Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "My Heart Is Yours" written by Hanne Sørvaag and Fredrik Kempe, and performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen. The Norwegian participating broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), selected its entry through the Melodi Grand Prix 2010. In addition, NRK was also the host broadcaster and staged the event at the Telenor Arena in Oslo, after winning the with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. Twenty-one entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals, a Last Chance round and a final. Eight entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 6 February 2010 where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round of voting, a public televote exclusively selected the top four entries to advance to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of voting, "My Heart Is Yours" performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from four regional jury groups and a public televote. As the host country, Norway qualified to compete directly in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Performing in position 3 during the final, Norway placed twentieth out of the 25 participating countries with 35 points.

Background

Prior to the 2010 contest, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest representing Norway 48 times since its first entry in. It had won the contest on three occasions: in with the song "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks!, in with the song "Nocturne" performed by Secret Garden, and in with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. Norway also had the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final more than any other country and for having the most "nul points" (zero points) in the contest, the latter being a record the nation shared together with. It had finished last 10 times and had failed to score a point during four contests. Following the introduction of semi-finals in, it has, to this point, finished in the top 10 three times: Wig Wam finished ninth with the song "In My Dreams" in , Maria Haukaas Storeng was fifth in with "Hold On Be Strong", and Alexander Rybak won in 2009. As part of its duties as participating broadcaster, NRK organises the selection of its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest and broadcasts the event in the country. NRK has traditionally organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix, which has selected its entry for the contest in all but one of its participation. On 6 July 2009, the broadcaster revealed details regarding its selection procedure and announced the organization of Melodi Grand Prix 2010 in order to select its 2010 entry.

Before Eurovision

Melodi Grand Prix 2010

Melodi Grand Prix 2010 was the 48th edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix and selected their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. 21 songs were selected to compete in a five-week-long process that commenced on 8 January 2010 and concluded with the final on 6 February 2010. All shows were hosted by Per Sundnes and Marte Stokstad and televised on NRK1 as well as streamed online at NRK's official website nrk.no.

Format

The competition consisted of five shows: three semi-finals on 8, 16 and 23 January 2010, a Last Chance round (Sistesjansen) on 30 January 2010 and a final on 6 February 2010. Seven songs competed in each semi-final and the top two entries directly qualified to the final, while the entries that placed third and fourth proceeded to the Last Chance round. Two wildcards were also awarded to the two acts that received the most votes out of the bottom three songs in the semi-finals to proceed to the Last Chance round. An additional two entries qualified to the final from the Last Chance round. The results of the semi-finals and Last Chance round were determined exclusively by public televoting, while the results in the final were determined by jury voting and public televoting. Viewers could cast their votes through telephone and SMS voting.

Competing entries

A submission period was opened by NRK between 6 July 2009 and 1 September 2009. Songwriters were required to hold Norwegian citizenship or have permanent residency in Norway in order to be eligible to compete. Collaborations with foreign songwriters were permitted, however their percentage of contribution must not exceed 50%. Performers of the selected songs would be chosen by NRK in consultation with the songwriters, and the broadcaster reserved the right to directly invite certain artists and composers to compete in addition to the public call for submissions. At the close of the deadline, a record-breaking 1,000 submissions were received. 21 songs were selected for the competition by a jury panel headed by Melodi Grand Prix project manager Per Sundnes, and their titles were revealed on 27 November 2009. The seven acts competing in each semi-final were revealed on 4, 11 and 17 December 2009, respectively, and among the artists was past Norwegian Eurovision entrant Maria Haukaas Storeng who represented the country in 2008.

Shows

Semi-finals

Seven songs competed in each of the three semi-finals that took place on 8, 16 and 23 January 2010. The first semi-final took place at the Hangar E of the Ørland Hovedflystasjon in Ørland, the second semi-final took place at the Bodø Spektrum in Bodø, and the third semi-final took place at the Skien Fritidspark in Skien. In each semi-final the top two directly qualified to the final, while the third and fourth placed songs proceeded to the Last Chance round. The two acts with the most votes out of the bottom three songs in the semi-finals also proceeded to the Last Chance round as wildcards and were announced on 25 January 2010: "Rewind Love" performed by Johnny Hide and "Life Is Here Today" performed by Skanksters.

Last Chance round

The Last Chance round took place on 30 January 2010 at the Sparta Amfi in Sarpsborg. The six entries that placed third and fourth in the preceding three semi-finals as well as the two wildcards competed and the two entries that qualified to the final were selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the eight entries competed in four duels and the winners of each duel proceeded to the second round. In the second round, the remaining four entries competed in two duels and the winners of each duel qualified to the final.

Final

Eight songs that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals and the Last Chance round competed during the final at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo on 6 February 2010. The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top four entries were selected by public televoting to proceed to the second round, the Gold Final. In the Gold Final, four regional juries from the three semi-final and Last Chance round host cities each distributed points as follows: 2,000, 4,000, 6,000 and 8,000 points. The results of the public televote were then revealed by Norway's five regions and added to the jury scores, leading to the victory of "My Heart Is Yours" performed by Didrik Solli-Tangen with 466,675 votes. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show was opened with Norwegian Eurovision 2009 winner Alexander Rybak performing his entry "Fairytale", while the interval act featured a Melodi Grand Prix medley performed by Ingrid Bjørnov.

Ratings

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) were required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As the host country, Norway automatically qualified to compete in the final on 29 May 2010. In addition to their participation in the final, Norway is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. During the semi-final allocation draw on 7 February 2010, Norway was assigned to broadcast and vote in the second semi-final on 27 May 2010. In Norway, the two semi-finals and the final were broadcast on NRK1 with commentary by Olav Viksmo-Slettan. NRK appointed Anne Rimmen as it spokesperson to announce the Norwegian votes during the final.

Final

Didrik Solli-Tangen took part in technical rehearsals on 22 and 23 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 28 and 29 May. This included the jury final on 28 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries. As the host nation, Norway's running order position in the final was decided through another draw on 23 March 2010. Norway was drawn to perform in position 3. While their position had already been drawn, it was determined following the second semi-final winners' press conference that Norway would perform following Spain and before Moldova. The Norwegian performance featured Didrik Solli-Tangen performing on stage together with five backing vocalists. The performance began with Solli-Tangen alone on stage in a single spotlight; the backing vocalists later appeared on his left and ultimately outside of the frame to a spread-out position behind. The stage also featured a large half-circle of curtains that began to whirl when the backing vocalists moved behind Solli-Tangen. At the end of the song, pyrotechnic effects were used alongside moving cascades of silver spray. The five backing vocalists on stage with Didrik Solli-Tangen were: Håkon Sigernes, Jorunn Hauge, Karianne Kjærnes, May Kristin Kaspersen and Øyvind Boye. Norway placed twentieth in the final, scoring 35 points. The final was watched by 1.989 million viewers in Norway with a market share of 89%.

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The following members comprised the Norwegian jury: Elisabet Davidsen, Vivi Stenberg, Arne Martin Vistnes, Svein Helge Høgberg and Anne-Karine Strøm. Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Norway had placed twenty-first with the public televote and seventeenth with the jury vote. In the public vote, Norway scored 18 points and in the jury vote the nation scored 61 points. Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Norway and awarded by Norway in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Sweden in the semi-final and to Germany in the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Norway

Points awarded by Norway