It was the only Scandi nation to crack the televote top ten in Lisbon. But can Denmark repeat the feat once more in Tel Aviv? First, the country will need to pick a successor to the hirsute Rasmussen.
Earlier today, broadcaster DR revealed the ten entries for Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2019. The one-shot final will take place place in Herning’s Boxen on 23 February. Once again, the show will be co-hosted by Johannes Nymark — the former Lighthouse X crooner. He’ll be joined on presenting duties by Kristian Gintberg.
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2019: Participants
You can listen to all ten entries on DR’s website.
- Simone Emilie “Anywhere”
- Jasmin Gabay â “Kiss Like This”
- Rasmus Faartoft â “Hold My Breath”
- Marie Isabell â “Dancing With You In My Heart”
- Sigmund â “Say My Name”
- HumĂžrekspressen â “Dronning af baren”
- Julie & Nina â “League Of Light”
- Teit SamsĂž â “Step It Up”
- Leonora â “Love Is Forever”
- Leeloo â “That Vibe”
Amongst the familiar names are Sigmund, HumÞrekspressen, Jasmin Gabay and Julie Berthelsen. All four were heavily rumoured to participate over the past few weeks.
Julie will sing a duet with the renowned Greenlandic singer Nina Kreutzmann JĂžrgensen. Their tune, “League Of Light”, contains Greenlandic lyrics. The language last featured at DMGP in 1979.
This year’s contest is a multi-lingual affair. Leonora’s “Love Is Forever” contains some words of French and German, while Bake Off star Jasmin has a few lines in Spanish. As the song-title suggests, HumĂžrekspressen’s “Dronning af baren” will be sung in Danish.
The selection also boasts many songwriters with strong Eurovision links. Tim Schou and Martin Skriver (Denmark 2011 and 2016) helped pen “Hold My Breath”. Meanwhile, Canadian scribe Laurell Barker (Asanda’s “Legends”, Renadia’s “All The Feels” and Zibbz “Stones”) features on the credits for Leeloo’s “That Vibe”. The Swedish-based-Scot John Ballard (Azerbaijan 2013, Russia 2016 and Moldova 2018) is involved with Marie Isabell’s “Dancing with You in My Heart”.
Who should win Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2019?
Once you’ve listened to all ten acts you can vote in our poll. Choose wisely because you can only vote ONE TIME. Voting will close in the days leading up to next month’s DMGP final.
[crowdsignal poll=10227354]What do you think of the ten DMGP songs? Which one is your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.
I think this is the worst selection we’ve had in years, all boring and bland. I liked League of light best because of the Greenlandic lyrics, they should make more of it in Greenlandic actually. I don’t get the Spanish song, if you can’t speak Spanish don’t. Would we appreciate the Spanish entry sung in bad Danish? I think not…
Anywhere has an interesting structure its well produced actually reminds me of a clean bandit track and it’s generally done very well. That said I feel like ESC is about conveying a message in a simple and memorable way and I actually find Leonora’s song captures the zeitgeist in a charming way. Just by having the line ‘dont get too political’, it somehow captures the feeling of many in Europe right now so it gets my vote. I also think that songs that have a language change written into them tend to blend together much better than for example when… Read more »
Everything sounds so average and unoriginal that it’s hard to believed there isn’t any better song in Denmark. I think this kind of cheesy pop songs are a trend in the North, because Iceland has plenty of them in its NF. As I said some a few days ago, Sigmund is going to win thanks to people voting for the person and not for the song (Hi there Bilal). He’s a Troye Sivan wannabe and his song is rather average, though it is one of the best from this bunch. With him or any other, I can’t see Denmark qualifying… Read more »
Latvia, UK and Denmark do not have a good year i feel in ESC
You can add Czech Republic and San Marino to that list XD
Denmark, Czech Republic and San Marino turned out to have a pretty good year in ESC this year.
Don’t think UK has had a good year for years..
last year i was in the smallest minority for having KARUI as my favorite, and it looks like this year isn’t any different… i actually like Leeloo’s song far more than all the others (although League of Light’s Greenlandic lyrics are cool too)
It’s either Leeloo or Leonora for me, they are actually very good songs and could cause an upset this year and actually win DMGP. League Of Light is very boring for me, it’s very generic imo, but the part in Greenlandish does sound good. Any which way, I don’t think Denmark will be the televote hit it was last year, but in the jam- packed second semi- final (at least I think it will be jam-packed) sending Leonora could really stand out, and they also have Norway and Sweden in the semi.
Wwhat a lot of bland, derivative , middle of the road songs. Nothing jumps out and grabs you, which is sort of the aim seeing as how most of the voting public will hear the song once or at the most twice if they watch the semi finals.
“Anywhere” is BY FAR my favorite. It’s the only (English-language) one whose lyrics don’t feel like a clichĂ© to me. It feels emotionally authentic and, if they were to do a slight revamp that builds to the final chorus, I think it could create a “moment” and make the finals. I have a hard time seeing any of the others qualifying. People seem to love “League of Light” best, but it falls within those mid-tempo doldrums where it’s not slow and moody enough to evoke deep emotions and not fast enough to be a bop… Not to mention that if… Read more »
Iâve just realised, itâs gonna be really hard for the bookies this year, cause all the songs are bland and none stand out so almost any of them could win ?
We only know 4 songs in the moment.
Denmark needs to get their stuff together, ASAP .
Is there a Danish Christer Björkman somewhere? This was bland. Nothing really bad but nothing to good either. All the songs sound the same.
This year’s Danish selection is very good and judging from Semi 1 of Melfest much better than Sweden, which keeps sending us generic pop songs, that only survive thanks to the good graces of jury towards Sweden.
lol, 9 out of 10 Danish selection songs are generic pop songs, too
So is âpopâ no longer short for âpopularâ? Interesting.
Are you deaf? if some country have super generic songs. Its Denmark , NOT Sweden. Anja was a perfect example of that for Denmark.
Kid, Danish selection songs are even more bland. Which is why there representing songs are bland too. 2015- 2016 was basically the same song. 2017 was a s generic as you get. Even Rasmussen last year was generic though good.
Denmark this year will probably end up somewhere between 16th-22 place, if they qualify.
Obviously a response to Jim
another bland year for denmark. so disappointing.
Someone please call Ryan Tedder from OneRepublic that Teit entered ‘Love Runs Out’ into the competition.
Just had the same thought.
Denmark, Norway, Iceland…can easily stay in the Semis this year.
Not sure about Finland, but judging by the music catalogue and previous similar entries, may stay in the Semi.
I wish Sweden to stay tho, but juries wont allow it. LOL
I can see a true potential in Julie and Ninaâs League of Light. It was the song, that caught my attention the most. And I think it is the best year DMGP is going to experience since 2013. I can see a clear top 15 placement for Denmark this year with League of Light – It just needs a decent staging. And though I based that on Julie and Ninaâs song, I have a feeling that it is the same case for Simone Emilieâs Anywhere and Leonoraâs Love is forever. Jasminâs KISS like this will also stand a chance in… Read more »
Honestly, NONE OF THEM. You can’t get a decent song among the ten. If Denmark hasn’t ever placed last in a semifinal, this will be that year.
Oh dear. đ
I agree! I was listening to them this morning, and I was in shock. No originality whatsoever.
Pop music is almost always derivative anyhow. If you are looking for âoriginalâ Eurovision entries, they are the exception, not the rule. I fear that many fans are setting their expectations too high.
Couldnât agree more, what a lot of bland, derivative , middle of the road songs. Nothing jumps out and grabs you, which is sort of the aim seeing as how most of the voting public will hear the song once or at the most twice if they watch the semi finals.
Judging by the comments below, I won’t even bother listening to them.
Nooo. Please never read the comments before listening! There are some good songs here. I like the Denmark selection better than the UK and Norway, for example.
What, I am sorry but Norway has one of the best selections this year
Denmark is worse that Norway, Norway is worse than UK, and all 3 of them are bad. Even Latvia and Spain had better selections.
Well, our tastes differ. Latvia I wonât even comment on for fear of backlash. Spain had a bad year for songs; they know this. The UK cut their songs from six to three and then allowed a song about âfreaksâ to be one of them – not good. Norway: I like four of these, and beyond that itâs a little underwhelming. Denmark: Mostly pop music, but well-written and well-produced. I like eight out of the 10 Danish entries. I trust that the explanation is clear.
Except for league of light i dont see a single original idea here. And also who writes those abysmal lyrics. There are songs in here that soundlike they were written by a 4th grader.
League of light sounds like “Scars of beautiful”…
This is my personal favourite selection from Denmark over the last few years. I can tell a lot of effort has gone into the videos and the production of the tracks. Honestly this is wide open – literally any of these 10 could win. Personally I really liked Leonora, Simone, Jasmine, Marie Isabell… all for different reasons to do with the songs. If you are looking for the big singers, then look towards Rasmus – those vocals are HUGE, and are the biggest live risk of the selection. Julie & Nina – The staging/choreo potential of “League of Light” is… Read more »
Best is Anywhere.
Definitely won’t be watching this selection. So much basic, just like every year…
For me there are 3 stand out songs in this selection: 1: Leage of Light: Love the use of greenlandic language, and the production is slick – very very Danish feel to it. Would definitely represent Denmark in a good way for sure, unless the 2 40 year old women look completely like 2 lost aunties on stage when performing. 2: Love is forever: Really good midtempo guitar popsong, is it ukulele? LOOOOVE the lyrics, so good, and the mix of English, French and Danish languages is perfection here. Better than any other language mix songs I have heard this… Read more »
Kiss like this is probably my favourite because well it’s just catchy, however I do also like League of light and Love is forever
I had so much Hope this year, but itâs beeb very disappointing from denmark. I like anywhere a lot actually, but itâs missing something to take it from nice to a pop banger
I’m feeling “Love Is Forever”. It’s good for what it is (basic Danish sweetness) AND for the first time since forever, i would heave my mother tongue German in the contest. My second pick is “League of Light” for the Greenland power. it’s gotta be between those two, although my third pick would be “Hold My Breath” and then “Dancing With You in My Heart”.
Bad selection ( sorry) but my favorite are Julie ft Nina , Rasmus and Teit
Anywhere + Winning DMGP = Definitely in my ESC 2019 top 3. Please vote for Anywhere, Denmark!
Completely agree, although I do feel the song is missing something, it needs like sigala to revamp the drop and then itâs needs the double Chorus for the final chorus instead of the second one.
To the people who downvoted me, how would you like it if I downvoted you because of your favourite song?!
You can downvote all you like, I don’t care + it is my opinion :p
Yes you care, you can’t stop writing about it…
I have even more of an issue with the constant downvotes on the Australia Decides post JUST BECAUSE I placed Sheppard in my bottom 3. + I can tell you downvoted so I just downvoted you in return. Have a nice day!
League of light with a good revamp will be amazing!
Rather disappointing, generic, cliche pop you expect from Denmark. No Rasmussen this year. League of Light is my preference, but even that’s not outstanding in any way. Watch Denmark fall in the odds.
And worst NF of the season goes to Denmark!! I hated pretty much every song except for “Anywhere”, so I guess that’s my winner. Julie & Nina weren’t horrible either, it was just underwhelming.
I haven’t seen Ryk (Rick Jurthe; Germany NF 2018) in the songwriting credits, although I skipped through all 10 songs. So it seems like the rumours were false or there was a pulling back, wasn’t it? đź
I don’t think it’s a good sign, if I paid more attention to the videos than to the actual songs. But seriously, all the lyrics (can’t judge “Dronning af baren”, cause I don’t speak Danish) sound like they were made using some algorithm, and music doesn’t stand out either. But I still have some respect for Julie & Nina for having Grenlandic language in their song, that’s pretty cool (and would make the number of Eurovision languages rise from 67 to 68.).
Terrible set of songs this year
SIMONE for sure
This is a rather poor set of songs. We could be looking at a no-final for Denmark this year.
Honestly, I am underwhelmed by this selection. I don’t see a runaway winner for representing Denmark, and it might fail to qualify this year. We’ll have to wait and see.
I don’t know how often I’ve accidentally misread the songtitel of “Hold my breath” as “Hold my beer” while going through the list right now.. omg.. i need a coffee..
Regarding the Songs.. I liked “League of Light” the best. “Kiss like this” on the other side sounds very refreshing to me and I think it could do well with the right personality and stage performance.
No coffee, you probably need a beer. đ
??
Lection 1: (My) Smilies don’t work on wiwibloggs..
Regardless.. I take the beer! đ Cheers
I personally think Leonora by far is the best choice for Denmark.
I feel that I’ve listened to almost all of these songs before. I’m with Ivan in this one: nothing really stands out (maybe Rasmus’ song for being the most dramatic or Leonora’s for being the sweet one) so the live performances will be decisive. For now, I’m leaving some love in the poll for the Greenlandic lyrics of “League of Light” and for Simone who has my favorite voice between the 10 acts.
There are four songs I like. League of Light has the same vibes as Spirit in the Sky but it’s not as good, so I’ll just vote for the fun twink bop that is Say My Name. Dancing with You in My Heart and Love Is Forever are also really enjoyable.
When I first heard the ten acts, I was really dissapointed. But after a couple of listenings I think Simone with Anywhere and Julie and Nina with League of lights are our best choice.
Some good songs this year! My clear favorite is Julie & Nina “League of light” which i am sure of would do very well in the ESC!! I cross my fingers for Julie & Nina!!
Thatâs ny favorite to. But also Simone with Anywhere
What will be if Denmark send Julie& Nina, Norway send KEIINO and Sweden send Jon Henrick Fjallgren. All 3 are in second semi final.
This would be fine
Two sami songs and one greenlandic inuit themed song? I’m all for it! So far Keiino is my favourite for Norway and Julia & Nina are my favs for Denmark.
JASMIN GABAY â “KISS LIKE THIS”
LEELOO â “THAT VIBE”
MARIE ISABELL â “DANCING WITH YOU IN MY HEART”
They are my favourite:) 12 points from isr:)
I can not vote for any of them, I like none. Hopefully the live performances will elevate one of them. I guess maybe Leelo, Leonora and Marie Isabells songs have some potential but even they need big revamps for Eurovision..
I only like the League of Lights and I love the fact that it contains Greenlandic words.
Well, I have to say something I’ve never said before: Danish selection this year seems actually decent (ok, with a few exceptions). Did not find a real stand-out, but wouldn’t have problem with a couple of those candidates representing Denmark. I think I would go for “League of Light” since it has a more special character and I it would be really pioneering to enter with a song (partially) in Inuuit language
I never thought that i would ever say this but Moldova’s national selections is better than this selection! I mean nothing special nothing listenable ( atleast for me )! Most are cheesy,cheap, and predictable love and peace songs! And the two songs having sexual messages ( I see you the latin lover and the one who got a hip fetish ) SMH! guess whos at the bottom of my list, AGAIN! Denmark! I got nothing against the country but the songs are horrible ( everyone got a different taste! ).
All of them are so bad that Dronning auf Baren becomes the best out of the bunch.
A much better selection that last year. IMHO, we will have a much better entry from Denmark, whatever the winner of MGP will be, which is great. What stood out for me was Rasmus. Would love to see and hear that in ESC. I have been longing for a nice strong nordic ballad for long time now… But I know I am in a minority, here… đ Second, best for me is Leelo because it sounds very contemporary.
Dancing with you in my heart won me straight away, especially when her child appeared in the video! But it collapsed in its repetition. It feels like a disappointing lineup but time will tell when we see them perform live! Overall, from all the disappointing songs coming out, this may be the year of the underdog. Will we see some of the less successful countries do really well?