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. 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).
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 (now 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 new age revolution. The second victory was brought to Norway by the 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 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 neighbour country Sweden, of whose jury decided to boicot what they thought was not an appropriate entry in the so-called "schlager" contest, being one of only three juries not to give the winning composition any points (the two other were Austria and Croatia), while six juries awarded it the maximum douze points.
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).
Norwegian entries in the Eurovision Song Contest
| År | Tittel | Artist | Tekstforfattere | Komponist | Poeng | Plassering |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 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 |