History is being written as the first-ever representative from the Faroe Islands claims a spot at Eurovision by winning Dansk Melodi Grand Prix! His song “Breaking My Heart” got a great reception from the juries and ended with 43% of the combined Televote and Jury-vote.
You can listen to the winning song here:
Reiley: Real name Rani Petersen, is a 20-year-old born and raised on the Faroe Islands. He gained recent fame on TikTok through promoting his songs and preparations for DMGP. The popularity that he has seen on TikTok is not to be taken lightly with his account currently having well over 10 million followers. His debut single “Let it Ring” came out in 2021 and landed him a record deal shortly after.
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix is decided 50% by the televoters and 50% by a national jury, similar to the ESC final in Liverpool. The national jury of Denmark consisted of Cutfather, Annika Aakjær, Anders SG, Ole Tøpholm (a former Danish Eurovision commentator), and 2013’s Eurovision winner Emmelie de Forrest.
Eight songs vied for the title of DMGP 2023 winner, including:
- Frederik Leopold – Stuck On You
- EYJAA – I Was Gonna Marry Him
- Micky Skeel – Glansbillede
- maia maia – Beautiful Bullshit
- Nicklas Sonne – Freedom
- Mariyah LeBerg – Human
- Søren Torpegaard Lund – Lige Her
- Reiley – Breaking My Heart
Following a lengthy and confusing announcement of the votes, which left both the audience in the arena and those watching at home puzzled, three songs advanced to the much-anticipated superfinal:
Remarkably, today’s show also gave us a chance to hear from Kalush Orchestra, the winners of last year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Torino. They came by the DMGP stage in Næstved to “spread hope for Ukraine” and sing their winning song “Stefania.”
The final counting of votes happened very quickly and was ready on time. Reiley claimed the victory with 43% of the superfinal votes, while Nicklas Sonne’s metal song came 2nd with the best televote score and 34% of the votes. 3rd was Micky Skeels song performed in Danish with 23%.
Are #YOU on team Reiley for Eurovision? Can this song get Denmark back to the Eurovision finals? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our discord, or on our forum!
