Denmark chooses its Eurovision 2016 representative tonight. Who will it be? Simone and Anja Nissen have dominated the headlines, but Kristel Lisberg or even Muri & Mario could prove to be dark horses. Is it even safe to write off David Jay? As always, we’ve attempted to look into a crystal ball and provide some kind of forecast for who will win. The results of our Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016 fan poll and the results of the Wiwi Jury have been combined. And it looks like Simone will win DMGP 2016 with “Heart Shaped Hole”. By our calculations, she’ll be joined in the super-final by Anja Nissen and Kristel Lisberg. However, Simone has reached the super-final on both her previous attempts, losing out every time. Will it be third time the charm?
1. Simone “Heart Shaped Hole” (8.83)
The Positive: She’s cutting him out of her life and filling her heart-shaped hole with passion, soul and just the right amount of anger. The female voice over the electro backing has shades of Sia — it’s edgy, it’s current and most importantly it tells a story. When Simone sings I believe what she’s saying. If she can deliver this live, she may be reprising it in Stockholm.
The Negative: As we saw back in 2013, Simone has beautiful, clear, and surprisingly powerful vocals. That said, the girl lacks charisma – as does her song. I love the Kygo-style synths in the middle-eight – but other than that it’s all very forgettable. Don’t get me wrong, it’s well-written and well-produced. It just lacks soul.
Wiwi Poll: 1. Wiwi Jury: 1.
2. Anja Nissen “Never Alone”
The Postivie: Instantly warm and inviting, “Never Alone” is carefully and thoughtfully constructed, with the beats dropping and the instrumentation changing at precisely the right moments. The opening bars lead to charming verses which in turn take us to a fabulous Amazonian chorus. It’s tribal yet poppy, upbeat yet somehow soulful. Anja’s smouldering vocals give it just the right amount of sex appeal and power. When she brings it home in the final bars I can already see the confetti falling.
The Negative: Despite being hugely talented, Anja Nissen has been plagued with bad fortune since winning Australia’s third series of The Voice. Perhaps Dansk Melodi Grand Prix could turn things around? I doubt it. “Never Alone” sounds like your typical Nordic national selection cannon fodder. Anja Nissen is famous for turning down the Delta Goodrem penned track, “My Girls“. She should’ve done the same with this. It is clearly not written for her.
Wiwi Poll: 2. Wiwi Jury: 2.
3. Kristel Lisberg “Who Needs A Heart”
The Positive: Starting with a beautiful violin intro, “Who Needs A Heart” has me hooked from the first note. Lyrically, it is full of raw emotion, which is delivered exquisitely through Kristel’s flawless vocals. This is a song that takes me a lot of places in just three minutes and it perfectly complements Kristel as a singer. Just like so many of the DMGP entries, this should easily get Denmark to the top ten at Eurovision.
The Negative: Not gonna lie, I only zoned in when the chorus came. There are some great things going on in the background: violins, flutes, crashes – transporting you to the stormy North Sea on a mediaeval Faroese sailing voyage. But it all needs to be turned up a few notches. It feels dated, sounding like one of the better songs you’d hear in the Moldovan or Belarusian preselections (and no, that’s still not a compliment).
Wiwi Poll: 3. Wiwi Jury: 3.
4. Lighthouse X “Soldiers of Love” (Joint)
The Positive: Vocal boyband-pop power finds new life in this Danish trio. “Soldiers Of Love” ticks every formulaic box, and delivers beautifully. In an ideal world and regardless of the end result, Dansk Melodi Grand Prix should be the launchpad for these boys. They have the looks, the talent and the best harmonies of the night.
The Negative: The melody is pleasant enough, but the chorus is so bland it’s almost offensive. It has major shades of Westlife, but, as you’ll remember, they reached their peak more than a decade ago. Ultimately “Soldiers of Love” rides a boyband trend that is long out-of-fashion. This isn’t strong enough to revive it.
Wiwi Poll: 5. Wiwi Jury: 6.
4. Bracelet “Breakaway” (Joint)
The Positive: “Breakaway” is a bit dated and lacks the oomph that I look for in a strong Eurovision entry. However, it has some strong qualities. It’s familiar, anthemic and catchy. That leaves me to believe that “Bracelet” could be a solid contender for the Danish ticket.
The Negative: From the production to the sentiment to the sound, this is just so teenager. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’d work better at Junior Eurovision than Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.
Wiwi Poll: 6. Wiwi Jury: 5.
4. Veronicas Illusion “The Wrong Kind” (Joint)
The Positive: Veronica brings us plenty of illusions. Chief among them is that Denmark is the perfect place to sun in January, and that Kesha is competing at Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016. This is frothy and fun yet their remains a distinct and memorable melody. Despite the “cheap” topic — baby, what are you waiting for! — the production actually sounds quite expensive — it’s like RedOne working with the Venga Boys and I adore it.
The Negative: Cartoon Heroes died with Aqua at the turn of the millennium. We don’t need a Danish resurrection just yet — not without a Nicki Minaj-esque spit anyway. I get the appeal that this track may pack for the youths — but this is “the wrong kind” of representation. Music has already changed lanes.
Wiwi Poll: 7. Wiwi Jury: 4.
7. Muri & Mario “To Stjerner”
The Positive: In Iceland we have a saying — “this is more Danish than the queen” — which can mean both good or bad, depending on the subject. In this case it’s all good! Muri and Mario are indeed super Danish and “To stjerner” is such a delight to listen to. I’m also a creature of nostalgia, and I always feel so warm inside when I hear songs in Danish. The track itself is upbeat, joyful and contains just the right amount of carelessness. Their voices are beautiful and perfectly in sync. I fell in love straight away. A thumbs up from me. Will this win DMGP? I doubt it, but I really, really want it to.
The Negative: In the words of Michele Perniola, “No”. It’s just a monotonous drag of boringness. To their merit, they have pleasant voices, and I like the vocal editing in the intro/post-chorus. However, this song was clearly just selected so that they could have a song in Danish. The title, “To Stjerner,” translates to “two stars” – which I personally think is an overly generous rating to give this lost cause.
Wiwi Poll: 4. Wiwi Jury: 8.
https://youtu.be/wgQ5KFY0XUQ
8. Sophia Nohr “Blue Horizon”
The Positive: Sultry, seductive and smouldering — “Blue Horizon” delivers my orgasmic sunset. I love the ebb and flow of this track, and could have it on repeat all day. It’s nostalgic, yet so contemporary. It takes the best from Lana Del Rey, and leaves her aloofness at the door. Furthermore, it smacks a catchy chorus. What’s not to like?
The Negative: “Blue Horizon” is my least favourite entry in DMGP this year. The song lacks the pizazz needed to make it a quality entry. In fact, I’d be more open-minded towards the song if it were being entered into the selection for Switzerland and not Denmark. It doesn’t build into anything and Sophia Nohr’s vocal doesn’t suit this style of song at all. A bit of a miss for me.
Wiwi Poll: 9. Wiwi Jury: 7.
9. Jessica “Break it Good”
The Positive: I love songs like this – bright, full on pop with an obnoxious wall-of-sound production and a sassy singer. The one thing I could do without is those sped-up vocals in the background (Kanye was done with that sound 12 years ago), but once the chorus comes along, underpinned by the insistent brass section, I’m right there with it.
The Negative: Totally uninspiring! “Break It Good” borders on being silly. Just like the artist’s name, this track is missing a parent — and lots more! The urban flavour feels modified and under-cooked. The refrain “show me what you got” is annoying. Even in a weak field, this won’t win.
Wiwi Poll: 8. Wiwi Jury: 9.
10. David Jay “Rays of Sunlight”
The Positive: The song is co-written by one of my favourite Danish artists, Bryan Rice, but this isn’t really his best work. It brings a smile to my face and puts summer on my mind. However, it’s all a little cheap. I like David’s voice and I wouldn’t turn off the radio if this came on. Still, I don’t think it would end up on the left side of the scoreboard at Eurovision.
The Negative: I’m cursing Bruno Mars for reviving funk — not because he’s bad at it, but because every Eurovision national selection now has at least two rip-offs. This feels watered down, inauthentic and totally derivative. I zone out after 30 seconds and not even his gross lyrics about this chick “satisfying” him are enough to stir me. Among my least favourite entries in the selection.
Wiwi Poll: 10. Wiwi Jury: 10.
This comes with a few caveats. Firstly, all of the songs were reviewed by the Wiwi Jury using official music videos or demos. Therefore these rankings and assessments do not account for staging or live vocals. Secondly, our fan poll was open to readers all over the world. Voting on tonight’s show will be restricted to just Danish viewers.
You can see the full breakdown of all the odds and results below.
Combined Fan Poll-Wiwi Jury vote
Wiwi Poll | Wiwi Jury | Total | |
Simone
Anja Nissen Kristel Lisberg Lighthouse X Bracelet Veronicas Illusion Muri & Mario Sophia Nohr Jessica David Jay |
12
10 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 |
12
10 8 5 6 7 3 4 2 1 |
24
20 16 11 11 11 10 6 5 2 |
Wiwi Jury Results
- Simone “Heart Shaped Hole” (8.83)
- Anja Nissen “Never Alone” (8.05)
- Kristel Lisberg “Who Needs A Heart” (7.03)
- Veronicas Illusion “The Wrong Kind” (6.73)
- Bracelet “Breakaway” (6.45)
- Lighthouse X “Soldiers of Love” (6.30)
- Sophia Nohr “Blue Horizon” (6.08)
- Muri & Mario “To Stjerner” (6.05)
- Jessica “Break it Good” (5.38)
- David Jay “Rays of Sunlight” (5.18)
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016 Fan Poll
Total Votes: 1,502
What do y’all think of the results? Is Simone a sure fire winner or could we be on course for an upset. Let us know below.
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix begins at 20:00 CET and will be streamed on DR Live.
How does everyone feel about this prediction and the actual results? ? Lol ????????????
Molly Pettersson Hammar and Wiktoria to final, Isa and three old dudes to Andra Chansen.
baby on the way for Alice Tumler