THIS YEAR'S ENTRY

Despite being two time Eurovision winners, Norway is probably still more famous for their string of "nil points" and last place finishes. Recent years haven't been kind to Norwegian entries, with only one Top 5 finish in the last decade.

Despite the run of poor results, Norwegian broadcaster NRK, decided to repeat the same formula as recent years, with three semi-finals held in regional cities and a "second chance" show, before eight songs progressed to the final held on February 9th at the Spektrum in Oslo, the venue of the 1996, Eurovision Song Contest. There were two rounds of voting, in the first round, televoting decided the top four, while in the second round the winner was chosen by three regional juries and televoting. The clear winner was the song "Hold On, Be Strong", sung by former Idols discovery Maria Haukaas Storeng.

Maria was born in the north of Norway on the 3rd of August in 1978. Maria was born in Finnsnes, but grew up in Senja, in Troms county, Norway. She started singing at a very early age. She was only 5 years old the first time she took part in a concert in her hometown. At the age of 11 she played the part as orphan Annie in the major production of the musical hit show of the same name. Some years later she played Dorothy in the classic musical "The Wizard Of Oz" at Det Norske Teatret. Maria went on to  participate in a number of theatrical and musical productions, such as "Fame", "Hamlet", "Hair" and "Peer Gynt". In 2002, she sung in "Thank You For The Music", a tribute to 1974 Eurovision winners ABBA. 

Maria has also worked on the Norwegian version of several film soundtracks. She sang "Ta Den Ut" on the soundtrack of "Chicken Little" and she provided the voice of Rapunsel on the 2007 film "Shrek The Third". On television she sang the theme tune to the series "Kim Possible" and appeared as herself on the "Heia Tufte" a reality show tracking the fortunes of an amateur football team.

Maria initially became a household name after participating in the television show "Pop Idol" in Norway in 2004. She came sixth, and is remembered for her big voice and strong personality. She took part in the Idol Tour 2004, along with other contestants in the Top 10. 

A year later Maria released her debut solo album "Breathing" which peaked at # 13 on the Norwegian album charts. She went on a four month national tour to promote the album. The single "Breathing" peaked at # 5 and was certified Gold in Norway, while the follow-up "Should've" peaked at # 20. 

Following the victory of "Hold On, Be Strong" in the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix, the song was released as a single in Norway and rapidy climbed to the top of the charts, becoming Maria's most sucessful single to date. "Hold On, Be Strong" is also the title track of Maria's second album, which has been recording over the past few months and which will be relesed before Maria competes in Belgrade. 

"Hold On Be Strong" is written and composed by Mira Craig, herself a successful recording artist. Mira was born in Oslo in 1982, her father being an African American from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. At age 15 she started writing her own songs. In 2000, Mira made headlines at "Quartfestivalen", a Norwegian music festival, when Wyclef Jean pulled her up on stage. American rap artist Snoop Dogg also took interest in her in 2005 at the same festival, and has since used one of her songs on his compilation, Welcome to tha Chuuch: Da Album. On January 21st, 2006, Craig won the Newcomer of The Year award at "Alarm-prisen," a Norwegian music awards show. Also in 2006, reader's of Norwegian publication Mann Magazine voted Mira "Female of the Year".

Norway's entry is considered to be one of the favourites to qualify from the first semi-final, if bookmakers' odds and fan polls are to be believed, with some fan pols showing it as a potential Top 10 finisher in the final.

SAMPLE LYRICS