Godaften Europa! Good evening Europe ! Godmorgen Australien !

Tonight Denmark will decide who will represent them at this year’s Eurovision Song contest ,just across the Øresund bridge in Malmö,Sweden, in May . It’s worth remembering that the last time the contest was held in Malmö, in 2013 , Emmelie de Forest took Denmark to victory with “Only teardrops”. Can Denmark replicate that success this time around ? The last years haven’t been kind to them with three consecutive years of not reaching the Grand Final . Will tonight’s winning act be able to reverse their fortunes and get Denmark to the Grand Final for the first time since 2019 ?

Tonight , eight acts will compete for that golden ticket to Malmö in Denmark’s national final , Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, which will take place in Copenhagen , Denmark, hosted by Stephanie Surruge and Sara Bro . The contest will be split into two rounds of voting , with the public and jury each having 50% say . After the first round of voting , three acts will proceed to the second round ( Super Final) and then there will be a second round of voting, after which the winner will be announced .

The eight acts competing tonight are:

Saba -“Sand”

Stella-“Sign here”

Chuchu “The Chase ( Zoom Zoom)

Basim-“Johnny”

RoseeLu-“Real love”

Ublu -“Planetary Hearts”

Janus Wiberg- “I need your love”

Aura Dione-“MirrorBall of Hope”

#Joinus at Eurovision Ireland at 20.00 CET, 19.00 GMT as we bring you our #liveblog of all the action from Copenhagen. You know the drill by now , to follow our thoughts and comments as we go throughout the evening, all you need to do is to REFRESH THIS PAGE .

You can also watch the show for yourselves via Danish broadcaster, DR’s weblink HERE

LIVE BLOG STARTS HERE

It’s a long time until we start , but in the meantime, take a look back to last year when Reiley won the 2023 edition of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix with “Breaking my heart”. Sadly, he didn’t make the Grand Final in Liverpool,UK .

And welcome back ! In a few minutes. we’ll hopefully get the link up to Copenhagen to enable us to watch the show. Hopefully there won’t be any technical glitches, most of the ones I get tend to be when covering the Danish National Final !

Still waiting for the geoblock to be taken off the live link ! And we’re in !!! Finally !!

Starting off with introduction of our hosts , Sara and Stephanie! Quickest introduction I have sever seen to any hosts .

They explain the proceedings for this evening . Now I do know the Danish language , so hopefully that will help with coverage tonight .

Telling the audience they love them !! Then explain the voting procedure …by down load .And that the show is split into two parts, so two lots of voting !

Onto the first act already ! Saba

Saba -“Sand”

Saba is one the favourites to win this tonight . Big cheer from the crowd . Saba starts alone on stage with bright yellow spotlights behind her , smoke around her feet .She’s stood on a podium , dressed in a white trouser suit.Strobe effects to the maximum. Saba’s vocals are fine but I can’t help but feel some backing vocals would help to lift the power of the song . Very popular with the audience and a great opener but will need some work to transfer it across to the larger stage in Malmo if Saba gets there.

Taylor Swift and Arianda Grande are influences according to the writers of Saba’s song.

The obligatory chat with the fans in the audience !

Stella-“Sign here”

Next up is Stella .Starts off with backing singers singing “Sign here”. Stella is in black leather jacket , blond hair loose . She’s joined on stage by a guitarist and drummer .each on their own podium. I am not sure what to make of this. It’s a bit too repetitive for me, the song just seems to not go anywhere and there’s nothing in the performance that instantly grabs me enough to want to vote for it , which in a Semi final at ESC where there is televoting only , is vital if Denmark want to reach the grand final . It’s fine as a radio song but not really one for the ESC stage , me thinks .

Chuchu “The Chase ( Zoom Zoom)

Yes it’s spelt as CHU CHU not Choo choo ! :-). Oh my goodness,we have pink hair in pigtails held up by what looks like a couple of sticks ! There’s four backing dancers with Chu chu in large furry pink ugg type boots !! This is weird and very likely going to be the most novel of the entries tonight. Reminds me a bit of Silvia Knight ( Iceland 2006). I really think Europe will struggle with this , it’s a bit more like an anthemic chant than a song and although it’s different , it’s not in a good way. Sorry Chu Chu !

Basim-“Johnny”

This man needs no introduction, he represented Denmark in 2014 on home soil when they hosted the contest , coming a respectable 9th place with “Cliche love song”. His song tonight couldn’t be more different from his 2014 entry .There’s a dark background with LED effects not unlike those of Mans Zelmerlow in 2015 when he sang Heroes. The effects show grass, rain, musical notes. Basim, as expected doesn’t put a foot wrong with the vocals, musically the song is easy on the ear and he does engage well with the audience, in a similar way to his 2014 entry . The crowd are singing along to this . In with a good chance, me thinks , this could work well on the big stage in Malmo.

RoseeLu-“Real love”

Rosee starts off inside an LED . surrounded by four backing dancers dressed in grey oversize anoraks ! Rosee herself in a long green jacket, hair tied back.Again we have LED backdrops a la Måns Zelmerlow ..The performance itself is ok but again, I feel this is another one where it will need more than one listen to get any feel for the performance .

Ublu -“Planetary Hearts”

Sixth sing already ! The night is flying by . They name Loreen and and Basim as some of their favourite performers at Eurovision. Ahhhh, we have good old electro pop again !Takes me back to the 80’s . We have strobe effects , futuristic outfits . The song itself is a bit all over the place, difficult to work out what it’s supposed to be about . May appeal to younger ESC fans .

Janus Wiberg- “I need your love”

From Planetary hearts, we’re back down to earth with Janus Wiberg and a more down to earth song . In looks Janus reminds me a bit of James Newman but that’s where the similarity ends. He’s joined by backing musicians, singers , there’s smoke effects and LED backdrop of white smoke . It’s very anthemic and really quite uplifting. Janus’s vocals are spot on and he’s engaging the audience. This could work well in the way that Michael Schulte did for Germany in 2018 on the bigger stage. I liked it .

Aura Dione-“MirrorBall of Hope”

Apart from Basim , probably one of the most hi profile of tonight’s performers, she has already had success in France and Germany .Names Olsen brothers and Emmelie de Forest as her favourite ESC acts from Denmark. Aura is dressed in shiny pink, mermaid like outfit , sat on a large shiny ball on stage , which presumably is the mirrorball . She’s alone on stage , then slides off the ball and is joined by male backing dancers dressed as sailors. Interesting performance and that’s it , we have seen all the acts !!

So that’s it , we have seen the performances, it’s time to vote ! This round of voting decides which three acts go through to the Superfinal when we get a second round of voting .

We get a recap of tonight’s performances .What do you think? Who do you think will be the three to go through? I reckon Saba, Basim and Janus Wiberg, though Aura Dione may be in with a shout . Let’s see if I am right , which I rarely am ! I can’t remember the last time I got any of the three qualifiers right in previous editions of DMGP !!

Countdown to the end of voting…..Voting is closed !! We are just getting an interval film showing tonight’s artists during their preparations for DMGP .

Fyr og Flamme ( Denmark 2021 ) are the guests tonight .

We are now getting a performance of the song “Angelique”, which was sung by the late Dario Campeotto who represented Denmark at the 1961 Eurovision song contest in Cannes .He came 5th . Though I don’t recall there being women with paper flowers around their heads then !!

Another recap of the songs. Hopefully we’ll find out the three acts which will go through to the Superfinal soon.

Looks like we’re going to find out the three Superfinalists now ……

Saba is through

Janus Wiberg is through

Basim is through !!

That’s the first time in years I have correctly guessed all three Superfinalists. Last time was in 2013!! Do you agree with the three finalists?

So we have a second round of voting . The vote is split 50 -50 between jury and public

Saba -“Sand” .

Second performance and Saba’s vocal seem even stronger now she’s through . Very powerful performance . She knows how to perform ! The audience are cheering this along . On a big stage in Malmo, this could come across really well. Nice LED graphics where there is a key change , lots of strobe effects. This could be the winner !

My goodness, it’s Kirsten from Kirsten & Søren ( Hot Eyes) from the 1980’s ! Represented Denmark three times. She’s looking well !

They reminisce about her appearances at Eurovision ,all those years ago…..ahhh the memories !! She’s talking of her admiration for Celine Dion, they met at the 1988 contest in Dublin, Ireland .

Bassim -Johnny

Second performance for Basim and as in the first performance, he delivers ! He really does engage the audience and they are singing along to the song !Could go down well in Malmo but will the Danish public and jury want to send a previous act, who is already a known quantity ? He could do well with both the public and jury vote

An interview with two Instagram influencers talking about Danish Melodi grand prix

Janus Wiberg -“I need your love”

Second performance for Janus of his song “I need your love”. This time round he seems more confident , seems to be putting more power into an already engaging performance . This really is the type of song that builds up slowly and reaches out to the audience. It’s anthemic, the vocals are great . The staging fits the mood of the song.In any other year, this would have been my winner but the competition in the Superfinal is strong this year.

Time to vote again and we get a recap of the three Superfinalists .

Look at all those streams for “Snap” by Rosa Lynn!

They are looking at the amont of streams over the internet that past Eurovision songs have had . In the meantime , public voting has now closed .

Looks like we could be getting the results soon….but first, an interval act and it’s a tribute to Loreen, who won for Sweden last year .Contemporary dancing and singing to Tattoo , Loreen’s winning song for Sweden from last year.Then to her previous winning entry from 2012 , Euphoria .

An interview with the commentator for Eurovision 2024 , for Denmark.

A look at some of the competition from other countries now, including France and Norway.

Another recap of the three Superfinalists . Wish they would just get on with giving the results!

The three finalists are on stage now to hear their fate !

Jury vote first

Saba is the winner with the juries

And……as happened last year the live web link has blocked, just at the point where they announce the winner !!!! DR , you really need to sort this out !

It’s back now and looks like Saba has won !!!!

So….. Saba will go on to represent Denmark in Malmo in May . What do you think? Do you think Denmark have made the right choice ?

That’s the end of our coverage tonight , thanks for joining me tonight .

Goodnight Europe , Good morning Australia

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source: Eurovision Ireland ,DR