PRESS RELEASE from Norwegian broadcaster NRK

Major changes in Melodi Grand Prix 2023

There will be big changes in Melodi Grand Prix next year. Fewer and bigger semi-finals, no pre-qualified artists, no duels and a Grand Finale in the city of Trondheim.

Twenty-one artists will be presented on January 4th, 2023.Melodi Grand Prix will have the same scope as earlier, with the same amount of new Norwegian music, but the number of broadcasts will be reduced to three semi-finals and a Grand Final.

No pre-qualified artists

Everything is at stake for all artists in next year’s season, asnone of the artists is guaranteed a place in the final. The changes for 2023 are made on the basis of feedback from TV-viewers.

“There were several good reasons for the solution with pre-qualified acts, but MGP is in constant development. We are now going for a competition model that is easier to understand, and where all the artists compete with the same starting point. More is at stake for everyone from day one”, says head of music Stig Karlsen.

Three semi-finals – no duels – no last chance

The semi-finals are cut from five to three and there will be no “last chance” either. To offer more music in each broadcast, seven artists will compete in each semi-final. There will be no duels and the voting process starts after all the artists have performed. The three artists who have received the most votes advance to the final.

Final in Trondheim

Next year’s winner of the Melodi Grand Prix will be chosen in Trondheim Spektrum on Saturday, February 4th. The MGP final has only twice previously been held outside Oslo, in Stavanger in 1989 and most recently in Trondheim in 2020.

“After two years of a pandemic, we can finally bring MGP back to a large arena. We have dreamed of a packed venue since we last had a full house, just weeks before the country shut down in March 2020. The commitment we saw from the audience of 8,500 is difficult to describe in words, but the TV images speak for themselves. We are looking forward to creating a Grand Final again from the middle of the country, to the whole of Norway”, says Karlsen.

International jury at the Grand Final

In order to increase the chances of winning in Eurovision, it has been decided to reintroduce an international jury during the final, last seen in MGP in 2019. The juries consist of industry professionals from a selection of countries and will count for 50 % during the final. The audience votes will therefore count for 50 %. Who sits on the jury will be announced after the final.

“MGP is part of an international music competition, and we want to use a similar voting model to that used in the Eurovision Song Contest. This is to increase the chances of winning in ESC. A model with both a professional jury and audience votes also gives us a better basis for creating a more exciting MGP”, says Stig Karlsen.

Launch of artists and the music

All 21 artists will be released during a press conference at Marienlyst on Wednesday, January 4th 2023. Here we also find out which semi-final they will appear in.

In order to gather attention for the songs that will compete over three weeks of semi-finals, the songs will be released weekly. In other words, the first seven songs will be released on Monday 9 January. There will then be song releases in all streaming services on Monday, January 16th for the seven songs competing in semi-final 2, and on Monday, January23rd for the seven songs competing in semi-final 3.

Four broadcasts in total

The three semi-finals are broadcast live from Nydalen in Oslo. The first semi-final takes place on Saturday, January 14th. Semi-final 2 on Saturday, January 21st and semi-final 3 on Saturday, January 28th. The grand final takes place onFebruary 4th in Trondheim.

Hosts

Arian Engebø and Stian “Staysman” Thorbjørnsen will host Melodi Grand Prix 2023. Arian is a radio host on the famous music program StudioP3 and has also been hosting “VG-Lista”, the largest free concert in Scandinavia. Stian is an experienced musician and has also participated in MelodiGrand Prix twice. He is also a well-known TV-host.

21 Comments
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Jimbo
Jimbo
1 year ago

I really hope to see Maria Mohn in the competition because she really does have a outstanding voice however I think she hasn’t had the song that is good enough to go to the Eurovision Song Contest yet.

Benito Camelo
Benito Camelo
1 year ago

True, even at this year’s UMK most voted for Jezebel :/

Benito Camelo
Benito Camelo
1 year ago

I’m glad Norway’s taking good decisions to get back on track, their format was too over-the-top recently and their choices had been –well, let’s just say that they weren’t my cup of tea, but next year’s buildup looks promising 🙂

Jake
Jake
1 year ago

this is way positive for Norway…I never loved having to sit through a show with only 4 songs…also the international juries do seem to remove the local fandom from the equation and help decide if an entry is simply too local vs broader for European tastes–and I understand the pushback that songs should represent the local tastes and not be a reflection of other countries, but I think that’s where you have local televote to balance it out…good luck to Norway–I always loved seeing their national finals and when I started following national finals, I thought they were second only… Read more »

Jesper Hjellnes
Jesper Hjellnes
1 year ago
Reply to  Jake

Most Norwegians found the semifinal system with the duels too boring, so I can imagine how it must have been for non-Norwegian speakers who had to also listen to all that unnecessary chat with the artist’s friends and relatives

Denis
Denis
1 year ago
Reply to  Jake

I am thinking a jury would not have made Tix or Subwoolfer winners even if they were the best songs of those years.

Yush
Yush
1 year ago

How do you know??? I hope so. But I want Eline Noelia to make a comeback and win this time. She is a true vocal queen. (I know Ecstasy wasn’t that good but her songs since Ecstasy are immaculate, iconic, on repeat for me, Shockwave, Don’t Pray For Me, I’m Good all of them are bops. You should take a listen )

Yush
Yush
1 year ago

I want to see Eline Noelia snatching the crown she deserves.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Yush

If she returns. She might not be in this year’s lineup.

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago

How ironic. No it brings back juries for the national finals the same time eurovision has removed juries for the semi finals. Let’s hope it doesn’t backfire for Norway. Norway is clearly hungry for another victory and i say enough time has passed Since their last victory that I can be good with another Norway victory, even though I still much prefer a first time winner. We’ll see

Yush
Yush
1 year ago
Reply to  BadWoolfGirl

They should send the right song. Last year’s MGP was a disaster with only one decent song Give That Wolf A Banana. 2021 we had Hero and Monument but yet the Norwigen people refused to select one of those bops. So … you know… they literally sabotage themselves with what they pick

BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
1 year ago
Reply to  Yush

Of course, I want the right song chosen for Norway. I think the reason they brought the jury back is to make sure the right song can be chosen. The broadcaster seems confident that They’ve got a potential winner for eurovision in the bunch, but let’s hope they can live up to expectations. It would be terribly embarrassing if they actually don’t have winning song in the bunch. I will personally hold off having any expectations until the songs are actually released in January. Then I connect with judgment if Norway is a potential contender for 2023. On one hand,… Read more »

Jake
Jake
1 year ago
Reply to  Yush

Monument < Spirit in the Sky
Hero < Wild

Hugin
Hugin
1 year ago

The 1986 MGP final took place ind Stavanger just like in 1989. So 2023 will mark the fourth time the MGP final is hosten outside of Oslo. Not the thirth as written in the article.

BlueZone
BlueZone
1 year ago

A much tidier affair.

James
James
1 year ago

It should have been obvious from the second time they went with this format that pre-qualified finalists had a clear advantage over those who had to undergo several rounds of elimination.

The duels, while fun to watch the first time, they tend to become incredibly dragging as the season of MGP wear on so I’m glad they’re ditching that for next year.

Polegend Godnova
1 year ago

thoughts and prayers to my norwegian besties who’ll potentially have their song chosen by foreigners

Colin
Colin
1 year ago

In theory, perhaps, but in practice, it’s highly unlikely that the foreign vote will exceed 1% of all votes. While everyone can vote via the app, nobody outside of the narrow Eurofan bubble will even know MGP exists, let alone that it has an app, and less so be bothered to watch and vote. There’s no real danger in any upset in numbers.

Colin
Colin
1 year ago
Reply to  Colin

I see… I am never a fan of the juries being made solely out of international jurors. 50/50 of the jury vote, or 25% of the total would would’ve been okay, I guess. One advantage they have is being unbothered by local artist’s fame. But one disadvantage is the lack of sensibility for local language and culture. Not a single time have the foreign juries put an entry in Swedish on top of their scoreboard in Melodifestivalen.

Erik
Erik
1 year ago

I just want ULRIKKE to win

Colin
Colin
1 year ago
Reply to  Erik

She first has to participate. Second, she has to have a good song again. Still, it would be lovely to see Ulrikke at ESC stage at some point. She deserved it in 2020.