Norwegian contestant TIX has won the Barbara Dex Award. The award is reached out by our friends of songfestival.be. It is a prize for the contestant with the most remarkable clothes in the Eurovision Song Contest. This year, the fake furr coat with huge wings TIX was wearing, gets the award. Here is the entire top-5: 1.Norway (TIX)2.Romania (Roxen)3.Croatia (Albina)4.United Kingdom (James Newman)5.Israel (Eden Alene) photo credits: EBU
© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameAndreas Andresen Haukeland Born12 april 1993 Nationality🇳🇴 Norway National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2021 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam SongFallen angel (2021) Biography TIX is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in Bærum. TIX is known for its colorful and flamboyant style with fur coat, sunglasses and headband applied with the text «TIX». The artist’s name comes from Tourette’s syndrome, which Haukeland has had since childhood. The syndrome causes involuntary twitches, so-called “tics”. These made him being bullied at school, but he chose to take ownership of “tics” by taking the artist name “TIX”. TIX wears sunglasses to hide twitches with the eye. TIX rose to fame in Norway in 2015 with the controversial song Sjeiken 2015. The lyrics contained lines like “Everyone knows it’s the Sheikh who rules, chilling in the lounge with 400 wives, we have champagne waterfalls, gonna push you there. My name’s Sheikh Yer Bouti” In 2016, he released his first and foremost single album, Dømt og berømt, which was on the official Norwegian album list for 79 weeks. TIX has worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles, where he has written “Game Time” for Flo Rida and “Sweet But Psycho” for Avea Max. In the summer of 2017, TIX has opened for Justin Bieber at Forus Travbane in Stavanger. After several years of Russian songs and party music, Haukeland released his first solo single, «Shotgun», in 2018. In 2019 he topped the VG list for the first time with the deeply personal song “Jegg vil ikke leve”. He has since followed up with a number of personal songs. He topped the VG list again twice. In January 2021, he was a guest on the talk show Lindmo on NRK1, where he told about his loneliness, depression and suicide attempt. There he said that the song “Jegg vil ikke leve” was based on the findings from this difficult time.In 2021, TIX won Norsk Melodi Grand Prix and thus represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Fallen angel”. He took the opportunity to ask for attention to Gilles de la Tourette. His alleged blossoming love with the Azerbaijani contestant Efendi also attracted a lot of attention. “Fallen angel” reached the top of the Norwegian charts, as the follow up “Engel, ikke dra” did. That song was a dedication to a fan who passed away. Many other hits followed in 2021 and 2022. Entries Fallen angel Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsAndreas HaukelandMathias HaukelandEmelie Hollow MusicAndreas Haukeland BackingsJohannes Winter FarstadEivind DundasJohn MasakiReno AndersenBjørnar Erlandsen Results Semi Points: 115Position: 10Running order: 9 Results Finals Points: 75Position: 18Running order: 22 https://youtu.be/F0r3vmGLzZU
About Quick Facts NameUlrikke Brandstorp Born13 July 1995 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2017Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongAttention (2020, cancelled) Biography Ulrikke Brandstorp is a Norwegian singer. She was born in Sarpsborg, a small village in the east of Norway. She has been practicing song and music since she was a child. She played in several local productions of Pippi Longstocking and Reisen til Julestjernen. She went on tour throughout Norway between 2011 and 2013 with the shows The Show Must Go On II and The Thrill of Michael Jackson. Ulrikke Brandstorp participated in the talent show Idol in 2013, and in The Voice. She was knocked out in the semi-finals. She participated in the Melodi Grand Prix 2017, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Places” and finished in fourth place. Brandstrop has since participated in the NRK competition Stjernekamp . In 2019, she played the role of Liesl, the oldest daughter of the Von Trapp family in the Sound of Music. In 2020, Ulrikke participated in the Melodi Grand Prix 2020 with the song “Attention” and so she was supposed to represent Norway in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, that didn’t happen. In the autumn of 2020, NRK broadcasted Maskorama, a.k.a. The Masked Singer. She participated as ‘The troll” and won the competition. Entries Attention Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsChristian IngebritsenKjetil MørlandUlrikke Brandstorp MusicChristian IngebritsenKjetil MørlandUlrikke Brandstorp Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/o9atJbnqhJU
Three countries continue their national selection: Norway, Lithuania and Israel. You can choose one to watch…. or watch all of them! The first one is Norway on 19:50 CET. You can watch the 3rd semifinal here. Again, duels will decide which song will enter the final. The contestants tonight are: Alexandru Kristin Husøy Sie Gubba Thomas Løseth & Erika Norwich Lithuania starts at 20:00 CET and you can watch it here and here. The contestants are: The Backs, “Fully” Bernardas, “Dad, don’t be mad at me” Justina Žukauskaitė, “Breathe in” Rokas Povilius, “Vilnius calling” KaYra, “Alligator” Lukas Bartaška, “Where is that change?” Evgenya Redko, “What about us” Ruslanas Kirilkinas, “Soldier’s heart” Nombeko Augustė, “Reikia man” Vitalijus Špokaitis, “Nemušk savęs” Aistė Pilvelytė, “Everlastingly” The roop, “On fire” We saw Justina Žukauskaitė and Lukas Bartaška before in 2019, Ruslanas Kirilkinas in 2010 and 2016, and The Roop in 2018. Oh and let’s definitely not forget Aistė Pilvelytė. It’s her 11th attempt to represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest!! 3rd and last for tonight is Israel. The show is a little bit more complicated. It starts at 20:15 CET and you can watch it here. In this round every contestant will perform with the Idan Raichel Project. And yes, they can be familiar to you as they performed in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest as an interval act. Thursday, we saw the first round, but that one is not finished yet. So far, it looks like Ohad Shragai, who composed last year’s entry “Home” for Kobi Marimi, is out of the race. But Dorel Saadon still has to perform in the 1st round: if he gets less than 58% of the votes, he is out and Ohad is saved.For the 2nd show, the contestants are: Eden Zohar Sivan Ella-Lee Lahav Gaya Shaki Moran Aharoni Raviv Kaner The person with the lowest percentage, has to leave the show.
About Quick Facts NameCarl Espen Thorbjørnsen Born15 July 1982 Nationality🇳🇴 Norway National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2014 In Eurovision2014 Copenhagen SongSilent Storm (2014) Biography Carl Espen (born Carl Espen Thorbjørnsen on 15 July 1982 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Espen was born into a musical family and spent much of his childhood and youth in Bergen, where he discovered his passion for music at an early age. He spent his formative years singing in various local choirs and performing in school concerts. After high school, he joined the Norwegian Armed Forces and served in Kosovo under the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Upon his return from military service, he went to work as a doorman in a local bar, keeping his musical talents mostly to himself. His professional music career began rather unexpectedly. Espen’s cousin, Josefin Winther, a musician herself, wrote a song for him to perform at a family gathering. The song, “Silent Storm,” touched the family so deeply that they encouraged him to enter it into Melodi Grand Prix, Norway’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Heeding their advice, Espen submitted the song to Melodi Grand Prix 2014 and managed to win the national contest, securing his spot to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. His performance of “Silent Storm” made a significant impact and he finished in 8th place in the final. After the Eurovision Song Contest, Carl Espen released a second single, “Holding on”. However, the song did not reach the charts. In October 2014, Carl Espen made an acoustic tour throughout Norway. After Eurovision Carl Espen did not build on a big career in music. He decided to go an study in order to become a nurse. Entries Silent Storm Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2014 Language🇬🇧 English LyricsJosefin Winther MusicJosefin Winther BackingsStian Aarstad (piano)Isa Caroline HolmeslandAne Emilie Vold MickelssonMadeleine OssumSara Ulstrup Results Semi Points: 77Position: 6Running order: 3 Results Finals Points: 88Position: 8Running order: 5 https://youtu.be/BTMli8U17MM
© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameTouraj Keshtkar Born26 May 1987 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2012 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongStay (2012) Biography Touraj Keshtkar, known professionally as Tooji, is a Norwegian singer, painter, model and television host.Tooji was born in Shiraz, Iran, and moved to Norway at the age of one. His mother, Lily Bandehy, is a renowned author and political commentator. By 16, Tooji embarked on a modelling career. He soon found his way to MTV Norway, hosting shows like Super Saturday and Tooji’s Top 10. Apart from his media pursuits, he trained as a social worker and served in asylum reception centres. Tooji’s musical accolades include winning the Melodi Grand Prix 2012, which led him to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with his song “Stay”. Though he qualified from the semi-finals, he placed 26th in the final round. Moreover, he presented international jury votes for various Eurovision events and has co-hosted Melodi Grand Prix Junior in Norway since 2012 alongside Margrethe Røed. Musically, Tooji has been a versatile artist. His 2013 single “Rebels” is described as a fusion of pop-dance with hints of organic elements and robust electronica. Later, in pursuit of refining his musical style, he moved to Stockholm and released “Packin’ Guns”, a track blending electronic components with a gritty, organic sound. Tooji’s approach often incorporates irony against intense beats. His background in social work and education deeply influences his music, often echoing political and social sentiments. For instance, “Cocktail” addresses contemporary gender norms, referencing a quote by Gloria Steinem. After openly discussing his sexuality, he unveiled “The Father” project, confronting the church’s stance on sexual relationships and perceived hypocrisy. His subsequent single “Say Yeah” takes a stand against homophobic violence. His single and EP “Father” played a pivotal role in his coming out journey, addressing the complex intersection of sexuality and the church. Meanwhile, Tooji also released his first children’s book, Taki og Bestemor. In 2016 Tooji played a role in the musical “Rent”, where he played the role of Angel, a HIV infected gay person in the nineties. In the same year he co-wrote “Start anew”, a song by Swedish/Norwegian singer Elouiz. He joined the ‘Dracula Song Camp’ in Bucharest in September. Together with Lori Witt and Lauren Gallagher, Tooji produced a short film, “Just hear me” based on the Father Project. The short film was released in December 2016. In March 2017, the second book of Taki og Bestemor was released. On 26 November 2017, producer Anderson released the song and video “Cool kids”. The song was written by Tooji, who also provided the vocals. In 2018, he composed the music for the film KuToppen. He made his first steps in the field of K-Pop in 2019, when he wrote the song “Want” for Taemin. In April of that year, Chris Viviano released a song “Black horse” with Tooji’s vocals. Since July 2019 Tooji is known as Samaj Ai Bandéh. He leads Pink Lotus soundhealing and meditation sessions. Meanwhile he kept writing songs for others, like for Sofie Rose (“Keep loving me”). His film De Reisende (The Travelers) was released in 2020. Entries Stay Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2012 LanguageEnglish LyricsToojiPeter BoströmFigge Boström MusicToojiPeter BoströmFigge Boström BackingsHans Esben Gihle DancersSérgio Benvindo jr.Daniel GillAnne Marit TynesMaria Ima Karlsen Results Semi Points: 45Position: 10Running order: 16 Results Finals Points: 7Position: 26Running order: 12 https://youtu.be/-ZaxIY1VAbM?si=eKhxqCe-AbvXzw9t
© Albin Olsson, Wikimedia Commons About Quick Facts NameAgnete Kristin Johnsen Saba Born04 July 1994 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2016Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2011 In Eurovision2016 Stockholm SongIcebreaker (2016) Biography Agnete Kristin Johnsen Saba, known by various names including Agnete Saba, Agnete Johnsen, or simply Agnete, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Agnete was born on July 4, 1994, in Varangerbotn, Nesseby, located in Finnmark, Norway. She comes from an ethnic Sami background and is the daughter of Sami children’s author Signe Iversen. In 2020, she changed her surname to Saba, adopting her grandmother’s maiden name. She started het career as a member of The BlackSheeps. The group was formed in 2008 while the band members were attending school in their hometown of Nesseby. They achieved success by winning Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2008 with their song “Oro jaska, beana” (“Be quiet, dog”), which was performed in both Norwegian and Northern Sami. The band also won the MGP Nordic 2008 competition. Their song “Oro jaska, beana” won the Song of the Year award at the Spellemannprisen Awards and reached number one on the Norwegian singles chart. In 2011, The BlackSheeps participated in Melodi Grand Prix 2011 with the song “Dance Tonight,” where they secured the second place. However, they disbanded later that year. In 2013, Agnete competed in the second season of the Norwegian music TV competition Stjernekamp, finishing as the runner-up. She also performed as an interval act during Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2013. From 2014 onwards, Agnete took part in the tenth season of the Norwegian version of Dancing with the Stars called Skal vi danse? (Shall we dance?) and emerged as the winner. In 2015, she participated in the Norwegian reality television series 71° nord but left early due to mental health issues. Agnete competed in Melodi Grand Prix 2016 with the song “Icebreaker” and emerged as the winner, receiving the most votes from the Norwegian public. Although she represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest, she failed to qualify for the final during the second semi-final held in Stockholm on May 12, 2016. Agnete made a comeback on November 6, 2020, with her new single titled “Beginning of the End.” In January 2021, she participated in the show “Hver gang vi møtes” (the Norwegian version of “The Best Singers”). On March 5 of the same year, she released the single “Solid” followed by the EP “Tundra.” Additionally, on August 30, a documentary titled “Agnete Jienáda,” focusing on Agnete and her Sami background, was released on NRK Web-TV. On July 8, 2022, Agnete released a new song called “Pusterom.” She also performed on the show “Allsang på grensen” and had a duet with Ronan Keating. Agnete took part in the all-stars version of “Skal vi danse.” In the same year, she collaborated with the Isaakband and featured on their new single, “Oainnán du.” In 2023, Agnete hosted the Sámi Grand Prix alongside Ole Nedrejord. Entries Icebreaker Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2016 LanguageEnglish LyricsAgnete JohnsenGabriel AlaresIan Curnow MusicAgnete JohnsenGabriel AlaresIan Curnow BackingsGabriel AlaresNicoline Berg KaasinCharlotte BredesenIngunn Dalland DancersSara Christine Einbu Results Semi Points: 63Position: 13Running order: 15 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/ACLcqZMwCSo
About Quick Facts NameStella Nyambura Mwangi Born01 September 1986 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2018Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2011 In Eurovision2011 Düsseldorf SongHaba Haba (2011) Biography Stella Nyambura Mwangi (born September 1, 1986, in Nairobi, Kenya) is a Norwegian-Kenyan singer, actress, rapper, and songwriter, best known in Norway for her victory in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix 2011 with the song “Haba Haba”. Her work has been used in American Pie 5: The Naked Mile and Save the Last Dance 2, as well as in the TV series CSI New York and Scrubs. Stella moved from Kenya to Kløfta in 1991 when she was five years old. In 1998, she was part of a group called “The Rise”. Stella Mwangi has been on the hit charts in Kenya, Senegal, and Gambia. She has also won Kisima Awards for the best new artist in 2006, and she has performed for Nelson Mandela during the 46664 Arctic support concert in Tromsø. Mwangi released an album “Living for Music” in 2008. Melodi Grand Prix In 2011, she won the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix with the song “Haba Haba” in connection with the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Mwangi was eliminated in the semi-finals. She finished in 17th place out of a total of 19 participants. She also participated in the Melodi Grand Prix in 2018 and came in 3rd place with “You Got Me” alongside Alexandra Rotan. Also in 2018 she released a new single and video, “10 toes”. In the same year she opened for Cannes Lions. In 2019 she was part of the cooking show Camp Kulinaris on TV3. She wrote and sung “Ma Itu”, the anthem for Just Dance 2020. She also featured in Doni Mula’s rap “Wallahi Wallahi”. In May 2020, Stella feautred in “In the Spot” of Bombfunk MC’s. She recorded an album in Los Angeles, which was released in September 2021: “Eyes Off Me”. In June 2022, her EP “Icon” came out. Entries Haba Haba Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2011 LanguageEnglishSwahili LyricsStella Mwangi MusicBeyond51Big City BackingsMay Kristin KaspersenSuzanne Fatou SumbunduSamantha GurahØyvind Boye LøvoldUlrik Engdahl Results Semi Points: 30Position: 17Running order: 2 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/4hKqVLmzIFQ?si=QdtiyYLcRTcLXdsQ
© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts NameMargaret Berger Born11 October 1985 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2013 In Eurovision2013 Malmö SongI Feed You My Love (2013) Biography Margaret Berger (born 11 October 1985 in Trondheim) is a Norwegian artist, musician, and DJ. Berger grew up in Hitra, where she lived for twelve years. She sang in a gospel choir and began writing her songs as early as twelve years old. She attended the music line at Heimdal High School in Trondheim. Berger had her breakthrough on TV2, where she took 2nd place in the talent competition Idol in 2004. She made her national record debut the same year with “Chameleon”. She received the Spellemannprisen for the best music video in 2004 for “Lifetime Guarantee” and was also nominated for the newcomer of the year award. Among other places, she performed at the Storås festival in 2005. After her first album, Berger moved more towards electronica, a genre she has stated she’s very comfortable with. In the fall of 2006, she released the album “Pretty Scary Silver Fairy”, which is a pop album with an electronic sound. The single “Samantha” is the most well-known song from this album, and it became a radio hit in the summer and fall of 2006. Berger got a record contract with BMG and is known as one of the participants who have done best after Idol. In 2011, Berger released the vinyl single “In a Box” in collaboration with Universal. The song was listed on NRK P3 and received a five on the dice roll (rating) in VG (a Norwegian newspaper). Berger also performed at by:Larm in 2011. On February 9, 2013, she won the Norwegian final of the Melodi Grand Prix with the song “I Feed You My Love”, written among others by the Swedish electropop artist Karin Park. On May 18, 2013, she placed fourth in the international final with the same song. In 2014, she was a judge in the TV2 program Idol Junior. In 2016, Berger participated in a Christmas concert in Borgestad church, where she, among other things, sang a duet with Jostein Fahre. In 2017, Margaret Berger was one of the artists honored in the entertainment program “Hver gang vi møtes” on TV 2. In 2021, she came in fourth place as “Nøkken” in Maskorama (season 2). In May 2022, she released a new single, “Gjennomsiktig”. Entries I Feed You My Love Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2013 LanguageEnglish LyricsKarin ParkRobin LynchNiklas Olovson MusicKarin ParkRobin LynchNiklas Olovson BackingsKarianne KjærnesNicoline Berg KaasinJorunn HaugeAxel Tidemann (drums) Results Semi Points: 120Position: 3Running order: 13 Results Finals Points: 191Position: 4Running order: 24 https://youtu.be/gjm-kCOMaPY
© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameAlexander Igorevich Rybak Born13 May 1986 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionMelodi Grand Prix 2018Melodi Grand Prix 2009 In Eurovision2018 Lisbon2009 Moscow SongThat’s how you write a song (2018)Fairytale (2009) Biography Alexander Rybak, is a Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist and actor. He was born in Minsk, Belarus, in those days part of the Soviet Union. He played the violin and piano since he was five years old, but after a while he chose to concentrate on the violin. Alexander practiced violin with his father Igor Rybak until he was a teenager, when Alexander began studying at the Barratt Due Music Institute. During that time he played in the Vivaldi Orchestra, which was led by his father, and the Barrat Dues Junior Orchestra. From 2000 to 2003, Alexander was a student of violinist, conductor and educator Alf Richard Kraggerud, followed by study with Eileen Siegel, 3rd Concertmaster in the Oslo Philharmonic, and with Lena Rist-Larsen, violin educator and Norwegian master of accordion. He has also had lessons and masterclasses with many other great names. In the summer of 2002, Alexander received a scholarship in the form of a free course in New Jersey, where he studied under Stephen Shipps, and where he was selected to conduct a masterclass with Pinchas Zukerman. Alexander Rybak had participated in several Norwegian courses and festivals, such as “Valdres Sommersymfoni” and the international Hemsedal Festival for dancers and musicians, where Rybak participated as one of the musicians. He was a concertmaster during Halsnøy’s symphony project in the summer of 2004, and soloist with several good orchestras such as the Minsk Chamber Orchestra and the Kringkastingsorkesteret. He has toured in Chicago, Spain, Russia and Poland. In the same year he won Anders Jahre’s cultural award. In the fall of 2005, Rybak performed the violin concerto “Musica Avventurosa” by young composer Daniel Thornhill, together with the orchestra Ung Symphoni. Alexander Rybak participated in the tv-show Idol. In 2006, he won the talent contest Kjempesjansen. In 2007, Rybak debuted as an actor when he was the fiddler in Fiddler on the roof. In 2008, Alexander was featured on the children’s album “Magiske kroker & hemmeligheter”. In November 2008, Elisabeth Andreassen invited Rybak on a tour in 2009, with songs from “Bettans” record Spellemann, with music from both Norway and Sweden with inspiration from folk tones. In 2009, Alexander Rybak won Melodi Grand Prix 2009 with the song “Fairytale”. He was able to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest and won the contest. “Fairytale” became a huge hit all over Europe. Shortly after the contest Rybak released the album “Fairytales”. Rybak was awarded the Musician of the Year award under the Spellemann Prisen 2009.In 2010, another album, “No boundaries” was released. Also a Russian version, “Nebesa Evrope”, was released. A year later, he hosted the tv show Allsang På Grensen and released an album entirely in Swedish: “Visa vid vindens änger”. In may 2012 he sang a duet and had a small tour with Paula Seling. In 2013 Rybak composed a song for Melodi Grand Prix called “I’m With You” sung by Annsofi Pettersen. In 2015, he composed “Still Here” for Franklin Calleja in the Maltese National Finals. He also composed a song for the Belarusian group Milki entitled “Accent”, which got 4th place in the national final. In the same year he released an album called “Trolle og den magiske fela” and a year later it was followed by “I came to love you”. In 2018, Rybak took part in Melodi Grand Prix again with the song “That’s how you write a song”. For the second time, Rybak was able to represent his country in the Eurovision Song Contest. Rybak won the semifinal, but ended up just in 15th place in the final.In 2019, Rybak’s children’s musical “Trolle og den magiske fela” premiered. The show sold over 10,000 tickets and had to schedule extra performances to curb the demand. In 2020, Rybak co-wrote an entry for Melodi Grand Prix 2020 with JOWST. Singer Magnus Bokn sang the song, which reached the Melodi Grand Prix final. Rybak started attending Columbia College Chicago online from his home in Norway in the fall of 2020. By August 2021, he had moved to Chicago to continue his studies in person. He graduated from Columbia in July 2022. He released a new single in that year, “Memories”. He teamed up with Annsofi Klevfoss to release a new single “No More Me And You” in February 2023, exactly 10 years after Annsofi presented Alexanders song in Melodi Grand Prix. Two months later, he released a solo song and video, “1000 views”. In September, his new song “Kid” was released. Meanwhile, Rybak told his fans that he had been stalked for a while by a woman. That happened for over an entire year. Entries That’s How You Write A Song Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2018 LanguageEnglish LyricsAlexander Rybak MusicAlexander Rybak BackingsLisa BørudLene Kokai FlageJens Jeffry TrinidadFrode VasselAlvaro Estrella Results Semi Points: 266Position: 1Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 144Position: 15Running order: 7 https://youtu.be/N17BdRwOvBA Fairytale Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2009 LanguageEnglish LyricsAlexander Rybak MusicAlexander Rybak BackingsKarianne KjærnesJorunn HaugeSigbjørn RuaTorkjell BørsheimHallgrim Hansegård Results Semi Points: 266Position: 1Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 144Position: 15Running order: 7 https://youtu.be/WXwgZL4zx9o
Norwegian contestant TIX has won the Barbara Dex Award. The award is reached out by our friends of songfestival.be. It is a prize for the contestant with the most remarkable clothes in the Eurovision Song Contest. This year, the fake furr coat with huge wings TIX was wearing, gets the award. Here is the entire top-5: 1.Norway (TIX)2.Romania (Roxen)3.Croatia (Albina)4.United Kingdom (James Newman)5.Israel (Eden Alene) photo credits: EBU
© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameAndreas Andresen Haukeland Born12 april 1993 Nationality🇳🇴 Norway National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2021 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam SongFallen angel (2021) Biography TIX is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in Bærum. TIX is known for its colorful and flamboyant style with fur coat, sunglasses and headband applied with the text «TIX». The artist’s name comes from Tourette’s syndrome, which Haukeland has had since childhood. The syndrome causes involuntary twitches, so-called “tics”. These made him being bullied at school, but he chose to take ownership of “tics” by taking the artist name “TIX”. TIX wears sunglasses to hide twitches with the eye. TIX rose to fame in Norway in 2015 with the controversial song Sjeiken 2015. The lyrics contained lines like “Everyone knows it’s the Sheikh who rules, chilling in the lounge with 400 wives, we have champagne waterfalls, gonna push you there. My name’s Sheikh Yer Bouti” In 2016, he released his first and foremost single album, Dømt og berømt, which was on the official Norwegian album list for 79 weeks. TIX has worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles, where he has written “Game Time” for Flo Rida and “Sweet But Psycho” for Avea Max. In the summer of 2017, TIX has opened for Justin Bieber at Forus Travbane in Stavanger. After several years of Russian songs and party music, Haukeland released his first solo single, «Shotgun», in 2018. In 2019 he topped the VG list for the first time with the deeply personal song “Jegg vil ikke leve”. He has since followed up with a number of personal songs. He topped the VG list again twice. In January 2021, he was a guest on the talk show Lindmo on NRK1, where he told about his loneliness, depression and suicide attempt. There he said that the song “Jegg vil ikke leve” was based on the findings from this difficult time.In 2021, TIX won Norsk Melodi Grand Prix and thus represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Fallen angel”. He took the opportunity to ask for attention to Gilles de la Tourette. His alleged blossoming love with the Azerbaijani contestant Efendi also attracted a lot of attention. “Fallen angel” reached the top of the Norwegian charts, as the follow up “Engel, ikke dra” did. That song was a dedication to a fan who passed away. Many other hits followed in 2021 and 2022. Entries Fallen angel Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsAndreas HaukelandMathias HaukelandEmelie Hollow MusicAndreas Haukeland BackingsJohannes Winter FarstadEivind DundasJohn MasakiReno AndersenBjørnar Erlandsen Results Semi Points: 115Position: 10Running order: 9 Results Finals Points: 75Position: 18Running order: 22 https://youtu.be/F0r3vmGLzZU
About Quick Facts NameUlrikke Brandstorp Born13 July 1995 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2017Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongAttention (2020, cancelled) Biography Ulrikke Brandstorp is a Norwegian singer. She was born in Sarpsborg, a small village in the east of Norway. She has been practicing song and music since she was a child. She played in several local productions of Pippi Longstocking and Reisen til Julestjernen. She went on tour throughout Norway between 2011 and 2013 with the shows The Show Must Go On II and The Thrill of Michael Jackson. Ulrikke Brandstorp participated in the talent show Idol in 2013, and in The Voice. She was knocked out in the semi-finals. She participated in the Melodi Grand Prix 2017, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Places” and finished in fourth place. Brandstrop has since participated in the NRK competition Stjernekamp . In 2019, she played the role of Liesl, the oldest daughter of the Von Trapp family in the Sound of Music. In 2020, Ulrikke participated in the Melodi Grand Prix 2020 with the song “Attention” and so she was supposed to represent Norway in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, that didn’t happen. In the autumn of 2020, NRK broadcasted Maskorama, a.k.a. The Masked Singer. She participated as ‘The troll” and won the competition. Entries Attention Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsChristian IngebritsenKjetil MørlandUlrikke Brandstorp MusicChristian IngebritsenKjetil MørlandUlrikke Brandstorp Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/o9atJbnqhJU
Three countries continue their national selection: Norway, Lithuania and Israel. You can choose one to watch…. or watch all of them! The first one is Norway on 19:50 CET. You can watch the 3rd semifinal here. Again, duels will decide which song will enter the final. The contestants tonight are: Alexandru Kristin Husøy Sie Gubba Thomas Løseth & Erika Norwich Lithuania starts at 20:00 CET and you can watch it here and here. The contestants are: The Backs, “Fully” Bernardas, “Dad, don’t be mad at me” Justina Žukauskaitė, “Breathe in” Rokas Povilius, “Vilnius calling” KaYra, “Alligator” Lukas Bartaška, “Where is that change?” Evgenya Redko, “What about us” Ruslanas Kirilkinas, “Soldier’s heart” Nombeko Augustė, “Reikia man” Vitalijus Špokaitis, “Nemušk savęs” Aistė Pilvelytė, “Everlastingly” The roop, “On fire” We saw Justina Žukauskaitė and Lukas Bartaška before in 2019, Ruslanas Kirilkinas in 2010 and 2016, and The Roop in 2018. Oh and let’s definitely not forget Aistė Pilvelytė. It’s her 11th attempt to represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest!! 3rd and last for tonight is Israel. The show is a little bit more complicated. It starts at 20:15 CET and you can watch it here. In this round every contestant will perform with the Idan Raichel Project. And yes, they can be familiar to you as they performed in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest as an interval act. Thursday, we saw the first round, but that one is not finished yet. So far, it looks like Ohad Shragai, who composed last year’s entry “Home” for Kobi Marimi, is out of the race. But Dorel Saadon still has to perform in the 1st round: if he gets less than 58% of the votes, he is out and Ohad is saved.For the 2nd show, the contestants are: Eden Zohar Sivan Ella-Lee Lahav Gaya Shaki Moran Aharoni Raviv Kaner The person with the lowest percentage, has to leave the show.
About Quick Facts NameCarl Espen Thorbjørnsen Born15 July 1982 Nationality🇳🇴 Norway National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2014 In Eurovision2014 Copenhagen SongSilent Storm (2014) Biography Carl Espen (born Carl Espen Thorbjørnsen on 15 July 1982 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Espen was born into a musical family and spent much of his childhood and youth in Bergen, where he discovered his passion for music at an early age. He spent his formative years singing in various local choirs and performing in school concerts. After high school, he joined the Norwegian Armed Forces and served in Kosovo under the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Upon his return from military service, he went to work as a doorman in a local bar, keeping his musical talents mostly to himself. His professional music career began rather unexpectedly. Espen’s cousin, Josefin Winther, a musician herself, wrote a song for him to perform at a family gathering. The song, “Silent Storm,” touched the family so deeply that they encouraged him to enter it into Melodi Grand Prix, Norway’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Heeding their advice, Espen submitted the song to Melodi Grand Prix 2014 and managed to win the national contest, securing his spot to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. His performance of “Silent Storm” made a significant impact and he finished in 8th place in the final. After the Eurovision Song Contest, Carl Espen released a second single, “Holding on”. However, the song did not reach the charts. In October 2014, Carl Espen made an acoustic tour throughout Norway. After Eurovision Carl Espen did not build on a big career in music. He decided to go an study in order to become a nurse. Entries Silent Storm Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2014 Language🇬🇧 English LyricsJosefin Winther MusicJosefin Winther BackingsStian Aarstad (piano)Isa Caroline HolmeslandAne Emilie Vold MickelssonMadeleine OssumSara Ulstrup Results Semi Points: 77Position: 6Running order: 3 Results Finals Points: 88Position: 8Running order: 5 https://youtu.be/BTMli8U17MM
© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameTouraj Keshtkar Born26 May 1987 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2012 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongStay (2012) Biography Touraj Keshtkar, known professionally as Tooji, is a Norwegian singer, painter, model and television host.Tooji was born in Shiraz, Iran, and moved to Norway at the age of one. His mother, Lily Bandehy, is a renowned author and political commentator. By 16, Tooji embarked on a modelling career. He soon found his way to MTV Norway, hosting shows like Super Saturday and Tooji’s Top 10. Apart from his media pursuits, he trained as a social worker and served in asylum reception centres. Tooji’s musical accolades include winning the Melodi Grand Prix 2012, which led him to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with his song “Stay”. Though he qualified from the semi-finals, he placed 26th in the final round. Moreover, he presented international jury votes for various Eurovision events and has co-hosted Melodi Grand Prix Junior in Norway since 2012 alongside Margrethe Røed. Musically, Tooji has been a versatile artist. His 2013 single “Rebels” is described as a fusion of pop-dance with hints of organic elements and robust electronica. Later, in pursuit of refining his musical style, he moved to Stockholm and released “Packin’ Guns”, a track blending electronic components with a gritty, organic sound. Tooji’s approach often incorporates irony against intense beats. His background in social work and education deeply influences his music, often echoing political and social sentiments. For instance, “Cocktail” addresses contemporary gender norms, referencing a quote by Gloria Steinem. After openly discussing his sexuality, he unveiled “The Father” project, confronting the church’s stance on sexual relationships and perceived hypocrisy. His subsequent single “Say Yeah” takes a stand against homophobic violence. His single and EP “Father” played a pivotal role in his coming out journey, addressing the complex intersection of sexuality and the church. Meanwhile, Tooji also released his first children’s book, Taki og Bestemor. In 2016 Tooji played a role in the musical “Rent”, where he played the role of Angel, a HIV infected gay person in the nineties. In the same year he co-wrote “Start anew”, a song by Swedish/Norwegian singer Elouiz. He joined the ‘Dracula Song Camp’ in Bucharest in September. Together with Lori Witt and Lauren Gallagher, Tooji produced a short film, “Just hear me” based on the Father Project. The short film was released in December 2016. In March 2017, the second book of Taki og Bestemor was released. On 26 November 2017, producer Anderson released the song and video “Cool kids”. The song was written by Tooji, who also provided the vocals. In 2018, he composed the music for the film KuToppen. He made his first steps in the field of K-Pop in 2019, when he wrote the song “Want” for Taemin. In April of that year, Chris Viviano released a song “Black horse” with Tooji’s vocals. Since July 2019 Tooji is known as Samaj Ai Bandéh. He leads Pink Lotus soundhealing and meditation sessions. Meanwhile he kept writing songs for others, like for Sofie Rose (“Keep loving me”). His film De Reisende (The Travelers) was released in 2020. Entries Stay Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2012 LanguageEnglish LyricsToojiPeter BoströmFigge Boström MusicToojiPeter BoströmFigge Boström BackingsHans Esben Gihle DancersSérgio Benvindo jr.Daniel GillAnne Marit TynesMaria Ima Karlsen Results Semi Points: 45Position: 10Running order: 16 Results Finals Points: 7Position: 26Running order: 12 https://youtu.be/-ZaxIY1VAbM?si=eKhxqCe-AbvXzw9t
© Albin Olsson, Wikimedia Commons About Quick Facts NameAgnete Kristin Johnsen Saba Born04 July 1994 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2016Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2011 In Eurovision2016 Stockholm SongIcebreaker (2016) Biography Agnete Kristin Johnsen Saba, known by various names including Agnete Saba, Agnete Johnsen, or simply Agnete, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Agnete was born on July 4, 1994, in Varangerbotn, Nesseby, located in Finnmark, Norway. She comes from an ethnic Sami background and is the daughter of Sami children’s author Signe Iversen. In 2020, she changed her surname to Saba, adopting her grandmother’s maiden name. She started het career as a member of The BlackSheeps. The group was formed in 2008 while the band members were attending school in their hometown of Nesseby. They achieved success by winning Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2008 with their song “Oro jaska, beana” (“Be quiet, dog”), which was performed in both Norwegian and Northern Sami. The band also won the MGP Nordic 2008 competition. Their song “Oro jaska, beana” won the Song of the Year award at the Spellemannprisen Awards and reached number one on the Norwegian singles chart. In 2011, The BlackSheeps participated in Melodi Grand Prix 2011 with the song “Dance Tonight,” where they secured the second place. However, they disbanded later that year. In 2013, Agnete competed in the second season of the Norwegian music TV competition Stjernekamp, finishing as the runner-up. She also performed as an interval act during Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2013. From 2014 onwards, Agnete took part in the tenth season of the Norwegian version of Dancing with the Stars called Skal vi danse? (Shall we dance?) and emerged as the winner. In 2015, she participated in the Norwegian reality television series 71° nord but left early due to mental health issues. Agnete competed in Melodi Grand Prix 2016 with the song “Icebreaker” and emerged as the winner, receiving the most votes from the Norwegian public. Although she represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest, she failed to qualify for the final during the second semi-final held in Stockholm on May 12, 2016. Agnete made a comeback on November 6, 2020, with her new single titled “Beginning of the End.” In January 2021, she participated in the show “Hver gang vi møtes” (the Norwegian version of “The Best Singers”). On March 5 of the same year, she released the single “Solid” followed by the EP “Tundra.” Additionally, on August 30, a documentary titled “Agnete Jienáda,” focusing on Agnete and her Sami background, was released on NRK Web-TV. On July 8, 2022, Agnete released a new song called “Pusterom.” She also performed on the show “Allsang på grensen” and had a duet with Ronan Keating. Agnete took part in the all-stars version of “Skal vi danse.” In the same year, she collaborated with the Isaakband and featured on their new single, “Oainnán du.” In 2023, Agnete hosted the Sámi Grand Prix alongside Ole Nedrejord. Entries Icebreaker Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2016 LanguageEnglish LyricsAgnete JohnsenGabriel AlaresIan Curnow MusicAgnete JohnsenGabriel AlaresIan Curnow BackingsGabriel AlaresNicoline Berg KaasinCharlotte BredesenIngunn Dalland DancersSara Christine Einbu Results Semi Points: 63Position: 13Running order: 15 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/ACLcqZMwCSo
About Quick Facts NameStella Nyambura Mwangi Born01 September 1986 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2018Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2011 In Eurovision2011 Düsseldorf SongHaba Haba (2011) Biography Stella Nyambura Mwangi (born September 1, 1986, in Nairobi, Kenya) is a Norwegian-Kenyan singer, actress, rapper, and songwriter, best known in Norway for her victory in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix 2011 with the song “Haba Haba”. Her work has been used in American Pie 5: The Naked Mile and Save the Last Dance 2, as well as in the TV series CSI New York and Scrubs. Stella moved from Kenya to Kløfta in 1991 when she was five years old. In 1998, she was part of a group called “The Rise”. Stella Mwangi has been on the hit charts in Kenya, Senegal, and Gambia. She has also won Kisima Awards for the best new artist in 2006, and she has performed for Nelson Mandela during the 46664 Arctic support concert in Tromsø. Mwangi released an album “Living for Music” in 2008. Melodi Grand Prix In 2011, she won the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix with the song “Haba Haba” in connection with the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Mwangi was eliminated in the semi-finals. She finished in 17th place out of a total of 19 participants. She also participated in the Melodi Grand Prix in 2018 and came in 3rd place with “You Got Me” alongside Alexandra Rotan. Also in 2018 she released a new single and video, “10 toes”. In the same year she opened for Cannes Lions. In 2019 she was part of the cooking show Camp Kulinaris on TV3. She wrote and sung “Ma Itu”, the anthem for Just Dance 2020. She also featured in Doni Mula’s rap “Wallahi Wallahi”. In May 2020, Stella feautred in “In the Spot” of Bombfunk MC’s. She recorded an album in Los Angeles, which was released in September 2021: “Eyes Off Me”. In June 2022, her EP “Icon” came out. Entries Haba Haba Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2011 LanguageEnglishSwahili LyricsStella Mwangi MusicBeyond51Big City BackingsMay Kristin KaspersenSuzanne Fatou SumbunduSamantha GurahØyvind Boye LøvoldUlrik Engdahl Results Semi Points: 30Position: 17Running order: 2 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/4hKqVLmzIFQ?si=QdtiyYLcRTcLXdsQ
© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts NameMargaret Berger Born11 October 1985 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2013 In Eurovision2013 Malmö SongI Feed You My Love (2013) Biography Margaret Berger (born 11 October 1985 in Trondheim) is a Norwegian artist, musician, and DJ. Berger grew up in Hitra, where she lived for twelve years. She sang in a gospel choir and began writing her songs as early as twelve years old. She attended the music line at Heimdal High School in Trondheim. Berger had her breakthrough on TV2, where she took 2nd place in the talent competition Idol in 2004. She made her national record debut the same year with “Chameleon”. She received the Spellemannprisen for the best music video in 2004 for “Lifetime Guarantee” and was also nominated for the newcomer of the year award. Among other places, she performed at the Storås festival in 2005. After her first album, Berger moved more towards electronica, a genre she has stated she’s very comfortable with. In the fall of 2006, she released the album “Pretty Scary Silver Fairy”, which is a pop album with an electronic sound. The single “Samantha” is the most well-known song from this album, and it became a radio hit in the summer and fall of 2006. Berger got a record contract with BMG and is known as one of the participants who have done best after Idol. In 2011, Berger released the vinyl single “In a Box” in collaboration with Universal. The song was listed on NRK P3 and received a five on the dice roll (rating) in VG (a Norwegian newspaper). Berger also performed at by:Larm in 2011. On February 9, 2013, she won the Norwegian final of the Melodi Grand Prix with the song “I Feed You My Love”, written among others by the Swedish electropop artist Karin Park. On May 18, 2013, she placed fourth in the international final with the same song. In 2014, she was a judge in the TV2 program Idol Junior. In 2016, Berger participated in a Christmas concert in Borgestad church, where she, among other things, sang a duet with Jostein Fahre. In 2017, Margaret Berger was one of the artists honored in the entertainment program “Hver gang vi møtes” on TV 2. In 2021, she came in fourth place as “Nøkken” in Maskorama (season 2). In May 2022, she released a new single, “Gjennomsiktig”. Entries I Feed You My Love Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2013 LanguageEnglish LyricsKarin ParkRobin LynchNiklas Olovson MusicKarin ParkRobin LynchNiklas Olovson BackingsKarianne KjærnesNicoline Berg KaasinJorunn HaugeAxel Tidemann (drums) Results Semi Points: 120Position: 3Running order: 13 Results Finals Points: 191Position: 4Running order: 24 https://youtu.be/gjm-kCOMaPY
© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameAlexander Igorevich Rybak Born13 May 1986 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionMelodi Grand Prix 2018Melodi Grand Prix 2009 In Eurovision2018 Lisbon2009 Moscow SongThat’s how you write a song (2018)Fairytale (2009) Biography Alexander Rybak, is a Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist and actor. He was born in Minsk, Belarus, in those days part of the Soviet Union. He played the violin and piano since he was five years old, but after a while he chose to concentrate on the violin. Alexander practiced violin with his father Igor Rybak until he was a teenager, when Alexander began studying at the Barratt Due Music Institute. During that time he played in the Vivaldi Orchestra, which was led by his father, and the Barrat Dues Junior Orchestra. From 2000 to 2003, Alexander was a student of violinist, conductor and educator Alf Richard Kraggerud, followed by study with Eileen Siegel, 3rd Concertmaster in the Oslo Philharmonic, and with Lena Rist-Larsen, violin educator and Norwegian master of accordion. He has also had lessons and masterclasses with many other great names. In the summer of 2002, Alexander received a scholarship in the form of a free course in New Jersey, where he studied under Stephen Shipps, and where he was selected to conduct a masterclass with Pinchas Zukerman. Alexander Rybak had participated in several Norwegian courses and festivals, such as “Valdres Sommersymfoni” and the international Hemsedal Festival for dancers and musicians, where Rybak participated as one of the musicians. He was a concertmaster during Halsnøy’s symphony project in the summer of 2004, and soloist with several good orchestras such as the Minsk Chamber Orchestra and the Kringkastingsorkesteret. He has toured in Chicago, Spain, Russia and Poland. In the same year he won Anders Jahre’s cultural award. In the fall of 2005, Rybak performed the violin concerto “Musica Avventurosa” by young composer Daniel Thornhill, together with the orchestra Ung Symphoni. Alexander Rybak participated in the tv-show Idol. In 2006, he won the talent contest Kjempesjansen. In 2007, Rybak debuted as an actor when he was the fiddler in Fiddler on the roof. In 2008, Alexander was featured on the children’s album “Magiske kroker & hemmeligheter”. In November 2008, Elisabeth Andreassen invited Rybak on a tour in 2009, with songs from “Bettans” record Spellemann, with music from both Norway and Sweden with inspiration from folk tones. In 2009, Alexander Rybak won Melodi Grand Prix 2009 with the song “Fairytale”. He was able to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest and won the contest. “Fairytale” became a huge hit all over Europe. Shortly after the contest Rybak released the album “Fairytales”. Rybak was awarded the Musician of the Year award under the Spellemann Prisen 2009.In 2010, another album, “No boundaries” was released. Also a Russian version, “Nebesa Evrope”, was released. A year later, he hosted the tv show Allsang På Grensen and released an album entirely in Swedish: “Visa vid vindens änger”. In may 2012 he sang a duet and had a small tour with Paula Seling. In 2013 Rybak composed a song for Melodi Grand Prix called “I’m With You” sung by Annsofi Pettersen. In 2015, he composed “Still Here” for Franklin Calleja in the Maltese National Finals. He also composed a song for the Belarusian group Milki entitled “Accent”, which got 4th place in the national final. In the same year he released an album called “Trolle og den magiske fela” and a year later it was followed by “I came to love you”. In 2018, Rybak took part in Melodi Grand Prix again with the song “That’s how you write a song”. For the second time, Rybak was able to represent his country in the Eurovision Song Contest. Rybak won the semifinal, but ended up just in 15th place in the final.In 2019, Rybak’s children’s musical “Trolle og den magiske fela” premiered. The show sold over 10,000 tickets and had to schedule extra performances to curb the demand. In 2020, Rybak co-wrote an entry for Melodi Grand Prix 2020 with JOWST. Singer Magnus Bokn sang the song, which reached the Melodi Grand Prix final. Rybak started attending Columbia College Chicago online from his home in Norway in the fall of 2020. By August 2021, he had moved to Chicago to continue his studies in person. He graduated from Columbia in July 2022. He released a new single in that year, “Memories”. He teamed up with Annsofi Klevfoss to release a new single “No More Me And You” in February 2023, exactly 10 years after Annsofi presented Alexanders song in Melodi Grand Prix. Two months later, he released a solo song and video, “1000 views”. In September, his new song “Kid” was released. Meanwhile, Rybak told his fans that he had been stalked for a while by a woman. That happened for over an entire year. Entries That’s How You Write A Song Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2018 LanguageEnglish LyricsAlexander Rybak MusicAlexander Rybak BackingsLisa BørudLene Kokai FlageJens Jeffry TrinidadFrode VasselAlvaro Estrella Results Semi Points: 266Position: 1Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 144Position: 15Running order: 7 https://youtu.be/N17BdRwOvBA Fairytale Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2009 LanguageEnglish LyricsAlexander Rybak MusicAlexander Rybak BackingsKarianne KjærnesJorunn HaugeSigbjørn RuaTorkjell BørsheimHallgrim Hansegård Results Semi Points: 266Position: 1Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 144Position: 15Running order: 7 https://youtu.be/WXwgZL4zx9o
Norwegian contestant TIX has won the Barbara Dex Award. The award is reached out by our friends of songfestival.be. It is a prize for the contestant with the most remarkable clothes in the Eurovision Song Contest. This year, the fake furr coat with huge wings TIX was wearing, gets the award. Here is the entire top-5: 1.Norway (TIX)2.Romania (Roxen)3.Croatia (Albina)4.United Kingdom (James Newman)5.Israel (Eden Alene) photo credits: EBU
© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameAndreas Andresen Haukeland Born12 april 1993 Nationality🇳🇴 Norway National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2021 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam SongFallen angel (2021) Biography TIX is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in Bærum. TIX is known for its colorful and flamboyant style with fur coat, sunglasses and headband applied with the text «TIX». The artist’s name comes from Tourette’s syndrome, which Haukeland has had since childhood. The syndrome causes involuntary twitches, so-called “tics”. These made him being bullied at school, but he chose to take ownership of “tics” by taking the artist name “TIX”. TIX wears sunglasses to hide twitches with the eye. TIX rose to fame in Norway in 2015 with the controversial song Sjeiken 2015. The lyrics contained lines like “Everyone knows it’s the Sheikh who rules, chilling in the lounge with 400 wives, we have champagne waterfalls, gonna push you there. My name’s Sheikh Yer Bouti” In 2016, he released his first and foremost single album, Dømt og berømt, which was on the official Norwegian album list for 79 weeks. TIX has worked as a songwriter in Los Angeles, where he has written “Game Time” for Flo Rida and “Sweet But Psycho” for Avea Max. In the summer of 2017, TIX has opened for Justin Bieber at Forus Travbane in Stavanger. After several years of Russian songs and party music, Haukeland released his first solo single, «Shotgun», in 2018. In 2019 he topped the VG list for the first time with the deeply personal song “Jegg vil ikke leve”. He has since followed up with a number of personal songs. He topped the VG list again twice. In January 2021, he was a guest on the talk show Lindmo on NRK1, where he told about his loneliness, depression and suicide attempt. There he said that the song “Jegg vil ikke leve” was based on the findings from this difficult time.In 2021, TIX won Norsk Melodi Grand Prix and thus represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Fallen angel”. He took the opportunity to ask for attention to Gilles de la Tourette. His alleged blossoming love with the Azerbaijani contestant Efendi also attracted a lot of attention. “Fallen angel” reached the top of the Norwegian charts, as the follow up “Engel, ikke dra” did. That song was a dedication to a fan who passed away. Many other hits followed in 2021 and 2022. Entries Fallen angel Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2021 LanguageEnglish LyricsAndreas HaukelandMathias HaukelandEmelie Hollow MusicAndreas Haukeland BackingsJohannes Winter FarstadEivind DundasJohn MasakiReno AndersenBjørnar Erlandsen Results Semi Points: 115Position: 10Running order: 9 Results Finals Points: 75Position: 18Running order: 22 https://youtu.be/F0r3vmGLzZU
About Quick Facts NameUlrikke Brandstorp Born13 July 1995 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2017Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongAttention (2020, cancelled) Biography Ulrikke Brandstorp is a Norwegian singer. She was born in Sarpsborg, a small village in the east of Norway. She has been practicing song and music since she was a child. She played in several local productions of Pippi Longstocking and Reisen til Julestjernen. She went on tour throughout Norway between 2011 and 2013 with the shows The Show Must Go On II and The Thrill of Michael Jackson. Ulrikke Brandstorp participated in the talent show Idol in 2013, and in The Voice. She was knocked out in the semi-finals. She participated in the Melodi Grand Prix 2017, the national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, with the song “Places” and finished in fourth place. Brandstrop has since participated in the NRK competition Stjernekamp . In 2019, she played the role of Liesl, the oldest daughter of the Von Trapp family in the Sound of Music. In 2020, Ulrikke participated in the Melodi Grand Prix 2020 with the song “Attention” and so she was supposed to represent Norway in the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of the contest, that didn’t happen. In the autumn of 2020, NRK broadcasted Maskorama, a.k.a. The Masked Singer. She participated as ‘The troll” and won the competition. Entries Attention Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2020 LanguageEnglish LyricsChristian IngebritsenKjetil MørlandUlrikke Brandstorp MusicChristian IngebritsenKjetil MørlandUlrikke Brandstorp Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/o9atJbnqhJU
Three countries continue their national selection: Norway, Lithuania and Israel. You can choose one to watch…. or watch all of them! The first one is Norway on 19:50 CET. You can watch the 3rd semifinal here. Again, duels will decide which song will enter the final. The contestants tonight are: Alexandru Kristin Husøy Sie Gubba Thomas Løseth & Erika Norwich Lithuania starts at 20:00 CET and you can watch it here and here. The contestants are: The Backs, “Fully” Bernardas, “Dad, don’t be mad at me” Justina Žukauskaitė, “Breathe in” Rokas Povilius, “Vilnius calling” KaYra, “Alligator” Lukas Bartaška, “Where is that change?” Evgenya Redko, “What about us” Ruslanas Kirilkinas, “Soldier’s heart” Nombeko Augustė, “Reikia man” Vitalijus Špokaitis, “Nemušk savęs” Aistė Pilvelytė, “Everlastingly” The roop, “On fire” We saw Justina Žukauskaitė and Lukas Bartaška before in 2019, Ruslanas Kirilkinas in 2010 and 2016, and The Roop in 2018. Oh and let’s definitely not forget Aistė Pilvelytė. It’s her 11th attempt to represent Lithuania in the Eurovision Song Contest!! 3rd and last for tonight is Israel. The show is a little bit more complicated. It starts at 20:15 CET and you can watch it here. In this round every contestant will perform with the Idan Raichel Project. And yes, they can be familiar to you as they performed in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest as an interval act. Thursday, we saw the first round, but that one is not finished yet. So far, it looks like Ohad Shragai, who composed last year’s entry “Home” for Kobi Marimi, is out of the race. But Dorel Saadon still has to perform in the 1st round: if he gets less than 58% of the votes, he is out and Ohad is saved.For the 2nd show, the contestants are: Eden Zohar Sivan Ella-Lee Lahav Gaya Shaki Moran Aharoni Raviv Kaner The person with the lowest percentage, has to leave the show.
About Quick Facts NameCarl Espen Thorbjørnsen Born15 July 1982 Nationality🇳🇴 Norway National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2014 In Eurovision2014 Copenhagen SongSilent Storm (2014) Biography Carl Espen (born Carl Espen Thorbjørnsen on 15 July 1982 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Espen was born into a musical family and spent much of his childhood and youth in Bergen, where he discovered his passion for music at an early age. He spent his formative years singing in various local choirs and performing in school concerts. After high school, he joined the Norwegian Armed Forces and served in Kosovo under the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Upon his return from military service, he went to work as a doorman in a local bar, keeping his musical talents mostly to himself. His professional music career began rather unexpectedly. Espen’s cousin, Josefin Winther, a musician herself, wrote a song for him to perform at a family gathering. The song, “Silent Storm,” touched the family so deeply that they encouraged him to enter it into Melodi Grand Prix, Norway’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Heeding their advice, Espen submitted the song to Melodi Grand Prix 2014 and managed to win the national contest, securing his spot to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. His performance of “Silent Storm” made a significant impact and he finished in 8th place in the final. After the Eurovision Song Contest, Carl Espen released a second single, “Holding on”. However, the song did not reach the charts. In October 2014, Carl Espen made an acoustic tour throughout Norway. After Eurovision Carl Espen did not build on a big career in music. He decided to go an study in order to become a nurse. Entries Silent Storm Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2014 Language🇬🇧 English LyricsJosefin Winther MusicJosefin Winther BackingsStian Aarstad (piano)Isa Caroline HolmeslandAne Emilie Vold MickelssonMadeleine OssumSara Ulstrup Results Semi Points: 77Position: 6Running order: 3 Results Finals Points: 88Position: 8Running order: 5 https://youtu.be/BTMli8U17MM
© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameTouraj Keshtkar Born26 May 1987 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2012 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongStay (2012) Biography Touraj Keshtkar, known professionally as Tooji, is a Norwegian singer, painter, model and television host.Tooji was born in Shiraz, Iran, and moved to Norway at the age of one. His mother, Lily Bandehy, is a renowned author and political commentator. By 16, Tooji embarked on a modelling career. He soon found his way to MTV Norway, hosting shows like Super Saturday and Tooji’s Top 10. Apart from his media pursuits, he trained as a social worker and served in asylum reception centres. Tooji’s musical accolades include winning the Melodi Grand Prix 2012, which led him to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with his song “Stay”. Though he qualified from the semi-finals, he placed 26th in the final round. Moreover, he presented international jury votes for various Eurovision events and has co-hosted Melodi Grand Prix Junior in Norway since 2012 alongside Margrethe Røed. Musically, Tooji has been a versatile artist. His 2013 single “Rebels” is described as a fusion of pop-dance with hints of organic elements and robust electronica. Later, in pursuit of refining his musical style, he moved to Stockholm and released “Packin’ Guns”, a track blending electronic components with a gritty, organic sound. Tooji’s approach often incorporates irony against intense beats. His background in social work and education deeply influences his music, often echoing political and social sentiments. For instance, “Cocktail” addresses contemporary gender norms, referencing a quote by Gloria Steinem. After openly discussing his sexuality, he unveiled “The Father” project, confronting the church’s stance on sexual relationships and perceived hypocrisy. His subsequent single “Say Yeah” takes a stand against homophobic violence. His single and EP “Father” played a pivotal role in his coming out journey, addressing the complex intersection of sexuality and the church. Meanwhile, Tooji also released his first children’s book, Taki og Bestemor. In 2016 Tooji played a role in the musical “Rent”, where he played the role of Angel, a HIV infected gay person in the nineties. In the same year he co-wrote “Start anew”, a song by Swedish/Norwegian singer Elouiz. He joined the ‘Dracula Song Camp’ in Bucharest in September. Together with Lori Witt and Lauren Gallagher, Tooji produced a short film, “Just hear me” based on the Father Project. The short film was released in December 2016. In March 2017, the second book of Taki og Bestemor was released. On 26 November 2017, producer Anderson released the song and video “Cool kids”. The song was written by Tooji, who also provided the vocals. In 2018, he composed the music for the film KuToppen. He made his first steps in the field of K-Pop in 2019, when he wrote the song “Want” for Taemin. In April of that year, Chris Viviano released a song “Black horse” with Tooji’s vocals. Since July 2019 Tooji is known as Samaj Ai Bandéh. He leads Pink Lotus soundhealing and meditation sessions. Meanwhile he kept writing songs for others, like for Sofie Rose (“Keep loving me”). His film De Reisende (The Travelers) was released in 2020. Entries Stay Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2012 LanguageEnglish LyricsToojiPeter BoströmFigge Boström MusicToojiPeter BoströmFigge Boström BackingsHans Esben Gihle DancersSérgio Benvindo jr.Daniel GillAnne Marit TynesMaria Ima Karlsen Results Semi Points: 45Position: 10Running order: 16 Results Finals Points: 7Position: 26Running order: 12 https://youtu.be/-ZaxIY1VAbM?si=eKhxqCe-AbvXzw9t
© Albin Olsson, Wikimedia Commons About Quick Facts NameAgnete Kristin Johnsen Saba Born04 July 1994 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2016Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2011 In Eurovision2016 Stockholm SongIcebreaker (2016) Biography Agnete Kristin Johnsen Saba, known by various names including Agnete Saba, Agnete Johnsen, or simply Agnete, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Agnete was born on July 4, 1994, in Varangerbotn, Nesseby, located in Finnmark, Norway. She comes from an ethnic Sami background and is the daughter of Sami children’s author Signe Iversen. In 2020, she changed her surname to Saba, adopting her grandmother’s maiden name. She started het career as a member of The BlackSheeps. The group was formed in 2008 while the band members were attending school in their hometown of Nesseby. They achieved success by winning Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2008 with their song “Oro jaska, beana” (“Be quiet, dog”), which was performed in both Norwegian and Northern Sami. The band also won the MGP Nordic 2008 competition. Their song “Oro jaska, beana” won the Song of the Year award at the Spellemannprisen Awards and reached number one on the Norwegian singles chart. In 2011, The BlackSheeps participated in Melodi Grand Prix 2011 with the song “Dance Tonight,” where they secured the second place. However, they disbanded later that year. In 2013, Agnete competed in the second season of the Norwegian music TV competition Stjernekamp, finishing as the runner-up. She also performed as an interval act during Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2013. From 2014 onwards, Agnete took part in the tenth season of the Norwegian version of Dancing with the Stars called Skal vi danse? (Shall we dance?) and emerged as the winner. In 2015, she participated in the Norwegian reality television series 71° nord but left early due to mental health issues. Agnete competed in Melodi Grand Prix 2016 with the song “Icebreaker” and emerged as the winner, receiving the most votes from the Norwegian public. Although she represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest, she failed to qualify for the final during the second semi-final held in Stockholm on May 12, 2016. Agnete made a comeback on November 6, 2020, with her new single titled “Beginning of the End.” In January 2021, she participated in the show “Hver gang vi møtes” (the Norwegian version of “The Best Singers”). On March 5 of the same year, she released the single “Solid” followed by the EP “Tundra.” Additionally, on August 30, a documentary titled “Agnete Jienáda,” focusing on Agnete and her Sami background, was released on NRK Web-TV. On July 8, 2022, Agnete released a new song called “Pusterom.” She also performed on the show “Allsang på grensen” and had a duet with Ronan Keating. Agnete took part in the all-stars version of “Skal vi danse.” In the same year, she collaborated with the Isaakband and featured on their new single, “Oainnán du.” In 2023, Agnete hosted the Sámi Grand Prix alongside Ole Nedrejord. Entries Icebreaker Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2016 LanguageEnglish LyricsAgnete JohnsenGabriel AlaresIan Curnow MusicAgnete JohnsenGabriel AlaresIan Curnow BackingsGabriel AlaresNicoline Berg KaasinCharlotte BredesenIngunn Dalland DancersSara Christine Einbu Results Semi Points: 63Position: 13Running order: 15 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/ACLcqZMwCSo
About Quick Facts NameStella Nyambura Mwangi Born01 September 1986 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2018Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2011 In Eurovision2011 Düsseldorf SongHaba Haba (2011) Biography Stella Nyambura Mwangi (born September 1, 1986, in Nairobi, Kenya) is a Norwegian-Kenyan singer, actress, rapper, and songwriter, best known in Norway for her victory in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix 2011 with the song “Haba Haba”. Her work has been used in American Pie 5: The Naked Mile and Save the Last Dance 2, as well as in the TV series CSI New York and Scrubs. Stella moved from Kenya to Kløfta in 1991 when she was five years old. In 1998, she was part of a group called “The Rise”. Stella Mwangi has been on the hit charts in Kenya, Senegal, and Gambia. She has also won Kisima Awards for the best new artist in 2006, and she has performed for Nelson Mandela during the 46664 Arctic support concert in Tromsø. Mwangi released an album “Living for Music” in 2008. Melodi Grand Prix In 2011, she won the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix with the song “Haba Haba” in connection with the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Mwangi was eliminated in the semi-finals. She finished in 17th place out of a total of 19 participants. She also participated in the Melodi Grand Prix in 2018 and came in 3rd place with “You Got Me” alongside Alexandra Rotan. Also in 2018 she released a new single and video, “10 toes”. In the same year she opened for Cannes Lions. In 2019 she was part of the cooking show Camp Kulinaris on TV3. She wrote and sung “Ma Itu”, the anthem for Just Dance 2020. She also featured in Doni Mula’s rap “Wallahi Wallahi”. In May 2020, Stella feautred in “In the Spot” of Bombfunk MC’s. She recorded an album in Los Angeles, which was released in September 2021: “Eyes Off Me”. In June 2022, her EP “Icon” came out. Entries Haba Haba Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2011 LanguageEnglishSwahili LyricsStella Mwangi MusicBeyond51Big City BackingsMay Kristin KaspersenSuzanne Fatou SumbunduSamantha GurahØyvind Boye LøvoldUlrik Engdahl Results Semi Points: 30Position: 17Running order: 2 Results Finals Points: –Position: –Running order: – https://youtu.be/4hKqVLmzIFQ?si=QdtiyYLcRTcLXdsQ
© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts NameMargaret Berger Born11 October 1985 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2013 In Eurovision2013 Malmö SongI Feed You My Love (2013) Biography Margaret Berger (born 11 October 1985 in Trondheim) is a Norwegian artist, musician, and DJ. Berger grew up in Hitra, where she lived for twelve years. She sang in a gospel choir and began writing her songs as early as twelve years old. She attended the music line at Heimdal High School in Trondheim. Berger had her breakthrough on TV2, where she took 2nd place in the talent competition Idol in 2004. She made her national record debut the same year with “Chameleon”. She received the Spellemannprisen for the best music video in 2004 for “Lifetime Guarantee” and was also nominated for the newcomer of the year award. Among other places, she performed at the Storås festival in 2005. After her first album, Berger moved more towards electronica, a genre she has stated she’s very comfortable with. In the fall of 2006, she released the album “Pretty Scary Silver Fairy”, which is a pop album with an electronic sound. The single “Samantha” is the most well-known song from this album, and it became a radio hit in the summer and fall of 2006. Berger got a record contract with BMG and is known as one of the participants who have done best after Idol. In 2011, Berger released the vinyl single “In a Box” in collaboration with Universal. The song was listed on NRK P3 and received a five on the dice roll (rating) in VG (a Norwegian newspaper). Berger also performed at by:Larm in 2011. On February 9, 2013, she won the Norwegian final of the Melodi Grand Prix with the song “I Feed You My Love”, written among others by the Swedish electropop artist Karin Park. On May 18, 2013, she placed fourth in the international final with the same song. In 2014, she was a judge in the TV2 program Idol Junior. In 2016, Berger participated in a Christmas concert in Borgestad church, where she, among other things, sang a duet with Jostein Fahre. In 2017, Margaret Berger was one of the artists honored in the entertainment program “Hver gang vi møtes” on TV 2. In 2021, she came in fourth place as “Nøkken” in Maskorama (season 2). In May 2022, she released a new single, “Gjennomsiktig”. Entries I Feed You My Love Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2013 LanguageEnglish LyricsKarin ParkRobin LynchNiklas Olovson MusicKarin ParkRobin LynchNiklas Olovson BackingsKarianne KjærnesNicoline Berg KaasinJorunn HaugeAxel Tidemann (drums) Results Semi Points: 120Position: 3Running order: 13 Results Finals Points: 191Position: 4Running order: 24 https://youtu.be/gjm-kCOMaPY
© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameAlexander Igorevich Rybak Born13 May 1986 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionMelodi Grand Prix 2018Melodi Grand Prix 2009 In Eurovision2018 Lisbon2009 Moscow SongThat’s how you write a song (2018)Fairytale (2009) Biography Alexander Rybak, is a Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist and actor. He was born in Minsk, Belarus, in those days part of the Soviet Union. He played the violin and piano since he was five years old, but after a while he chose to concentrate on the violin. Alexander practiced violin with his father Igor Rybak until he was a teenager, when Alexander began studying at the Barratt Due Music Institute. During that time he played in the Vivaldi Orchestra, which was led by his father, and the Barrat Dues Junior Orchestra. From 2000 to 2003, Alexander was a student of violinist, conductor and educator Alf Richard Kraggerud, followed by study with Eileen Siegel, 3rd Concertmaster in the Oslo Philharmonic, and with Lena Rist-Larsen, violin educator and Norwegian master of accordion. He has also had lessons and masterclasses with many other great names. In the summer of 2002, Alexander received a scholarship in the form of a free course in New Jersey, where he studied under Stephen Shipps, and where he was selected to conduct a masterclass with Pinchas Zukerman. Alexander Rybak had participated in several Norwegian courses and festivals, such as “Valdres Sommersymfoni” and the international Hemsedal Festival for dancers and musicians, where Rybak participated as one of the musicians. He was a concertmaster during Halsnøy’s symphony project in the summer of 2004, and soloist with several good orchestras such as the Minsk Chamber Orchestra and the Kringkastingsorkesteret. He has toured in Chicago, Spain, Russia and Poland. In the same year he won Anders Jahre’s cultural award. In the fall of 2005, Rybak performed the violin concerto “Musica Avventurosa” by young composer Daniel Thornhill, together with the orchestra Ung Symphoni. Alexander Rybak participated in the tv-show Idol. In 2006, he won the talent contest Kjempesjansen. In 2007, Rybak debuted as an actor when he was the fiddler in Fiddler on the roof. In 2008, Alexander was featured on the children’s album “Magiske kroker & hemmeligheter”. In November 2008, Elisabeth Andreassen invited Rybak on a tour in 2009, with songs from “Bettans” record Spellemann, with music from both Norway and Sweden with inspiration from folk tones. In 2009, Alexander Rybak won Melodi Grand Prix 2009 with the song “Fairytale”. He was able to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest and won the contest. “Fairytale” became a huge hit all over Europe. Shortly after the contest Rybak released the album “Fairytales”. Rybak was awarded the Musician of the Year award under the Spellemann Prisen 2009.In 2010, another album, “No boundaries” was released. Also a Russian version, “Nebesa Evrope”, was released. A year later, he hosted the tv show Allsang På Grensen and released an album entirely in Swedish: “Visa vid vindens änger”. In may 2012 he sang a duet and had a small tour with Paula Seling. In 2013 Rybak composed a song for Melodi Grand Prix called “I’m With You” sung by Annsofi Pettersen. In 2015, he composed “Still Here” for Franklin Calleja in the Maltese National Finals. He also composed a song for the Belarusian group Milki entitled “Accent”, which got 4th place in the national final. In the same year he released an album called “Trolle og den magiske fela” and a year later it was followed by “I came to love you”. In 2018, Rybak took part in Melodi Grand Prix again with the song “That’s how you write a song”. For the second time, Rybak was able to represent his country in the Eurovision Song Contest. Rybak won the semifinal, but ended up just in 15th place in the final.In 2019, Rybak’s children’s musical “Trolle og den magiske fela” premiered. The show sold over 10,000 tickets and had to schedule extra performances to curb the demand. In 2020, Rybak co-wrote an entry for Melodi Grand Prix 2020 with JOWST. Singer Magnus Bokn sang the song, which reached the Melodi Grand Prix final. Rybak started attending Columbia College Chicago online from his home in Norway in the fall of 2020. By August 2021, he had moved to Chicago to continue his studies in person. He graduated from Columbia in July 2022. He released a new single in that year, “Memories”. He teamed up with Annsofi Klevfoss to release a new single “No More Me And You” in February 2023, exactly 10 years after Annsofi presented Alexanders song in Melodi Grand Prix. Two months later, he released a solo song and video, “1000 views”. In September, his new song “Kid” was released. Meanwhile, Rybak told his fans that he had been stalked for a while by a woman. That happened for over an entire year. Entries That’s How You Write A Song Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2018 LanguageEnglish LyricsAlexander Rybak MusicAlexander Rybak BackingsLisa BørudLene Kokai FlageJens Jeffry TrinidadFrode VasselAlvaro Estrella Results Semi Points: 266Position: 1Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 144Position: 15Running order: 7 https://youtu.be/N17BdRwOvBA Fairytale Country🇳🇴 Norway Year2009 LanguageEnglish LyricsAlexander Rybak MusicAlexander Rybak BackingsKarianne KjærnesJorunn HaugeSigbjørn RuaTorkjell BørsheimHallgrim Hansegård Results Semi Points: 266Position: 1Running order: 1 Results Finals Points: 144Position: 15Running order: 7 https://youtu.be/WXwgZL4zx9o
Norwegian contestant TIX has won the Barbara Dex Award. The award is reached out by our friends of songfestival.be. It is a prize for the contestant with the most remarkable clothes in the Eurovision Song Contest. This year, the fake furr coat with huge wings TIX was wearing, gets the award. Here is the entire top-5: 1.Norway (TIX)2.Romania (Roxen)3.Croatia (Albina)4.United Kingdom (James Newman)5.Israel (Eden Alene) photo credits: EBU
© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameAndreas Andresen Haukeland Born12 april 1993 Nationality🇳🇴 Norway National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2021 In Eurovision2021 Rotterdam SongFallen angel (2021) Biography TIX is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and producer. He was born in Bærum. TIX is known for its colorful and flamboyant style with fur coat, sunglasses and headband applied with the text «TIX». The artist’s name comes from Tourette’s syndrome, which Haukeland has had since childhood. The syndrome causes involuntary twitches, so-called “tics”. These made him being bullied at school, but he chose to take ownership of “tics” by taking the artist name “TIX”. TIX
About Quick Facts NameUlrikke Brandstorp Born13 July 1995 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2017Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2020 In Eurovision2020 Rotterdam (cancelled) SongAttention (2020, cancelled) Biography Ulrikke Brandstorp is a Norwegian singer. She was born in Sarpsborg, a small village in the east of Norway. She has been practicing song and music since she was a child. She played in several local productions of Pippi Longstocking and Reisen til Julestjernen. She went on tour throughout Norway between 2011 and 2013 with the shows The Show Must Go On II and The Thrill of Michael Jackson. Ulrikke Brandstorp participated in the
Three countries continue their national selection: Norway, Lithuania and Israel. You can choose one to watch…. or watch all of them! The first one is Norway on 19:50 CET. You can watch the 3rd semifinal here. Again, duels will decide which song will enter the final. The contestants tonight are: Alexandru Kristin Husøy Sie Gubba Thomas Løseth & Erika Norwich Lithuania starts at 20:00 CET and you can watch it here and here. The contestants are: The Backs, “Fully” Bernardas, “Dad, don’t be mad at me” Justina Žukauskaitė, “Breathe in” Rokas Povilius, “Vilnius calling” KaYra, “Alligator” Lukas Bartaška, “Where is that
About Quick Facts NameCarl Espen Thorbjørnsen Born15 July 1982 Nationality🇳🇴 Norway National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2014 In Eurovision2014 Copenhagen SongSilent Storm (2014) Biography Carl Espen (born Carl Espen Thorbjørnsen on 15 July 1982 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Espen was born into a musical family and spent much of his childhood and youth in Bergen, where he discovered his passion for music at an early age. He spent his formative years singing in various local choirs and performing in school concerts. After high school, he joined the Norwegian Armed Forces and served in Kosovo under the
© EBU/Andres Putting About Quick Facts NameTouraj Keshtkar Born26 May 1987 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2012 In Eurovision2012 Baku SongStay (2012) Biography Touraj Keshtkar, known professionally as Tooji, is a Norwegian singer, painter, model and television host.Tooji was born in Shiraz, Iran, and moved to Norway at the age of one. His mother, Lily Bandehy, is a renowned author and political commentator. By 16, Tooji embarked on a modelling career. He soon found his way to MTV Norway, hosting shows like Super Saturday and Tooji’s Top 10. Apart from his media pursuits, he trained as a social worker
© Albin Olsson, Wikimedia Commons About Quick Facts NameAgnete Kristin Johnsen Saba Born04 July 1994 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2016Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2011 In Eurovision2016 Stockholm SongIcebreaker (2016) Biography Agnete Kristin Johnsen Saba, known by various names including Agnete Saba, Agnete Johnsen, or simply Agnete, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. Agnete was born on July 4, 1994, in Varangerbotn, Nesseby, located in Finnmark, Norway. She comes from an ethnic Sami background and is the daughter of Sami children’s author Signe Iversen. In 2020, she changed her surname to Saba, adopting her grandmother’s maiden name. She started het
About Quick Facts NameStella Nyambura Mwangi Born01 September 1986 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2018Norsk Melodi Grand Prix 2011 In Eurovision2011 Düsseldorf SongHaba Haba (2011) Biography Stella Nyambura Mwangi (born September 1, 1986, in Nairobi, Kenya) is a Norwegian-Kenyan singer, actress, rapper, and songwriter, best known in Norway for her victory in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix 2011 with the song “Haba Haba”. Her work has been used in American Pie 5: The Naked Mile and Save the Last Dance 2, as well as in the TV series CSI New York and Scrubs. Stella moved from Kenya to Kløfta
© Albin Olsson About Quick Facts NameMargaret Berger Born11 October 1985 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionNorsk Melodi Grand Prix 2013 In Eurovision2013 Malmö SongI Feed You My Love (2013) Biography Margaret Berger (born 11 October 1985 in Trondheim) is a Norwegian artist, musician, and DJ. Berger grew up in Hitra, where she lived for twelve years. She sang in a gospel choir and began writing her songs as early as twelve years old. She attended the music line at Heimdal High School in Trondheim. Berger had her breakthrough on TV2, where she took 2nd place in the talent competition Idol in 2004. She
© EBU/Thomas Hanses About Quick Facts NameAlexander Igorevich Rybak Born13 May 1986 Nationality🇳🇴 Norwegian National SelectionMelodi Grand Prix 2018Melodi Grand Prix 2009 In Eurovision2018 Lisbon2009 Moscow SongThat’s how you write a song (2018)Fairytale (2009) Biography Alexander Rybak, is a Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist and actor. He was born in Minsk, Belarus, in those days part of the Soviet Union. He played the violin and piano since he was five years old, but after a while he chose to concentrate on the violin. Alexander practiced violin with his father Igor Rybak until he was a teenager, when Alexander began studying at the Barratt