It’s the Eurovision down season, and don’t you for a second think we’re going to stop speculating, arguing, and pushing our heated opinions. Our latest series will look at the national finals of Eurovision, and discussing how we would reform the national finals of Eurovision. Today we’re having a look at Melodi Grand Prix.
In part 22 of this series Daniel, Ben, and Angus discuss what changes they’d make to Norway’s Melodi Grand Prix.
What is Melodi Grand Prix?
Melodi Grand Prix is the Norwegian method of selection for Eurovision. This national final selection method is over 60 years old. The only year where Melodi Grand Prix has not taken place was 2002, when Norway were relegated from the Eurovision Song Contest. Melodi Grand Prix had undertaken a few different formats. The changes in format have mainly taken place in the last few years, since 2020.
Do we like what the NF does so far, and do we think there’s a chance of it producing a winner?
Daniel
I expect many people here will disagree with me on this, but I very much think so. There’s a lot of musical talent up in Norway, with songwriters, producers and singers aplenty. and I think it can very much happen that a song will be in the right place at the right time and take the crown.
Angus
While I personally am very much Not A Fan of what NRKMGP does and how it goes about doing it, I do think it is able of producing a winner. This is because a lot of the things that seem to matter at Eurovision at the moment, such as a slick stage performance and performing well towards the camera, are things that are valued by both organisers NRK and by the viewing, voting public at home.
Ben
Perhaps the best thing about MGP is the selection team at NRK. They strike an amazing balance of talented newcomers and NF veterans. There is always a diverse selection of quality songs for the Norwegian public to choose from. And I genuinely believe that NRK has one of (if not the) best wardrobe departments for any NF. They dress most if not all the artists, and when they hit the outfits are stellar. On that scale, I think MGP could quite easily produce a winner.
What changes would we make to the National Final?
Daniel
This is very long. TLDR at the end. The recent rumours point towards moving to one standalone MGP show, skipping out on the semi-finals. I think this is the absolute wrong direction to go in. Keep the semi finals, host them in a decently sized arena in Oslo that isn’t NRK studios, one of the 2,000 or so capacity ice hockey arenas would do, before making the Trondheim Spektrum the permanent host destination for the Grand Final, and with that prospective Eurovision host city.
Whilst not the most glaring issue, I do think that the semi final formatting needs looked at, because there was understandably quite a bit of upset that all three semi finals had their last 3 performers get the coveted Finalpass. I think juries at this stage wouldn’t be the best fit, one change I would at least explore is the amount of songs in each heat, perhaps changing the 6 of 2024 to an 8 (whether that be 2 or 3 heats) could be beneficial. I’d also look at introducing a wildcard – the current 9 finalists number is awkward, getting it up to 10 whilst compensating for someone drawn a bad running order could be a fun way to round it up.
Technically speaking, this isn’t a reform, but it might as well be because it has barely been implemented at all. Stig Karlsen made a big song and a dance about the new rule in 2024 that any song released after September 1st would be eligible to take part in the competition, and that if fans saw a song they would’ve liked to see compete in the contest, then they could voice their support for it’s inclusion! Except that didn’t happen, only two songs were released before January 2024 (One of which was Gåte’s Ulveham, which was only released as the full nearly 6 minute version of the song – with the Eurovision compliant three minutes version in January alongside) – and I know for a fact that at least some participants knew they were invited to the contest as far back as October. We saw this year with Germany’s hammer lady that people can get excited for songs that may or may not be participating in various national finals, utilise this and have the songs get actually released months in advance, without any confirmation of MGP participation and let people build up hype for the show!
I’d like to see a move away from the “joke” (almost nothing that gets labelled that is actually a joke, including Subwoolfer, bizarre would be a better word) entries that MGP seemed incredibly keen to push during the late Karlsen era. Subwoolfer was contentious back in 2022 and though I enjoyed the song in 2024, the whole Super Rob character just felt forced by the producers, and received favourable running orders in an attempt to goad the public into voting for it. You can create a very good show, (as MGPs 2022 and 2024 both were!) without trying to force in characters and a narrative. Replace these with a more dedicated push to having Norwegian language (or perhaps also Sámi) songs, as Gåte (and JONE’s streaming success outside of the contest) proved that songs in the language can and will be popular both with the Norwegian public and the Eurovision fandom – I really hope Gåte getting absolutely robbed in Malmö doesn’t sour the feeling towards Norwegian in MGP, as there’s a very healthy Norwegian speaking music scene.
The split jury/televote final has been a welcome reform in recent years, but I would love them to, as part of a jury vote, pay homage to their former system of regional voting blocs, by introducing Dora/FdC style regional juries to go alongside the international ones, let the North of Norway vote for their homegrown heroes again! Whilst I’m paying compliments, I think the 40/60 split, whilst perhaps introduced either out of spite after Alessandra’s poor performance in the Eurovision Jury final, or as an attempt to get the clear producer’s favourites to win, knowing the juries wouldn’t go for them, is very close to the sweet spot of what a jury-televote ratio should be in a national final.
The rule allowing autotune remains incredibly stupid, and probably the main stumbling block to recruiting potential fans of this selection. It removes what should be an inbuilt advantage that better vocalists have over those with less skills, and I especially think that singers like Alexandra Rotan of KEiiNO, who we all know can sing brilliantly, using auto tune is just incredibly frustrating and makes the whole thing seem inauthentic and crass. I do also think that whilst Alessandra was absolutely the right pick in 2023, in fact barring the live performance disaster that was Freya, she was my favourite at the time, the autotuned MGP performance may have given the delegation a false sense of security that lead towards a lacklustre jury performance that year which perhaps lead Stig Karlsen onto his jury rampage.
I wrote the vast majority of this essay before the news broke about Stig Karlsen’s impending departure from the Eurovision sphere, so I thought I’d tag something on the end. He got a lot of criticism during his time as HoD. A lot of it very fair, and a fair share of it came from me – but a lot of it I think was in really bad faith. I think whilst there have been some very questionable decisions made by him, something that I will always say about him is that he is someone who truly cared about the show he was running.
You may disagree with the way he did it, but he sure as hell championed Melodi Grand Prix, and the most important thing that NRK will do vis-a-vis MGP over the next 12 months is getting his replacement absolutely right. Get someone not just with ideas, but also passion.
TLDR: Get rid of autotune, use the releasing songs early rule, more Norwegian and more Sámi, keep the semi finals, make Karlsen’s replacement someone with passion, and tell Gaute Ormåsen to play dress up on his own time.
Angus
I think Daniel’s treatise above offers a thorough and accurate description of many of the issues I have with MGP. Autotune and artist/song selection in particular are bugbears of mine when it comes to this national final. Personally, MGP always leaves me with one big question that I don’t know even NRK could answer, and that is: who/what is this national final for? If it is meant to pick the best song for Eurovision, we should be getting a different set of selected entries. Viewing figures are trending down, so if NRK is trying to create an entertainment programme and/or hype up Eurovision, it is struggling to do so. The lack of musical and linguistic diversity in the contest and the end of regional voting shows that it also isn’t a showcase of Norwegian music or an attempt to pick the best song in Norway. This all adds up to a contest that, to me, feels somewhat soulless and directionless, even if definitely is fun and engaging at times. So, in essence, I would like to feel that there is a real vision for what MGP should achieve, and that Karlsen/NRK make and stick to a plan to fulfill that vision. Even if that vision looks like other NFs that aren’t my favourite, I would prefer that over what the show is like now.
Ben
(see Daniel and Angus above for a lengthier version of my opinions). Additionally, one of my biggest suggestions actually came true on October 1st of this year: Stig Karlsen’s departure as HoD and head of MGP. While Norway did have some amazing entries under his reign, some of the questionable rule changes were all under his watch. Stig seemed to change things for the sake of change and no other reason. His decision to go to the old “duel” format, the allowing of autotune, and the push against juries in any way (that he also tried to force on the main contest) are all extremely questionable and some have been incredibly unpopular. My hope for any future reform is to look at what the Norwegian audience’s opinion on MGP are and start reforms from there. Viewership is down and budgets have been slashed. It’s time to work to increase ratings while keeping the same song quality.
Do we think any reforms are likely to happen to this NF?
Daniel
There will definitely be some, but I’m not holding out too much hope for the ones I’ve suggested. Stig Karlsen really just did as he pleased with the format of the show, and whilst I disagree with some of the changes he made, despite the barrage of criticism he gets, a lot which is justified, but there’s a lot of unfair critiques in there, Stig Karlsen clearly cared a lot about MGP and wants it to be a success. Whoever his replacement is definitely has big boots to fill, and I can definitely see changes coming under new management in an attempt to bring in a new era.
Angus
Will there be changes? Sure, but I doubt I will like them. NRK hasn’t shied away from making changes to MGP, although how much of that was because of Stig Karlsen remains to be seen. Some of those have been more successful or logical than others, but it is good to see that the contest clearly is organised by people who care about it. Whatever the changes are that we will get, I am sure everyone following MGP will be worried, confused, and delighted in equal measures. Let’s just hope they manage to pick a song I enjoy for the third year in a row, eh?
Ben
There is really no telling at the moment how the new HoD will handle MGP. Because of Stig’s late departure, I doubt there will be any changes that he didn’t already implement. However, I hope that the 2026 edition of MGP works to make the show less of a playground and into a consistent and quality event. The talent is there and has been there for years now, its just time for the production to get its act together and decide on an identity for the show.
Norway’s Eurovision Journey
The Scandinavian nation made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1960, with Nora Brockstedt and the song “Voi Voi”, which placed 4th. Since their debut, they have participated 62 times, and made the Grand Final 59 of these. In addition, Norway has won the competition three times – in 1985, 1995, and 2009.
Norway’s latest Eurovision participation saw them being represented by Gåte with the song “Ulveham”. After qualifying for the final, Norway placed 25th and last place in the Grand Final, receiving 16 points, 12 of which from the jury and 4 from televoters.
What do you think about our reforms? As always, let us know what you think by commenting down below. Also, be sure to follow ‘That Eurovision Site’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads and Bluesky for all the latest Eurovision news!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Espen Solli / NRK
Tim J