Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
has participated in the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
60 times since making its debut in and has only been absent twice since then. In
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
, the country boycotted the contest over disagreements about the voting structure, and in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, they were relegated. The contest is broadcast in Norway by
NRK
NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...
, which also broadcasts Norway's national selection competition,
Melodi Grand Prix
Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It det ...
.
Before 1985, Norway's best result in the contest was
Åse Kleveland
Åse Maria Kleveland (born 18 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist, politician and activist.
A well-known folk singer and traditional guitarist in Norway, she was appointed Minister of Culture in Norway in 1990, and held the position ...
's third-place in . Norway's three victories in the contest were achieved by
Bobbysocks
Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song " La det swinge" ("Let it swing"). Elisabeth went by the surname Andreass ...
in ,
Secret Garden in and
Alexander Rybak
Alexander Igorevich Rybak (russian: Александр Игоревич Рыбак) or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak ( be, Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pian ...
in . Norway also finished second at the contest, with former Bobbysocks member
Elisabeth Andreassen
Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen (; born 28 March 1958), also known as just Bettan, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Career
Her talent was discovered in 1979 by Swedish musician and ...
. Norway has finished last in eleven Eurovision finals, of which four times with "
nul points
The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest is selected by a positional voting system. The most recent system was implemented in the , and sees each participating country award two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their ten favourite songs: one set fr ...
". In 2019, Norway became the third televote-winning country to not win the contest (the previous ones being Italy in 2015 and Russia in 2016). Norway has a total of eleven top-five results in the contest, the latest being
Margaret Berger
Margaret Berger (born 11 October 1985) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, music director, and DJ. She made her debut on Sony BMG after she placed second on the second season of '' Norwegian Idol'' in 2004.Hoffman, K. Ross. _Review".html" ;"ti ...
's fourth-place in .
History
Norway's first entrant in the contest was
Nora Brockstedt
Nora Brockstedt (20 January 1923 – 5 November 2015) was a Norwegian singer.
In her last years, she focused more on the jazz genre, with successful albums like ''As Time Goes By'' (JazzAvdelingen, 2004) and ''Christmas Songs'' (JazzAvdelin ...
in , who finished fourth with the song "
Voi Voi"; Brockstedt would return
the next year with "
Sommer i Palma", this time placing seventh.
Åse Kleveland
Åse Maria Kleveland (born 18 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist, politician and activist.
A well-known folk singer and traditional guitarist in Norway, she was appointed Minister of Culture in Norway in 1990, and held the position ...
then finished third in with "
Intet er nytt under solen
Norway was represented by Åse Kleveland, with the song "Intet er nytt under solen", at the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 5 March in Luxembourg City. "Intet er nytt under solen" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi G ...
", following which Norway would fail to reach the top ten in fourteen out of their next fifteen attempts, with the exception being
Bendik Singers
The Bendik Singers were a four-member Norwegian vocal group, brought together by singer and composer Arne Bendiksen to participate in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection, Melodi Grand Prix, in 1973.
The group consisted of Anne-Karine ...
’ seventh place finish in . Before , Norway had only received a top-ten score in six out of twenty-four attempts, and had finished last the same number of times.
Bobbysocks
Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song " La det swinge" ("Let it swing"). Elisabeth went by the surname Andreass ...
gave the country its first victory in 1985, with the song "
La det swinge
"La det swinge" (; "Let it swing") is a Norwegian-language song by the pop duo Bobbysocks!. It was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 and 's first victory in the contest. The song is a tribute to dancing to old rock 'n' roll heard on ...
". Norway went on to achieve two more top five results over the next ten years, with
Karoline Krüger
Karoline Krüger (born 13 February 1970 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian singer, actress and composer.
Career
Krüger's first TV appearance was at the age of 11, in a youth show called ''Halvsju''. She got her breakthrough in 1988, first by ...
in and
Silje Vige
Silje Vige (born 24 May 1976, in Jørpeland) is a Norwegian singer from Jørpeland outside Stavanger.
Vige won the Melodi Grand Prix with an ethno-ballad written by her father. The win allowed her to compete as Norway's entry in the 1993 Eurovisi ...
in , who both finished fifth.
Norway's second victory came in
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
with
Secret Garden's mainly instrumental Celtic-influenced ethno-piece "
Nocturne
A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night.
History
The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...
". In ,
Elisabeth Andreassen
Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen (; born 28 March 1958), also known as just Bettan, is a Norwegian-Swedish singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest.
Career
Her talent was discovered in 1979 by Swedish musician and ...
, who had won the contest as one half of Bobbysocks, returned to the contest as a solo artist, finishing in second place. In ,
Jostein Hasselgård
Jostein Hasselgård (born 24 March 1979) is a Norwegian singer. He was the winner of Norway's national pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest and he won Norway a fourth place in the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the balla ...
came fourth.
Norway won for the third time in , with
Alexander Rybak
Alexander Igorevich Rybak (russian: Александр Игоревич Рыбак) or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak ( be, Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pian ...
's hugely successful song "
Fairytale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cul ...
". The song’s score of 387 points was the highest ever winning total under the 1975-2015 voting system, and also achieved the biggest ever margin of victory: 492 points in total were distributed between the competing countries in 2009, meaning "Fairytale" received 78.7% of the points that could be rewarded. Rybak later returned to the contest in , performing "
That's How You Write a Song
"That's How You Write a Song" is a song written and performed by Belarusian-Norwegian singer Alexander Rybak. It represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. The song was released as a digital download on 15 January ...
"; he received the highest number of votes of the second semi-final, but ultimately placed fifteenth. He remains the only Norwegian entrant to have won a semi-final, as well as the only two-time semi-final winner in the history of the contest.
In , Norway finished last in the final for the eleventh time. Norway has the dubious distinction of finishing last in the Eurovision final more than any other country, and along with
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, has received "
nul points
The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest is selected by a positional voting system. The most recent system was implemented in the , and sees each participating country award two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their ten favourite songs: one set fr ...
" (zero points) in the contest on four occasions; in , , and .
Since the introduction of the semi-final round in 2004, Norway has finished in the top ten seven times.
Wig Wam
Wig Wam is a Norwegian glam metal band formed in Halden in 2001. Wig Wam's lineup—consisting of vocalist Glam (Åge Sten Nilsen), guitarist Teeny (Trond Holter), bassist Flash (Bernt Jansen) and drummer Sporty (Øystein Andersen)—has remain ...
finished ninth with "
In My Dreams" in ,
Maria Haukaas Storeng
Maria Haukaas Mittet (née Storeng, born 3 August 1979) also known as simply Maria is a Norwegian recording artist. She gained national recognition in 2004 for her participation in the ''Idol'' reality television series, and international recogn ...
was fifth in with "
Hold On Be Strong
"Hold On Be Strong" is a song performed by Norwegian singer Maria Haukaas Storeng, written by Mira Craig. It was presented by in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Eurovision Song Contest
The song was elected through the Mel ...
", Alexander Rybak won in 2009,
Margaret Berger
Margaret Berger (born 11 October 1985) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, music director, and DJ. She made her debut on Sony BMG after she placed second on the second season of '' Norwegian Idol'' in 2004.Hoffman, K. Ross. _Review".html" ;"ti ...
was fourth in with "
I Feed You My Love",
Carl Espen
Carl Espen Thorbjørnsen (born 15 July 1982), better known as simply Carl Espen, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter, who represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. He performed his song " Silent Storm".
Music career
2014–presen ...
finished eighth in performing "
Silent Storm",
Mørland &
Debrah Scarlett
Joanna Deborah Bussinger (born 20 July 1993), known professionally as Debrah Scarlett and as of 2019 known under the moniker Red Moon, is a Norwegian- Swiss singer and songwriter. She represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 along w ...
finished eighth in with "
A Monster Like Me
"A Monster Like Me" is a song written by performed by Norwegian singer Kjetil Mørland and Norwegian-Swiss singer Debrah Scarlett, written by the former. The song represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. It was released as a digi ...
",
Jowst
Joakim With Steen (born 26 June 1989), better known as Jowst (usually stylised JOWST), is a Norwegian music producer and songwriter. He represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Grab the Moment", along with vocalist Ale ...
and
Aleksander Walmann
Aleksander Walmann Åsgården (born 12 January 1986) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. He represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 alongside Jowst with the song "Grab the Moment", finishing in 10th place.
Early life and care ...
finished tenth in with "
Grab the Moment
"Grab the Moment" is a song by Norwegian music producer JOWST featuring uncredited vocals from Norwegian singer Aleksander Walmann. The song represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. It was released as a digital download on 15 ...
",
Keiino finished sixth in with "
Spirit in the Sky
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from the album of the same name. The single became a gold record, selling two million copies f ...
", placing first with the televote, and
Subwoolfer
Subwoolfer is a British-Norwegian pop duo formed in 2021. The two members perform in black suits with white shirts with distinctive yellow stylized wolf-head masks and yellow gloves and ties and go by the pseudonyms Keith and Jim. Their identitie ...
finished tenth in with "
Give That Wolf a Banana". In total, Norway has eleven top-five and twenty-five top-ten finishes in the contest.
Participation overview
Hostings
Songs of Europe
Awards
Marcel Bezençon Awards
Winner by OGAE members
Related involvement
Conductors
Additionally, there was an orchestra present at the 1999 national final, conducted by Geir Langslet (the winning song, however, was presented without orchestral accompaniment) and at the 2015 national final, conducted by
Anders Eljas
Anders Erik Gillis Eljas (born 15 January 1953 in Stockholm) is a Swedish musician, orchestrator and conductor.
Biography
He was educated at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he studied piano and violin, began his musical career at ...
.
Heads of delegation
Supervisors
List of supervisors of
Melodi Grand Prix
Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It det ...
, better known as MGP-general or GP-general in Norway:
Commentators and spokespersons
Gallery
File:Eurovision Song Contest 1976 rehearsals - Norway - Anne-Karine Strøm 6.png, Anne-Karine Strøm performing "Mata Hari
Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed ...
" in The Hague ()
File:Bobbysocks (11096943775).jpg, Bobbysocks
Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song " La det swinge" ("Let it swing"). Elisabeth went by the surname Andreass ...
performing "La det swinge
"La det swinge" (; "Let it swing") is a Norwegian-language song by the pop duo Bobbysocks!. It was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 and 's first victory in the contest. The song is a tribute to dancing to old rock 'n' roll heard on ...
" in Gothenburg ()
File:ESC 2007- Guri Schanke.jpg, Guri Schanke
Guri Annika Schanke (; born 14 December 1961) is a Norwegian actress and singer. She is known in Norway for her acting career, and was part of the 2005 round of the Norwegian version of '' Dancing with the Stars'', where she came in second.
Care ...
performing "Ven a bailar conmigo
"" (; English: "Come dance with me"; no, "Kom og dans med meg", italic=no ) was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, performed in English and Spanish by Guri Schanke.
The song is a Latin-inspired number. Schanke sings about how much ...
" in Helsinki ()
File:Maria Eurovision semi-final 2008.jpg, Maria Haukaas Storeng
Maria Haukaas Mittet (née Storeng, born 3 August 1979) also known as simply Maria is a Norwegian recording artist. She gained national recognition in 2004 for her participation in the ''Idol'' reality television series, and international recogn ...
performing "Hold On Be Strong
"Hold On Be Strong" is a song performed by Norwegian singer Maria Haukaas Storeng, written by Mira Craig. It was presented by in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia.
Eurovision Song Contest
The song was elected through the Mel ...
" in Belgrade ()
File:Flickr - aktivioslo - Didrik Solli-Tangen på scenen - Første prøve (5).jpg, Didrik Solli-Tangen
Didrik Solli-Tangen (born 11 June 1987) is a Norwegian singer who represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song " My Heart Is Yours".
Biography
Solli-Tangen was born in Porsgrunn. From his early years he was interested i ...
performing "My Heart Is Yours
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "My Heart Is Yours" written by Hanne Sørvaag and Fredrik Kempe. The song was performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen. In addition to participating in the contest, the Norwegian bro ...
" in Oslo ()
File:ESC2013 - Norway 01 (crop).jpg, Margaret Berger
Margaret Berger (born 11 October 1985) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, music director, and DJ. She made her debut on Sony BMG after she placed second on the second season of '' Norwegian Idol'' in 2004.Hoffman, K. Ross. _Review".html" ;"ti ...
performing " I Feed You My Love" in Malmö ()
File:ESC2014 - Norway 01.jpg, Carl Espen
Carl Espen Thorbjørnsen (born 15 July 1982), better known as simply Carl Espen, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter, who represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. He performed his song " Silent Storm".
Music career
2014–presen ...
performing " Silent Storm" in Copenhagen ()
File:20150520 ESC 2015 Mørland & Debrah Scarlett 3385.jpg, Mørland & Debrah Scarlett
Joanna Deborah Bussinger (born 20 July 1993), known professionally as Debrah Scarlett and as of 2019 known under the moniker Red Moon, is a Norwegian- Swiss singer and songwriter. She represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 along w ...
performing "A Monster Like Me
"A Monster Like Me" is a song written by performed by Norwegian singer Kjetil Mørland and Norwegian-Swiss singer Debrah Scarlett, written by the former. The song represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. It was released as a digi ...
" in Vienna ()
File:ESC2016 - Norway 13 (crop).jpg, Agnete performing "Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
" in Stockholm ()
File:JOWST (Norway). Photo 355.jpg, Jowst
Joakim With Steen (born 26 June 1989), better known as Jowst (usually stylised JOWST), is a Norwegian music producer and songwriter. He represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "Grab the Moment", along with vocalist Ale ...
performing "Grab the Moment
"Grab the Moment" is a song by Norwegian music producer JOWST featuring uncredited vocals from Norwegian singer Aleksander Walmann. The song represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. It was released as a digital download on 15 ...
" in Kyiv ()
File:ESC2018 - Norway 02.jpg, Alexander Rybak
Alexander Igorevich Rybak (russian: Александр Игоревич Рыбак) or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak ( be, Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pian ...
performing "That's How You Write a Song
"That's How You Write a Song" is a song written and performed by Belarusian-Norwegian singer Alexander Rybak. It represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal. The song was released as a digital download on 15 January ...
" in Lisbon ()
File:Semi2Dress2019-039-20190516-EuroVisionary.jpg, Keiino performing "Spirit in the Sky
"Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in late 1969 from the album of the same name. The single became a gold record, selling two million copies f ...
" in Tel Aviv ()
File:ESC 2021 Rotterdam 1st Semi Jury Show Norway2.jpg, Tix
Andreas Andresen Haukeland (born 12 April 1993), better known as Tix (stylized as TIX), is a Norwegian singer. He represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "Fallen Angel".
He has Tourette syndrome, a condition charact ...
performing "Fallen Angel
In the Abrahamic religions, fallen angels are angels who were expelled from heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" never appears in any Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven"Mehdi Azaiez, Gabriel Said R ...
" in Rotterdam ()
File:Eurovision 2022 - Semi-final 1 - Norway - Subwoolfer (02).jpg, Subwoolfer
Subwoolfer is a British-Norwegian pop duo formed in 2021. The two members perform in black suits with white shirts with distinctive yellow stylized wolf-head masks and yellow gloves and ties and go by the pseudonyms Keith and Jim. Their identitie ...
performing " Give That Wolf a Banana" in Turin ()
See also
*
Melodi Grand Prix
Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It det ...
*
Norway in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Norway has participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest three times, and was the host of the 2004 Contest, where it was held in the Norwegian city of Lillehammer.
Norway's best result in the contest came in 2005, when Malin Reitan came thir ...
– Junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
*
Norway in the Eurovision Young Dancers
Norway has participated in the Eurovision Young Dancers 13 times since its debut in Eurovision Young Dancers 1985, 1985. Norway has hosted and won the contest once, in Eurovision Young Dancers 2011, 2011.
Participation overview
Hostings
Se ...
– A competition organised by the EBU for younger dancers aged between 16 and 21.
*
Norway in the Eurovision Young Musicians
Norway has participated in the biennial classical music competition Eurovision Young Musicians 19 times since its debut in Eurovision Young Musicians 1982, 1982, winning the contest for the first time in Eurovision Young Musicians 2012, 2012. Nor ...
– A competition organised by the EBU for musicians aged 18 years and younger.
Notes and references
Notes
References
External links
Melodi Grand Prix''eurovisioncovers.co.uk''
{{Authority control
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest
Melodi Grand Prix