Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-four times since its first entry in . Norway had won the contest on three occasions: in 1985 with the song "La det swinge" performed by Bobbysocks!, in 1995 with the song "Nocturne" performed by Secret Garden and in 2009 with the song "Fairytale" performed by Alexander Rybak. Norway also had the two dubious distinctions of having finished last in the Eurovision final more than any other country and for having the most "nul points" (zero points) in the contest, the latter being a record the nation shared together with Austria. The country
Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 competed in the first semi-final but failed to reach the final. Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Bulgaria and Bulgarian National Television (BNT) once again decided to produce a special show to pick the Bulgarian entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009, but in a different format than 2008's EuroBGVision. For 2009, a two-part process was used: the first part, "Be A Star", consisting of a nine heats and three monthly finals chose the participants for the "Bulgarian Song for Eurovision 2009" part which consisted of a semi-final and final and ultimately chose the Bulgarian entrant. The Bulgarian national