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| This is "Only Teardrops" too... |
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the Danish national final, took place back on January 26th, with ten songs competing for a chance to perform just across the Øresund Strait in Malmö, Sweden.
It took me until now to review the contest, because some of the songs and performances were not readily available on YouTube, my source for all of the national finals.
But after some digging, I was able to find the full contest, and I feel like I can comment the contest as a whole, even though I may not be able to post links to the actual performances--like Brinck's performance of "Human"--which I would love to vivisect because it was bad in so many ways.
But instead I'll write about:
The Winner
Emmilie de Forest "Only Teardrops"
Denmark wants to win the contest again, and their choice of song pretty much proves it. "Only Teardrops" takes a things from prior successful songs--staging notes from "Euphoria" last year and the Celtic flair from the Irish winners back in the 1990s. Then they stole the lighting and costuming from this song:
Aloysha "Sweet People" Ukraine 2010
Altogether, the song is very eye catching and likely to do well in the contest, fitting in with the goals SVT has for the contest.
Do I personally like it? Not really. I find the song and performance overly melodramatic. But then again Loreen and "Euphoria" didn't speak to me either.
Should Have Won
It's either a good thing or a bad thing that there were really no stand outs for me on what song should have won, and I can't even criticize the songs that made it into the top three and the superfinal. However of the three songs in the finals, I would have voted for this song:
Simone "Stay Awake"
I will admit this this song feels dated--it looks and sounds like something that might have been sent to the contest in the late 90s or early 00s. But Simone controls the stage in a way that de Forest didn't, and I must confess I'm all for a Latin beat and girls swirling around in fringe-covered dresses. So I have to go with my own personal preference here, even though I think "Only Teardrops" will be stronger in May in Malmö.
My Favorite
I'm going to go a little outside the box for my favorite, because I really enjoyed the interval act--a medley of Eurovision winning performances:
Brotherhood of Man "Save Your Kisses For Me" United Kingdom 1976
Herreys "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" Sweden 1984
Johnny Logan "Hold Me Now" Ireland 1987
I have to say I enjoy having old winners brought out and have them perform their winning songs, and this medley is more watchable than most of the songs that were presented in the actual contest.
Is that bad?
All in all, I think Denmark put on a good show and chose a strong song. That's what a successful National final should be.
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