Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Danish entry was selected through the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2013, organised by the Danish broadcaster Danmarks Radio. Emmelie de Forest represented Denmark with the song "Only Teardrops", which qualified from the first semi-final of the competition and won the contest, placing 1st in the final with 281 points.
Ten 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 vote and a five-member jury panel qualified to the superfinal. In the superfinal, the winner was determined as well by the combination of votes from the public and the jury panel. The viewers and the juries each had a total of 30 points to award. Each jury member distributed their points to their top three as follows: 1, 2 and 3 points. The SMS viewer vote was based on the percentage of votes each song received. For example, if a song gained 50% of the viewer vote, then that entry would be awarded 50% of 30 points rounded to the nearest integer: 15 points. The members of the professional jury were announced on 14 January 2013:
Jørgen de Mylius - journalist; 23-times Eurovision Song Contest commentator
DR opened a submission period until 24 September 2012 for artists and composers to submit their entries. Jan Lagermand Lundme, DR Head of Entertainment, stated that the competition would seek out "songs that had a strong chorus". The broadcaster received 692 entries during the submission period - the highest number of submissions since 1988. A selection committee selected six songs from the entries submitted to the broadcaster. An additional four participants were invited to compete based on editorial considerations. The competing artists and songs were officially presented on 16 January 2013.
To ensure fair ticket distribution in the semifinals, the Eurovision Reference Group decided on 7 November 2012 that Denmark would compete in the first semi-final on 14 May. In the first semifinal, the producers of the show decided that Denmark would perform 5th, following Croatia and preceding Russia. On stage, Emmelie de Forest was joined by two drummers: Morten Specht Larsen and Jacob Baagøe Thomsen, and by three backing singers: Anne Murillo, Heidi Degn and Anders Øhrstrøm. Denmark qualified from the first semi-final, placing 1st and scoring 167 points. At the first semi-final winners' press conference, Denmark was allocated to perform in the second half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Denmark would perform 18th, following Hungary and preceding Iceland. Denmark won the 2013 Contest placing 1st and scoring a total of 281 points. In Denmark, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on DR1, with commentary provided by Ole Tøpholm. The national jury that provided 50% of the Danish vote in the first semi-final and the final consisted of: Jørgen de Mylius, Soluna Samay, Chief 1 , Kaya Brüel and Jimmy Colding. The Danish spokesperson in the grand final was Sofie Lassen-Kahlke.
