Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

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Eurovision Song Contest 2023
CountryFlag of Denmark.svg  Denmark
National selection
Selection process Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2023
Selection date(s)11 February 2023
Selected entrant Reiley
Selected song"Breaking My Heart"
Selected songwriter(s)Bård Mathias Bonsaksen
Hilda Stenmalm  [ no ]
Rani Petersen
Sivert Hjeltnes Hagtvet
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify (14th)
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄202220232024►

Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with "Breaking My Heart" performed by Reiley. The Danish broadcaster DR organised the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix2023 in order to select the Danish entry. Eight songs competed in a televised show where the winner was decided upon through two rounds of voting.

Contents

Denmark was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 11 May 2023. Performing during the show in position 1, "Breaking My Heart" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Denmark placed 14th out of the 16 participating countries in the semi-final with 6 points (all of which came from Iceland).

Background

Prior to the 2023 contest, Denmark had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty times since their first entry in 1957. [1] Denmark had won the contest, to this point, on three occasions: in 1963 with the song " Dansevise " performed by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann, in 2000 with the song "Fly on the Wings of Love" performed by Olsen Brothers, and in 2013 with the song "Only Teardrops" performed by Emmelie de Forest. In the 2022 contest, "The Show" performed by Reddi failed to qualify Denmark to the final. [2]

The Danish national broadcaster, DR, broadcasts the event within Denmark and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. DR confirmed their intention to participate at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest on 26 August 2022. [3] Denmark has selected all of their Eurovision entries thus far through the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix. The broadcaster further announced that Dansk Melodi Grand Prix2023 would be organised in order to select Denmark's entry for the 2023 contest. [4]

Before Eurovision

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix2023

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix2023 was the 53rd edition of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix , the music competition that selects Denmark's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The event was held on 11 February 2023 at the Næstved Arena in Næstved, hosted by Tina Müller and Heino Hansen  [ da ]. [5]

Format

Eight songs, all accompanied by the DR Grand Prix orchestra, competed in one show where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top three songs as determined exclusively on a public vote qualified to the superfinal. In the superfinal, the winner was determined based on the combination of votes from a public vote and a five-member jury panel. Viewers were able to vote via SMS or a newly introduced mobile application specifically designed for the competition. Prior to the show, the public was provided with one free vote on the app to cast a vote each day between 6 and 10 February 2023, while viewers using the app during the show were provided with two free votes. [6] [7]

The five-member jury panel was composed of: [8]

Competing entries

DR opened a submission period between 8 September 2022 and 28 October 2022 for artists and composers to submit their entries. The broadcaster stated that the competition would seek out songs that "represent the quality and breadth of the Danish music scene" with emphasis on songs that "have the potential to represent Danish music and Danish culture in the most distinguished way at the Eurovision Song Contest." [9] The eight competing entries were announced on 19 January 2023 at DR Byen in Copenhagen. [10]

Two weeks before the national final, it was reported by Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet that Reiley was at risk of disqualification from the competition, as it was revealed that he previously performed his entry "Breaking My Heart" at Slow Life Slow Live Festival in Seoul, South Korea, in October 2022. [11] This was in contravention with the contest's rules that songs must not have been performed or released publicly prior to the contest without the broadcaster's permission. [12] However, it was later decided by DR that the previous performance by Reiley did not give him a competitive advantage in relation to a Danish audience and participation in DMGP. [13]

ArtistSongComposer(s)
Eyjaa "I Was Gonna Marry Him"Maria Broberg, Rasmus Olsen, Thomas Buttenschøn  [ da ]
Frederik Leopold"Stuck on You"Frederik Jyll, Lasse Lindorff  [ da ]
Maia Maia"Beautiful Bullshit" Joy Deb, Maja Barløse, Niclas Lundin
Mariyah LeBerg"Human" Lars Pedersen  [ da ], Mariyah LeBerg, Nermin Harambašić
Micky Skeel "Glansbillede" Martin Bjelke  [ sv ], Micky Skeel Hansen
Nicklas Sonne"Freedom"Nicklas Sonne
Reiley "Breaking My Heart"Bård Mathias Bonsaksen, Hilda Stenmalm  [ no ], Rani Petersen, Sivert Hjeltnes Hagtvet
Søren Torpegaard Lund"Lige her"Lasse Storm, Martin Palme Skriver  [ da ], Steven McClintock, Søren Torpegaard Lund, Tim Schou Nielsen

Final

The final took place on 11 February 2023. The running order was determined by DR and announced on 31 January 2023. [14] In the first round of voting the top three advanced to the superfinal based on the votes of a public vote. In the week leading up to the show, viewers could vote through the DR Grand Prix app. During the show, viewers could via through SMS and the app. In the first round of voting the three songs with the most votes received through SMS as well as by each of Denmark's regions and autonomous territories were announced, and the top three advanced to the superfinal. [15] In the superfinal, the winner, "Breaking My Heart" performed by Reiley, was selected based on the votes of a five-member jury (50%) and a public vote (50%). [16] In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Svea S and Ukrainian Eurovision Song Contest 2022 winner Kalush Orchestra performed as the interval acts. [8]

It was reported by DR that DR Grand Prix, the app used for voting during the national final, crashed due to overload, which caused several breaks during the show. However, according to DMGP program manager Erik Struve, the results of the show were not affected by the app crash. [17]

Final – 11 February 2023
DrawArtistSongResult
1Frederik Leopold"Stuck on You"Eliminated
2 Eyjaa "I Was Gonna Marry Him"Eliminated
3 Micky Skeel "Glansbillede"Advanced
4Maia Maia"Beautiful Bullshit"Eliminated
5Nicklas Sonne"Freedom"Advanced
6Mariyah LeBerg"Human"Eliminated
7Søren Torpegaard Lund"Lige her"Eliminated
8 Reiley "Breaking My Heart"Advanced
Detailed Regional Televoting Results
DrawSong North Jutland,
Faroe Islands,
and Greenland
Central
Denmark
Southern
Denmark
Zealand Capital
Region
SMS
1"Stuck on You"
2"I Was Gonna Marry Him"
3"Glansbillede"XXXXX
4"Beautiful Bullshit"X
5"Freedom"XXXXX
6"Human"X
7"Lige her"
8"Breaking My Heart"XXXXXX
Superfinal – 11 February 2023
DrawArtistSongJuryTelevoteTotalPlace
1 Micky Skeel "Glansbillede"8%15%23%3
2Nicklas Sonne"Freedom"14%20%34%2
3 Reiley "Breaking My Heart"28%15%43%1

At Eurovision

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 in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. 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 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Denmark has been placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 11 May 2023, and has been scheduled to perform in the first half of the show. [18]

Once all the competing songs for the 2023 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. Denmark was set to perform in position 1, before the entry from Armenia. [19]

At the end of the show, Denmark was not among the ten countries announced as qualifiers for the final.

All three shows were broadcast live within Denmark on DR1 with Danish commentary provided by Nicolai Molbech. [20] The three shows were also broadcast within the Faroe Islands on Kringvarp Føroya, with both Danish-language commentary via DR and Faroese commentary by Gunnar Nolsøe and Siri Súsonnudóttir Hansen available. [21] [22] [23] [24] The semi-final 1 broadcast on DR1 reached a total of 380,000 viewers, while the semi-final 2, which included the participation of Denmark, was viewed by 479,000 people. 372,000 people tuned into the DR1 broadcast of the final, a drop of around 150,000 viewers compared to the 2022 contest. [25]

Voting

Points awarded to Denmark