The artists competing for the Wildcard in Melodi Grand Prix 2026 will be revealed today, while applications close in San Marino for their national selection. In addition, the fifth song competing to represent Finland in Vienna

🇳🇴 Norway – Melodi Grand Prix 2026 – Wildcard Participants
Source: ESC Norge

The eight artists who are competing for the final spot in Melodi Grand Prix 2026 will be revealed by NRK today. The ninth and final finalist will be decided through a radio duel between eight artists on Nitimen, where the audience will vote for their favourite. This ninth finalist will be chosen on January 26

The announcement comes a day after NRK revealed the eight acts pre-qualified for the Melodi Grand Prix final, which are:

Alexander Rybak – “Rise”
Emma – “Northern Lights”
Hedda Mae – “Snap Back”
Jonas Lovv – “Ya Ya Ya”
Leonardo Amor – “Prayer”
Mileo – “Frankenstein”
Silke – “Forevermore”
Storm – “Lullaby”

🇸🇲 San Marino – Dreaming San Marino Song Contest – Applications Close
Image Source: Dreaming San Marino Song Contest

Today is the last day for artists to apply to represent San Marino at the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna, Austria.

Casting is currently underway and will be used to determine the artists who progress to the ‘Stage & Live Academy’ phase. The ‘Stage & Live Academy’ phase will be formed of eight sessions, with 30 singers in each session. To participate in this phase participants must pay a fee of €150.00, unless the participant is from San Marino, then they will pay €50.00. Singers at this phase may only compete with one song. From each session, a jury will select five singers to qualify for the semi-finals of the San Marino Song Contest. They will then compete in two semi-finals on March 2 and 3, formed of 20 singers each, and five acts from each semi-final will qualify for the final.

The final of the San Marino Song Contest 2026 will be held on March 6. 20 acts will compete, ten from the Dreaming San Marino Song Contest and ten established acts who are prequalified for the final. The winner will be determined by a five-member jury.

🇫🇮 Finland: Antti Paalanen – “Takatukka” – Release – 23:00 CET
Image source: Yle/Miska Voinoff

The fifth song competing in UMK 2026 will be released this evening. Antti Paalanen is competing with “Takatukka” (Back hair). Antti has been performing since 1990 and is best known as a folk performer. The song will be released alongside its official music video on the UMK YouTube channel.