NRK kicked off the preparations for the 2011 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest by calling for songs to take part in their national final, Melodi Grand Prix. All those interested could submit their entries until 15 September 2010. No restrictions as to the nationality of the participants were set. The entries to proceed to the televised stages of Melodi Grand Prix 2011 were revealed shortly after the submissions deadline. In August 2010, NRK announced the selection dates and some of the host cities for Melodi Grand Prix 2011. The first semi-final was held in Brekstad, Ørland on 15 January 2011, the second one in Florø one week later, the third semi-final in Skien on 29 January 2011. The Second Chance round was held in Sarpsborg on 5 February 2011. The final took place in Oslo Spektrum in Oslo on 12 February 2011.
Competing entries
On 12 October 2010, NRK announced that 700 songs had been submitted. 21 of these were chosen to participate on the three semi-finals. Each semi-final contained 7 entries. The first nine artists were announced by NRK on 22 November on a press conference. On 29 November 2010, the full line-up was announced by NRK.
Schedule
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 15 January 2011. "Vardlokk" performed by Helene Bøksle and "Not That Easy " performed by Åste & Rikke qualified directly to the final, while "Daisy" performed by Use Me and "Alt du vil ha" performed by Sie Gubba advanced to the Siste Sjansen round. Gatas Parlament later received a wildcard to compete in the Siste Sjansen round.
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 22 January 2011. "Depend on Me" performed by Babel Fish and "You’re Like a Melody" performed by Hanne Sørvaag qualified directly to the final, while "Oh, Oh " performed by Endre and "Allergic" performed by Mimi Blix advanced to the Siste Sjansen round. Pernille & Marius later received a wildcard to compete in the Siste Sjansen round.
Semi-final 3
The third semi-final took place on 29 January 2011. "Dance Tonight" performed by The BlackSheeps and "Haba Haba" performed by Stella Mwangi qualified directly to the final, while "Nothing Remains" performed by Susperia and "Fire Below" performed by The Lucky Bullets advanced to the Siste Sjansen round.
''Siste Sjansen'' round
The Siste Sjansen round took place on 5 February 2011. "Alt du vil ha" performed by Sie Gubba and "Fire Below" performed by The Lucky Bullets advanced to the final.
Final
The final was held on 12 February 2011 at the Spektrum in Oslo. The six direct qualifiers and the two Siste Sjansen winners competed in the final, where 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: "Alt du vil ha" performed by Sie Gubba, "Fire Below" performed by The Lucky Bullets, "Dance Tonight" performed by The BlackSheeps and "Haba Haba" performed by Stella Mwangi. In the Gold Final, after combining the votes cast by the audience in the Spektrum, four regional juries from the hosts of the four semi-final cities and the results of the public televote by regions, this led to the victory of "Haba Haba" performed by Stella Mwangi with 280,217 votes.
At Eurovision
Norway competed in the first semi-final of the contest, on 10 May, performing second on the night, after Poland's Magdalena Tul and before Aurela Gaçe from Albania. Stella did not qualify, placing seventeenth with 30 points.
Split results
In the Semi-final 1 Norway came 17th with 30 points: the public awarded Norway 9th place with 56 points and the jury awarded 17th place with 29 points.
