This year’s Melodi Grand Prix proved to be one of the biggest national selections yet, with a total of 26 acts all competing to be the next Norwegian Eurovision representative. This year, the selection featured five semi-finals, as well as a second chance round and the Final. Six artists were pre-qualified for the final, with the remaining participants battling it out in the semi-finals.
Here is the final line-up:
- Atle Pettersen – World On Fire
- Raylee – Hero
- Stavangerkameratene –Who I Am
- KIIM – My Lonely Voice
- Blåsemafian feat. Hazel – Let Loose
- Emmy – Witch Woods
- TIX – Fallen Angel
- Kaja Rode – Feel Again
- Rein Alexander – Eyes Wide Open
- IMERIKA – I Can’t Escape
- KEiiNO – Monument
- Jorn – Faith Bloody Faith
There were three rounds of voting to determine the winner of the show. After all the acts performed, the top four continued to the Gold Final. The top four consisted of:
- Blåsemafian feat. Hazel – Let Loose
- TIX – Fallen Angel
- KEiiNO – Monument
- Jorn – Faith Bloody Faith
From there, the voting begun again, with the top two continuing to the Gold Duel. The top two were TIX and KEiiNO. Votes were revealed from regions of Norway, with TIX securing the majority of votes in the South, Central, West and East regions, with KEiiNO winning in the North region. Overall, TIX won the vote with 57.49% of the vote. TIX will sing Fallen Angel at Eurovision, although it is not yet confirmed whether he will revert to the Norwegian language version of the song that was performed in the semi-final, or whether he will make the song bilingual.
TIX is the stage name of Andreas Haukeland, a singer-songwriter from Bærum and one of the most popular Norwegian artists. The name TIX comes from his experience with Tourette’s syndrome, a condition which can lead to a number of different involuntary tics. His name is a way to take ownership of his condition, hence, TIX. As a singer, TIX has released a number of chart topping songs, but also interestingly as a songwriter, he has also achieved a lot of success. One of his biggest songs to have written was Ava Max’s ‘Sweet But Psycho’ which became the most played song of 2018.
Watch Fallen Angel below: