Norwegian broadcaster NRK have announced the first nine participants of Melodi Grand Prix 2020. The broadcaster has selected five of the artists to automatically qualify to the final, while another four artists will compete in the first semi-final.
Didrik Solli-Tangen represented Norway on home soil in 2010 with the song, My Heart is Yours. This year, he returns alongside his brother, Emil. Other familiar names are Ulrikke, who previously participated in Melodi Grand Prix back in 2017 with the song ‘Places’, which finished in 4th place and Tone Damli. She previously participated in Melodi Grand Prix in 2009, finishing as a runner-up with her song, ‘Butterflies.’ She also participated at Melodifestivalen in 2013 alongside Erik Segerstedt.
This year’s edition of Melodi Grand Prix marks the 60th year of Norway participating at Eurovision. Unlike previous years, this year’s competition will feature a total of 6 shows which will showcase artists from across Norway. The first semi-final, which will take place on January 11th will feature artists from Southern Norway.
The pre-qualified artists are:
Sondrey – Take My Time
Didrik & Emil – Out of Air
Akuvi – Som du er
Ulrikke Brandstorp – Attention
Tone Damli – Hurts Sometimes
The semi-final competitors are:
Kim Rysstad – Rainbow
Raylee – Wild
Geirmund – Come Alive
Lisa Børud – Talking About Us
JÆGER – How About Mars
Kim Wigaard & Maria Mohn – Fool For Love
Rein Alexander – One Last Time
Tore Petterson – The Start Of Something New
Set-up of the Norwegian Eurovision preselection in 2020
There will be a total of five semi-finals, where four artists will compete in each semi-final. Just one artist will qualify from each semi-final, joining the pre-qualified artists in the final. This means that there will be a total of 10 artists in the final.
The four competing entries in this week’s semi-final have been released, and in each semi-final, one of the pre-qualified acts will perform as the interval. The order in which they will perform through the semi-finals is as listed above. The final will take place on February 15th.