The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 37 competing songs in Eurovision 2023. Up first is Denmark, who have chosen Reiley with “Breaking My Heart”.
Did we fall in love, or did our own hearts break? Read on to find out!
Reiley – “Breaking My Heart” (Denmark Eurovision 2023)
Review: Reiley – “Breaking My Heart”
Diego: “Breaking my heart” is one of those songs that you are sure to hear everywhere. A very well-produced and catchy song with a mix of everything you can nowadays hear in the the top charts around the globe. It’s something different from Denmark than previous years and it can definitely become viral everywhere. Even though it’s a bit mainstream for me, I think with the correct staging and Reiley’s personal touch Denmark can make it to the final — they have the perfect song for it and they can definitely work for it.
Score: 6.5
Antranig: There’s a lot of fanfare around Sweden, Finland and Norway, and rightfully so. But if you’re looking for quality Nordic entries, don’t sleep on Denmark either. Reiley is extremely talented and there are few songs with a more memorable chorus than “Breaking My Heart” this year. The music video is visually stunning and I hope they can capture a little bit of that on the Eurovision stage. I’m so happy to see the Faroe Islands represented at Eurovision and I’m sure Reiley will do them proud! Call me crazy, but for me this is Denmark’s best entry since Emmelie de Forest.
Score: 9.5
Deban: The studio version of Reiley’s track slays! However, the live versions give cause for concern. The hook is far too processed to allow a compelling live delivery, and if his performance at Dansk Melodi Grand Prix is anything to go by, expect lazy staging. Still, he’s of this generation, and with the right team, budget and his youthful charisma, it could improve their chances of advancing beyond the second semi-final.
Score: 6
Simon: The best choice we had in DMGP to represent Denmark this year, with an entry that has a current sound to it and is catchy. Reiley is a sweet guy but the concern is whether or not he will connect properly with the audience behind the screens, as he can come off as a bit slick in interviews and on stage. Looking forward to the rumoured upgrade of the staging, because the song needs the same bright colours and upbeat feeling as it has in the music video. Hopeful for a spot in the final for us, although it will be close!
Score: 8
William: In a contest where Finland’s Käärijä serves performative cunnilingus and Norway’s Alessandra moves so hard her hip may pop off, Denmark’s offering feels a bit too safe. Despite the bright colours and bold styling, this reads more Mickey Mouse Club than Eurovision Song Contest. The melody, while sweet, isn’t particularly impactful, and the electronic voice effect leaves me wondering if there’s a hidden robot performing the main vocal backstage. Reiley has youth on his side, but at DMGP this seemed to lack the freedom you’d associate with that. Conveying a bit more joy — and a few more smiles — will go a long way in warming this up. It needs to feel more relaxed and less programmed.
Score: 4.5
Denmark Eurovision 2023 ranking
In the Eurovision 2023 Wiwi Jury, we have 20 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
|
Cinan: 4 Dayana: 7.5 Forrest: 7.5 Jonathan: 7.5 Kristín: 6.5 Lucy: 7 Luis: 4.5 Oliver: 5 |
Pablo: 7.5 Renske: 5 Rick: 8 Ron: 6 Ruxandra: 7.5 Samuel: 7 Tom: 8 |
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 4 and a high of 9.5.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.64/10
What do you think of Denmark’s Eurovision 2023 entry? Share your own score and review for Reiley’s “Breaking My Heart” below!
”electronic voice effect leaves me wondering if there’s a hidden robot performing the main vocal backstage.” lmaoo same
this is a song that would perform well on radio and tiktok, not necessarily eurovision… very current, although it does become repetitive- but i do feel like we’ve never heard a song like this in esc before! 🙂 6/10
I was surprised that Reiley has a different yet also lovely voice during his talking before his performance. The current song just… did not let it shine.
Some mentioned Denmark is all-in in their staging (and thus performed first in SF2). There is a chance. Let’s see.
This is cute. This guy has a cool vibe and knows how to use his soft head voice but, any than that, the song falls a bit flat and it isn’t enough to compete with the others event though it is easy to listen.
Denmark stands in my 29th.
As usual, the Danish entry is cute and cozy, but this one sounds way more current for a change. As a studio track, “Breaking My Heart” is actually lovely, very easy on the ears. The live performance in Dansk MGP on the other hand, was quite underwhelming. I’m not bothered by the voice modification, but I would keep it just for the first half of the chorus, because this entry already has a tendency to pass as too artificial. Hopefully we’ll see the aesthetics from the music video in Liverpool, it would add some welcome energy to it. 6
I definitely think Denmark need to get more of the music video visuals in the actual staging concept for Liverpool. In DMGP, they didn’t get that fluffy, dreamy vibe that the music video captures so well. The national final performance was the equivalent of competing with one hand tied behind your back.
Exactly. It can be difference between “cool commercial of the new hip collection from a modern department store” (which is the vibe I get from the video) and cute but clumsy school art project (which I got from the live performance). If they find a way to cross that bridge, Denmark may even overachieve like they did with “Higher Ground” and (ugh, I still hate it) “Love is Forever”.
I looove the song and Reiley’s performance at the DMGP. However, I watched some of his performances around Europe and I feel kind of worried. Of course, I know that the artists don’t give 100% at these parties, the sound is not OK most of the times, etc. But I feel it is coming a bit down my ranking. Still, I love listening to the song on my playlist.
Reiley has charisma, his voice is good, and his DMGP performance was very professional and effortless. If he delivers on the Eurovision stage similarly, he may qualify. Held og lykke, Danmark!
Hmm, can’t say that it’s one of my faves. The first time I heard it, I was like “ok, it’s fine but doesn’t do much” Then it started to slow grow on me. Now it sits firmly in my 24th place, and I don’t think it’s going to change (regardless of the promised different staging) but I think people are underestimating the power of the televote. This might end up higher than expected.
I don’t like this song. That’s all I have to say.
He looks like a tiny stick figure kinda thing with very small voice but okay kinda song
This will do better than what people expect
where is his energy? Where is Reiley “touch” and “energy” he just standing there
you don’t always have to dance in uptempo’s though
Not a bad song, very modern and well produced, but a bit too much repetitive for my taste, too artificial and not enough organic, still not convinced by the live performances so far but in Eurovision if everything is perfect he should qualify, there’s an audience for this song.
6/10 – It will qualify. Reiley is charismatic and the song is cute and catchy. A lot depends on the staging. It needs to be more bold and memorable to elevate the song. The robotic sound does grate as the song progresses so an innovative staging and visual is needed to keep the audience intrigued.
Maybe I’m just too old to appreciate this (Ironically I’m only a year older than Reiley). I just don’t get it. I feel like the people this appeals to are too young to really be voting at Eurovision. It’s just not nice to me at all.
Interesting. I’m 15 years older than Reiley and I don’t feel too old to appreciate it lol, at least the melody. It’s the vocal effects and Reiley’s stage presence that don’t do much for me.
I think it’s a nice, catchy song but he relies a lot of the backing track. Borderline qualifier for me
Denmark 2/12
I enjoy the song but I find the live performance is weak vocally, he needs to project his voice more and sound more stable to have a chance of qualifying.
I think your summing up of the song does bring up an issue that I also have with it, in that, it doesn’t stay fresh very long and definitely struggles to hold up against the genuinely interesting songs, even in its own SF.
Whether it can get away with it and qualify based on that initial appeal alone will be the question. At this stage, I definitely find myself wanting to listen to the likes of Belgium or Romania more…and that’s not a good position to be in.
It’s a mid-table entry that’s probably going to be on that borderline between qualifying and not qualifying. After last year, that’s probably a step up for Denmark but again, they’re one of these countries who just are so unadventurous and overly safe with their entire selection process and the songs that they give their public to choose from. DMGP hasn’t worked for them for a while and they should consider dispensing with tradition and going in another direction, for sure. As for this song itself, it could be on the radio, you could see it used in the background for… Read more »
Fair review. The main conclusion I’ve seen in most reviews today is that Denmark seems to be completely uninspired in their selection processes these past few years. They end up with an innocent and forgettable kind of entry from years now and this is also reflected in their last few placements. What can the solution be? Perhaps a full rethinking of how the songs are picked? What if not enough worthy songs are being submitted? Then would it be possible to raise the hype around the contest so that mor promising artists can submit songs?
DMGP being filled with inoffensive entries is certainly a part of the problem, but in Denmark’s case, I’m not putting it all on the broadcaster. The Danes, for some inexplicable reason, gravitate towards these kinds of entries. Last year, they had Fuld Effekt as an obvious choice, and it didn’t even crack top 3. In 2019, they had an epic ballad ”Hold My Breath” which didn’t crack the top 3 either, and the pretty strong contender in ”League of Light” which still lost to cute, but inoffensive ”Love Is Forever”. Seems like, even if you present them with other choices,… Read more »
It might be possible. I haven’t been following the Danish selections for the past years so I can’t form an opinion on if worthy acts have missed out. If it’s due to how the Danes vote, I can’t seem to find how the issue can be solved: perhaps with an internal selection, although I rarely advocate in favour of internal selections (though they sometimes and for specific countries work). But in general, if the selection contains some more out of the box entries, maybe the Danes would give one of them a chance.
Which is amazing because the 2nd place was the most dated dad rock you’ve ever heard.
You are right. The juries are responsible here. He was, however, a close second to a dated rock song which might be even more lackluster in comparison. The televoters, however, take most of the responsibility for having The Show over Fuld Effekt last year. Overall, the voting at DMGP on all fronts feels different than it would have been in most other NFs. Low-key and inoffensive entries are usually held to a higher regard than anything more daring, grandiose, or instant.
In my opinion, Fuld Effekt was a missed opportunity. Instead we got a colorless and uninteresting The Show.
It’s incredibly strange that Fuld Effekt didn’t even make the top three when it came to whatever jury/televote combination Denmark uses…yet, when you think about it, it’s probably the closest thing we have musically from last year to “Cha Cha Cha” this year, a song that landslided the televote in a *neighbouring* country and is one of the favourites to win this year’s contest. Does Denmark generally put up a weak selection of songs for their public to choose from? Yes. Some years, that’s all there is. But you’re right. Even when something genuinely good slips through, Danes still aren’t… Read more »
33) Denmark – Usually I’m an absolute sucker for a bit of vocoder, but I feel like this just completely overwhelms Reiley’s voice and the live version absolutely shows it. It’s cute, but overall not for me. I still think it’s better than their last few offerings, though. – 4.5/10
It’s a good song which appeals to younger audiences, and since semifinal 2 isn’t filled with much competition this should qualify. I read they’re planning something impressive for the stage show, which is why Denmark is first to perform.
I thought it was a very bizzarre choice to open the show with Denmark but I’ve also read that they are bringing something extra and apparently it will take more time to set the stage up, and for that reason it was given the opening slot in the running order. I still feel that semi 2 will have a very slow opening, with Denmark followed by Armenia, Romania and Estonia, and I’m wondering what effect this might have in a televoting only format.
Romania is changing the whole stage show if I remember correctly, but I haven’t seen many people liking their song that much, so it might not gain votes. Armenia will be fighting for the same votes with Estonia, but even after those two we have more slower songs that could qualify over them. One thing is certain and it’s the change of 12 points with Greece & Cyprus.
As well as a 12p exchange between Iceland and Denmark, to be fair. It’s not only a GR – CY thing anymore. There are plenty of patterns.
Denmark might give it’s 12p to Greece since Victor is Greek-Danish, just like Norway gave 12p to Greece last year, but yeah there are several countries that do these swappings.
Amanda lives in Norway and has a career there (although nothing major prior to ESC). Stefania was a similar case, having grown up and starting her career in Netherlands (which she even represented in JESC), and prior to that Helena Paparizou similarly went famous in Sweden before Greeks discovered her. Victor lives in Greece and is completely unknown in Denmark (and in Greece actually) – nobody will know about him unless the DR commentators mention something during the live broadcast (and even that is questionable to bring any votes).
I won’t be surprised if Cyprus doesn’t give 12 points to Greece this year actually. OGAE Cyprus voted the other day and Greece received only 1 point, which is the second worst result ever, with only “Utopian Land” having managed to score 0.
This is probably my most played of the songs whose qualification prospects I’m indifferent to. I don’t mind it in my playlist, even enjoy it– it’s a nice, slick hook delivery device. But the artificiality of the hook is inherently limiting, and a look at the lyric sheet had me scrambling back to the surface level. This was my favorite DMGP prospect at first, but now I’m wishing they had chosen one of a few other options. 5/10
Even if I liked the song to start with (and I don’t, it is overproduced, generic, thematically uninventive and boring) I would agree with William. There are so many artists who are stepping up their game live and elevating their songs, which also might not be great to start with – Alika, Remo, Busker, Pasha, to name just a few, you can’t serve us nothing.
Performance-wise, he is with Blanca and San Marino at rock bottom.
Blanca, like Blanca Paloma? I hope you are talking about Blanka (Poland).
Yes, sorry, Poland.
Tik Tok music with the element of forced virality, 3.5/10. My #34.
Sweet guy. Don’t like his singing voice. Don’t like the song and staging either. 3.0/10
This is a good pop song. Back to back with the group The 1975 style of pop it could have easily come from their catalogue. My none obsessed Eurovision friends have heard this song and all said they like it. This is going to surprise and qualify. May not be a winner but a very good pop song.
It’s growing on me quite a lot. Reiley seems like such a sweet person. Good luck Denmark.
4.5 from me. The song starts I like it but after about 30 seconds my mind drifts away EVERY time, I go make coffee, call up weather forecast…I can however remember it a lot more than many entries.NQ for me
Yeah.. I’d prefer if we didn’t start from my overall last place. This has everything I avoid in a song. Mass use of autotune/voice effects/whatever it is, a voice thats rlly not my style, lyrics are far from original, instrumentation and production are weak too. Frankly, this is my least favortie ESC entry in a long time, I think I even prefer Israel’s 2022 one. Doesn’t help at all that his fans are more toxic than the environemnt of Chernobyl on April 26th of 1986. I would mind if it qualified. A lot. Obviously, I don’t agree with the Wiwi… Read more »
Too high of a score for me. It’s annoying and for the cringey side of tiktok. Plus his abilities to sing this live with the falsetto and everything are questionable. There were many better choices in the danish final and imo this was the worst one they could make. If the performance stays similar to what it was in DMGP I hope this is nowhere near qualification.
A 1,5/10 for me.
I’m quite indifferent towards Denmark this year, an improvement over the last two years where I distinctly did *not* like their entry. Still, Denmark’s not yet on the right track for me to consider this worthy of qualifying. The overly processed vocal delivery, the TikTok-like vibe the song goes for (I despise everything about TikTok) just makes me root for other Semifinal 2 songs more than Denmark. For me this is a 5/10, because I do see a chance for this to be performed well with apt staging. I heard they’re actually changing the staging for Liverpool, which would be… Read more »
I still think , despite the poor live performance, this song has huge commercial radio appeal – it might not win ESC( or even come close) but it may well get lots of commercial radio air play
Agree with most of what is said here. I think that in future, the rules will be further shifted to make it easier to perform a song like this on the live stage.
It’s not terrible but it is too repetitive and he’s not much of a singer either, the fact that Denmark ignored a genuinely very good entry like Soren Lund’s Lige Her in favor of something like this is really disappointing, but sadly not surprising at all. An improvement over last year’s Danish entry at the very least, but that was already quite a low bar to begin with I guess.
I have mixed feelings about this one. I enjoy the melody and the fresh and modern feel of the song, but there’s no great hook or ‘sing along’ quality. I’m also not sure how well Reily can carry the song and I’m not a big fan of the vocal effects.
It’s a 7/10 for me and 25th in my ranking. Borderline to qualify and if it does will most likely end up in bottom 5.
I really don’t like the voice effects and his Madrid performance was very weak. I know this kind of music has its following, but… Let’s just say it’s in my top 34.
This is getting way too much hate for what it actually is. It’s a well-produced pop song with a quite charismatic performer who actually has a fan base already. Is it breaking the conventions of music? No. Will it qualify for the final? I think so. I already liked the staging at dmgp and I’ve heard they will go quite big at esc. I do not mind the vocal effects tbh. It’s very clear that it’s a stylistic choice and Reiley can sing. I did prefer The Show but this is better than what Denmark gave us in 2021, 2019,… Read more »
My number 22 currently, nothing special, but still sweet. I hope he makes it to the final, but even if he does, he won’t do anything memorable there.
This is one of the songs that I just can’t stand. Near my last place, but I’ll hand it to him it is an ear worm. 2/10
Side note: haven’t liked a danish song since I started following in 2018. Always manage to choose the wrong songs from the nf lmao . Eyjaa would have been in my top ten
Sorry I don’t like the song
pretty sure you are one who is drooling over the two nordic elites (Norway, Sweden) their entries
Norway has never nq’d Sweden has never nq’d sadly
Norway NQd in 2016 and 2011, Sweden NQd in 2010.
did they take part those years? can’t remember their entries those years then
Norway: safe as houses with keiino alike schlager pop with pretending there is italian in the song lol and some fake latin chant
Sweden: Loreen can never ever flop just because its Loreen, any other artist would’ve been at risk of flopping with Tattoo, but it no longer is about the song in this contest, more about who is the most worldfamous, popular artists who people vote for
They did take part. Anna Bergendahl represented Sweden in 2010 with a song ”This Is My Life” and came 11th in the semi. Norway came 17th out of 19 entries in the semi in 2011 when Stella Mwangi performed ”Haba Haba” (although they would’ve been a televoting qualifier). They also came 13th out of 18 in the semi with Agnete’s ”Icebreaker”.
I have a different take on their 2023 entries, but it will be a mutual fun read when Wiwi Jury comes to them.
I’d say that’s a fair score. In my personal ranking i actually put this song in my top 3, just because it’s fresh and genuinely pleasing and fun to listen to for me. However, since then I’ve on one hand been alienated by his lack of authenticity/rehearsed persona both on and off stage, and on the other hand moved on to more vocally impressive and eye catching performances. Not a fan of the sound effects in the chorus either. I still like the song and I’ll cheer for Denmark.
This is easily the worst entry Denmark has sent in the past 10 years or so. And that vocoder effect is so annoying.
This song is what I would call “sweet and pretty.” The D major key makes the most of the nicer resonant sounds, like D/E right at the beginning of Verse 1. This works really well with Reiley’s head voice sound, which is extremely delicate and sweet when he goes up to the A in the Pre-Chorus. Another thing I spotted was a hidden refrain in the second half of each verse (“Pink skies”) – it’s so subtle that I almost missed it, so bravo on that. Now for the bit that troubles me: the Chorus. Electro voice being used as… Read more »
He is so overhated, for no reason! I think he has a solid song and trust he will improve!
Crossing my fingers he’ll improve live until the semi.
No one can dethrone Denmark as the cheese factory of Eurovision, but “Breaking My Heart” might be their first offering in a while that’s just a little… off to me. The song is fine on its own – inoffensive, repetitive, fairly catchy, the kind of music you’d expect from a light-hearted high school romance. What makes it sound phony and deceptive is the dissonance between the cardboard, neon pink world Reiley apparently inhabits and the surprisingly explicit lyrics (said it’d be easier if I was dead). The intimacy and toxicity of the relationship grotesquely concealed with the graffiti paint of… Read more »
Skiwalko, you’re back! And with another hilarious review. What is Interstella 5555?
Can’t wait to see what you think about the rest of this year’s crop.
“Interstella 5555” is an animated musical based on songs from Daft Punk’s “Discovery” album. It’s about an alien band kidnapped to Earth and turned into pop stars.
I’m kinda bummed I missed out on Eurovision 2022 (so many great songs), but we’ll see about this year.
Oh yeah, I remember that. My favourite Daft Punk track is “Digital Love”, and I always wondered about the music video, until I found out that it was part of a larger ensemble. I didn’t know its title and never saw it in its entirety, though.
Ahaha, that “graffiti paint” metaphor is brilliant! 🙂
Haha…the disconnect between the singer and the song content is alarming, but it never occurred to me to be alarming to the point of a possible hostage situation.
I’m not entirely ruling it out.
strong BTS vibes in this slick dynamic fun pop song, with very charismatic and cute performer
hope this qualifies, hope this finishes in the top 10
i love it
10.0
This entry is so cute, I have nothing against it. High respect for Reiley and how he’s getting better live. Younger audiciones will adore him on stage.
DENMARK – It’s great to see Faroe Islands finally being included in the form of the talented singer Reiley. His song is modern and very catchy. I actually like the bouncy rhymes it has, both in the verses and in the chorus. The issue I have is that something in it feels a bit – off balance. A 25-year-old man styled as a teenager sings with a vocoder about being scared of a heartbreak while dancing to a jolly tune. It creates an impression that it’s not what it seems to be at first glance. I feel like the song… Read more »
Quite a kind review with an underwhelming rating at the end. I feel like even though I gave it a full point more than you did, I might’ve taken the song to task a lot more harshly.
I wish I could get onboard with the idea of it being a theme song but I just don’t think it’s interesting enough, melodically-speaking. The style though could definitely work.
I hope that every other review of yours will be as elaborated as the Danish one. Loved reading it! 🙂 As for me, I was kinda okay with this winning DMGP, but after awhile, the hook began to become a bit tedious, and I began to investigate what’s about this song that bothers me. I don’t think that it’s bad, but on a simple scale between a ”yes” and a ”no”, it falls slightly more on the ”no” side for me, even if I see some positives in it too. Melodically, I’d call it ”effective” rather than ”interesting”, but it… Read more »
As you know there was a song that I preferred in the selection but, that would’ve been a personal choice for me, in so much tat it wasn’t of such obvious appeal or quality that I could say, without doubt, that it would’ve been a better prospect at Eurovision than “Breaking My Heart”. As such, I was also ok with this one winning. Definitely feels like it’s destined for my grey middle of this Eurovision year, where I don’t really like it, but it deserves to be above the bad stuff. Might be a better term for that, like the… Read more »
I like the term ”Malik Harris zone”. 😉 I actually think that he deserved better last year, but honestly, even if I do quite like his song, it’s still my 22nd, which isn’t far off from the actual 25th result. Most of the time, The Big Five don’t have the luxury of competing against actually poor entries, so they have to be more daring. I’d prefer Lige her too, btw. 😉
For me, this year’s wiwijury starts with a good one. I’m not known for mindlessly cheering on Danish entries, perhaps you could even say the opposite, but “Breaking my Heart” is a really cute entry with a very pleasant melody. The driving feature of this song is the heavy, pulsating synth bass that only disappears during the chorus. People have been taking issue with the sheer amount of vocal effects, and I think that is a fair criticism. Particularly at the end, like the composition would have benefitted from some countermelodic input in the backing vocals much more than from… Read more »
I’m happy to read your reviews this year, Tibor. They are always well-elaborated. I posted mine too, and as you can tell, there’s a disparity on this one. However, it is one of those I can easily see myself warming up to if the feeling from the final performance shifts from ”unnerving Pixar character” too ”adorable young man sings his heart out”. It’s a thin line, and I wasn’t sure at first where to put it. Vocoder overuse aside, the song is very well-produced, I like the instrumentation, and the rhythm is as punchy as it needs to be.
I think, this will always stay a tad artificial, so I doubt it will ever turn into a young man singing his heart out to the point that you will be really fond of it. I agree with Pablo, this has a very Gen Z feel to me, and that includes a little over-stylization, I guess.
Tibor, we are surprisingly similar with our views on this one – long may it continue!
Although you might be slightly unnerved given I am known for some, let’s say, eclectic choices!
Haha, don’t be silly, we both know we will have enough disagreements to quarrel about. But as I said already in the NF toplist, at the most unexpected moments there seems to be some kind of convergence of our tastes. Given your penchant for “eclectic choices” this should perhaps worry me, but I’m more curious to find out, if there is any kind of systematics to it.
I wish for countermelodies on my birthday.
Also, nice spot on the “Heartstopper” comparison; I can almost hear this song on the soundtrack to season 2.
Well, you won’t get them from Reiley, that’s for sure.
Weirdly enough, this isn’t a million miles away from being one of my highest rated Danish entries since that year, also. But that’s more down to the fact that Denmark have been a pretty horrid country at Eurovision for a while now when it comes to my personal taste.
Denmark’s 2000-2005 run was pretty stellar though, outside of “Shame On You” and obviously, they won the whole thing in 2013. 2016-2018 was a solid period, too…but, yeah, I think “Breaking My Heart” is probably in the upper mid-tier of Danish entries for sure.
This is the first song in a while that I feel decidedly appeals to the younger generations in an effective, not pandery way. Keeping with trends is something Denmark needed, and I welcome this package.