style="font-size: larger;" | Melodi Grand Prix 2006

Final:	4 February 2006
Presenter:	Synnøve Svabø Synnøve Svabø Synnøve Svabø is a Norwegian talk show host. Svabø is best known for her 1997 boob stunt on Thorbjørn Jagland who was then the Prime Minister of Norway...  and Stian Barsnes Simonsen Stian Barsnes Simonsen Stian Barsnes Simonsen is a Norwegian actor and television host of Amigo, Midt i smørøyet and Melodi Grand Prix.- As host :*De ukjente *Gullruten...
Venue:	Oslo Spektrum Oslo Spektrum Oslo Spektrum is an indoor multi-purpose arena in east central Oslo, Norway. It opened in December 1990. It is currently owned and operated by Norges Varemesse , who also own and operate the Norges Varemesse conference center in Lillestrøm which is Norway's largest conference center...
Voting:	Jury, SMS and telephone voting
Winner:	Alvedansen Alvedansen "Alvedansen" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in Norwegian by Christine Guldbrandsen. This was the first time since the 1998 entry and the introduction of the "free language rule" that the Norwegian entry had not been performed entirely in English, although an...  performed by Christine Guldbrandsen Christine Guldbrandsen Christine Guldbrandsen is a singer who is best-known internationally for being the Norwegian entrant in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. With a crystal-clear voice and a impressive vocal range she is often compared to sopranos like Sissel Kyrkjebø and Hayley Westenra...
Winner's result at Eurovision Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock... :	14th

Melodi Grand Prix 2006 (shortened MGP 2006) is the television show in which the Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Eurovision Song Contest 2006

The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...

 was chosen.

The contest was held on February 4 in the Oslo Spektrum

Oslo Spektrum

Oslo Spektrum is an indoor multi-purpose arena in east central Oslo, Norway. It opened in December 1990. It is currently owned and operated by Norges Varemesse , who also own and operate the Norges Varemesse conference center in Lillestrøm which is Norway's largest conference center...

 and was hosted by Synnøve Svabø

Synnøve Svabø

Synnøve Svabø is a Norwegian talk show host. Svabø is best known for her 1997 boob stunt on Thorbjørn Jagland who was then the Prime Minister of Norway...

 and Stian Barsnes Simonsen

Stian Barsnes Simonsen

Stian Barsnes Simonsen is a Norwegian actor and television host of Amigo, Midt i smørøyet and Melodi Grand Prix.- As host :*De ukjente *Gullruten...

. In addition, the Eurovision commentator for Norwegian television, Jostein Pedersen

Jostein Pedersen

Jostein Pedersen is a Norwegian musical journalist and reporter, television commentator and "music intelligencia". He was the Norwegian commentator to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, and from 1996 to 2005. Since then he has covered the Song Contest on VG's web TV channel...

, played a role as side commentator for all five shows. In the three weeks leading up to the final, four qualification rounds were held; three semifinals and a second-chance round, where the last two final tickets were given out.

The winner was Christine Guldbrandsen

Christine Guldbrandsen

Christine Guldbrandsen is a singer who is best-known internationally for being the Norwegian entrant in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. With a crystal-clear voice and a impressive vocal range she is often compared to sopranos like Sissel Kyrkjebø and Hayley Westenra...

 with the song "Alvedansen

Alvedansen

"Alvedansen" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in Norwegian by Christine Guldbrandsen. This was the first time since the 1998 entry and the introduction of the "free language rule" that the Norwegian entry had not been performed entirely in English, although an...

".

Swedish dominance

This year, NRK received 586 compositions, one of the highest numbers ever. However, the foreign songs exceed 60% of this total, coming mainly from Swedish composers. And as a result, 13 out of the 18 semi final entries are written by Swedes. However, the top two songs at MGP 2006 were written by Norwegians.

A new concept

The three initial semi finals were held in three different Norwegian cities, based on the successful formula that has been used in the Swedish Melodifestivalen

Melodifestivalen

Melodifestivalen is an annual music competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television and Sveriges Radio . It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been staged almost every year since 1959...

 since 2002. That is to say, the semi final concept in Norway is new of the year. NRK has decided that those cities which were awarded with the concept this year, will have the right to host one semi final each for the next three years.

Final

style="font-size: bigger;" | Final - 4 February, 2006

Draw	Song	Artist	Songwriter(s)	Place
1	"Here For The Show"	Trine Rein Trine Rein Trine Rein is a Norwegian-American singer, who belongs to the exclusive group of Norwegian artists who have sold more than a million records. Trine was born in San Francisco in 1970, and therefore has both US and Norwegian citizenship.-Successful debut:...	Claes Andreasson, Torbjörn Wassenius, Jonas Liberg	Out
2	"I Hear Music"	Hans-Petter Moen & Kim Arne Hagen	Hans-Petter Moen, Kim Arne Hagen	Gold Final
3	"Dreaming of a New Tomorrow"	Tor Endresen Tor Endresen Tor Lars Oskar Endresen is a Norwegian singer and composer.He has entered the national Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest numerous times, but has only won it once, and represented Norway in the international final in 1997, where he came last with nul points.Endresen was part of a popular Norwegian...	Peter Bertilson, Frank Ådahl	Out
4	"Absolutely Fabulous"	Queentastic Queentastic Queentastic is a group of Norwegian drag artists, established in early 2005.-Background:Members Dean Erik Andersen, born in 1971 in Kristiansand, and Geir Lillejord, born in Skien in 1968, both have previous drag experience from their membership in Great Garlic Girls - another Norwegian drag act...	Thomas G:son Thomas G:son Thomas Gustafsson is a Swedish composer and musician from Skövde, Västergötland, Sweden, north-east of Göteborg. However, he is much more known nationally and internationally simply as Thomas G:son, his artistic name. Since 1998, Thomas has worked full time as a songwriter for the company G:songs... , Andreas Rickstrand, Gerard James Borg Gerard James Borg Gerard James Borg is one of Malta's most successful song writers and concept creators for the last decades. Borg has penned five of the Maltese entries for the annual Eurovision Song Contest with Philip Vella, besides several Eurovision national final entries....	Gold Final
5	"Saturday"	Birgitte Einarsen Birgitte Einarsen Birgitte Einarsen is a Norwegian singer and musical theatre artist from Helgeroa in Larvik, Vestfold county. She was born in 1975. Birgitte has performed in popular musicals like Grease, Fame and The Little Shop of Horrors...	Nichlas Molinder, Joachijm Persson, Pelle Ankarberg, Brian Hobbes	Out
6	"Alvedansen"	Christine Guldbrandsen Christine Guldbrandsen Christine Guldbrandsen is a singer who is best-known internationally for being the Norwegian entrant in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. With a crystal-clear voice and a impressive vocal range she is often compared to sopranos like Sissel Kyrkjebø and Hayley Westenra...	Kjetil Fluge, Atle Halstensen	Gold Final
7	"Like a Wind"	Veronica Akselsen	Stig Llindell, Kent Mattson, Eva-Lena Carlqvist	Out
8	"Lost and Found"	Jorun Erdal Jorun Erdal Jorun Irene Erdal is a Norwegian singer and musical theatre artist. Her parents are from Oppstryn in Stryn, in Sogn og Fjordane county, and she has also lived there since age 12. However she was born in Oslo on May 14, 1963, and from then on raised on Snarøya in Bærum, a suburb of the city of...  & Geir Rönning Geir Rönning Geir Rönning is a professional singer-songwriter from Ålesund, Norway. He later moved to the capital Oslo in the 1980s, and later on to Stockholm, Sweden, where he found opportunity to start a musical career. He later moved to Finland, which he represented in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005...	Claes Andreasson, Torbjörn Wassenius, Jonas Liberg	Gold Final

style="font-size: bigger;" | Gold Final

Song	Artist	Songwriter(s)	Televoting Regions					Total	Place
			Northern Norway	Central Norway	Southern Norway	Eastern Norway	Western Norway
"I Hear Music"	Hans-Petter Moen & Kim Arne Hagen	Hans-Petter Moen, Kim Arne Hagen	5,816	9,253	10,548	31,520	10,086	67,223	2
"Absolutely Fabulous"	Queentastic Queentastic Queentastic is a group of Norwegian drag artists, established in early 2005.-Background:Members Dean Erik Andersen, born in 1971 in Kristiansand, and Geir Lillejord, born in Skien in 1968, both have previous drag experience from their membership in Great Garlic Girls - another Norwegian drag act...	Thomas G:son Thomas G:son Thomas Gustafsson is a Swedish composer and musician from Skövde, Västergötland, Sweden, north-east of Göteborg. However, he is much more known nationally and internationally simply as Thomas G:son, his artistic name. Since 1998, Thomas has worked full time as a songwriter for the company G:songs... , Andreas Rickstrand, Gerard James Borg Gerard James Borg Gerard James Borg is one of Malta's most successful song writers and concept creators for the last decades. Borg has penned five of the Maltese entries for the annual Eurovision Song Contest with Philip Vella, besides several Eurovision national final entries....	4,583	6,816	9,305	33,301	7,992	61,997	3
"Alvedansen"	Christine Guldbrandsen Christine Guldbrandsen Christine Guldbrandsen is a singer who is best-known internationally for being the Norwegian entrant in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. With a crystal-clear voice and a impressive vocal range she is often compared to sopranos like Sissel Kyrkjebø and Hayley Westenra...	Kjetil Fluge, Atle Halstensen	5,119	8,341	9,522	29,713	24,873	77,568	1
"Lost and Found"	Jorun Erdal Jorun Erdal Jorun Irene Erdal is a Norwegian singer and musical theatre artist. Her parents are from Oppstryn in Stryn, in Sogn og Fjordane county, and she has also lived there since age 12. However she was born in Oslo on May 14, 1963, and from then on raised on Snarøya in Bærum, a suburb of the city of...  & Geir Rönning Geir Rönning Geir Rönning is a professional singer-songwriter from Ålesund, Norway. He later moved to the capital Oslo in the 1980s, and later on to Stockholm, Sweden, where he found opportunity to start a musical career. He later moved to Finland, which he represented in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005...	Claes Andreasson, Torbjörn Wassenius, Jonas Liberg	3,872	13,137	7,102	24,191	9,603	57,905	4

• A total of 264,693 televotes were counted in the super final.
• Both the top two songs in the super final were composed by Norwegians, despite NRK having only selected five songs with Norwegian composers out of the initial 18 semi final entries.

Spokespersons

• Northern Norway: Nina Birgitte Einem
• Central Norway: Kristin Haug
• Southern Norway: Knut Knudsen Eigenland
• Eastern Norway: Jonas Brønna
• Western Norway: Øyver Bakke

Semi-final 1

style="font-size: bigger;" | Semi-final 1 - 13 January, 2006

Draw	Song	Artist	Songwriter(s)	Place
1	"Here For The Show"	Trine Rein Trine Rein Trine Rein is a Norwegian-American singer, who belongs to the exclusive group of Norwegian artists who have sold more than a million records. Trine was born in San Francisco in 1970, and therefore has both US and Norwegian citizenship.-Successful debut:...	Claes Andreasson, Torbjörn Wassenius, Jonas Liberg	Final
2	"Lost And Found"	Jorun Erdal Jorun Erdal Jorun Irene Erdal is a Norwegian singer and musical theatre artist. Her parents are from Oppstryn in Stryn, in Sogn og Fjordane county, and she has also lived there since age 12. However she was born in Oslo on May 14, 1963, and from then on raised on Snarøya in Bærum, a suburb of the city of...  & Geir Rönning Geir Rönning Geir Rönning is a professional singer-songwriter from Ålesund, Norway. He later moved to the capital Oslo in the 1980s, and later on to Stockholm, Sweden, where he found opportunity to start a musical career. He later moved to Finland, which he represented in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005...	Claes Andreasson, Torbjörn Wassenius, Jonas Liberg	Final
3	"Misled"	Kirsti Carr	Snorre Rønning, Kirsti Carr	Siste Sjansen
4	"My Dream"	Christina Undhjem	Lars Halvor Jensen, Christina Undhjem	Out
5	"Tonight"	Mocci	M. Nubar, Mocci Ryen	Out
6	"Sunshine"	Arlene Wilkes	Nichlas Molinder, Joachijm Persson, Pelle Ankarberg, Brian Hobbes	Siste Sjansen

Semi-final 2

style="font-size: bigger;" | Semi-final 2 - 20 January, 2006

Draw	Song	Artist	Songwriter(s)	Place
1	"Absolutely Fabulous"	Queentastic Queentastic Queentastic is a group of Norwegian drag artists, established in early 2005.-Background:Members Dean Erik Andersen, born in 1971 in Kristiansand, and Geir Lillejord, born in Skien in 1968, both have previous drag experience from their membership in Great Garlic Girls - another Norwegian drag act...	Thomas G:son Thomas G:son Thomas Gustafsson is a Swedish composer and musician from Skövde, Västergötland, Sweden, north-east of Göteborg. However, he is much more known nationally and internationally simply as Thomas G:son, his artistic name. Since 1998, Thomas has worked full time as a songwriter for the company G:songs... , Andreas Rickstrand, Gerard James Borg Gerard James Borg Gerard James Borg is one of Malta's most successful song writers and concept creators for the last decades. Borg has penned five of the Maltese entries for the annual Eurovision Song Contest with Philip Vella, besides several Eurovision national final entries....	Final
2	"Heaven's In Your Eyes"	Hanne Haugsand	Kristian Hermansen	Out
3	"The Better Side of Me"	Ovi Martin Ovidiu Cernăuţeanu Ovidiu Cernăuţeanu is a Romanian-Norwegian singer, also known as Ovi Martin, Ovidiu Jacobsen, or just Ovi.-Eurovision Song Contest 2010:...	Even Olsen	Siste Sjansen
4	"Too Much Love"	Marit Strømøy	N. Anderson, Kristian Landgren, Thomas Lindberg	Out
5	"I Hear Music"	Hans-Petter Moen & Kim Arne Hagen	Hans-Petter Moen, Kim Arne Hagen	Final
6	"I Wanna Be"	Jannicke Abrahamsen	Nichlas Molinder, Joachijm Persson, Pelle Ankarberg, Brian Hobbes, Stefan Berg	Siste Sjansen

Semi-final 3

style="font-size: bigger;" | Semi-final 3 - 27 January, 2006

Draw	Song	Artist	Songwriter(s)	Place
1	"Saturday"	Birgitte Einarsen Birgitte Einarsen Birgitte Einarsen is a Norwegian singer and musical theatre artist from Helgeroa in Larvik, Vestfold county. She was born in 1975. Birgitte has performed in popular musicals like Grease, Fame and The Little Shop of Horrors...	Nichlas Molinder, Joachijm Persson, Pelle Ankarberg, Brian Hobbes	Siste Sjansen
2	"Like A Wind"	Veronica Akselsen	Stig Llindell, Kent Mattson, Eva-Lena Carlqvist	Siste Sjansen
3	"Shut Up And Kiss Me"	Phung	K. Marcello	Out
4	"Alvedansen"	Christine Guldbrandsen Christine Guldbrandsen Christine Guldbrandsen is a singer who is best-known internationally for being the Norwegian entrant in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. With a crystal-clear voice and a impressive vocal range she is often compared to sopranos like Sissel Kyrkjebø and Hayley Westenra...	Kjetil Fluge, Atle Halstensen	Final
5	"Paparazzi World"	Kathrine Strugstad	Thomas Thörnholm, Dan Attlerud	Out
6	"Dreaming Of A New Tomorrow"	Tor Endresen Tor Endresen Tor Lars Oskar Endresen is a Norwegian singer and composer.He has entered the national Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest numerous times, but has only won it once, and represented Norway in the international final in 1997, where he came last with nul points.Endresen was part of a popular Norwegian...	Peter Bertilson, Frank Ådahl	Final

Siste Sjansen round

style="font-size: bigger;" | Siste Sjansen - 3 February, 2007

Draw	Song	Artist	Songwriter(s)	Place
1	"Misled"	Kirsti Carr	Snorre Rønning, Kirsti Carr	Out
2	"Sunshine"	Arlene Wilkes	Nichlas Molinder, Joachijm Persson, Pelle Ankarberg, Brian Hobbes	Out
3	"The Better Side of Me"	Ovi Martin Ovidiu Cernăuţeanu Ovidiu Cernăuţeanu is a Romanian-Norwegian singer, also known as Ovi Martin, Ovidiu Jacobsen, or just Ovi.-Eurovision Song Contest 2010:...	Even Olsen	Out
4	"I Wanna Be"	Jannicke Abrahamsen	Nichlas Molinder, Joachijm Persson, Pelle Ankarberg, Brian Hobbes, Stefan Berg	Out
5	"Saturday"	Birgitte Einarsen Birgitte Einarsen Birgitte Einarsen is a Norwegian singer and musical theatre artist from Helgeroa in Larvik, Vestfold county. She was born in 1975. Birgitte has performed in popular musicals like Grease, Fame and The Little Shop of Horrors...	Nichlas Molinder, Joachijm Persson, Pelle Ankarberg, Brian Hobbes	Final
6	"Like A Wind"	Veronica Akselsen	Stig Llindell, Kent Mattson, Eva-Lena Carlqvist	Final

External links

Official site

• NRK: Melodi Grand Prix 2006