Photo: Jørn Dalchow.
Seven TONO members are in the running to be this year's Eurovision entry from Ireland, San Marino and Malta. The three songs were written during the TONO-sponsored songwriting camp Rena Song Fest.
/ 06/02/2025 / Kristian DugstadThree songs written at the Norwegian songwriting camp Rena Song Fest in the summer of 2024 have been selected as contributions to the national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025.
The songs will compete to represent Ireland, Malta and San Marino respectively. Seven of the songwriters behind these entries are TONO members.
The verdict is already out this weekend in two of the countries. Norwegian Emmy Kristine Guttulsrud Kristiansen, known by the stage name EMMY, is ready for the Irish Eurovision Song Contest tomorrow, Friday, February 7th.
– I have been a Eurovision fan since I was little, and I am so grateful to have entered that bubble where we have the common goal of trying to write for this great competition that I have loved since I was a child, says Emmy Kristine Guttulsrud Kristiansen.
This is not her first encounter with the Eurovision world. Kristiansen has participated in both MGP jr. in 2015 and with the song Witch Woods in MGP in 2021. This year she will both perform and be one of the songwriters behind the song Laika Party.
– I am so honored to have made it to the Irish final. It is exciting to see how they do it here compared to Norway, and I am incredibly grateful to experience both, she says.
Just over 2500 kilometers away, Håvard Haugland is in Malta. He is the producer and one of the songwriters behind the song Breaking the Cycle who is competing to be the Mediterranean island's Eurovision entry. He himself is not on stage, and can only sit back and see if it comes through the eye of the needle,
– It's great fun to be included in a national selection, and just as fun to see that the camp was as successful as it was – regardless of how far we get. I've done what I can on the songwriter and producer side, the writing and production side, so now it's just a matter of letting the artists do the work, says Harn.
Norwegian EMMY performs in Ireland's Eurosong 2025 with the song "Laika Party". Behind the song are TONO members Emmy Kristine Guttulsrud Kristiansen, Erlend Guttulsrud Kristiansen, Henrik Østlund, Truls Marius Aarra and Jonas H. Jensen, as well as Irish Larissa Tormey.
EMMY is one of six finalists competing to win Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest tomorrow, Friday 7th February, during The Late Late Show on RTÉ.
In Malta, Miguel Bonello performs with the song Breaking the Cycle, written and produced by TONO member Håvard Haugland, together with Annemarie Gruenert, Ivo Blahunek and Miguel Bonello himself.
The song will compete in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest 2025's 2nd Semi-Final tonight, February 6. The final will be held on Saturday, February 8 on TVM.
In San Marino, the artist performs Farmacy with the song "BÆD", written by TONO member Tina Janina Malmstrøm, together with Chris Endrey, Alessia Mathis, and Julie Sandrib Bjørnevik.
The entry is part of the San Marino Song Contest 2025 and competes in the fifth of 7 semi-finals. The final will take place on March 8 on San Marino RTV.
The song has not been released yet.
The text continues below the image.
Last June, Rena Song Fest brought together 154 songwriters and artists from 32 countries at Rena in Åmot in the Norwegian inland countryside. The initiators are the Norwegian music companies The Woods, daWorks, BYRÅ and Song Farm, and the project is sponsored by, among others, TONO, Musikkforleggerne, and NOPA.
The goal was precisely to create contributions to the Eurovision Song Contest and over the course of four days, 106 new songs were written. In other words, the interest has been enormous.
– MGP and Eurovision have been on NRK for as long as one can remember, and reach an incredible number of people. Many people have memories of it from when they were little, so when it has become a trend in recent years to arrange songwriting camps directly aimed at Eurovision, I think many people will open their eyes, says Emmy Kristine Guttulsrud Kristiansen.
Interest in Eurovision is constantly growing among Norwegian songwriters. In 2024, Norwegians Linda Dale and Lasse Midtsian Nymann were part of the songwriting team behind Switzerland's winning song The Code.
This year we have eggs in even more baskets.
– I think we are successful in Norway primarily because the level of songs being written is generally high, but also not least because the entrepreneurial ability is great and the infrastructure for international collaboration is solid. It also means that you have more tickets in the lottery and that the chance of winning increases, since the songwriting team is international, says Håvard Haugland.
In addition to being able to enjoy Norwegian songwriter success abroad, one of the biggest benefits of camps like Rena Song Fest is that it creates a platform for international collaboration.
– Making music is a team sport, he emphasizes.
We look forward to following the Norwegian songwriters further in the competition and wish all participants good luck!