Image Credit: NRK // Julia Marie Naglestad
The final of Melodi Grand Prix is upon us!
After three weeks of heats, the 9 qualifiers now have one more chance to impress viewers to earn the ultimate prize of representing Norway at Eurovision 2023.
Which songs are currently the favourites to be heading to Liverpool in May? Here are the ones to watch in the 2023 MGP final.
Alessandra Mele – ‘Queen Of The Kings’
Alessandra Mele’s journey to becoming a favourite started when a TikTok using her song ‘Queen Of The Kings’ as the music to Miss Ukraine’s runway at Miss Universe went viral just before Heat 1, with 11.3m views to date. Since then, her song has achieved over 3 million streams on Spotify – the most streamed song from Melodi Grand Prix this year, and has been consistently charting high in Norway’s charts – currently at #15 in the VG-Lista Topp 20. With a great performance in the heat backing up the hype, could Alessandra make it all the way to Eurovision?
JONE – ‘Ekko Inni Meg’
If Norway want to send Norwegian to Eurovision for the first time in 17 years, JONE could be their choice. Since Heat 2, like Alessandra, he’s charting extremely high and currently at #8 on VG-Lista Topp 20. With over 1 million streams, ‘Ekko Inni Meg’ is the second most streamed song from MGP 2023. It’s extremely representative of the popular Russemusikk genre of Norwegian music, and could be a great choice for Norway if they want to bring something different and reflective of a part of their culture to the contest. Will we be seeing JONE in Liverpool?
Ulrikke – ‘Honestly’
Top of the odds and a huge favourite to win after proving her vocals are still as strong as ever, in Heat 1 we have Ulrikke. After her win in 2020 saw her miss Eurovision due to the cancellation over the global COVID-19 pandemic, she returned with ‘Honestly’ in 2023. Her story, paired with an incredible performance of the song – where she opted not to use MGP’s autotune feature – could once again make her a hit with viewers at home, as well as the jury. ‘Honestly’ is your classic Eurovision ballad, with simple staging and some big vocal moments. Will Ulrikke return to the contest and finally get her chance to shine?
Elsie Bay – ‘Love You In A Dream’
For a second year in a row, Elsie Bay finds herself up there as one of the favourites to win MGP. After reaching the top 4 in 2022 with fan favourite ‘Death Of Us’, her 2023 song ‘Love You In A Dream’ clearly resonated with viewers at home too, seeing her make it through Heat 2. With staging that many have noted is a big improvement on what we saw for her 2022 entry, and a captivating vocal, will Elsie find herself winning the contest this year?
Despite these songs being the four favourites, we can’t count out the 5 remaining entries. If Norway are looking for something a little different, ‘Prohibition’ by Swing’It may be the perfect choice. If they want a more mid-tempo sound, ‘Not Meant To Be’ by Eline Thorp or ‘Masterpiece’ by Atle Pettersen should fit the bill. ‘Love Again’ by Skrellex would be sure to get the crowd hyped up, and ‘Geronimo’ by Umami Tsunami would get the pop music & boyband fans invested!
The running order from MGP was announced by NRK on January 30th, and is as follows:
1. JONE – ‘Ekko Inni Meg’
2. Eline Thorp- ‘Not Meant To Be’
3. Skrellex – ‘Love Again’
4. Ulrikke – ‘Honestly’
5. Umami Tsunami – ‘Geronimo’
6. Atle Pettersen – ‘Masterpiece’
7. Swing’It – ‘Prohibition’
8. Elsie Bay – ‘Love You In A Dream’
9. Alessandra – ‘Queen Of Kings’
There will be no final duel this year – the winner will be the song with the most points earned from the 50/50 jury & televote split overall.
Melodi Grand Prix concludes on February 4th 2022 at 18:50 GMT // 19:50 CET live on NRK!
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