Magne and Morten first announced the a-ha talent grant at a press conference on 1 March

New details about the a-ha talent grant competition in Norway have been announced today. Instead of having the bands and artists themselves signing up to be nominated, the candidates will be nominated by a jury consisting of a-ha and six other people from the music industry. The jury currently has a list of around 30 bands and artists that will be reduced to 8 finalists over the next month or so – 2 from each part of the country (Northern- and Mid-Norway, Western Norway, Southern Norway and Eastern Norway).

a-ha have teamed up with Norway’s largest newspaper VG for this, and the 8 finalists will compete against each other at the “VG Lista” summer shows that are held in various cities every year. The 4 lucky winners will then be decided by the Norwegian people, who can vote by SMS or online at VG Nett.

“It’s really cool that the audience can participate, and that we’re making this as fun as possible for as many as possible“, Magne tells VG today.

In addition to one million kroner and a support gig for a-ha, the winning bands/artists are given newspaper ads in VG worth one million kroner.

“We’re looking for a combination of distinct artistic expression and a confident attitude – and we think it’d be really fun if we end up with artists that are more of a fresh breath of air than just obvious favorites to win“, Magne says.

This is the jury of six people that will assist a-ha in choosing the eight finalists:
– Tone Lise Skagefoss (Norway) – music journalist and former judge on Norwegian Idol
– Øystein Ronander (Norway) – works for by:Larm and Bureau Storm
– Kristian Riis (Denmark) – manager and musician in the Danish band Nephew
– Martin Terefe (Sweden) – London-based producer and Apparatjik-member
– Marie Dimberg (Sweden) – manager of the band Roxette
– Markus Hartmann (Germany) – head of A & R at Starwatch Records