Anja chosen to sing Denmark back into the final of Eurovision
The Danish people lost their magic a little bit when it comes to the Eurovision Song Contest. Although the country won in 2013, thanks to Emmelie De Forest’s ‘Only Teardrops’, for the past two years they sent boybands that did not make it into the final. Up to Anja Nissen to change this! The Australian-Danish singer who rose to fame in Australia after winning the third season of The Voice, tried to represent Denmark last year already with the song ‘Never Alone’ which finished in second position. This year she won with the midtempo powerpop track ‘Where I Am’ and will perform on the big stage in Kiev in May!
Nissen says to be influenced by all the big voiced divas and this is easily hearable in her own performance of ‘Where I Am’. The track written by herself with the help of Angel Tupai and Michael D’Arcy allows Anja to fully show off her vocal range with a big and powerful chorus about finally opening up to a lover. If done right on stage, this will only sound bigger with live backing vocals. Nissen will definitely give it her all, just like she did on the Melodi Grand Prix stage.
But what about the song itself? It may not be completely in sync with the sound that is hot today and some might even find it slightly dated, but no matter how hard I try, there is just no denying that chorus. The track might not be exactly bold, original or unique, but it has a strong melody in the chorus that could stick with the viewers and I’m sure some juries will fall in love with her powerhouse vocals. One would think final would be possible and she is in a reasonable position with the betting odds, on the right track for a finish in the middle of the scoreboard on the Saturday night.
UPDATE – Review on semi final performance:
Australian-Danish Anja Nissen sang her heart out for Denmark. In a stunning red dress she took the stage and hit every single big note of her midtempo pop banger ‘Where I Am’. After a few years of disappointing results for the Nordic country, they are back in the final and they absolutely deserved it. Visually the performance might be quite simple and straightforward, but with a voice and a chorus like that, you do not really need anything more. For the final they will have to perform in between favourites Portugal and Italy which will make a top 10 result a huge challenge, but especially the jury will probably appreciate her vocal hurricane!
UPDATE – Review on final performance and result (20th):
Poor Anja Nissen had to perform before and after the main favourites to win the show, which obviously made her performance a bit less memorable. As it turns out, she wasn’t even close to qualifying for the final if it was up to the televoters (she only received 5 points), but luckily the juries saved her and they did the same in the final. With another stunning vocal performance of her powerful pop tune ‘Where I Am’ she managed to give Denmark a position in the top 20 of this year’s contest.
Check all Eurovision 2017 reviews: Albania – Armenia – Australia – Austria – Azerbaijan – Belarus – Belgium – Bulgaria – Croatia – Cyprus – Czech Republic – Denmark – Estonia – Finland – France – FYR Macedonia – Georgia – Germany – Greece – Hungary – Iceland – Ireland – Israel – Italy – Latvia – Lithuania – Malta – Moldova – Montenegro – The Netherlands – Norway – Poland – Portugal – Romania – San Marino – Serbia – Slovenia – Spain – Sweden – Switzerland – Ukraine – United Kingdom