Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018


Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The Danish broadcaster DR organised the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2018 in order to select the Danish entry for the 2018 contest in Lisbon, Portugal.

Background

Prior to the 2018 contest, Denmark had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-six times since their first entry in. Denmark had won the contest, to this point, on three occasions: in 1963 with the song "Dansevise" performed by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann, and twice in Sweden: in 2000 with the song "Fly on the Wings of Love" performed by Olsen Brothers, and again in 2013 with the song "Only Teardrops" performed by Emmelie de Forest. In the 2017 contest, "Where I Am" performed by Anja Nissen ended in 20th place in the final with 77 points
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 2018 Eurovision Song Contest on 4 July 2017. Denmark has selected all of their Eurovision entries thus far through the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.

Before Eurovision

''Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2018''

Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2018 was the 48th edition of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the music competition that selects Denmark's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The event was held on 10 February 2018 at the Gigantium in Aalborg, hosted by Annette Heick and Johannes Nymark.

Format

Ten songs competed in the final, where the winner was determined over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top 3 songs based on the combination of votes from a public vote and a five-member jury panel qualified to the super-final. In the super-final, the winner was determined as well by the combination of votes from the public and the jury panel. The jury panel consisted of five Danish Eurovision fans: Julie Lund Mikkelsen, Jens Erik Møller, Morten Madsen, Christian Kaad, and Anna Bennike.

Competing entries

DR opened a submission period for artists and composers to submit their entries on 4 July 2017; songs submitted before 15 September 2017 were considered for Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2018. The competing artists and songs were announced by DR on 22 January 2018.
ArtistSong Composer
Albin Fredy"Music for the Road"Rune Braager, John Garrison, Olivio Antonio
Anna Ritsmar"Starlight"Lise Cabble
CARLSEN"Standing Up for Love"Thomas Thörnholm, Michael Clauss, Dave Rude
Ditte Marie"Riot"Theis Andersen, Lise Cabble, Chris Wahle
KARUI"Signals"Annelie Karui Saemala Overbeck, Jeanette Bonde, Daniel Fält, Jonas Halager
Lasse Meling"Unfound"Lasse Meling, Kim Nowak-Zorde, TheArrangement
Rasmussen"Higher Ground"Niclas Arn, Karl Eurén
Rikke Ganer-Tolsøe"Holder fast i ingenting" Rune Braager, Clara Sofie Fabricius, Andrea Emilie Fredslund Nørgaard
Sandra"Angels to My Battlefield"Chief 1, Ronny Vidar Svendsen, Anne Judith Stokke Wik, Nermin Harambasic, Sandra Hilal
Sannie"Boys on Girls"Sannie Carlson, Domenico Canu, James Reeves

Final

The final took place on 10 February 2018. In the first round of voting the top three advanced to a super-final based on the votes of a five-member jury and a public vote. In the super-final, the winner was selected by the public and jury vote. The three superfinalists were "Starlight" performed by Anna Ritsmar, "Higher Ground" performed by Rasmussen and "Music for the Road" performed by Albin Fredy. In the super-final, the winner, "Higher Ground" performed by Rasmussen, was selected by the public and jury vote.
In addition to the performances of the competing entries, Eurovision Song Contest 2014 winner Conchita Wurst performed as the interval act.

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" 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 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 29 January 2018, a special 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 second semi-final, to be held on 10 May 2018, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.
Once all the competing songs for the 2018 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 5, following the entry from San Marino and preceding the entry from Russia.

Semi-final

Prior to their first live performance, the Danish delegation were one of a handful of countries necessitating technical assistance following tech rehearsals. They complained that the snow provided by the Portuguese broadcaster was too light and fluffy for the song, asking for a harsher snowfall in the actual performance. This request was granted. Denmark performed fifth in the second semi-final, following San Marino and preceding Russia. At the end of the night, Denmark was announced as one of the ten countries that qualified for the grand final, allowing them to appear in the final two years in a row for the first time since 2014. Following the semi-final, Rasmussen participated in a draw with the other qualifiers to determine which half of the final he would perform in. Ultimately, Denmark was drawn to perform in the second half of the final. It was later revealed that Denmark placed fifth in semi-final 2 - although they only placed 12th in the jury vote, they won the televote, the first time Denmark has won the televote of their semi-final since 2013.

Final

Denmark performed fifteenth in the grand final, following the Czech Republic and preceding Australia. As with their semi, they received a poor score from the international juries, finishing in twentieth place with 38 points. However, they turned it around by coming fifth with the televote, adding 188 points to their score and allowing them to finish in ninth place with 226 points. This marked Denmark's first appearance in the top ten since their hosting in 2014, where Basim's "Cliche Love Song" also finished in ninth place.

Voting

Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury judged each entry 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 was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results were released shortly after the grand final.

Points awarded to Denmark

Points awarded by Denmark

Split voting results

The following five members comprised the Danish jury: