The Wiwi Jury — our in-house panel of music unprofessionals — has travelled to Denmark to review the songs competing in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2019. Up next is Rasmus Faartoft with “Hold My Breath”. Is this a breathtaking performance? Read on to find out.
Rasmus Faartoft — “Hold My Breath”
“Hold My Breath” reviews
Antranig: Rasmus is putting on a vocal masterclass. Unfortunately, the song is not befitting of his talents. “Hold My Breath” has its peaks and troughs, taking the listener on a journey. It’s definitely not monotonous but it’s just not all that original. It feels like the type of ballad you have one of in every Nordic national final. Rasmus is capable of winning Eurovision with that voice but he needs a better song.
Score: 6.5/10
Jordi: There’s some legend-story sound in here. His voice is the best element of the song, having its own quiet quality. However, it needs a better hook as, even if the song sounds enchanting, isn’t that catchy. Perhaps, by adding new elements to the melody or more instrumentation, he can create a stronger impact.
Score: 5.5/10
Oliver: Rasmus is giving power and passion with those vocal chords, especially during the carefully constructed and well-placed key change towards the end. With all that in mind, the song itself doesn’t seem to match the uniqueness of Rasmus’ voice. The chorus came across almost as a wall of wailing repeating itself over and over again, becoming cumbersome after more than one listen. There is a lot of potential for dramatic staging here but it still won’t fully mask the discrepancy between impeccable voice and lacklustre song.
Score: 6/10
Luis: Excellent vocals, so-so song, WTF lyrics. Rasmus may be trying to serve major drama but his song is utterly lame and boring. And that combination is not good nor desirable. This entry is totally suitable for a film festival. He might be singing “Hold My Breath”, but all I hope is that the Danish public hold their horses and don’t vote for this snoozefest.
Score: 4/10
Patrick: Vocally, he blows away the cold air of Denmark in a heartbeat, but then again the song makes it blow right back in his face. Here is the thing — I love strong vocalists and when he starts the chorus, I feel all the emotion and clarity that is behind the song. The timbre of his voice is the right ingredient for a fine act — he could fill whole arenas just with his voice alone, but the song is just not good enough. Easily forgettable on a big stage in a sea of different songs — just change the song and there you go!
Score: 5.5/10
In our Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2019 Wiwi Jury, we have 11 jurors but only room for 5 reviews. The rest of our scores can be found below:
| Cinan: 6.5/10
Natalie: 5/10 Julian: 3.5/10 |
Robyn: 7/10
Florian: 6/10 Deban: 4/10 |
Before calculating the average score, the highest and lowest scores are dropped. This is to remove outliers and reduce potential bias. We have removed a low of 3.5 and a high of 7.
So I have mixed feelings on this one. From my notes: “Mikael Saari vibes. The Chorus is a bit too much too soon. The song is a voice destroyer. I like the appogiaturas in the last Chorus. Missing some light-and-shade.” Strangely enough, the power notes in this song’s Chorus also remind me of Croatia’s entry, but Colin likes this Danish entry probably because the backing arrangement is more subtle and less OTT. But this what I call a “voice killer” of a song, which isn’t what I like to listen to, most of the time. (Céline Dion being the obvious… Read more »
Yeah, both this and My Dream are power ballads, but the melody here is more compact and fluid and the lyrics are light years ahead. Unlike My Dream, this is not desperately trying to provoke an emotional reaction, it just naturally does so. Anyway, thanks for sharing your notes. 🙂
PS. Mikael Saari was my UMK 2016 winner. I’m still listening to that song. 🙂
The song starts out like one of those pyramid poems (“I / I will / I will sing / I will sing you / I will sing you a / I will sing you a song”) and it gets even cornier from there.
It’s so overproduced, I don’t know how one could possibly know whether Rasmus gave a “vocal masterclass” or not…
Just not into this at all. Plodding, breathy, draggy… ot my style and big fall from Rasmussen
It is the one song that I remember after listening to them all and the only one that I want to hear again. The vocalist’s voice is enchanting- if he can do it live,wow! It gives me goosebumps on each listen. I quiet like the song and I think it has a good message. Personally, it is original and stands apart from the other ballads already chosen in other NFs. For me a good Eurovision song connects. This song connects with me. It won’t connect with everyone but on the night if it connects with the majority, it is the… Read more »
Hold My Breath – After listening to all Danish finalists, this was the only song I wanted to listen again and again, not for reviewing purposes alone. It’s so beautiful and deep. The lyrics are really good and his voice is outstanding. This is the song Denmark should pick, so I am holding *my* breath that for once my favorite can win. – 9/10
Feeling less alone now.
Me too. 🙂 Thnx
I wish I could join you, but, alas, my mixed notes are above.
that’s an unfortunate last name…
i lolled for a few moments at that unfortunate surnames and then song title. my husband did the same. lmfao
Ok. Guess I’m the only one who loves this…
It is Denmark after all. To me, it’s the obvious class entry.