Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Winner Stella Mwangi performing "Haba Haba" at the third semi-final of Melodi Grand Prix 2011

Melodi Grand Prix 2011 was the 49th edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix and selected Norway's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. 21 songs were selected to compete in a five-week-long process that commenced on 15 January 2011 and concluded with the final on 12 February 2011. All shows were hosted by Per Sundnes and Anne Rimmen and televised on NRK1 as well as streamed online at NRK's official website nrk.no. The final was also broadcast online at the official Eurovision Song Contest website eurovision.tv.[3]

The competition consisted of five shows: three semi-finals on 15, 22 and 29 January 2011, a Last Chance round (Sistesjansen) on 5 February 2011 and a final on 12 February 2011. 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.[4] Viewers could cast their votes through telephone and SMS voting.[5]

A submission period was opened by NRK between 30 June 2010 and 15 September 2010. Songwriters of any nationality were allowed to submit entries, while performers of the selected songs would be chosen by NRK in consultation with the songwriters. In addition to the public call for submissions, NRK reserved the right to directly invite certain artists and composers to compete.[2][6] 700 submissions were received at the close of the deadline and 21 songs were selected for the competition by Melodi Grand Prix music producer Per Sundnes and choreographer Mattias Carlsson.[7] Nine of the competing acts and songs were revealed on 22 November 2010 during a press conference at the Hard Rock Café in Oslo, presented by Per Sundnes, while the remaining twelve acts and songs were revealed on 29 November 2010 during another press conference at the Hard Rock Café in Oslo and presented by Sundnes.[8][9]

Seven songs competed in each of the three semi-finals that took place on 15, 22 and 29 January 2011. The first semi-final took place at the Hangar E of the Ørland Hovedflystasjon in Ørland, the second semi-final took place at the Florø Idrettssenter in Florø, 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.[10] On 31 January 2011, the two acts with the most votes out of the bottom three songs in the semi-finals that also proceeded to the Last Chance round as wildcards were announced: "Jobbe litt mindre og tjene litt mer" performed by Gatas Parlament and "I'll Be Yours" performed by Pernille and Marius.[11]

In addition to the performances of the competing entries, a past Norwegian Eurovision entrant and a past Melodi Grand Prix participant were featured in each semi-final as the interval act: Keep of Kalessin from Melodi Grand Prix 2010 with Norwegian Eurovision 2009 winner Alexander Rybak in the first semi-final, Alexander Stenerud from Melodi Grand Prix 2009 and 2010 with 2007 Norwegian Eurovision entrant Guri Schanke in the second semi-final, and Bjørn Johan Muri from Melodi Grand Prix 2010 with 2010 Norwegian Eurovision entrant Didrik Solli-Tangen in the third semi-final.[12]

The Last Chance round took place on 5 February 2011 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.[13] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the interval act featured the lead singer of 2005 Norwegian Eurovision entrant Wig Wam, Åge Sten Nielsen, performing a rendition of his entry "In My Dreams" together with Norwegian 2008 entrant Maria Haukaas Mittet.[14]

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 12 February 2011. 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 votes of the audience in the venue and the results of the public televote were then revealed, leading to the victory of "Haba Haba" performed by Stella Mwangi with 280,217 votes.[15] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show was opened with the Eurovision 2010 winning entry "Satellite" being performed by Bjørn Johan Muri, Nadia Hasnaoui and several past Norwegian Eurovision entrants: Benedicte Adrian (1984), Tor Endresen (1997), Åge Sten Nielsen (2005), Guri Schanke (2007) and Maria Haukaas Mittet (2008), while the interval act featured 2010 Norwegian Eurovision entrant Didrik Solli-Tangen performing his entry "My Heart Is Yours" together with the Oslo Fagottkor.[15][16]

In early April 2011, Stella Mwangi filmed the music video for "Haba Haba" in Grünerløkka and at the Huk beach in Bygdøy together with hundreds of attendees.[19] The video, which was directed by Frederic Esnault and presented by Big City Music, was released to the public on 19 April.[20]

Stella Mwangi took part in technical rehearsals on 1 and 5 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. This included the jury show on 9 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Norwegian performance featured Stella Mwangi performing a choreographed routine on stage in a gold dress together with five backing vocalists. The stage colours transitioned from blue, purple and black, intermittently in orange, red and pink, to orange, red, green and yellow as the song progressed. A wind machine was also used on stage as well as shiny confetti at the end of the song. The Norwegian performance was choreographed by Mattias Carlsson who also created the flashmob dance for the final of the 2010 contest in Oslo.[25][26] The five backing vocalists on stage with Stella Mwangi were: May Kristin Kaspersen, Øyvind Boye Løvold, Samantha Gurah, Suzanne Sumbundu and Ulrik Engdahl.[27]

At the end of the show, Norway was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Norway placed seventeenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 30 points.[28]

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, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. 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 individual rankings of each jury member were released shortly after the grand final.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Norway had placed ninth with the public televote and seventeenth with the jury vote in the first semi-final. In the public vote, Norway scored 56 points, while with the jury vote, Norway scored 29 points.[29]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Norway and awarded by Norway in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Finland in the semi-final and the final of the contest.