Melodi Grand Prix starts this Saturday!

The first semifinal of the Norwegian national final will take place on January 14, at 19:50 CET. The first seven entries will try to win one of the three tickets of the national final!

How it works

Melodi Grand Prix is the Norwegian national final for Eurovision. This year, NRK received the feedback of the public and decided to change the format of the selection process. The number of semifinals has now been reduced from four to three. Moreover, the last chance round has been completely scratched along with the duels and the pre-qualified acts. Now, all the artists must qualify from one of the semis in order to have a chance to sing in the final! The three artists with the most points at the end of each semifinal will advance to the next phase of the show.

Ulrikke Brandstorp – Honestly

Ulrikke was born on 13 July 1995, in Sarpsborg, Norway. Her full name is Ulrikke Brandstorp. Her first public appearance was in 2013 she auditioned for the Norwegian edition of the Idol. In 2020, she won the Norwegian national final with her song “Attention”, but didn’t manage to sing on Eurovision due to the pandemic. On late 2020, she won the first season of the Norwegian version of The Masked Singer. This will be her third participation in the national final (2017, 2020, 2023).

Eirik Næss – Wave

Eirik Næss is a singer and songwriter from Larvik. He had been for seven years of his life in London, where he spent time on music. Currently he lives in Oslo and plays in several bands. His participation is his first in the show.

Kate Gulbrandsen – Tårer i paradis

Kate Gulbreandsen is familiar with MGP. She has participated two times in the past at the show in 1987 and 1989. In 1987, she won the show and represented her country at Eurovision, where she placed 9th.

Rasmus Thall – TRESKO

Rasmus is a singer, songwriter and producer. This year he will make his singing debut at the festival. Last year, he co-composed Farida’s song “Dangerous” for the show. If you see on the composers’ list above you can notice that the real-life couple has produced another song for the Norwegian audience.

Alessandra Mele – Queen of Kings

Alessandra is a Norwegian-Italian singer. She grew up in Italy, until moving to Norway. Now, she studies music and she is ready to make her MGP debut.

Byron Williams Jr & Jowst – Freaky For The Weekend

Byron Williams is an American singer, who gained fame last year, when he competed in the Norwegian version of the voice. This year, he will make his MGP debut along with former Eurovision participant JOWST. JOWST won the 2017 version of the national final along with Alexander Walmann. Their entry “Grab the Moment” placed 10th in the Eurovision final.

Umami Tsunami featuring Kyle Alessandro, Kristian Haugstøyl & Magnus Winjum – Geronimo

Umami Tsunami is a project consisting of musician. This time they will compete in MGP with Kyle Alessandro, Kristian Haux and Magnus Winjum.

Listen to all the available entries on our playlist below!

The semifinal will be live at 19:50 CET this Saturday and you can watch it here: NRK!

Are you going to watch the semifinal this Saturday? What do you think about the participants? What do you think about the songs? Let us know in the comments below!