Get to know the Danish participants: Part 1

Yesterday, we revealed the ten acts that will compete to represent Denmark in Malmö at next week's Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in the town of Herning. Of these acts, a number are previously known whilst there are also some newcomers!

Today, we take a closer look at the first five teams, in the order that they will perform on the night so that you can get to know them a bit before the big night. Enjoy!

JEG HAR HELE TIDEN VIDST DET

Performed by: Frederikke Vedel
Written by: Pernille Georgi, Thomas Reil, Jeppe Reil 

Although Frederikke Vedel is debuting in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, she is a pretty experienced lady in the world of music. She has been singing since she was very small and her involvement in productions of West Side Story, Into the Woods and The Wild Party at Fredericia Theatre, Midt om natten at the Folketeatret and Mamma Mia! at Tivoli, bear witness to Frederikke’s engagement and enthusiasm. She is additionally a huge fan of the competition she will now take part in.

”When you’ve always been a Grand Prix fan, it’s great to be able to be a part of its history”, explains Frederikke who debuts as an artist at Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2013.

Frederikke was educated at Det Danske Musicalakademi in 2007 and has, in addition to her musical experience, also stood on the big stages at Wallmans in Oslo as well as at the Cirkus building in Copenhagen. She is also a songwriter at GL Music and a singer in the cover-band Party Time. Now it’s however a solo career Frederikke is focusing on, and surely when she stands on the big Grand Prix stage in Herning with the song Jeg har hele tiden vidst det, it can be accelerated further.

”I think it’ll be a party”, says Frederikke, who at the same time tries to keep both feet on the ground by not expecting too much and just being there in the now.

About the songwriters

Pernille Georgi, who has been singing since she was just four years old, is probably best known as one half of the Danish sister duo Me & My, that had huge success all over the world in the mid nineties with the million selling single Dub I Dub. Their debut album was just as big a success and since many a world citizen hummed along to the this song with a somewhat atypical title for the first time, the duo has sold three million albums.  

Now Pernille has relocated to England in order to focus on her own career as a songwriter, where she collaborates with artists and other songwriters on various projects.

It was through this that she made contact with the other composers of Jeg har hele tiden vidst det, Thomas and Jeppe Reil. The two brothers who together make up the songwriting team Reilsongs, are not unfamiliar with how a good popsong should be edited: they had the song Listen to Love performed by Jacob Andersen, in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in 2007. Moreover, Thomas and Jeppe have worked togehter with known names in most of Europe: including the Greek superstar Michalis, the Turkish pop-sensation Emir Yesil and the British Blaise. 

Jeppe describes Jeg har hele tiden vidst det as a catchy and current song ”with a nordic blue and melancholic tone”. As to how the songwriters, who in their own words have endevoured to create a Danish song with an international sound, can emerge victorious from Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, we’ll first know at the end of January but celebrations are promised if this is the case.

”If we win, I’ll dance on the table in the bar”, promises Pernille.

HUMAN

Performed by: Brinck
Written by: Niels Brinck

Niels Brinck is a name that most people nod in recognition of. The name began being uttered back in 2009 when he quite convincingly won Dansk Melodi Grand Prix with the Ronan Keating composed song, Believe Again, and he managed to achieving a respectable 13th place at the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow. Now he is back in the competition, and this time with a completely self-penned song that carries the title, Human.

“It is a singer-songwriter song that has borrowed from modern radio but at the same time is retro-inspired”, tells Niels Brinck, who has written the lyrics, provided the vocals, played all the instruments and mixed the song himself.

“Human also feels like the core of what he is and where he stands musically right now”, explains Brinck, who in his own words is back in the competition in order to “add depth and passion”. The ambitions ahead of his participation in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix can’t be underestimated:

“It is now that the Swedes need to be beaten black and blue”, says Brinck with a glint in his eye, and at the same time reveals that Human does not have many similarities with his previous winner Believe Again:

“You shouldn’t expect a copy”.

As previously mentioned, Brick is a one man act regarding text, composition and performing his song Human, something which is pretty rare for the Eurovision Song Contest. This testimony of a very broad musicality is also clearly evident when you take a closer look at his impressive list of other musical projects.

His debut album Brinck went platinum and he has written the title music to both the TV-series Anna Pihl and the TV2-program Weekend Weekend. He collaborated with the Danish superstar Rasmus Seebach on the hit I mine øjne and delivered the sound track to the Susanne Bier film Elsker dig for evigt. Moreover, Niels Brinck is the man behind the first Danish X Factor winning song The 1, which was performed by the competition’s first winner in Denmark, the then 15 year old Martin Hedegaard.

This wide-ranging musician and previous Dansk Melodi Grand Prix winner is however humble, despite his high level of ambition:

“I’ve already achieved my success criteria, as my own song is taking part”, he finishes.

I'M NOT ALONE

Performed by: Kate Hall
Written by: Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Larsson, Michelle Bell, Oscar Holter, Jakke Erixson, Simon Hermansen

From one day to the next, Kate Hall became famous in Denmark when in 2002 she took part in the talent show Popstars where she made it all the way to the final and ended in a very good third place. Now she is going to take part in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2013 with the dance track I’m Not Alone and when Kate walks onto the stage at Boxen in Herning, it is not just as an artist but also as a fan:

”Melodi Grand Prix has a place in my heart. It was a holy evening when the show was on TV and being able to take part in the competition is a childhood dream that I have had since I saw Hallo Hallo and the big red telephone on stage. So it was there at the back of my mind to take part one day”, tells Kate.

After Popstars, Kate uprooted and took off to Berlin where she now has been living for seven years. Here she was discovered by the German music producer Alex Christensen and her name quickly turned up in the German charts with the single Is There Anyone Out There?. Since then Kate has clinged onto her success in Germany and released solo records and duets and has also been involved in the German version of Popstars, this time as a vocal coach. Kate therefore has both stage experience as well as backstage knowledge.

Kate’s musical career however started long before she took part in Popstars; she has been interested in music since she was a kid and was for many years part of DR’s girl’s choir and has curiously also released a children’s CD. Just like her general interest in music, her dream about taking part in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix goes back even further than her participation in Popstars:

”You just have to patient, and the doors will open to all the dreams you have. I have already won because I am able to take part and my focus is actually on delivering a good show”, explains Kate.

About the songwriters

Lars Halvor Jensen and Martin Larsson make up the Danish songwriting team Deekay and the list of artists they have written for is long as well as wide. Deekay has composed music for the Sugababes, Blue, Medina, Brinck and Jedward among others. Brinck’s Believe Again came 13th for Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009 whilst the Irish duo Jedward secured an 8th place for the Emerald Isle with Lipstick in the 2011 contest.

In 2013 the songwriting team are focusing once again on Denmark where they are taking part with the song I’m Not Alone. A song, which in Martin’s own words, isn’t completely unlike last year’s winner Euphoria:

”It’s in the same genre and it can win because it is classic Grand Prix”, he asserts and predicts at the same time that we, in 2013, will revert back to ”the classical” Melodi Grand Prix after an atypical Danish winner in 2012.

I’m Not Alone turned into a collaboration with the American Michelle Bell (who has delivered music to world famous divas such as J.Lo and Britney Spears), the Swedish Jakke Erixson (who has written for Jill Johnson and Christina Aguilera) and Oscar Holter (who has also composed for Aguilera and Amy Diamond), as well as the Dane Simon Hermansen.

The transatlantic song-partnership worked with Lars Halvor composing the outline to I’m Not Alone together with Bell, Erixson and Holter in the USA. They then send the song to Denmark where Martin Larsson and Simon Hermansen finished it.

REJS DIG OP
(Wildcard)

Performed by: Louise Dubiel
Written by: Casper Lindstad, Rune Braager, Louise Dubiel

Louise Dubiel from Hellerup has stood on many big stages at a large number of concerts and is already an experience women in the world of music. She released her debut album Alle kneb gælder with Universal and at the moment is in the process of making new music, and soon it will all be about Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2013 where she is taking part with the song Rejs dig op.

”Luckily I’ve tried standing on big stages but this will definitely be the biggest, and the most intense and exciiting show, so I am definitely going to rehearse a lot. Also, I am going to put the stage through its paces when I arrive in Herning so that I can get used to it and the size of the arena and audience”, explains Louise who believes that it’s about standing out from the crowd if you want to win a competition like Dansk Melodi Grand Prix.

She is looking forward to participating in the competition with a Danish song and hopes to be able to connect with the audience in Boxen in Herning and the people at home in their living rooms when she walks up onto the big stage:

”I hope to achieve that special feeling of togetherness with the audience, which is the best thing about a good concert where everything else works”, says Louise who thinks that she is contributing a very good song to the competition that, in her own words, can encourage a  ”loud and stomach-tickling, elated atmosphere” when Dansk Melodi Grand Prix appears on peoples’ screens on the 26th of January.

About the songwriters

Louise has written Rejs dig op together with Rune Braager who isn’t unfamiliar with how a good popsong should be edited; he has written for both Sukkerchok (who took part in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix in 2009 and 2010), the Danish rock-mamma Sanne Solomonsen and the successfull Joey Moe.

Rune’s long experience as a songwriter has taught him that what is needed to be a Grand Prix winner is  a combination of the best song, the best artist and the best stageshow. He describes Rejs dig op as ”a great power-pop-pack with a serious message attached”.

The third person in Louise’s team is Casper Lindstad who is similarly a well-known name in the Danish pop world. He has functioned as a songwriter for Sys Bjerre, Joey Moe and Anna David among others. He describes Rejs dig op as an ”energetic and positive” song and believes it will stand out from the crowd. He thinks that Louise has a chance of winning Dansk Melodi Grand Prix because as he says:

”Louise is a cool girl that is guaranteed to deliver a good performance!”

WE OWN THE UNIVERSE

Performed by: Daze
Written by: Thomas G:son, Peter Boström

The Danish eurodance-group Daze were a household name in the late nineties when the trio, made up of Trine Holck Grundahl, JesperZar and Lucas Sieber, had a huge hit with songs like Superhero and Tamagotchi. Their debut album Super Heroes quickly sold over a quarter of a million copies and afforded the trio the price for ”Danish Dance Release of the Year” at the Danish Grammy awards in 1998.

At the turn of the millennium, the musical super heroes went their own ways: some focused on children and academic careers whilst others kept to music outside of Daze. In 2012 Daze made a strong comeback with the single Fool Me and now the trio have come out as Grand Prix debutants with We Own The Universe, which is described by the lead singer Trine as a ”real Grand Prix hit”. However, it didn't start with either dance or Grand Prix tones for Trine:

”I have in my formiddable years primarily sung jazz and funk and stumbled into the world of dance by accident”, she reveals.

The musically broad and colourful lead-singer of Daze, who back in the 1990’s caused a stir with her blue hair and wild dress sense, takes the roll of being a debutant in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix very seriously:

”It is with trepidation and awe that one takes to the stage, but we are going to give it our all”, promises Trine, and Jesper agrees:

”It could be amazing to win, as we know how to hold a party for everyone, and we would also show that real super heroes cannot die”, he says with a smile.

About the songwriters

If you didn’t see the Swedish Loreen lead the song Euphoria to a convincing victory at the Eurovision Song Contest last year, you have definitely heard it played on the radio afterwards. The song didn’t just achieve the second biggest victory in the contest’s over 50 year long history (only surpassed by Norway in 2009), it also entered the charts at number 1 in more than 15 countries after the victory, and quickly became the most successful winning song for decades.

The writers behind Euphoria are Thomas G:son and Peter Boström, and these two musical magicians now have a song in the Danish final. It carries the title We Own The Universe and is being performed by Daze:

”The song is uptempo and feels like its floating”, explains G:son who does not believe that there is a set recipe for the perfect Eurovision Song Contest winner.

”You just can’t plan it. The lyrics, artists and production all have to work together”, he elaborates.

And he know what he is talking about. He has written entries for Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Spain and has in his career had more than 60 songs in national finals all over Europe.

Peter Boström is known for delivering songs to some of Sweden’s most popular artists. Among those, Danny Saucedo brought his songs In The Club (2011) and Amazing (2012) to two excellent second places in the Swedish Melodifestivalen, just as Eric Saade landed a third place with Manboy in 2010. The very same Saade won Melodifestivalen the year after with Popular which came third in Düsseldorf. In the end Boström had two songs in last year’s Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final; Norway’s Stay and of course Euphoria.

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Tomorrow we will look at the remaining five acts taking part in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2013. In the meantime you can check out our article from yesterday with links to short clips of each of the ten entries.

Denmark will take part in the first Semi-Final of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Malmö, Sweden on the 14th of May.