He’s the German singer who won over thousands of new fans by participating in last year’s German national final, ending up in third place over all. And now Ryk is making another attempt at the Eurovision Song Contest, but this time as a songwriter in the Danish final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2019.
Ryk shared the information on his own website rickjurthe.com, writing: “The song ‘I Couldn’t Give It Up’, that I wrote and produced, lyrics co-written by Aidan O’Connor, is one of the ten final songs to compete in the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the Danish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel.”
Assuming this is true — and we have little reason to doubt him — Ryk appears to be behind the first known song title for the Danish final.
Ryk is working with a musical heavyweight. The song is co-written by Aidan O’Conner, who was behind “I Stand” — the beautiful Czech ballad back in 2016.
Ryk’s flair for song came through during the 2018 German final in Berlin. His mesmerizing ballad “You and I” was pared back but thoroughly powerful. He appeared on stage live on the piano alongside a female dancer.
As wiwiblogger Robyn said ahead of the final: “My heart is drawn to Ryk’s ‘You and I’. The song creates an intimate setting — Ryk’s fragile yet powerful voice accompanied by basic piano and a thoughtful orchestral accompaniment. The only thing that’s needed is for this song to work as a live performance. If it can harness the power of the studio version, it will be a force to be reckoned with.” And it was.
It is not known if the Danish entry is a ballad as well, though it wouldn’t surprise us if it was.
Ryk and all the other DMGP songwriters will want to keep a good thing going. Denmark made it to the final for the second year in a row, following a few years in the hinterland. Rasmussen represented Denmark in Lisbon with his song “Higher Ground” reaching the top 10.
Denmark decides on February 23 in Herning.
What do you think of Ryk entering the Danish selection as a songwriter? Are you hoping for another ballad or for an uptempo song? Let us know in the comment section below!
The update claiming that “I Couldn’t Give It Up” has made it to the final line-up of DMGP 2019 has now been removed from Ryk’s website…
Sounds good!
You gotta be kidding. Someone who writes songs like “I Stand” most certainly is not a “musical heavyweight”.
Denmark has a very strong selection this year. Probaly a potential ESC winner and a contender for top 5. 😉
You and I was a fantastic song. If this song is just as strong it could be a good year for Denmark
His song last year was as powerful as a horse tranquilizer. I hope he shows a different side of him in this Danish entry.
Or you can just flat out say you were not a fan of his song last year.
Really excited to hear the song! You and I was my favourite from the German selection last year and I love the other songs I’ve heard from him