Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Norway was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Silent Storm" written by Josefin Winther. The song was performed by Carl Espen. The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2013 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark. 15 entries competed in the national final that consisted of three semi-finals and a final. Nine entries ultimately qualified to compete in the final on 15 March 2014 where the winner was determined over two rounds of public televoting. The top four entries in the first round of voting advanced to the competition's second round—the Gold Final. In the second round of public televoting, "Silent Storm" performed by Carl Espen was selected as the winner with 53,712 votes.
Norway was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 8 May 2014. Performing during the show in position 3, "Silent Storm" was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 12 May. It was later revealed that Norway placed sixth out of the 15 participating countries in the semi-final with 77 points. In the final, Norway performed in position 5 and placed eighth out of the 26 participating countries with 88 points.
Background
Prior to the 2014 contest, Norway had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 52 times since its first entry in 1960. Norway had won the contest on two occasions: in 1985 with the song "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks! and in 1995 with the song "Nocturne" performed by Secret Garden. 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" in the contest, the latter being a record the nation shared together with Austria. The country had finished last eleven times and had failed to score a point during four contests. Following the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Norway has, to this point, finished in the top 10 four times: Wig Wam finished ninth with the song "In My Dreams" in 2005, Maria Haukaas Storeng was fifth in 2008 with "Hold On Be Strong", Alexander Rybak won in 2009, and Margaret Berger finished fourth in 2013 performing "I Feed You My Love".The Norwegian national broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting, broadcasts the event within Norway and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. NRK confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest on 6 May 2013. The broadcaster has traditionally organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix, which has selected the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in all but one of their participation. Along with their participation confirmation, the broadcaster announced the organization of Melodi Grand Prix 2014 in order to select the 2014 Norwegian entry.
Before Eurovision
''Melodi Grand Prix 2014''
Melodi Grand Prix 2014 was the 52nd edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix and selected Norway's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. 15 songs were selected to compete in a four-week-long process that commenced on 7 March 2014 and concluded with the final on 15 March 2014. All shows were hosted by Jenny Skavlan and Erik Solbakken 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.Format
The competition consisted of four shows: three semi-finals on 7, 8 and 9 March 2014 and a final on 15 March 2014. Five songs competed in each semi-final and the top three entries qualified to the final. The results of all shows were determined exclusively by public televoting. Viewers could cast their votes through SMS voting, while a four-member panel also provided commentary and feedback regarding the competing entries during each of the four shows. The panel consisted of:- Marie Komissar – NRK P3 radio host and music producer
- Kathrine Synnes Finnskog – manager and director of Music Norway
- Gisle Stokland – editor and owner of the music website 730.no
- Tarjei Strøm – musician and radio host
Competing entries
| Artist | Song | Songwriter |
| Carl Espen | "Silent Storm" | Josefin Winther |
| Charlie | "Hit Me Up" | Melanie Fontana, Jon Asher, Lars Hustoft |
| Cir.Cuz | "Hele verden" | Joakim Harestad Haukaas, Andre Lindal |
| Dina Misund | "Needs" | Dina Misund, Frode Bjørgmo Strømvik |
| El Cuero | "Ain't No Love " | Brynjan Takle Ohr, Bjarte Lund Rolland, Øyvind Blomstrøm, Håvard Takle Ohr |
| Elisabeth Carew | "Sole Survivor" | Elisabeth Carew, David Eriksen, Simon Climie, Mats Lie Skåre |
| Hilda and Thea Leora | "Best Friend's Boyfriend" | Martin Kleveland, Lisa Desmond Linder, Jesper Jakobsen |
| Ilebek | "Who Needs the Universe" | Andreas Ihlebæk |
| Knut Kippersund Nesdal | "Taste of You" | Magnus Hængsle, Jenny Moe |
| Linnea Dale | "High Hopes" | Linnea Dale, Kim Bergseth |
| Martine Marbel | "Right Now" | Martine Marbel, Goran Obad |
| Mo | "Heal" | Laila Samuelsen |
| Moi | "Bensin" | Ingjerd Østrem Omland |
| Oda and Wulff | "Sing" | Christer Wulff |
| Timbre and Frikk Heide-Steen feat. Ida Stein | "Frozen By Your Love" | Anders Bratterud |
Shows
Semi-finals
Five songs competed in each of the three semi-finals that took place on 7, 8 and 9 March 2014 at the Folketeatret in Oslo. The top three advanced to the final from each semi-final.| Draw | Artist | Song | Place |
| 1 | Hilda and Thea Leora | "Best Friend's Boyfriend" | — |
| 2 | Mo | "Heal" | 1 |
| 3 | Dina Misund | "Needs" | 3 |
| 4 | Linnea Dale | "High Hopes" | 2 |
| 5 | Timbre and Frikk Heide-Steen feat. Ida Stein | "Frozen by Your Love" | — |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Place |
| 1 | Cir.Cuz | "Hele verden" | — |
| 2 | Martine Marbel | "Right Now" | — |
| 3 | Oda and Wulff | "Sing" | 2 |
| 4 | Knut Kippersund Nesdal | "Taste of You" | 1 |
| 5 | Charlie | "Hit Me Up" | 3 |
| Draw | Artist | Song | Place |
| 1 | Moi | "Bensin" | 5 |
| 2 | El Cuero | "Ain't No Love " | 2 |
| 3 | Ilebek | "Who Needs the Universe" | 4 |
| 4 | Elisabeth Carew | "Sole Survivor" | 3 |
| 5 | Carl Espen | "Silent Storm" | 1 |
Final
Nine songs that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals competed during the final at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo on 15 March 2014. The winner was selected over two rounds of public televoting. In the first round, the top four entries were selected to proceed to the second round, the Gold Final. In the Gold Final, the results of the public televote were revealed by Norway's five regions and led to the victory of "Silent Storm" performed by Carl Espen with 53,712 votes. In addition to the performances of the competing entries, the show was opened by Ludvig Antonio Jacobsen performing his song "Erre herre er party?", while the interval act featured a medley performed by Karin Park and 2013 Norwegian Eurovision entrant Margaret Berger.| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | El Cuero | "Ain't No Love " | Eliminated |
| 2 | Elisabeth Carew | "Sole Survivor" | Eliminated |
| 3 | Knut Kippersund Nesdal | "Taste of You" | Advanced |
| 4 | Dina Misund | "Needs" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Mo | "Heal" | Advanced |
| 6 | Linnea Dale | "High Hopes" | Advanced |
| 7 | Charlie | "Hit Me Up" | Eliminated |
| 8 | Carl Espen | "Silent Storm" | Advanced |
| 9 | Oda and Wulff | "Sing" | Eliminated |