Denmark hosted and participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Only Teardrops" performed by Emmelie de Forest. The Danish entry was selected through the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2014, organised by the Danish broadcaster DR. Basim represented Denmark with the song "Cliche Love Song", which placed 9th in the final, scoring 74 points.
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2014 was the 44th edition of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the music competition that selects Denmark's entries for the Eurovision Song Contest. The event was held on 8 March 2014 at the Arena Fyn in Odense, hosted by Louise Wolff and Jacob Riising.[1][2][3] The show was televised on DR1 as well as streamed online at the official DR website.[4]
Format[]
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 by the public and jury vote. Viewers were able to vote via SMS.[5] In addition to the winning entry representing Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, the songwriters responsible for the winning song were awarded a monetary prize of 100,000 Danish kroner by the Danish songwriting association KODA.[6]
Mich Hedin Hansen (Cutfather) – songwriter and music producer
Competing entries[]
DR opened a submission period between 20 August 2013 and 7 October 2013 for artists and composers to submit their entries. The broadcaster received a record breaking 872 entries during the submission period; the previous record was set in 2013 when the broadcaster received 692 entries.[8][9] A selection committee selected six songs from the entries submitted to the broadcaster. Four of the participants: Sonny, Nadia Malm, Anna David and Michael Rune were invited to compete based on editorial considerations.[10] The competing artists and songs were officially presented on 28 January 2014.[11]
The final took place on 8 March 2014. In the first round of voting the top three advanced to a superfinal based on the votes of a five-member jury (50%) and a public vote (50%). The three superfinalists were "Your Lies" performed by Rebekka Thornbech, "Cliche Love Song" performed by Basim and "Wanna Be Loved" performed by Michael Rune feat. Natascha Bessez. In the superfinal, the winner, "Cliche Love Song" performed by Basim, was selected by the public and jury vote.[12] The public and the juries each had a total of 30 points to award in the superfinal. Each jury member distributed 1, 2 and 3 points and the viewer vote was based on the percentage of votes each song received achieved. For example, if a song gained 10% of the viewer vote, then that entry would be awarded 10% of 30 points rounded to the nearest integer: 3 points.
As the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 and host of the 2014 Contest, Denmark automatically qualified for a place in the final, held on 10 May 2014. In addition to their participation in the final, Denmark was assigned to vote in the first semi-final on 6 May 2014.[13] As the host nation, Denmark's running order position in the final was determined by draw, rather than being assigned by the producers of the show. On 17 March 2014 during the heads of delegation meeting, Denmark was drawn to perform 23rd in the final.[14] Denmark performed following Malta and preceding the Netherlands.[15] In the final, Denmark placed 9th, scoring a total of 74 points.[16]
On stage, Basim was joined by two dancers: Tobias Ellehammer and Ivan Spahi,[17][18] and three backing vocalists: Ayoe Angelica, Andy Roda and Marcel Gbekle.[19][20][21] The Danish performance featured Basim, the dancers and the backing vocalists performing a choreographed routine which included the release of a banner near the end of the performance which contained the text "LOVE".[22]
In Denmark, both the semi-finals and final aired on DR1. The DR1 broadcast of the semi-finals were commentated by Anders Bisgaard who took over from Ole Tøpholm due to Tøpholm being ill. Ole Tøpholm was the commentator for the broadcast of the final on DR1. Bisgaard also commentated the broadcast of the final via radio on DR P4.[23][24] Alternative broadcasts of the final aired on DR3 with commentary by the presenters of the DR P3 radio programme Monte Carlo, Peter Falktoft and Esben Bjerre Hansen, and on DR Ramasjang with the performances interpreted by sign language performers for the hearing impaired.[25] The Danish spokesperson revealing the result of the Danish vote in the final was Sofie Lassen-Kahlke.[26]
The following members comprised the Danish jury:[29]
Lise Cabble (jury chairperson) – songwriter, singer, composer of the 1995, 2011 and 2013 Danish contest entries "Fra Mols til Skagen", "New Tomorrow" and "Only Teardrops"
Denmark
Portugal
Romania
Armenia
Latvia
Estonia
Sweden
Iceland
Albania
Russia
Azerbaijan
Ukraine
Belgium
Moldova
San Marino
Netherlands
Montenegro
Hungary
Belarus
Norway
Poland
Greece
Austria
Germany
France
Italy
Slovenia
Finland
Spain
Switzerland
Malta
United Kingdom
