WHEN?: 7pm UK time Saturday 6 March 2021
WHERE?: DR Studio 5, Copenhagen
HOW TO WATCH?: via DR
We haven’t properly loved a Danish Eurovision entry since we were in Copenhagen to hear the audience raise the roof off the Parken in response to Rollo and King’s Never Ever Let You Go in 2001 which came so close to retaining the crown.
- Read on for reasons including who we think will win and how each song would do at Eurovision
But this year there are at least 2 songs in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix which we’re really enjoying the recorded versions of and are very much looking forward to seeing how they are realised in live performance.
Fyr & Flamme Øve os på hinanden (Practice on each other) (Laurits Emanuel) OUR RANKING: 1st ESC PREDICTION: 1st to 5th
This was our song of the month in February and we said then: ‘The chorus in particular is a riotous bop with a joyous stomping quality that we can see going down an absolute storm in Rotterdam during the world’s biggest singing competition.’
Despite being straight out of the 80s, thanks to The Weeknd it’s actually a very now sound and if the vocal is good and the presentation right we have this down along with KEiiNO (until Norway went for TIX, of course) as a potential Eurovision winner. It’s the reason why we’re writing this preview and their two previous songs, hits in their homeland, single the band out as something special to watch and savour even if they don’t get the ticket to Rotterdam.
The Cosmic Twins Silver Bullet (Lise Cabble, Gisli Gislason, Rasmus Duelund, August Emil) OUR RANKING: 2nd ESC PREDICTION: 11th to 15th
Pictured above real-life twins Alec and Chris remind of Jedward to these eyes but their sound here is once again 80s retro and while we would normally baulk at the sax solo that ushers us into this tune, it’s actually lots of fun and dancefloor-friendly at the cheesier end of the spectrum. Co-writer Cabble had a credit the last time Denmark won Eurovision which coincidentally was 2013 in Malmo, the last of our 10 visits to Eurovision finals.
Emma Nicoline Står lige he (Stands straight hey) (Jeppe Pilgaard, Jacob Jørgensen, Emma Nicoline Winther Nielsen, Adam Kalwa, Patricia Namakula Mbabazi) OUR RANKING: 3rd ESC PREDICTION: 11th to 15th
Melodic Europop which reminds of Robyn and is heavy on the keyboards is always a favourite of ours. Half of the songs in this selection are in their native tongue and this is no less powerful for that.
Chief 1 & Thomas Buttenschøn Højt over skyerne (High above the clouds) (Chief 1, Thomas Buttenschøn, Nermin Harambasic) OUR RANKING: 4th ESC PREDICTION: 11th to 15th
These 2 musicians are known in their own right and this starts as an upbeat slice of Motown-influenced pop. It boasts soulful vocals and a Phil Spector/Lenny Kravitz sound which endears it to these ears.
Jean Michel Beautiful (Clara Sofie Fabricius, Johannes Nymark, Jesper Hjersing Sidelmann, Andreas Jensen) OUR RANKING: 5th ESC PREDICTION: 16th to 20th
This former X-Factor contestant is fronting a rather generic entry with by-numbers lyrics which is pleasant yet undemanding fare. We can see why it made this list because it’s middle-of-the-road and professionally rendered yet for us is lacking the kind of spark we’d be looking for to be truly remarkable.
Claudia Campagnol Abracadabra (Melanie Wehbe, Emil Lei, Louis Jarto) OUR RANKING: 6th ESC PREDICTION: 21st to 26th
Boasts songwriters who were contributors to the Eurovision entries for both Denmark and Sweden last year. For us it’s a little ponderous piano ballad which is nowhere near as magical as its title might suggest.
Mike Tramp Everything Is Alright (Mike Tramp) OUR RANKING: 7th ESC PREDICTION: non-qualifier
Tramp was born Michael Trempanau and is a Danish singer/songwriter who is best known for his work with hard rock bands White Lion and Freak Of Nature. He has released several solo albums since 1998 and his last, Maybe Tomorrow, topped the chart in Denmark. This reminds us of the undemanding Ronan Keating-like material that has so characterised Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in recent years.
Nanne Olivia Hvileløse hjerte (Restless Heart) (Anna David, Nicolai Levring, Casper Sørensen) OUR RANKING: 8th ESC PREDICTION: non-qualifier
Plodding middle-of-the-road pop which was always going to struggle when not sung in a language we fully understand.
monstagigz 
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