009.^[10] Although NRK has neither confirmed nor denied anything about artists competing, Norwegian broadcaster TV 2 revealed that Tone Damli Aaberge and Maria Arredondo would apparently compete in Melodi Grand Prix 2009.^[13] Aaberge will compete in MGP 2009, performing in the second semi-final, however Krogh and Arredondo will not be competing.

Although only 18 songs were scheduled to compete in MGP 2009, NRK increased this number to 21 due to the high quality of the entries they received and therefore seven songs will now compete in each semi-final.^[14][15] The first eleven songs that will compete in this year's Melodi Grand Prix were revealed on 10 December 2008, along with their writers.^[16][17] Ten more songs were made public on 17 December.^[14][15]

Format

In each of the three semi-finals, seven songs will compete. The top two songs through televoting will qualify directly to the final on 21 February.

The Siste Sjansen round, to be held on 14 February, will be made up of eight songs in total. The third and fourth placed songs in each semi-final will qualify for this round. The remaining two slots will be made up by the highest percentage fifth-placed song, with the final slot in the Siste Sjansen round being decided by the readers of VG from the remaining eight songs yet to qualify. The Siste Sjansen will follow the same format as Melodifestivalen's Andra Chansen round, the equivalent contest in Sweden. Eight songs will compete against each other in four pairs. The four winning songs of each pair will battle against each other again, with the two winners qualifying to the final.^[18][19]

Semi-finals

The four semi-finals of Melodi Grand Prix 2009 began on 24 January 2009 and held in Kongsvinger, Bodø, Skien and Ålesund (Siste Sjansen), leading up to the final at the Oslo Spektrum on 21 February 2009.

Semi-final 1

In the first semi-final, in the Kongsvinger Hall in Kongsvinger on 24 January 2009, seven songs in total competed. The names of all the artists for this semi-final were announced on 19 December 2008.^[20][21]

The first song of the night was Surferosa with "U Look Good". The song is an up-tempo pop-rock song, which Surferosa performed on stage with a female backing singer, all dressed in black suits, with Mariann Thomassen, the female lead vocalist, dressed in a colourful jumpsuit. Pyrotechnics were used at the end of the performance. Second on stage was Chicas del Coro with "Men, Men, Men", a nostalgic swing song. The two women of the group, Hilde Marstrander and Hege Austheim, were dressed in vibrant pink dresses, with a large amount of luggage placed on stage. Four backing dancers/singers, two men and two women, joined the women during the performance, also dressed in shades of pink. KeSera was third on stage, joined by Anita Hegerland, to perform "Party", a modern hip-hop/rap song with begins as a ballad, sung in Norwegian. The two men of the group, Raymond David Henriksen and Nahom Feshatzion, perform the song in black and red suits with jeans, while Hegerland was dressed in a long black and white dress, using a wind machine for her performance. Three female backing dancers also joined the men on stage, dressed in short black dresses.^[22][23][24]

Espen Hana performed next, singing "Two of a Kind". The song is mid-tempo and less extravagant than the songs before it. Hana performs the song in a black suit, joined by a jazz band and two male backing singers, dressed in black. The fifth song was Charite's "Sweeter Than a Kiss", a modern pop song with some country influences. Charite was dressed in a blue top and black leather trousers, and was joined by a band and a female backing singer. The penultimate song was Thomas Brøndbo's "Det vart en storm". The song, performed entirely in Norwegian, is a mid-tempo pop song, which he performed on stage with five backing singers, two male and three female. The final song was Velvet's "Tricky". The girl group, composed of Charlotte Øverland Våset, Anette Amelia Larsen, Cornelia Børnick and Thea Bay, performed the song, an up-tempo pop song, on stage in silver/grey dresses, and moved about throughout the song.^[22][23][24]

From this semi-final, Velvet and Thomas Brøndbo qualified automatically to the final, while Espen Hana and Surferosa progress to the Siste Sjansen.^[25][26] KeSera later qualified as well to the Siste Sjansen round, being the most voted fifth-placed song in the three semi-finals.^[27][28]

Semi-final 2

Tone Damli Aaberge

The second semi-final of Melodi Grand Prix 2009 was held in Bodø on 31 January 2009. Seven songs in total competed and the artist for each song was released on 24 December 2008.^[29][30]

The first act on stage was Wenche Myhre, who had represented Germany at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with "Ein Hoch der Liebe". For the contest she performed "Alt har en mening nå", an up-tempo pop song. Myhre begins her performance alone, standing on a platform in the middle of the stage. She was later joined by five backing singers/dancers, two male and three female, all dressed in black. Second on stage was the Publiners with their folk-rock "Te stein". The band performs on stage, moving about frequently, while fire was used to create effect. Tine Wulff was next on stage, performing "Ride", a mid-tempo pop song with some country elements. Wulff performs on stage from a microphone stand in a sparkly pink dress, and was joined by a band and violinist.^[31][32]

Alexander Stenerud was fourth on stage, singing "Find My Girl". The song begins as a ballad before turning into an up-tempo pop song, which Stenerud performs on stage in a black suit, joined by five backing singers in black. Janni Santillan was next to perform, singing "(Like You Did) Yesterday", a mid-tempo pop ballad. Santillan accompanies herself on stage from a black grand piano, and she was also joined on stage by three female backing singers. The penultimate song was Julius Winger's "Like an Angel", a simple pop song. Winger, dressed in a black T-shirt and trousers, was joined on stage by five backing singers, two male and three female. The final performance of the night was Tone Damli Aaberge with her song "Butterflies", a classic pop song. Aaberge performs on stage in a white dress, and was joined by two cellists and three backing singers, all in white.^[31][32]

Alexander Stenerud and Tone Damli Aaberge qualified from this semi-final, while the Publiners and Janni Santillan passed to Siste Sjansen round.^[33][34]

Semi-final 3

The third and final semi-final of Melodi Grand Prix 2009 was held at the Leisure Park in Skien on 7 February 2009, where seven songs in total will compete. The names of the seven artists were released on 29 December 2008.^[35][36]

The first song of the third semi-final was Sichelle's RnB ballad "Left/Right". Dressed in a pink and black dress, she was joined on stage by five full-length mirrors, as well as five female backing singers in short pink and grey dresses. Second was the Rebelettes with their soul/rock song "Soul train". The five-piece girl group were all dressed in black dresses, performing on individual platforms on stage. Next was Ovi with "Seven Seconds". Ovi performs the mid-tempo pop ballad from a piano, joined by four backing singers and a guitarist who sat on stools around the piano. The fourth song was five-piece girl band Jane Helen with their rock song "Shuffled". The lead singer was dressed in a burgundy dress, while the rest of the band were dressed in black outfits.^[37][38][39]

The fifth act on stage was girl duo Foxy, with "Do It Again". The song is an up-tempo pop song, which the girls of Foxy performed in matching black outfits. They were also joined by two female backing dancers, dressed in black dresses. The penultimate act on stage was Sunny with "Carrie", a catchy pop/rock song. Sunny was dressed in a short black dress with cat ears, and was joined on stage by a male band and female backing singer, all dressed in black. The final act on stage was Alexander Rybak with his folk-inspired pop song "Fairytale". Rybak, who accompanied himself on the violin, was joined on stage by three members of the modern folk-dance company Frikar,^[40] as well as two female backing singers in long grey dresses.^[37][38][39]

From this semi-final Sunny and Jane Helen passed to the Siste Sjansen round, while Alexander Rybak and Ovi qualified to the final.^[41][42] Foxy was later selected by the readers of VG to qualify to the Siste Sjansen round.^[27][28]

Siste Sjansen round

The Siste Sjansen (Last Chance) round was held at the Sunnmørshallen in Ålesund on 14 February 2009. Eight songs competed, the six songs that placed third and fourth in each semi-final, as well as the most voted fifth placed song over the three semi-finals and a wildcard entry selected by readers of VG. Voting on VG's website began on Saturday 7 February at 21:05 CET, immediately after the third semi-final, and closed on Monday 9 February at 10:00 CET.^[19]

Wenche Myhre was forced to withdraw from the contest as she would not be able to compete on 14 February, due to performing at a concert in Portugal.^[19] The two qualifiers were KeSera feat. Anita Hegerland, who performed "Party" in the first semi-final and received the most votes of the fifth-placed songs in the semi-final, and Foxy, who got the VG wildcard with their song "Do It Again". The draw for the duels was also revealed on 9 February.^[27][28][43]

In the first round of duels, Espen Hana beat his rival KeSera to qualify to the second round. The second duel of the first round was between Janni Santillan and Surferosa, with Surferosa progressing to compete against Espen Hana. In the final duels of the first round, the Publiners beat Sunny, qualifying to the second round, and will be joined by Jane Helen, who beat Foxy in their duel.^[44][45][46]

In the second round of voting, Espen Hana and Surferosa competed for a place in the final, with Jane Helen and the Publiners doing the same. The winners, who progressed to the final, were Espen Hana with "Two of a Kind" and the Publiners with "Te stein".^[39][44][47]

Final

The final of Melodi Grand Prix was held on 21 February, and featured eight songs, the six direct qualifiers from the semi-finals, as well as the two winners of the Siste Sjansen round. The running order for the show was held live by Maria Haukaas Storeng and Per Sundess on NRK's evening show 'I kveld' on 17 February.^[48]

On 17 February, girlband Velvet was made to change their name to avoid confusion with the Swedish singer of the same name, who competed in Melodifestivalen 2009, the Swedish selection for Eurovision 2009. As such, their name was changed to Velvet Inc.^[49][50]

All the eight finalists participated in the first half of the show. The four songs with the most votes moved on to the "Gold Final" in the second segment. A combination of jury votes and televotes determined the final winner, which was Alexander Rybak with "Fairytale".^[1][2] The song received 747,888 votes, over 600,000 votes more than the runner-up Tone Damli Aaberge, being the clearest win in the history of Melodi Grand Prix.^[3]

Four juries from the hosts of the four semi-final cities gave each gold song points - 2,000, 4,000, 6,000 and 8,000 points. This was joined by five televoting regions around Norway, who added to the jury scores with televotes from around Norway.

Voting

Before Eurovision

Rybak made several appearances at events after his win at Melodi Grand Prix. Before winning the contest Rybak charted in the Norwegian singles chart, VG-lista, at number 1 with "Fairytale". This was the first time in MGP history that the winner reached the top of the charts before winning the contest. After, and even before, his win at Melodi Grand prix Rybak also became one of the hottest favourites to win the contest in Moscow in May.^[1][51][52]

On 14 March NRK released an official video-clip of "Fairytale", showing Rybak's performance at MGP. Rybak's overwhelming victory at MGP spread "Eurovision fever" throughout Norway over their perceived odds on winning Eurovision in Moscow.^[53]

In April Rybak joined four-time Eurovision contestant Elisabeth Andreassen at a contest in the Oslo Concert Hall. Althougn his appearance was agreed upon before MGP, his win at the contest most likely promoted his appearance at Eurovision. Alongside a group performance, Rybak also performed a solo number, "Song from a Secret Garden", a cover of Eurovision winners Secret Garden.^[54]

Approaching the contest, foreign media began focusing on Rybak and his song. It was reported that "Fairytale" had been played Greek television,^[52] and in April a crew from Russian TV channel NTV travelled to Oslo to record a documentary on Rybak, which was featured to over 18 million people in Russia. It was also reported that there was a lot of media attention in Russian magazines and newspapers on Rybak.^[55] Further media attention on Rybak was made across the ocean, in the United States. A report on The Oprah Winfrey Show contained Rybak, along with one half of the German entry Oscar Loya, on a report on The World's Got Talent. The report also included Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle, as well as The X Factor, American Idol, and both Britain's and America's Got Talent judge and record producer Simon Cowell.^[56][57]

At Eurovision

Alexander Rybak after winning the final.

Alexander Rybak represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 finals in Moscow with the song "Fairytale" after getting through the semi-finals. Rybak won by a significant margin, scoring 387 points, 169 points over second placed Yohanna, representing Iceland.

Having been voted for by all 41 countries, Norway scored the highest number of points for any entry in any Eurovision Song Contest to date. They received 12 points from 16 countries: Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine. This record was broken by Sweden in 2012 when they received twelve from 18 countries.

See also Eurovision Song Contest 2009: Full Point Table.

Since Norway was not one of the "Big Four" and was not the host of the 2009 contest, it was required to compete in the second semi-final on 14 May 2009. Alexander Rybak performed for Norway sixth in the running order, following Poland and preceding Cyprus, and secured a spot in the final on 16 May 2009. He performed 20th in the running order, following Albania and preceding Ukraine.

Points Awarded by Norway^[58]

Semi final 12 points  Denmark 10 points  Moldova 8 points  Estonia 7 points  Lithuania 6 points  Azerbaijan 5 points  Albania 4 points  Ireland 3 points  Poland 2 points  Serbia 1 point  Greece

Final 12 points  Iceland 10 points  Azerbaijan 8 points  Denmark 7 points  Turkey 6 points  Germany 5 points  Ukraine 4 points  Sweden 3 points  Moldova 2 points  United Kingdom 1 point  France

The Norwegian commentator for NRK was Synnøve Svabø. In the aftermath of the show, she was criticized for chattering while the Russian hosts were speaking, and for some vulgar comments. During the coverage of the voting, Svabø was heard on live television making phone calls to Rolf Løvland, Elisabeth Andreassen, Hanne Krogh, Trond Giske, Hans Bjerkås and Jens Stoltenberg. Several viewers reported that they had switched to the Swedish coverage on SVT1.^[59]

The Norwegian points to other countries were determined entirely by jury since a technical fault caused all the televotes to be lost. Bosnia and Herzegovina would have achieved an 8th position had the public votes counted.^[60] Telenor promised to refund the cost of the vote to the Norwegian voters, which totaled 1.36 million Norwegian krone.^[61]

See also

• Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
• Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Notes

• A ^ Wenche Myhre actually passed on to the second chance, but she could not participate there.

References

1. 1 2 3 "Norway: Alexander Rybak to Eurovision". ESCToday. 2009-02-21. Retrieved 2009-02-21. 
2. 1 2 Fisher, Luke (2009-02-21). "Norway: Alexander Rybak wins Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix!". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-02-21. 
3. 1 2 Henrikson, Arve (2009-02-21). "NRK: - Vi har ikke sett maken" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. Retrieved 2009-02-21. 
4. 1 2 3 "History by Country: Norway". EBU. Retrieved 2009-01-16. 
5. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 1986". EBU. Retrieved 2009-10-30. 
6. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 1996". EBU. Retrieved 2009-10-30. 
7. ↑ "Norway: Maria & Per to host the Norwegian MGP 2009". Oikotimes. 2008-11-15. Retrieved 2008-11-15. 
8. ↑ Roger (2008-06-09). "Norway says no to schlager asylum". Eurovision Nation. Retrieved 2009-01-18. 
9. ↑ Floras, Stella (2008-09-17). "Norway: Over 350 songs for MGP 2009". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-09-17. 
10. 1 2 Viniker, Barry (2008-11-20). "Norway set to reveal artists". 'ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-11-20. 
11. ↑ Rendall, Alasdair (2008-08-10). "NRK announces date for MGP 2009". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-08-10. 
12. ↑ Laufer, Gil (2008-08-10). "Norway: National Final on February 21st". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-08-10. 
13. ↑ Marcus, Klier (2008-11-28). "Norway: First two Melodi Grand Prix names revealed?". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-11-28. 
14. 1 2 Floras, Stella (2008-12-17). "Norway: All 21 MGP songs announced". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-17. 
15. 1 2 Fisher, Luke (2008-12-17). "Norway: NRK goes with 21 entries for Melodi Grand Prix". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-12-17. 
16. ↑ West-Soley, Richard (2008-12-10). "Direct from NRK: Norway's first eleven". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-10. 
17. ↑ Konstantopoulos, Fotis (2008-12-10). "Norway: NRK announce the first 11 acts for MGP 2009". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-12-10. 
18. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2009-01-24). "Norway: Konsvinger kicks-off Melodi Grand Prix tonight". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-01-24. 
19. 1 2 3 Klier, Marcus (2009-02-06). "Norway: Two more acts in the 'last chance' round". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-06. 
20. ↑ Viniker, Barry (2008-12-19). "Norway reveals Kongsvinger Eurovision hopefuls". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-19. 
21. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2008-12-19). "Norway: NRK reveals Konsvinger semifinalists". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-12-19. 
22. 1 2 Klier, Marcus (2009-01-24). "First semi final in Norway". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-01-24. 
23. 1 2 Fisher, Luke (2009-01-24). "Live from Konsvinger, the first Melodi Grand Prix semifinal". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-01-24. 
24. 1 2 Melodi Grand Prix 2009: Semi-final 1. Norsk rikskringkasting (2009-01-24). Retrieved on 2009-01-24.
25. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2009-01-24). "Norway: two acts chosen for the national final". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-01-24. 
26. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2009-01-24). "Norway: Results from Konsvinger Semifinal". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-01-24. 
27. 1 2 3 Klier, Marcus (2009-02-09). "Norway: Line-up for 'last chance' round complete". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-09. 
28. 1 2 3 Fisher, Luke (2009-02-09). "Norway: Songs and Duels for Second Chance Revealed". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-02-09. 
29. ↑ Floras, Stella (2008-12-24). "Norway announces Bodo Eurovision hopefuls'". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-24. 
30. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2008-12-24). "Norway: Artists for Bodo announced; Wenche Myhre returns". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-12-24. 
31. 1 2 Klier, Marcus (2009-01-31). "Second semi final in Norway". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-01-31. 
32. 1 2 Melodi Grand Prix 2009: Semi-final 2. Norsk rikskringkasting (2009-01-31). Retrieved on 2009-01-31.
33. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2009-01-31). "Results of the second Norwegian Semifinal". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-01-31. 
34. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2009-01-31). "Norway: Another two acts chosen for the final". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-01-31. 
35. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2008-12-29). "NRK reveals finalists for Grenland". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
36. ↑ Floras, Stella (2008-12-29). "Norway announces Grenland Eurovision hopefuls". ESCToday. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
37. 1 2 Klier, Marcus (2009-02-07). "Third semi final in Norway". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
38. 1 2 Fisher, Luke (2009-02-07). "Live from Grendland, the third Melodi Grand Prix semifinal". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
39. 1 2 3 Melodi Grand Prix 2009: Semi-final 3. Norsk rikskringkasting (2009-02-07). Retrieved on 2009-02-07.
40. ↑ Espen Hansen, Tom (2009-02-14). "esctoday.com met with Alexander Rybak". ESCToday'. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
41. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2009-02-07). "Norway: Another two acts chosen for the national final". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
42. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2009-02-07). "Norway: Results from Grenland Semifinal". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
43. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2009-02-14). "Tonight: 'Last chance' round in Norway". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
44. 1 2 Klier, Marcus (2009-02-14). "'Last chance' round in Norway". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
45. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2009-02-14). "Norway: Live from Ålesund, the Second Chance contest". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
46. ↑ Melodi Grand Prix 2009: Siste Sjansen. Norsk rikskringkasting (2009-02-14). Retrieved on 2009-02-14.
47. ↑ Fisher, Luke (2009-02-14). "Norway: Results from Ålesund!". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-02-14. 
48. ↑ Espen Hansen, Tom (2009-02-17). "The draw for the Norwegian final". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
49. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2009-02-17). "Norway: Velvet have to change their name". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
50. ↑ Calleja Bayliss, Marc (2009-02-17). "Norway: Velvet had to change their name". Oikotimes. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
51. ↑ Schacht, Andreas (2009-02-21). "http://www.eurovision.tv/page/news?id=1941&_t=Norway%3A+Alexander+Rybak+to+Moscow!". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 2009-10-28.  External link in |title= (help)
52. 1 2 Siim, Jarmo (2009-04-20). "Norway: Wonder kid living in fairytale". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
53. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (2009-03-14). "Norway: Official preview video released". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
54. ↑ Hansen, Tom Espen (2009-04-06). "esctoday.com attended Elisabeth and Alexander concert". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
55. ↑ West-Soley, Richard (2009-04-29). "Russian eye on Rybak". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
56. ↑ Klier, Marcus (2009-05-11). "Alexander Rybak on Oprah Winfrey Show tonight". ESCToday. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
57. ↑ "Oprah vil ha Rybak!" (in Norwegian). NRK. 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-10-30. 
58. ↑ Eurovision Song Contest 2008
59. ↑ "Synnøve Svabø tar selvkritikk etter kjeft av TV-seerne". Aftenposten. May 17, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-18. 
60. ↑ "Nordmenns MGP-stemmer ble borte" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. May 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-23. 
61. ↑ "Telenor betaler tilbake etter MGP-rot" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. May 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-23. 

Melodi Grand Prix History Winners Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Melodi Grand Prix Junior

Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest   Participation 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016   Artists 1960s Nora Brockstedt Nora Brockstedt Inger Jacobsen Anita Thallaug Arne Bendiksen Kirsti Sparboe Åse Kleveland Kirsti Sparboe Odd Børre Kirsti Sparboe 1970s 1970 Hanne Krogh Grethe Kausland & Benny Borg Bendik Singers Anne-Karine Strøm & Bendik Singers Ellen Nikolaysen Anne-Karine Strøm Anita Skorgan Jahn Teigen Anita Skorgan 1980s Sverre Kjelsberg & Mattis Hætta Finn Kalvik Jahn Teigen & Anita Skorgan Jahn Teigen Dollie de Luxe Bobbysocks Ketil Stokkan Kate Gulbrandsen Karoline Krüger Britt Synnøve 1990s Ketil Stokkan Just 4 Fun Merethe Trøan Silje Vige Elisabeth Andreassen & Jan Werner Danielsen Secret Garden Elisabeth Andreassen Tor Endresen Lars A. Fredriksen Stig Van Eijk 2000s Charmed Haldor Lægreid 2002 Jostein Hasselgård Knut Anders Sørum Wig Wam Christine Guldbrandsen Guri Schanke Maria Haukaas Storeng Alexander Rybak 2010s Didrik Solli-Tangen Stella Mwangi Tooji Margaret Berger Carl Espen Mørland & Debrah Scarlett   Songs 1960s "Voi Voi" "Sommer i Palma" "Kom sol, kom regn" "Solvherv" "Spiral" "Karusell" "Intet er nytt under solen" "Dukkemann" "Stress" "Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli" 1970s 1970 "Lykken er" "Småting" "It's Just A Game" "The First Day of Love" "Touch My Life (With Summer)" "Mata Hari" "Casanova" "Mil etter mil" "Oliver" 1980s "Sámiid Ædnan" "Aldri i livet" "Adieu" "Do Re Mi" "Lenge leve livet" "La det swinge" "Romeo" "Mitt liv" "For vår jord" "Venners nærhet" 1990s "Brandenburger Tor" "Mrs. Thompson" "Visjoner" "Alle mine tankar" "Duett" "Nocturne" "I evighet" "San Francisco" "Alltid sommer" "Living My Life Without You" 2000s "My Heart Goes Boom" "On My Own" 2002 "I'm Not Afraid To Move On" "High" "In My Dreams" "Alvedansen" "Ven a bailar conmigo" "Hold On Be Strong" "Fairytale" 2010s "My Heart Is Yours" "Haba Haba" "Stay" "I Feed You My Love" "Silent Storm" "A Monster Like Me" (Note : Entries scored out are when Norway did not compete)

Eurovision Song Contest 2009   Countries Final (by final results) Norway Iceland Azerbaijan Turkey United Kingdom Estonia Greece France Bosnia and Herzegovina Armenia Russia Ukraine Denmark Moldova Portugal Israel Albania Croatia Romania Germany Sweden Malta Lithuania Spain Finland Semi-final only (by semifinal results) Semi-final 1 Macedonia Montenegro Belarus Switzerland Andorra Bulgaria Belgium Czech Republic Semi-final 2 Serbia Ireland Poland Cyprus Hungary Slovenia Netherlands Slovakia Latvia Withdrawn Georgia   Artists Final (by final results) Alexander Rybak Yohanna Aysel and Arash Hadise Jade Ewen Urban Symphony Sakis Rouvas Patricia Kaas Regina Inga and Anush Anastasiya Prikhodko Svetlana Loboda Niels Brinck Nelly Ciobanu Flor-de-Lis Noa and Mira Awad Kejsi Tola Igor Cukrov feat. Andrea Elena Alex Sings Oscar Sings Malena Ernman Chiara Sasha Son Soraya Arnelas Waldo's People Semi-final only (by semifinal results) Semi-final 1 Next Time Andrea Demirović Petr Elfimov Lovebugs Susanne Georgi Krassimir Avramov Patrick Ouchène Gipsy.cz Semi-final 2 Marko Kon and Milaan Sinéad Mulvey and Black Daisy Lidia Kopania Christina Metaxa Zoli Ádok Quartissimo feat. Martina De Toppers Kamil Mikulčík and Nela Intars Busulis Withdrawn Stephane & 3G   Songs Final (by final results) "Fairytale" "Is It True? " "Always" "Düm Tek Tek" "It's My Time" "Rändajad" "This Is Our Night" "Et s'il fallait le faire" "Bistra voda" "Jan Jan" "Mamo" "Be My Valentine! (Anti-Crisis Girl)" "Believe Again" "Hora din Moldova" "Todas as Ruas do Amor" "There Must Be Another Way" "Carry Me in Your Dreams" "Lijepa Tena" "The Balkan Girls" "Miss Kiss Kiss Bang" "La Voix" "What If We" "Love" "La noche es para mí" "Lose Control" Semi-final only (by semifinal results) Semi-final 1 "Neshto shto ke ostane" "Just Get Out of My Life" "Eyes That Never Lie" "The Highest Heights" "La teva decisió (Get a Life)" "Illusion" "Copycat" "Aven Romale" Semi-final 2 "Cipela" "Et Cetera" "I Don't Wanna Leave" "Firefly" "Dance with Me" "Love Symphony" "Shine" "Leť tmou" "Probka" Withdrawn "We Don't Wanna Put In" (Note : "Withdrawn" refers to entries that withdrew after applying to enter)