Eurovision Song Contest 2016 | ||||
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Country | Norway | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Melodi Grand Prix 2016 | |||
Selection date(s) | 27 February 2016 | |||
Selected entrant | Agnete | |||
Selected song | "Icebreaker" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Semi-final result |
Failed to qualify (13th, 63 points) |
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Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Icebreaker" written by Agnete Johnsen, Gabriel Alares and Ian Curnow. The song was performed by Agnete. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2016 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2016 contest in , Sweden. Ten entries competed in a show that took place on 27 February 2016 and 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, "Icebreaker" performed by Agnete was selected as the winner with 166,728 votes.
Norway was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 12 May 2016. Performing during the show in position 15, "Icebreaker" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Norway placed thirteenth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 63 points.
Prior to the 2016 Contest, Norway had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-four times since its first entry in 1960. Norway had won the contest on three occasions: in 1985 with the song "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with the song "Nocturne" performed by Secret Garden and in 2009 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 Austria. The country had finished last eleven times and had failed to score a point during four contests. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004, Norway has finished in the top ten six times, including their 2015 entry "A Monster Like Me" performed by Mørland and Debrah Scarlett.