Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004

Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "High" written by Thomas Thörnholm, Lars Andersson and Danne Attlerud. The song was performed by Knut Anders Sørum. The Norwegian broadcaster Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK) organised the national final Melodi Grand Prix 2004 in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. Twelve entries competed in a show that took place on 6 March 2004 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, "High" performed by Knut Anders Sørum was selected as the winner with 82,427 votes.

As one of ten highest placed finishers in the 2003 contest, Norway directly qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 15 May 2004. Performing in position 3, Norway placed twenty-fourth (last) out of the 24 participating countries with 3 points.

Background
Prior to the 2003 contest, Norway had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 42 times since its first entry in. 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" (zero points) in the contest, the latter being a record the nation shared together with Austria. The country had finished last nine times and had failed to score a point during four contests.

The Norwegian national broadcaster, Norsk rikskringkasting (NRK), broadcasts the event within Norway and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. NRK confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest on 8 September 2003. 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 revealed details regarding their selection procedure and announced the organization of Melodi Grand Prix 2004 in order to select the 2004 Norwegian entry.

Melodi Grand Prix 2004
Melodi Grand Prix 2004 was the 42nd edition of the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix and selected Norway's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The show took place on 6 March 2004 at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, hosted by Ivar Dyrhaug and televised on NRK1. The national final was watched by 1.228 million viewers in Norway with a market share of 75%.

Competing entries
A submission period was opened by NRK between 8 September 2003 and 1 October 2003. 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. At the close of the deadline, 521 submissions were received. Twelve songs were selected for the competition and the competing acts and songs were revealed on 13 February 2004 during a press conference at NRK studios.

Final
Twelve songs competed during the final on 6 March 2004. The winner was selected over two rounds of regional televoting. In the first round, the results of the public televote were divided into Norway's five regions and each region distributed points as follows: 1–8, 10 and 12 points. The top four entries were selected to proceed to the second round, the Gold Final, where the results of the public televote were revealed by Norway's five regions based on their actual voting figures and led to the victory of "High" performed by Knut Anders Sørum with 82,427 votes.

At Eurovision
It was announced that the competition's format would be expanded to include a semi-final in 2004. According to the rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the 2003 contest are required to qualify from the semi-final in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. As Norway finished fourth in the 2003 contest, the nation automatically qualified to compete in the final on 15 May 2004. On 23 March 2004, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order and Norway was set to perform in position 3 in the final, following the entry from Austria and before the entry from France. Norway placed twenty-fourth (last) in the final, scoring 3 points. This was the tenth time Norway finished last in the final.

In Norway, the semi-final was broadcast on NRK2 and the final was broadcast on NRK1. Both shows featured commentary by Jostein Pedersen. NRK1 also broadcast the semi-final on a two hour and 40 minute delay, while the final was also broadcast via radio on NRK P1. The Norwegian spokesperson, who announced the Norwegian votes during the final, was Ingvild Helljesen.

Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Norway and awarded by Norway in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the semi-final and to Sweden in the final of the contest.