Emmelie de Forest wins the Danish selection and will be performing ‘Only Teardrops’ in Malmo

Melissa was fortunate enough to go the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix today. She has just sent us this fantastic report! Thanks so much Melissa!

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Fighting off a last minute challenge from Mohammed Ali, the drum heavy folk track from Emmeli de Forest “Only Teardrops” managed to score the televote majority after levelling with the ‘Unbreakable’ singer during the Jury vote.

The stage at Boxen arena takes some inspiration from Baku, with geometric LED’s, a diamond stage on an angle and a green room set up inside the floor area surrounded by the audience.

The opening act of DMGP was that of a children’s choir singing at first a choral rendition of ‘Te Deum’ which then turned into a high tempo number, where the 3 hosts of the evening were introduced Charlie’s Angels style.

Performing in first place was Frederikke with Jeg har hele tiden vidst det. Dressed in jeans, a simple white shirt and a black jacket, she was accompanied by, at first a dancing couple, then later by three backing singers. At one point during the performance, what looked like white tulle surrounded Frederikke and her singers during the climax of the performance. It wasn’t the strongest start of the contest song-wise, especially since the high note was weak, but her performance garnered a decent cheer from the Herning audience.

The next entry to follow was the face and voice many fans would recognise. Having previously performed ‘Believe Again’ at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Niels Brinck took to the stage with his own self penned track, ‘Human’. The presentation was at first kept simple, Brinck dressed in head-to-toe black, starting off playing just his guitar, but then the backing track kicked in, Brinck started walking on a treadmill and the backing singers joining him only at the end of the performance. As much as I liked the song, and thought that it was quite well written, it did sound a bit overproduced, and I think if he had just performed on stage with just a guitar and with minimal backing track then ‘Human’ would have been able to stand out more from the many high tempo entries of the night.

The next performer to take the stage was Kate Hall with ‘I’m not alone’. She starts off her performance in a white cloak, then as the song builds momentum she is lowered down from a high platform and reveals a red halter neck minidress with a floor-length train, taking full advantage of the wind machine. She is accompanied on stage by two female and one male dancer. The choreography is a little busy, but the performance makes a huge impact on the audience and Kate rouses the best audience response so far of the night.

Louise Dubiel is up next with Rejs Dig Op, the only other song performed in Danish seen tonight. Dressed in a white jumpsuit and accompanied by four male backing singers, all holding up illuminated drums, her lack of Dansk MGP experience doesn’t seem to faze her as she pulls off a confident performance and one of the better vocals of the night. The reaction from the audience seems to be quite muted however, and I don’t think Louise will be challenging others for the top three slots.

Performing in fifth position are 90’s Eurodance group Daze with ‘We own the Universe’. On stage, amongst other things, there is a Keytar, pyrotechnics and top hat, however the biggest drawcard to the entry is the writing team of Thomas G:son and Peter Bostrom, who of course penned last years winning ESC entry ‘Euphoria’. The song itself is pure unapologetic pop, and Daze give it their all and the audience given equally positive response. Unfortunately with many high tempo songs in this year’s contest, as well as the big favourite performing straight after, ‘We own the Universe’ may also find themselves out of the top three.

The big favourite (according to the official DR website) is next with Simone performing ‘Stay Awake’. Her outfit for the night is a nude coloured mini dress adorned with rhinestones, and she is supported on stage by three backing dancers dressed in white dress variations. Vocally she was a bit off during the bridge, but as the song it the climatic end she hit the notes she needed to and had the best reactions from the audience of the night.

Performing next is Jack Rowan, feat. Sam Gray with ‘Invincible’. On stage there’s a lot of pyrotechnics and masked female dancers, but Jack Rowan stands out the most in a dark monochrome outfit with his trademark white mask. The song is a great track, and probably won’t be heard out of place at a trance club, but may be a bit lost and repetitive to some viewers at home. It also warranted the most muted reaction from the audience, and if they were all young 20-something’s it might have gone down great, but with many kids, parents and elderly in the audience, the reaction was understandable.

Following the due is what many consider to be the underdog entry of the night: Emmelie de Forest with ‘Only Teardrops’, and my personal favourite of the contest. Emmelie is dressed in a very simple, white, unfitted dress and she is accompanied on stage with a flautist, backing singers and drummers. Her voice is very Ellie Goulding like – breathy but strong, and distinct from anything on offer tonight. It garnered the best reaction from the fan club section, but the audience proper still need convincing.

Albin is up next performing ‘Beautiful to Me’. He starts off on stage alone and is later joined by a sole female dancer, both are dressed in black, and honestly there isn’t much change in costuming between Albin and Niels Brinck. He does however give the best male vocal of the night, and considering where it is in the running order could prove a surprise qualifier.

The final performance of the night is by Mohammed Ali with ‘Unbreakable’. He too is dressed in all black (seems to be the going theme for male performers tonight) and starts off his song solo on stage, to be later joined by 3 backing dancers dressed in white shirts, black pants and black hoods. As far as the song goes, it’s very well produced, and the choreography is spot on, but Mohammed’s vocals were very weak during the high notes. It still made the audience jump to their feet at the end and this could be the Danish flag bearer in Malmö.

The hosts, presenters Louise Wolff, Lise Rønne and actress Sofie Lassen-Kahlke, are dressed in varying black dresses for the business end of the night, and there is a somewhat humorous interval where the hosts of next week’s Junior MGP are trying to hog the stage clearly meant for the MGP all stars.

The superfinal qualifiers were Simona, Emmelie and Mohammed Ali. The other 7 acts immediately started pouring the booze in the green room, their task for the night all but over.

Onto the Superfinal – Simona actually performed better, and there was a very timely crotch shot! Emmelie gave a very strong performance, and whilst the audience reaction was still somewhat muted for Simona, they found their voice when Emmelie took the stage. Mohammed still had the fangirl demographic rooting for him though, but his vocals were still just as weak.

During the Superfinal interval, first Brotherhood of Man took to the stage, then the Herreys, then Johnny Logan and to no one’s surprise, they all got the standing ovation of the night.

So we then proceeded with the results, and firstly the jury points are announced. For a moment they’re totally going Emmelie’s way, then the last 2 jury members left Denmark in suspense when they put Emmelie last and Mohammed first, pitting them neck and neck for the televotes. But eventually they put through the stronger vocals though, and its Emmelie who has won the (train) ticket to Malmö!

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Thanks again Melissa! What do you think of Denmark’s representative to Malmo!?