Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012

Eurovision Song Contest 2012
Country	Denmark
National selection
Selection process	Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2012
Selection date(s)	21 January 2012
Selected entrant	Soluna Samay
Selected song	"Should've Known Better"
Selected songwriter(s)	Remee Chief 1 Isam B
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Qualified (9th, 63 points)
Final result	23rd, 21 points
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2011 • 2012 • 2013►

Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Should've Known Better" written by Chief 1, Remee and Isam B. The song was performed by Soluna Samay. The Danish broadcaster DR organised the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2012 in order to select the Danish entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Nine songs competed in a televised show where "Should've Known Better" performed by Soluna Samay was the winner as decided upon through the combination of jury voting and public voting over two rounds.

Denmark was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 22 May 2012. Performing during the show in position 13, "Should've Known Better" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 26 May. It was later revealed that Denmark placed ninth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 63 points. In the final, Denmark performed in position 15 and placed twenty-third out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 21 points.

Background

Main article: Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2012 contest, Denmark had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty times since its first entry in 1957. ^[1] Denmark had won the contest, to this point, on two occasions: in 1963 with the song "Dansevise" performed by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann, and in 2000 with the song "Fly on the Wings of Love" performed by Olsen Brothers. In the 2011 contest, "New Tomorrow" performed by A Friend in London qualified Denmark to the final placing fifth.

The Danish national broadcaster, DR, broadcasts the event within Denmark and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. DR confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest on 15 May 2011. ^[2] Denmark has selected all of their Eurovision entries through the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix . On 15 August 2011, the broadcaster announced that Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2012 would be organised in order to select Denmark's entry for the 2012 contest. ^[3]

Before Eurovision

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2012

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2012 was the 42nd edition of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the music competition that selects Denmark's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The event was held on 21 January 2012 at the Gigantium in Aalborg, hosted by Louise Wolff and Emil Thorup and was televised on DR1 with commentary by Ole Tøpholm as well as streamed online at the official DR website. ^{[4] [5] [6]} The national final was watched by 1.506 million viewers in Denmark. ^[7]

Format

Nine songs competed in one show where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top three songs based on the combination of votes from a public televote and a jury panel qualified to the superfinal. In the superfinal, the winner was determined by again the votes of the jury and public. The jury in the first round featured five Danish members, while the jury in the superfinal consisted of five members from each of the past four Eurovision Song Contest winning countries (Russia, Norway, Germany and Azerbaijan) alongside the Danish members. Viewers were able to vote via SMS. ^[8]

The Danish jury was composed of: ^[9]

• Kenneth Bager (President) – DJ and producer
• Laust Sonne – musician
• Søs Fenger – singer-songwriter
• Freja Loeb – musician and songwriter
• Lars Trillingsgaard – music director of DR

Competing entries

DR opened a submission period between 15 August 2011 and 26 September 2011 for artists and composers to submit their entries. ^[10] The broadcaster received 678 entries during the submission period. A selection committee selected six songs from the entries submitted to the broadcaster, while four of the participants were invited to compete based on editorial considerations. ^[6] DR held a press meet and greet at the DR Byen in Copenhagen on 5 January 2012 where the competing artists and songs were announced and officially presented. ^[11]

On 9 January 2012, "Nowhere" written by Tine Lynggaard, Søren Itenov and Christoffer Stjerne and to have been performed by Valentine was disqualified from the competition as the song was released before 1 September 2011, the date allowed by the European Broadcasting Union. ^[12]

Key:  Disqualified

Artist	Song	Songwriter(s)	Selection
Aya	"Best Thing I Got"	John Gordon, Julie Frost	Open submission
Christian Brøns and Patrik Isaksson	"Venter"	Christian Brøns Petersen, Patrik Isaksson, Rune Braager	Invited by DR
Ditte Marie	"Overflow"	Mike Eriksson, Johnny Sanchez, Hanif Sabzevari	Open submission
Emilia and Philip	"Baby, Love Me"	Philip Halloun, Jonnaemilia Kärkkäinen
Jesper Nohrstedt	"Take Our Hearts"	Mads B.B. Krog, Engelina Larsen, Morten Hampenberg	Invited by DR
Karen Viuff	"Universe"	Simon Borch, Lise Cabble, Boe Larsen	Open submission
Kenneth Potempa	"Reach for the Sky"	Peter Bjørnskov, Lene Dissing, Sune Haansbæk
Soluna Samay	"Should've Known Better"	Chief 1, Remee, Isam B	Invited by DR
Suriya	"Forever I B Young"	Jakob Winge, Thomas Hoffmann, Suriyatim Hoffmann
Valentine	"Nowhere"	Tine Lynggaard	Open submission

Final

The final took place on 21 January 2012. ^[13] In the first round of voting the top three advanced to the superfinal based on the votes of a five-member Danish jury (50%) and a public televote (50%). In the superfinal, the winner, "Should've Known Better" performed by Soluna Samay, was selected by the votes of the Danish jury together with four international juries (50%) and the public vote (50%). ^[14] The viewers and the juries each had a total of 150 points to award in the superfinal. Each jury group distributed their points as follows: 8, 10 and 12 points. The viewer vote was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved. For example, if a song gained 10% of the viewer vote, then that entry would be awarded 10% of 150 points rounded to the nearest integer: 15 points. ^[9]

In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Danish Eurovision 2011 entrant A Friend in London, Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest 2009 winner Alexander Rybak and Backstreet Boys member Howie D performed as the interval acts. ^[5]

Final – 21 January 2012

Draw	Artist	Song	Result
1	Jesper Nohrstedt	"Take Our Hearts"	Advanced
2	Aya	"Best Thing I Got"	Eliminated
3	Kenneth Potempa	"Reach for the Sky"	Eliminated
4	Ditte Marie	"Overflow"	Eliminated
5	Emilia and Philip	"Baby, Love Me"	Eliminated
6	Suriya	"Forever I B Young"	Eliminated
7	Karen Viuff	"Universe"	Eliminated
8	Soluna Samay	"Should've Known Better"	Advanced
9	Christian Brøns and Patrik Isaksson	"Venter"	Advanced

Superfinal – 21 January 2012

Draw	Artist	Song	Jury	Televote	Total	Place
1	Jesper Nohrstedt	"Take Our Hearts"	56	46	102	2
2	Soluna Samay	"Should've Known Better"	54	56	110	1
3	Christian Brøns and Patrik Isaksson	"Venter"	40	48	88	3

Detailed international jury votes

Draw	Song						Total
1	"Take Our Hearts"	12	12	12	10	10	56
2	"Should've Known Better"	10	10	10	12	12	54
3	"Venter"	8	8	8	8	8	40

International jury members ^[15]

Country	Members
Azerbaijan	Nigar Jamal (President) – singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 as a part of Ell & Nikki Eldar Gasimov – singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 as a part of Ell & Nikki Isa Melikov – composer, producer of Nigar Jamal Dilara Kazimova – singer, ex-member of Unformal, Azerbaijani entrant at Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Aysel Teymurzadeh – singer, Azerbaijani entrant at Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with Arash
Germany	Oceana (President) – singer Rüdiger Brans – singer, lead singer of The Baseballs Peter Bergener – journalist Roger Cicero – singer, German entrant at Eurovision Song Contest 2007 Mike Rötgens – producer
Norway	Alexander Rybak (President) – singer, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 Venke Knutson – singer Omer Bhatti – rapper, close friend of Michael Jackson Kjell Peter Askersrud – music professor Bjørn Johan Muri – singer
Russia	Alexey Vorobyov (President) – singer, Russian entrant at Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Lera Masskva – singer Yuri Madianik – musician Anna Kulikova – singer Mario Durand – singer, violinist

At Eurovision

The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 took place at the Baku Crystal Hall in Baku, Azerbaijan

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. ^{[16] [17]} The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 25 January 2012, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Denmark was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 22 May 2012, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show. ^[18] The running order for the semi-finals was decided through another draw on 20 March 2012 and Denmark was set to perform in position 13, following the entry from Cyprus and before the entry from Russia. ^[19]

The two semi-finals and final were broadcast on DR1 with commentary by Ole Tøpholm. ^[20] The Danish spokesperson, who announced the Danish votes during the final, was Louise Wolff.

Semi-final

Soluna Samay took part in technical rehearsals on 14 and 17 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 21 and 22 May. This included the jury show on 21 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Danish performance featured Soluna Samay dressed in a red outfit and performing in a band set-up with a drummer, pianist, double bassist, cellist and backing vocalist sitting on a sofa. The stage colours were predominantly warm and the LED screens transitioned from a dawn effect to landscapes at sunset and Chinese lanterns that float towards the sky. ^{[21] [22] [23]} The musicians that joined Soluna Samay were Ihan Haydar (drums), Barbara Boitumelo Moleko Ærsøe, Jesper Faaborg Jensen and Kewan Padré Hussein, while the backing vocalist was Anja Akselbo. ^[24] Ihan Haydar would go on to represent Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 as a member of the band Reddi.

At the end of the show, Denmark was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. It was later revealed that Denmark placed ninth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 63 points. ^[25]

Final

Shortly after the first semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order for the final. This draw was done in the order the countries were announced during the semi-final. Denmark was drawn to perform in position 15, following the entry from Romania and before the entry from Greece. ^[26]

Soluna Samay once again took part in dress rehearsals on 25 and 26 May before the final, including the jury final where the professional juries cast their final votes before the live show. Soluna Samay performed a repeat of her semi-final performance during the final on 26 May. Denmark placed twenty-third in the final, scoring 21 points. ^{[27] [28]}

Voting

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that Denmark had placed twenty-third with the public televote and twenty-first with the jury vote in the final. In the public vote, Denmark scored 18 points, while with the jury vote, Denmark scored 51 points. In the first semi-final, Denmark placed ninth with the public televote with 53 points and sixth with the jury vote, scoring 81 points. ^[29]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Denmark and awarded by Denmark in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Russia in the semi-final and to Sweden in the final of the contest.

Points awarded to Denmark

Points awarded to Denmark (Semi-final 1) [30] Score Country 12 points 10 points    Switzerland 8 points   Finland   Iceland   Latvia 7 points   Ireland 6 points   Italy 5 points 4 points   Cyprus   San Marino 3 points   Romania   Russia 2 points 1 point   Greece   Hungary

Points awarded to Denmark (Final) [31] Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points 5 points   Finland   Germany   Iceland 4 points 3 points 2 points   Estonia   Italy   Norway 1 point

Points awarded by Denmark

Points awarded by Denmark (Semi-final 1) [30] Score Country 12 points   Russia 10 points   Iceland 8 points   Finland 7 points   Albania 6 points   Moldova 5 points   Hungary 4 points   Greece 3 points   Israel 2 points   Ireland 1 point   Romania

Points awarded by Denmark (Final) [31] Score Country 12 points   Sweden 10 points   Germany 8 points   Russia 7 points   Moldova 6 points   Iceland 5 points   Albania 4 points   Ireland 3 points   Italy 2 points   Turkey 1 point   Romania

Detailed voting results from Denmark ^[32]

Semi-final 1 Jury points awarded in second semi-final: 12 points   Moldova 10 points   Israel 8 points   Albania 7 points   Greece 6 points   Hungary 5 points   Finland 4 points   Cyprus 3 points   Russia 2 points   Austria 1 point   Ireland

Final Jury points awarded in the final: 12 points   Sweden 10 points   Germany 8 points   Moldova 7 points   Albania 6 points   Russia 5 points   Cyprus 4 points   Italy 3 points   Spain 2 points   Romania 1 point   Greece

References

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3. Bygbjerg, Søren (10 July 2012). "Entries wanted for the Danish National Song Contest 2013". dr.dk. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
4. Storvik-Green, Simon (10 August 2011). "Aalborg to host Danish final once again". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
5. Hondal, Victor (21 January 2012). "Tonight: National final in Denmark". Esctoday. Archived from the original on 24 January 2012. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
6. Storvik-Green, Simon (4 January 2012). "Denmark is in it to win it as artists are revealed". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
7. Christensen, Kasper Madsbøll (10 March 2014). "1,8 millioner fulgte med da Basim vandt Melodi Grand Prix". dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 11 November 2022.
8. "International jury skal sikre dansk sejr". Good Evening Europe (in Danish). 18 January 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
9. Bygbjerg, Søren (16 January 2012). "Her er den danske Grand Prix-jury". dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 12 November 2022.
10. Therkelsen, Søren (15 August 2011). "Rules Governing the Danish National Song Contest 2012" (PDF). Danmarks Radio. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
11. Bygbjerg, Søren (5 January 2012). "Her er de nye Grand Prix-stjerner". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 1 January 2021.
12. "Denmark: Nine acts to compete in DMGP". Esctoday.com. 9 January 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
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14. Storvik-Green, Simon (21 January 2012). "Soluna Samay to represent Denmark in Baku". Eurovision.tv.
15. "Denmark: International Jury announced!". Esctoday.com. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
16. "Eurovision Song Contest–Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
17. Eurovision Song Contest 2012. Baku, Azerbaijan: European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 22–26 May 2012.
18. Hondal, Victor. "Insignia exchange and semifinal allocation draw". EscToday.com.
19. "Results of the 2012 Running Order Draw!". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 20 March 2012. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
20. "Tøpholm skal kommentere dansk Grand Prix". DR (in Danish). 28 December 2011. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
21. "There's no missing the rain for Denmark". eurovision.tv. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
22. "Denmark's Soluna: From busker to Baku with a new outfit". eurovision.tv. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
23. "Denmark know better as they make some changes to the performance". EuroVisionary. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
24. "Should've known better - info". Diggiloo Thrush. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
25. "First Semi-Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
26. Brey, Marco (23 May 2012). "First Semi-Final Winners Press Conference". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 6 February 2021.
27. "Grand Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
28. "Eurovision Song Contest 2012 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013.
29. Siim, Jarmo (18 June 2012). "Eurovision 2012 split jury-televote results revealed". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
30. "Results of the First Semi-Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
31. "Results of the Grand Final of Baku 2012". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
32. Granger, Anthony (18 June 2012). "Denmark: 2012 Jury Voting". Eurovoix. Retrieved 26 March 2024.

External links

• (in Danish) Competition rules DR
• (in Danish) DR MGP site DR