This year’s Dansk Melodi Grand Prix was extra special because it coincided with my birthday. My friends planned a viewing party in Copenhagen which was filled with tons laughter, music, food, and alcohol! Although I wanted to watch it live, the viewing party was something that is meant for the record books. Besides, DGMP (and Eurovision) is always better seen with friends.
The Jysk Bank Box in Herning hosted the 49th edition of this song competition. It was hosted by Johannes Nymark (his third time in a row) and Kristian Gintberg. The ever famous Stig Rossen and Jesper Groth were featured in videos talking to the contestants before they took over the spotlight with their songs. This year’s format was similar to the recent years’: the same stage set-up, ten songs competing for the 3 spots in the superfinal, the top three songs sing again to determine the eventual winner, and juries and public votes share half of the of percentages in the total points.
The top three songs that went to the superfinal were “Say My Name” by Sigmund (song number 5), “League of Light” by Julie and Nina (song number 7), and “Love is Forever” by Leonora (song number 9). At the end of the night, “Love is Forever” was declared the winner of the competition, therefore, having the right to represent Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest in May. The following day, DR released the official results given by the juries and the public. It turns out that “Love is Forever” was favored the most by the juries, while the public voted “League of Light” as their favorite. The juries designated “Say My Name” and “League of Light” as second and third place respectively. Meanwhile, “Love is Forever” and “Say My Name” had the second and third most number of votes respectively. This year’s competition can still be considered as a very close fight with Leonora having 42% of the total votes while Julie and Nina garnered 35%.
I consider “Love is Forever” a light, fresh, and sweet jazzy song that is uplifting and bubbly enough for anyone not to dislike it. I can see this song pulling the heartstrings of the younger audience, but this can be forgettable in the Eurovision stage. I just wish that there is more to look forward to for this song, aside from Leonora’s warm voice, the humungous chair, and the added French lyrics. Who knows, those three components might just be what Denmark needs to get everyone’s attention and votes. Truth be told, simple can get far in Eurovision. When I asked my Danish friends and colleagues what they felt about their song, I did not hear negative comments either. They are contented with their choice and hopeful that this will be in the finals of Eurovision.
Denmark will be performing in the first half of the second semifinal and I wish Leonara and Denmark all the luck!