From more than 1200 submissions, only ten songs have made the cut. Norway‘s broadcaster NRK has now revealed the ten acts who will be competing in its national final Melodi Grand Prix 2019.
The acts were announced this afternoon by NRK in a special live-streamed press conference.
The line-up features Eurovision 2015 star Kjetil Mørland, this time as a solo artist. He also has a songwriting credit on another entry, as does Eurovision 2017 singer Aleksander Walmann.
American Idol star Chris Medina makes an appearance, as does previous Melodi Grand Prix acts Carina Dahl, Erlend Bratland and Tom Hugo. And spicing things up is the outrageous rocker Hank Von Hell.
The ten acts will compete at the grand final on Saturday 2 March, to see who will follow in Alexander Rybak’s footsteps to represent Norway at Eurovision 2019. The show will be hosted by Heidi Ruud Ellingsen and Kåre Magnus Bergh.
You can listen to all the songs on the NRK website, or in the Spotify playlist below.
Melodi Grand Prix 2019 – competing acts
Adrian Jørgensen – “The bubble”
Written by: Jonas McDonnell, Aleksander Walmann and Kjetil Mørland.
Adrian has previously performed at MGP as a backing vocalist, but this is his first time as a solo artist. His song is co-written by two former Eurovision stars, Ktetil Mørland (2015) and Aleksander Walmann (2017).
Anna-Lisa Kumoji – “Holla”
Written by: Ashley Hicklin, Jeroen Swinnen and Maria Broberg.
Anna-Lisa has Norwegian and Ghanan roots. She is a professional singer and voice over artist who recently performed in the musicals The Book of Mormon and Flashdance.
Carina Dahl – “Can’t Hold Me Down”
Written by: Ashley Hicklin, Jeroen Swinnen, Pele Loriano, Laurell Barker and Laura Groeseneken.
Carina Dahl returns to MGP after her 2013 entry “Sleepwalking”. Since then, she has appeared in a number of reality TV shows. Carina’s song is co-written by Eurovision 2018 star Sennek.
Chris Medina – “We Try”
Written by: Chris Medina, Jason Gill, Tormod Løkling and Julimar Santos.
American singer Chris got his start on American Idol in 2011, before moving to Norway. He recently competed on the show Århundrets stemme.
D’sound – “Mr. Unicorn”
Written by: Kim Ofstad, Jonny Sjo, Mirjam Omdal, Magnus Martinsen og Tormod Martinsen.
D’sound are a pop-jazz group who have been active since the 1990s. They previously made an apperance with Madcon as part of an interval act at Eurovision 2010.
Erlend Bratland – “Sing for you”
Written by: Erlend Bratland, Arvid Solvang and Nils Egil Brandsæter.
Erlend placed second at MGP 2015 with his song “Thunderstruck”. He got his start by winning the very first series of Norway’s Got Talent in 2008.
Hank Von Hell – “Fake it”
Written by: Hank von Hell and Andreas Werling.
Formerly known as Hank Von Helvete, the outrageous rocker got in start in the hard rock band Turbonegro. Now known as Han Von Hell, he previously competed at MGP 2013 in his civil persona Hank.
Ingrid Berg Mehus – “Feel”
Written by: Ingrid Berg Mehus, Bjørnar Hopland and Anthony Modebe.
Ingrid is known as a nightclub violinist, but recently she has been returning to her classical roots. Not surprisingly, Ingrid cites Alexander Rybak as an inspiration.
KEiiNO – “Spirit in the sky”
Written by: Tom Hugo, Fred Buljo, Alexandra Rotan, Henrik tala and Alex Olsson.
KEiiNO is a Norwegian-Sami collaboration between Got Talent star Fred Buljo, MGP 2018 star Alexandra Rotan, and MGP 2018 and Wiwi Jam star Tom Hugo.
Kjetil Mørland – “En livredd mann”
Written by: Kjetil Mørland
Mørland performed at Eurovision 2015 with Debrah Scarlett. Their song “A Monster Like Me” placed eighth.
What do you think? Which acts are you most excited about? Who should represent Norway in Tel Aviv? Share your thoughts below.
My favorites are :
1. En Livredd Mann (it’s just beautiful, enough said)
2. Mr. Unicorn (I absolutely love these genre)
3. Feel (her song takes me to a fairytale–well, because she is one!)
Good luck to all the participants!
Chris Medina !!
The only song that would make it in Tel Aviv.
Easy: KEiiNO or Fake It.
KEiiNO’s song is an upgraded version of Monsters, but I really love it. Maybe bcs Monsters was my winner last year.
BTW: my last hopes about JOWST competing at ESC this year seem to be killed and I am really sad about it.
I think there are many pop radio friendly songs this year in MGP. My favourite is “We try”. It’s modern, up-beat, and it builds. I can see this live on stage. Sth like “Grab the moment” 2 years ago, a similar style. This song is 2019. “Fake” is another song I remember after listening all 10 songs. Clearly rock, I think AWS inspired people and encouraged them to sunbmit rock songs in NFs. “En livredd mann” is the kind of song I expect Mørland to sing. It’s atmospheric, aetherial and mysterious. I like it’s in Norwegian. However, I think it… Read more »
“We Try” really sounds like something Australia would send. I find “The Bubble” pretty cute and innoffensive but so are most of the songs here… So I guess it’s between KEiiNO and Mørland for the win. Mørland’s song is quite messy and feels like it’s going a different way after every sentence but the chorus is good and it could really come to life live. “Spirit in the Sky” is on of these pop-traditional entries that have become rarer in Eurovision this year, so I really like it. It has the potential to be a car crash live, though. Norway… Read more »
My Melodi Grand Prix Top 10
#1 Spirits In The Sky – KEiiNO
#2 The Bubble – Adrian Jørgensen
#3 Feel – Ingrid Berg Mehus
#4 We Try – Chris Medina
#5 Holla – Anna-Lisa Kumo
#6 Hold Me Down – Carina Dahl
#7 Mr. Unicorn – D’Sound
#8 En Livredd Man – Mørland
#9 Erlend Bratland – Sing For You
#10 Fake It – Hank Von Hell
Am I the only one who hears a hint of Saara’s Monsters in the chorus? ‘He lå e loi la’ would fit perfecty right after ‘I ain’t gonna hold on to these monsters any more’. I might be overanalysing. 😛
Spirit in the sky to Tel Aviv please! It is the best song.
KEiiNO is the closest to the WOW factor that I’m seeking in the ESC entry.
Mørland ???
norway is getting worse every year
I had a feeling that they would come back strong this year, oh boy I was wrong…
Keiino or Morland are both pretty good songs I also like the bubble song and the unicorn one, most of the other songs are OK but kinda feels like there makeing up the numbers.
Chris Medinas somg is great
Oh wow Mørland is amazing yet again. Monster like me was my favourite in 2015 and he hasn’t disappointed again this year.
but honestly nothing comes close to last year’s aLL nIGHT LONG LIKE A SCANDINAVIAN
that was a real bop, think her performance and the staging could have been better though 🙁
en livredde mann is the only one i like listening to
Love Chris Medina’s song
LOL I know right, Meckie?! I feel you! I was actually expecting NO entries this year but as I travel a lot for writing, most of these songs that ended up in 2019 preselections came about thru other co-writers and their publishers – which I am so grateful for. I also do other things like yoga, cook, snowboard, live in Switzerland with my bf and have 3 awesome nieces back in Canada. I’m a part of many other projects – wrote the girls generation comeback single in Korea + broke top #40 on the USA Billboard dance charts twice last… Read more »
Congratulations on your success, but perhaps a word of caution for this national final season : if you have a thin skin, or want to protect your mental health – maybe stay away from internet comments sections! 🙂 Good luck with your entries.
You’re awesome! I wish you all the best! I’m particularly looking forward to your entry in Melodifestivalen. 🙂
You’re a champ, Laurell. I hope to see your tunes brought to life in Israel! You’ll be the new Ralph Siegel, but better. Also Stones was amazing, kudos for that.
Off topic but Macedonia have just announced their act
A bit off topic, Deban, great interview with Tamta!
Ps. 3rd picture, I thought it was Adam Lambert at a first glance. 😛
“Hold Me Down” is by far the best song, personally.
I feel it encompasses a deep and meaningful lyrics with interesting instrumentation. Carina is a performer so she’ll know how to stage in NGP and ESC.
I feel like she’s being slept on for what i believe to be lesser songs. And i missing something but I believe she’s the clear option for Norway.
Half of these I like, half of these I don’t like. So I suppose, have a good time at MGP! 🙂
I will tune in, if NRK lifts the country-blocking restrictions in time.
The geoblock on Spotify is a decision by the record labels in charge of the entries.
I LIVE for Keiino! Please send this to Tel Aviv!
Keiino and Morland are my clear favourites form this selection. I think both could do well in ESC with the right staging. We already know the latter has the vocals to do well. The former has a mystical Sami feel about it which is also alluring. Advantage Morland?
Although this is cleary not the best selection this year I have to say I really, really enjoy the songs from Morland and Keiino. I prefer to have 2 or 3 very good song and rest meh than a selection of just good songs. And I think is high time for some Norwegian language realness at Eurovision.
Fake It has got to be the dark horse entry
Oof, Norway… These all sound very cheap and underproduced.
I guess Keiito and Morland have the best shot at a MGP victory.
U write Ingrid Berg Mehus cites Rybak as her inspiration but are u aware that she is the one “Fairytale” is about!!!! She inspired Rybak for the 2009 Eurovision winner!!!! SHE is THE Fairytale!!!
Spirit in the Sky has so much potential to do well and stand out! It’s got a lot of energy and development and on top of that, is an absolute jam. I love the imagery, I love the sound, I love everything – my coworkers are asking me why I’m so excited and happy today, and it’s because this song has put me in such a good mood!! I hope the staging takes us to another dimension!!
That said though, I really enjoyed most of the songs here!! I’d be happy with just about anything, but my heart and soul belongs to Spirit in the Sky!
I see a lot of potential in “The Bubble”, “Hold me Down”, and “Feel”. Mørlands song is also interesting for a song in norweigan, would be fun to hear norweigan in Eurovision!
It’s by far the best song. And it does not need a revamp. It’s perfect the way it is 🙂
I like En Livre Mann, The Bubble and Feel. Depends on the performances which will be first for me.
Wow, D’Sound? They’re pretty popular here in the Philippines still despite only having at least two major hits here years ago.
But if the comments here are any indication, I think I’m going to like Midland’s Norwegian language song a lot.
My phone keeps on autocorrecting me. I meant to say Mørland, not Midland. Lol
If any Norwegian on here could elaborate on Mørland’s lyrics, that would be just lovely.
Same here. I used Google Translate, but I got comical results. 😀
Where’d you find the Norwegian lyrics?
Here: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/m%C3%B8rland-en-livredd-mann-lyrics.html
From what little I can gather via the gibberish Google Translate, it sounds to me like the protagonist is having a nightmare, struggling to survive through various forces of nature, fighting against inner demons perhaps? Something deep about perseverance anyway. He really has ample opportunity for an epic staging here.
There’s a translation to Italian in this site that seems to be legit. Combining the translations in English and Portuguese for the lyrics in Italian, here’s what I’ve got. Very dark and porwerful stuff, just as I would expect from Mørland: Every single tree is immobile tonight Only the sound of the torrent from the mountain of tears A breath seems the strongest of the crashes And I do not say a word They lie under the subkey where the devil lives And I hang out with a thread of hope And everything goes on fire around a terrified man… Read more »
If this song is going to happen, he needs to keep it in Norwegian for sure. <3
Mørland says the song is about that he lost his mom a few years ago and about escaping dark thoughts, finding hope and lett go of the bad things. He has made an English Version called “If Music can save you”. I can’t find that Version yet. Follow the link, for English lyrics, but remember direct translation is not alway so good. https://lyricstranslate.com/pl/en-livredd-mann-terrified-man.html
It’s Morland for me. Love the atmospheric feeling and his great voice. Monster like me was a grower and I think En Livredd Mann can grow big too. Spirit in the sky is a bit of a guilty pleasure, I’m worried it wouldn’t do too well in ESC though. Chris Medina has a great voice, but the song is a let down.
I’ve writen a very long review! Pls make sure it don’t get stuck in your moderation section. Thanks!
Overall, a pretty good line-up. It may sound too “Melodifestivalen”, but at least this year Norway is bringing quality. My thoughts: Adrian Jorgensen – “The Bubble”. Those smooth vocals, cute lyrics and the final surprise of the girl might steal Norwegian hearts as Ieva did last May. I like it, a good song, though it isn’t outstanding. Anna-Lisa Kumoji – “Holla”. This have started so intense and straight to the point that I’ve got scared when it has come next in the playlist hahaha. It has so much power that it kind of bothers me. I can already see a… Read more »
Apparently, I missed two more songs. I will listen to them as soon as I can!
Spirit in the Sky for me
Weird. After last year’s exciting and fun filled MGP this year is a huge letdown. So many basic songs. At least we know MGP will be a top-notch production with clever staging which can elevate things considerably. I understand why people are gravitating towards Spirit in the Sky, but I have a feeling Jon Henrik will win melfest with a more epic Sami song.
Norway are the only country to win in each of the past three decades (80s, 90s, 00s) – this year is their last chance to carry that on and make it four in a row. Can any of these songs achieve that? #Team Mørland
Very interesting question. Do you think Mørland’s song can do that? Personally, I think he already should have won in 2015. “En livredd mann” is right up my alley, but on first listen, I didn’t get the feeling that Norway had a Eurovision winner in their selection.
Probably not, but who knows? Stranger things have happened. It’s hard to tell from this distance. If it does become the entry, it certainly deserves to do very well.
Agreed! And it deserves to stay in Norwegian. I hope they would dare that. It’s been so long.
Either of Mørland’s compositions and Spirit in the Sky are my favorites of what I’ve heard. I couldn’t listen to all of them cuz some of them aren’t on Spotify in the US.
Maybe try https://www.nrk.no/mgp/her-er-artistene-i-mgp-2019-1.14378791 ?
Thank you!
It’s such a weak selection.
I agree “Spirit in the sky” is the less forgettable. It’s not amazing though.
Juries will hate it probably (Monsters and Higher Ground)
Mørland is my savior here. I love him in Norwegian just as much as in English, really cool to hear him in his mother tongue. Without knowing the lyrics but having a vague grasp at the meaning of the song, he already paints quite the picture. I kind of knew it had to be him, looking at the participants before listening to the songs. It couldn’t more predictable, really. The two good songs are placed last on the NRK website, I bet this will be the running order in the national final as well. Two out of ten might not… Read more »
‘We try’ is ‘not available in my country’. Weird.
EDIT: never mind, it is on the site, just not on spotify
Same!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q92E6E6qy3I
‘Spirit in the sky’ or ‘Feel’ for me.
One more for the “Mørland or KEiiNO” team here. All the songs are decent, but they’re the ones that stand out to me. “En livredd mann” doesn’t seem to be a masterpiece like “A Monster Like Me”, but maybe reading the lyrics would change my mind about it. Is there any place I can find them? Even if it’s far from being original (am I listening too much or it has some 90’s on it?), “Spirit in the Sky”is entertaining, the voices blend well and the ethnic elements are a spice that the other pop entries of MGP don’t have.
I don’t like most of the songs but Feel, Spirit in the sky are the most I like!!! =)
En livredd mann is great too! His voice is everything and the key change with the chorus is fab!!
Hope one of them win!!! =)
It’s not the most exciting of selections, is it? It’s not bad, just uninteresting. And that is almost worse. You can be bad but uninteresting?
They can send any of the songs, the result will be the same
I like ‘Hold Me Down’ the best right now, but I can’t listen to all the songs because they are not available here yet.
All the songs: https://www.nrk.no/mgp/her-er-artistene-i-mgp-2019-1.14378791
Easy choice here for Norwegians here. Spirit In The Sky is such a stand out. Not only does it tick all the boxes- fresh, current, catchy, but it’s the original, tribal quality that elevates it above the pack.