Eurovision 2026: Meet Norway's Jonas Lovv and his song Ya Ya Ya
- Emma Garrie
- Apr 17
- 4 min read
We profile Norway's 2026 entry including details on the artist, song, how it was chosen, odds, fan reaction and how the nation has fared at Eurovision.
Norway has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 63 times since its debut in 1960, missing only two editions—1970, when it joined a boycott over voting system disagreements, and 2002, when it was relegated.
They have since won the contest three times: in 1985 with La det swinge by Bobbysocks, in 1995 with Nocturne by Secret Garden, and in 2009 with Alexander Rybak's Fairytale.
In total, Norway has 12 top-five and 27 top-ten finishes in the contest, however they also have the distinction of finishing last in the Eurovision final more than any other country, and along with Austria, have received zero points in the contest on four occasions; in 1963, 1978, 1981 and 1997. Their best result in recent years was Alessandra's 5th place with Queen of Kings in 2023.
Flying the Norwegian flag at Eurovision 2026 in Vienna is singer songwriter Jonas Lovv with his song Ya Ya Ya.
You can find out more about Jonas and his song below!
2026 entry: Jonas Lovv - Ya Ya Ya
Jonas Lovv will perform 15th in semi-final 2
My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 25th
Odds to win ranking: 20th
(Rankings as of 16 April 2026)
About the artist
Not coming from a musical family, Bergen based Jonas Lovv Hellesøy, 31, got in to music after admiring some older kids at school who were involved in the school band and musical.
He first participated in auditions for the Norwegian version of Idol in 2014 as frontman for synth-pop trio Shuffle Baby. The band remained active until 2020, releasing several singles before disbanding as pandemic lockdown guidelines made it difficult for them to record and perform.
Jonas used this time to launch a solo career, releasing a number of singles before auditioning for The Voice – Norges beste stemme (Season 10) in 2025. Making it all the way to the semi-finals, Lovv was coached by international songwriter Espen Lind who also mentored Alessandra Mele on the show in 2022. Alessandra went on to represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023 with Queen of Kings, placing 5th in the Grand Final.
Jonas has a wife and 2 and a half year old son to whom he plays his new music in the car to see how he likes it before its release!
Jonas spent last summer as a live performer on some of Norway’s largest festival stages before participating in Melodi Grand Prix this year. He is known for his authentic and high-energy performance style, often encouraging audiences to be themselves and not worry about external judgement.
About the song
Ya Ya Ya is a guitar heavy rock song written by Jonas Lovv and produced by Sondre Skaftum. It was released on 26 January 2026, and will represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest after winning Melodi Grand Prix 2026. The song has reached number sixteen on the Norwegian Singles Chart. Skaftum was one of the electric guitar players appearing on stage with Jonas during his final performance.
About Ya Ya Ya, Jonas says -
"I don't really love to talk about what it's about because it might ruin your experience of the song. For me it's about going to have a coffee you know...for that guy or that guy it might be love and heartbreak so I don't want to ruin your experience by telling you the real meaning behind it."
How was Jonas Lovv chosen for Eurovision?
Jonas Lovv was chosen for Eurovision after winning Melodi Grand Prix, Norway's national selection program for the Eurovision Song Contest.
A submission period was opened by broadcaster NRK between 20 June and 1 September 2025. Each song had to have at least one Norwegian songwriter, and each songwriter could submit a maximum of three songs. In addition to the public call for submissions, NRK directly invited certain artists and composers to submit songs. A total of 16 songs were selected for the competition: eight songs that qualified directly for the final and an additional eight songs that would battle for the last spot as part of the MGP-cupen (MGP Cup) on the NRK P1 radio program. The directly qualified competing acts and songs were revealed on 19 January 2026 during a press conference at NRK's studio 1, while the acts competing in MGP-cupen were revealed on 20 January 2026.
MGP-cupen took place between 20 and 26 January 2026. Eight songs competed over three rounds of duels and the winning entry qualified to the second stage, which was the final, on 28 February 2026, joining the eight pre-qualified finalists. The results of MGP-cupen were determined exclusively by public online voting through NRK's official website while viewers could also cast their votes online during the final.
The nine finalists then took part in the final of Melodi Grand Prix 2026 on 28 February 2026 at the Håkons Hall in Lillehammer.
Norway will compete in semi-final 2 of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest on 14 May 2026 in Vienna.
For continued updates on all Eurovision Song Contest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram. All the links can be found at: https://linktr.ee/aussievisionnet
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