Denmark’s Rasmussen: “It would be cool if people would listen to the words of the song”

He’s the bearded red-head who Eurovision fans lovingly know as Denmark’s Viking. But in recent weeks singer Rasmussen has been busy proving there is much more to him than his distinctive look.

Like the Scandi explorers before him, he’s coming ashore and making his presence known. Since winning Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, his promotional ship has docked in London, Tel Aviv and Amsterdam.

Our William got a hold of him at the London Eurovision Party, where they talked about his nautical staging, his musical theatre background and much more.

Rasmussen: London Eurovision Party 2018 interview

Rasmussen says he’s been getting comments about his resemblance to a certain Game of Thrones star ever since the character Tormund was introduced to the show. For those who don’t follow GoT, Tormund is a red-haired, bearded Wildling and a total badass. Rasmussen actually likes the comparison and says that both Tormund and the actor who plays him, Kristofer Hivju, are awesome.

The talk of his look is highly relevant: it’s one of the reasons the song ended up with him in the first place.

“It ended up with me because I was contacted by a guy from the Danish national broadcasting company and the songwriters who were scouting for a Scandinavian guy with the beard and the hair,” he says.

“I’ve had long hair and a beard for most of my adult life. They asked me if I was interested in auditioning for it. I’m an old guy — I’m 33 years old — and I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think the song was right. But I loved it….it’s very movie-like and dramatic. It spoke to me from the minute I heard it.”

When asked about whether he can trace his ancestry back to the vikings, Rasmussen says he hasn’t really looked into it. Maybe this is something he should do? Or maybe he doesn’t need to as it is in fact highly likely that he is, considering where he comes from.

Rasmussen “Higher Ground” (Acoustic)

The song carries a strong message, and he hopes people will listen to the lyrics and take it in.

“It’s also cool if people can hear what the words are. They’re a means of peace — to see if you can solve conflicts with things other than fighting, with words. Man, today there are a lot of people around the world, a lot of arguments going on, that could be solved if the people would talk with each other and not to each other. I’m just sure a lot of arguments can be solved with words.”

Rasmussen really could be a part of GoT in his own right. And it would seem his fellow Eurovision contestants agree. Zibbz from Switzerland shared this little skit a few days ago.

pretty much sums up our day.. @surieofficial @CesarSampson_ @ALafsson @GEE_Denmark #GOT #WinterIsComing #ESC2018 #IsraelCalling #Eurovision2018 pic.twitter.com/CErehEikUa

— ZiBBZ (@zibbz_official) April 10, 2018

“Higher Ground” Icelandic lyrics

Talking about the lyrics. The backing singers do a chant in the chorus that is apparently supposed to be in Icelandic. However, if you listen carefully they actually sound a bit fishy. The Icelandic lyric segment is “Taka stökk til hærri jörð”.

It looks like the writers have taken the sentence “Take a leap to Higher Ground” and put it through google translate and decided to run with the translation it churned out. At wiwibloggs we have not one, but two Icelandic speaking writers, both of whom can vouch for the fact that this indeed sounds like the work of an internet translation service. It makes no sense grammatically or contextually.

But hey, we’ve come across more incomprehensible lyrics in English in the past, so no harm done. We just wonder whether or not it might have been a good idea to try and contact some of the many Icelandic speaking people that live in Denmark — or Sweden, where the writers hail from.

Rasmussen party

Rasmussen — whose first name is actually Jonas — comes from a small town called Langå located in the east part of Jylland, close to Randers and about 40 minutes away from Århus. His town is super proud of their very own homeboy and are throwing a huge party in his honour during this year’s final.

Yeah, during the final. No pressure qualifying from the semi-final Rasmussen!

The townsfolk are in the midst of a Eurovision frenzy and have already started to plan the support party which will be held at the local sports hall. The hall only holds about 750 people, which is about a quarter of the town’s population. Tickets are sure to be in high demant, especially since entry is free.

Organisers are taking the viking theme to the max, as party goers will be able to buy some mead to drink and toast their hero on the Eurovision stage.

Locals — and those who take a road trip to Langå — can also stop by at the local spring market and buy some postcards to write good luck wishes for Rasmussen to take with him to Lisbon. You can also buy a Rasmussen mug. Who doesn’t want to drink their cup of tea out of a Rasmussen mug?

What do you think of Denmark’s Eurovision 2018 entry? Will Rasmussen’s townspeople be partying like wild things or drowning their sorrows on the night of the final? Let us know in the comments below.

Follow all of our Denmark Eurovision 2018 news.