About Opentopia
Opentopia Directory Encyclopedia Tools

Melodi Grand Prix

Encyclopedia : M : ME : MEL : Melodi Grand Prix

 

Melodi Grand Prix (shortened MGP) is the Norwegian national final that selects the entry to represent Norway in the annual Eurovision Song Contest held every year since its birth in 1956.
Contents

Historical background

Debuted in 1960

Norway first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960, and the first ever Melodi Grand Prix was therefore hold that same year. Since then, MGP has been organized every year except 1970 (boicot in all Nordic countries), 1991 (internal selection) and 2002 (Norway had not qualified due to the poor result the year before).

Norway's first ever Eurovision participant, in 1960 in London, was much beloved Nora Brockstedt, receiving a great fourth place for her evergreen Voi-voi in London. She also took part the following year with Sommer i Palma. Although this is 45 years ago, and Nora is well beyond 80, she still records music and releases albums, nowadays as a jazz queen, and now and then show up at concerts, including the spectacular Eurovision memorial gala concert during the annual pan-European gay pride event, the Europride 2005, held in Norway's capital Oslo.

Even the yet-to-become Norwegian Minister of Culture for the Labour Party, the graceful natural diva Åse Kleveland, represented Norway in the contest during the 1960ies. With her dark, very characteristic, sort of masculine voice, she performed her entry Intet er nytt under solen (There's nothing new below the sun) excellently, achieving a seldom-to-see third place for her native country. In 1986 she was the sole presenter of Norway's first EuroSong production, the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 held in the Grieg Hall in Bergen, Norway's previous capital and today second largest city.

Two victories

-->
Norway has won the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) twice. The first time was in 1985 in Gothenburg, Sweden, where the female duo Bobbysocks won the throphy achieving 123 points in total for the uptempo schlager tune La det swinge (Let it swing). Bobbysocks consists of Hanne Krogh and Elisabeth Andreasson, (since 1994 married and renamed Elisabeth Andreassen) - also known as Bettan - who had both experience from previous ESC finals. The young Hanne Krogh represented Norway already in 1971 with the sweet ballad Lykken er... (Happiness is...), while Bettan took part for Sweden in 1982 in the duo Chips. She also represented Norway brilliantly in 1994 and 1996, ending up sixth and second with two ballads. Hanne Krogh returned to the Eurovision stage in 1991 being a quarter of the group Just4Fun. The two ladies reunited in 2005, first for the grand Eurovision memory concert during EuroPride 2005 in Oslo, then to perform at Eurovision's 50th anniversary show, the Congratulations, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The new age revolution

The second victory was brought to Norway by the Nordic-Celtic, mainly instrumental group Secret Garden. With the bewitching melody Nocturne, composer Rolf Løvland and Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry - together with the singer and the Swedish harpist - captivated the European audiences and was awarded with 148 points back. This was the very first time an entirely ethnic song won an ESC final, and started a massive wave of ethnic ESC entries in the years that followed - already the next year another celtic melody won, Eimear Quinn's The Voice. The scarce use of words in Nocturne - only 24 words in the three minute song altogether - created a great controversy in Norway's neighbouring country Sweden, of whose jury decided to boicot what they looked upon as an inappropriate entry for the so-called "schlager" contest, being one of only three juries not to give the winning composition any points at all (the two other were Austria and Croatia), while six juries awarded it the maximum douze points. The year is 1995. The stage lies in Dublin, capital of Ireland, home to Fionnuala. Celtic music succeeded on Celtic ground.

World-wide fame

Secret Garden went on to become one of the most successful acts to have won the ESC, and is today a global phenomenon, not only on their own, but also being the original group behind such a hauntingly beautiful song as You Raise Me Up, which already has been recorded with different artists more than 125 times and which thanks to artists like Josh Groban and the Irish boyband Westlife continues to uplift the spirits of young and old throughout the world several years after it was composed. Rolf Løvland was also the composer of Norway's other ESC winner, La det swinge, as well as Norway's ESC entries in 1987 (Mitt liv by Kate Gulbrandsen) and 1994 (Duett by Bettan and Jan Werner Danielsen).

Expansion and success

Since the last couple of years of the 1990ies, a major evolution has been going on within the MGP concept walls. Broadcaster NRK decided it was time to reflect the modern pop music to a higher degree. The national music industry was approached more intensively, in a desire to attract younger, more professional talents. All doubts aside, singing in English should be no drawback anymore, directing the obvious fact that close to all professional Norwegian artists sing in English these days. The next step implemented was making the event bigger, by moving the MGP final into the number one concert hall of Norway, the Oslo Spektrum [link], as a permanent location. Spektrum has a capacity of 9,700, a "handful" more than the TV studios which had been used a few years earlier.

The increased efforts slowly lead to results, with international successes in 1998, 2000, 2003 and again in 2005. Glam-rock group Wig Wam turned Melodi Grand Prix upside down with their high volume victory in MGP 2005. For once an MGP song enjoyed vast commercial success, and In My Dreams skyrocketed to the top of the national single chart. It stayed there for three weeks and had a long-lived 19 weeks on the chart [link] - more than four months! An achievement none of Norway's two Eurovision winners ever managed. "Grand Prix" was once again hot, even hip youngsters had to admit the groove and appeal the group and their song somehow had.

\"The Wig Wam effect\"

Europe agreed and sent Norway straight to next year's final. What's next? A new and surprising move from NRK: Regional semi finals are the new loud! No more embarrassing nul points. During three semi finals with six songs in each, with a fourth intermediate second chance wildcard round, a total of eight songs will be selected for the MGP 2006 final. In, where else, but in Oslo Spektrum. Among the 18 acts can be found high profile artists like Trine Rein [link], Christine Guldbrandsen [link], Mocci, Birgitte Einarsen and last - but definitely not least - Queentastic [link], a reunion between two absolutely fabulous garlic girls. This combination of one night becoming four meets better artists than ever before, can't be just a matter of luck, some people suggests. Perhaps we're witnessing the Wig Wam effect?

Read more about the latest developements in the Melodi Grand Prix 2006 article!

Norwegian entries in the Eurovision Song Contest

>
Year Song Artist(s) Song writer(s) Composer(s) Points Place
1960 ''Voi-voi Nora Brockstedt Georg Elgaaen 11 4
1961 ''Sommer i Palma Nora Brockstedt Egil Hansen Jan Wølner 10 7
1962 ''Kom sol, kom regn Inger Jacobsen Ivar Jacobsen Kjell Karlsen 2 10
1963 ''Solhverv Anita Thallaug Dag Kristoffersen 0 13
1964 ''Spiral Arne Bendiksen Egil Hansen Sigurd Jansen 6 8
1965 ''Karusell Kirsti Sparboe Jolly Kramer-Johansen 1 13
1966 ''Intet er nytt under solen Åse Kleveland Arne Bendiksen 15 3
1967 ''Dukkemann Kirsti Sparboe Ola B Johannessen Tor Hultin 2 14
1968 ''Stress Odd Børre Ola B Johannessen Tor Hultin 2 13
1969 ''Oj, oj, oj, så glad jeg skal bli Kirsti Sparboe Arne Bendiksen 1 16
1971 ''Lykken er... Hanne Krogh Arne Bendiksen 65 17
1972 ''Småting Grethe Kausland & Benny Borg Kåre Grøttum & Ivar Børsum 73 14
1973 ''Å, for et spill Bendik Singers Arne Bendiksen 89 7
1974 ''Hvor er du? Anne Karine Strøm & Bendik Singers Philip Kruse Frode Thingnæs 3 14
1975 ''Det skulle ha vært sommer nå Ellen Nikolaysen Svein Hundsnes 11 18
1976 ''Mata Hari Anne-Karine Strøm Philip Kruse Frode Thingnæs 7 18
1977 ''Casanova Anita Skorgan Dag Nordtømme Svein Strugstad 18 15
1978 ''Mil etter mil Jahn Teigen Kai Eide 0 20
1979 ''Oliver Anita Skorgan Phillip Kruse Anita Skorgan 57 11
1980 ''Samiid ædnan Sverre Kjelsberg & Mattis Hætta Ragnar Olsen Sverre Kjelsberg 15 16
1981 ''Aldri i livet Finn Kalvik 0 20
1982 ''Adieu Jahn Teigen & Anita Skorgan Herodes Falsk Jahn Teigen 40 12
1983 ''Do-re-mi Jahn Teigen Herodes Falsk & Jahn Teigen Anita Skorgan & Jahn Teigen 53 9
1984 ''Lenge leve livet Dollie de Luxe Benedicte Adrian & Ingrid Bjørnov 29 17
1985 ''La det swinge Bobbysocks Rolf Løvland 123 1
1986 ''Romeo Ketil Stokkan 44 12
1987 ''Mitt liv Kate Guldbrandsen Rolf Løvland & Hanne Krogh Rolf Løvland 65 9
1988 ''For vår jord Karoline Krüger Erik Hillestad Anita Skorgan 88 5
1989 ''Venners nærhet Britt Synnøve Johansen Leiv Grøtte Inge Enoksen 30 17
1990 ''Brandenburger Tor Ketil Stokkan 8 21
1991 ''Mrs Thompson Just 4 Fun P G Røness & Kaare Skevik Jr Dag Kolsrud 14 17
1992 ''Visjoner Merethe Trøan Eva Jansen Robert Morley 23 18
1993 ''Alle mine tankar Silje Vige Bjørn Erik Vige 120 5
1994 ''Duett Elisabeth Andreassen & Jan Werner Danielsen Hans Olav Mørk Rolf Løvland 76 6
1995 ''Nocturne Secret Garden Rolf Løvland & Petter Skavlan 148 1
1996 ''I evighet Elisabeth Andreassen Torhild Nigar 114 2
1997 ''San Francisco Tor Endresen Tor Endresen & Arne Myksvol 0 24
1998 ''Alltid sommer Lars A. Fredriksen Linda Andernach Johannesen David Eriksen 79 8
1999 ''Living My Life Without You Stig van Eijk 35 14
2000 ''My Heart Goes Boom Charmed Tore Madsen Morten Henriksen 57 11
2001 ''On My Own Haldor Lægreid Antonsen, Hanssen & Olsen 3 22
2003 ''I'm Not Afraid To Move On Jostein Hasselgård Arve Furset Arve Furset 123 4
2004 ''High Knut Anders Sørum Dan Attlerud Thomas Thörnholm & Lars Andersson 3 24
2005 ''In My Dreams Wig Wam Teeny Teeny 125 9''
2006 ''Alvedansen Christine Guldbrandsen Kjetil Fluge & Christine Guldbrandsen Kjetil Fluge, Atle Halstensen & Christine Guldbrandsen 36 14
Explanation of colour codes: Gold = Victory | Green = Best third | Blue = Middle third | Violet = Last third | Red = Last place

Further lecture

Read more on Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest, or take a look at the sister contests in Denmark and Sweden. See also the extensive coverage of the British A Song For Europe/Making Your Mind Up selection.

External links

 

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles
0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJ
KLMNOPQRST
UVWXYZ?

E-mail this article to:

Personal Message: