The second semi final of MGP 2010, the Norwegian national selection for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest is about to be held. Another seven acts will compete for two spots in the grand final.

How to watch?

A webcast will be made available by NRK for international viewers here. The webcast will only be working once the shows starts.

The participants

Composer/Lyricist in brackets.

1. Venke Knutson – Jealous 'cause I love you
   (Laila Samuelsen, Alexander Kronlund, Lucas Hilbert)
2. Skanksters – Life is here today
   (Arne Hovda)
3. Tomine Harket – Be good to me
   (Tommy La Verdi, Peter Ställmark)
4. Hanne Haugsand – Don't stop
   (Mariann Thomassen, Lars Erik Westby)
5. Maria Arredondo – The touch
   (Rolf Løvland)
6. Heine Totland – The best of me is you
   (Heine Totland, Hans Petter Aaserud, Arne Hovda)
7. Alexander Stenerud – Give it to me
   (Alexander Stenerud)

Your opinion

• You can vote for your favourite song in our poll here.

LIVE

The show is starting!

The hosts do what hosts usually do: They welcome the audience.

1. Venke Knutson – Jealous 'cause I love you

Current esctoday.com poll result: 1st (30.9%)

The first song tonight is for the lovers of the good old Europop. Venke presents herself as a queen, an image that is frequently used for songs of this genre. This is a catchy song with a suiting performance, which could well be classified "trashy", but in a very charming and sweet way. The vocals are almost flawless and Venke's voice works very well with this kind of music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2WLBr7Q5p0

2. Skanksters – Life is here today

Current esctoday.com poll result: 5th (4.7%)

The show continues with a classic showtune, which is to set the audience in the mood to swing. The vocal performance is very strong and the whole band is obviuosly enjoying the time on stage a lot. The performance is energetic although it does not include many visual effects, which probably works best with this kind of music. Generally, it still has to be mentioned that show tunes have not done very well in the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9w370NMdN68

3. Tomine Harket – Be good to me

Current esctoday.com poll result: 4th (8.1%)

Finally it is time for a very classic ballad. Tomine is accompanied by a pianist and the whole stageis turned in dark colours, which creates a very classy atmosphere. The singer delivers a flawless and very emotional vocal performance. Her voice reminds of Norwegian singer Marit Larsen, who scored a hit in almost everywhere in Europe last year. Generally a strong entry that might profit from the fact that it is one of the few songs in its style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTtlPOcufBQ

4. Hanne Haugsand – Don't stop

Current esctoday.com poll result: 6th (4.0%)

Hanne Haugsand represented Norway in the 2000 Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm as part of the group Charmed. Her song can easily be classified Eurodance. It starts of calmly but gains power as it continues. The choreography is classic and suits the song very well. The vocals suit the kind of music but hte whole act might not be spectacular enough to qualify for the final.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLBx_mIFC9g

5. Maria Arredondo – The touch

Current esctoday.com poll result: 2nd (26.8%)

Maria performs a song written by the man who wrote two of Norway's three winning songs. She is welcomed enthusiastically by the audience. She performs another one of the few classy ballad in the line-up and the performance is very strong. This song and performance are similar to the third entry tonight (although it is more "perfect"), but she might well win the ballad vote over Tomine thanks to her popularity in Norway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O42qDFhEwA4

6. Heine Totland – The best of me is you

Current esctoday.com poll result: 7th (2.7%)

Another energetic show song with a nostalgic charme. The performance is energetic and the vocals are flawless. Nevertheless, the song might lack some of the charme similar songs in this stlye had previously shown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvDKuWaroww

7. Alexander Stenerud – Give it to me

Current esctoday.com poll result: 3rd (22.8%)

Alexander presents yet another catchy pop song with electronic influences. Again, the performance is kept simple but works very well with the song. The vocals are strong. This is definitely a favourite for the final, but the song might not be a top favourite for the victory considering that the singer missed out on the ticket for Moscow last year with a very similar effort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4dBdAaVmxU

This concludes tonight's performances.

Our poll will be closed in five minutes.

Our poll is closed now. You can find the updated results above.

The results are in!

Venke Knutson to second chance round!

Heine Totland to second chance round!

Alexander Stenerud to the final!

Maria Arredondo to the final!