Interview with Denmark’s A Friend in London

Wiwi and Vebooboo were scarfing down cookies and cake when one of the Danish back-up singers (yes, there are actually two hidden on stage!) sat down next to us in the press room. A few minutes of chit-chat led to an interview with Esben and Sebastian from Denmark’s A Friend in London. Here are the highlights.

Q: In Britain and France, pop stars are stigmatized if they enter Eurovision. Is it different in Denmark?
A: No, it’s the same. There are a lot of people who think it’s stigmatized or tacky even, especially in the music business where people don’t want to go there because it’s not about the music.

Q: Why did you guys look past that then?
A: Because we thought the song was good enough to break those prejudicial barriers down. We had a product that we felt could keep the integrity still and we really don’t give to much for those cliches because when we go to Canada and we show them the video they just really think that it’s a great song.

WATCH the boys at the second semi-final press conference on May 12:

Q: Do you guys see this as an opportunity to take your act outside Denmark and Canada?
A: Yeah, definitely, because it’s a big window to a lot of countries in Europe. We’ve already received so much feedback from Spain and Turkey, so those countries that give us a lot of points we have to go tour in. And if we win, that’s a great opportunity for us to get out in Europe.

Q: Is there pressure for you to do well?
A: Yeah, there is, because Denmark usually does very well in the contest, so it would be ugly to go out already in the semi-final, but I think we have a good chance and it’s a good motivation to keep on our toes to give the best we can so we don’t disappoint.

Q: Do you guys think you have a good chance to win tonight?
A: Yeah, pretty much, but it’s also very hard to predict, because we thought Norway was gonna be one of the top 5 and they didn’t move on, so…But we actually did a very good show last night during the jury show, so actually we just have to smile a lot tonight to catch the audience and we’re good at that.

Q: Do you think your sound will appeal to all sorts of sounds in Europe?
A: Actually I think it’s a pretty good sound because the melody is kind of traditional in some way. It could fit well in the Eastern European countries, so we hope it is going to make an appeal to as many people as possible. It combines some kind of British sound with a commercial American sound, so they really like it in Canada and it seems to be a popular song.

Q: On a lighter note, have you had a chance to get out on the town these past few weeks?
A: Well luckily for us the music is fun and it’s all we’ve been doing really. We haven’t had too much time to go out and party, we’ve actually compressed it to one night with a big party and all the other nights have been focusing on getting ready. Actually, even tonight if we move on to the final, we’ll go to the hotel and not to the Euroclub. We’ll have a quick party at the hotel and then go to bed so we can be ready for tomorrow’s Jury Final. We need to stay focused.

Q: Have you noticed that there are a lot of Eurovision groupies here?
A: Well there’s the Denmark fan club that follows us everywhere and is very supportive. Everytime we enter a room they give us a big applause and it’s really nice to have them here. But it’s not like when you go to a football game and the opposite sides hate each other. Every country likes each other here so it’s such a good atmosphere.

Q: So what’s next in store for you guys after Eurovision?
A: We have a debut album that we want to record, we’ve waited six years to record and release an album, so we’re going to Toronto in the end of June until mid-July to record it.

Q: Any plans to make it to the U.S.?
A: Actually our producer wants us to be the first band in Eurovision since ABBA to make a break-through in the US, so we hope that’s the case.