Denmark hopes to win over Europe with endearing performance by Leonora
Denmark seems to have found back their Eurovision mojo. After not qualifying for the final in 2015 and 2016, they returned in 2017 and even made it back into top 10 last year, when Rasmussen finished 9th with his song ‘Higher Ground’. The country that won as recently as 2013 with Emmelie De Forest’s ‘Only Teardrops’, selected their hopeful for 2019 in their national final Melodi Grand Prix. The 20-year-old Leonora emerged as the winner with the song ‘Love Is Forever’. Will she be able to bring Denmark to the top 10 for a second year in a row?
While some countries try to come up with entries that sound like the stuff you hear on the charts, Denmark always seems to try to send something that has ‘Eurovision’ written all over it. Leonora’s ‘Love Is Forever’ has quite a few Eurovision cliches tackled too. There is a message about a better world in the lyrics written by Lise Cabble, Melanie Wehbe and Emil Lei. Leonora sings how love has always been there and will always be there, even when things get rough politically. She hopes people will stop judging each other and let love take over. To get her message out there, she decided to sing the last chorus partly in French, while also doing some lines in German and her native Danish. ‘Love Is Forever’ is a simple song with an infectious, sing-along chorus that starts out with minimal instrumentation and builds towards a fuller sound with trumpets and violins joining in. It has little hints of Fool’s Garden’s ‘Lemon Tree’, Julia Michaels’ ‘Issues’ and early days Lily Allen, but without the edge.
Although it is definitely not a given that a song like ‘Love Is Forever’ will be successful at Eurovision, I have to say that Denmark is one of the first countries I have seen this year that have a successful stage act set up already. The big chair is memorable and the visuals on the screens totally work for the song. The styling is on point and Leonora has an endearing vibe while performing this. Vocally, she stands her ground. They made the most out of the song with this staging and this actually looks ready for Tel Aviv. Cute little sing-along songs like ‘Love Is Forever’ have surprised with success at Eurovision before, so I would definitely consider Denmark a contender for a spot in the final and even a dark horse on the Saturday night for a spot in the top 10 if the stars align for Leonora.
Review on semi-final performance:
Denmark went all cute and vintage on us with their song ‘Love Is Forever’ performed by Leonora. The song with a lovely message for all of us sounds like it would have fitted better in the early 90s. The staging with the big chair and the dancers is well executed and memorable, but I have to admit it did not draw me in like some of the other performances did. Leonora delivered a more than decent vocal and after she lost the ‘deer in the headlight’ stares (you can’t blame her for that, having to climb those stairs while singing at the same time), the way she sang the song on top of the chair with her backing vocals and dancers, was heartwarming to watch. It seems like Europe agrees, because Leonora will be back in the final on Saturday. I don’t expect her to hit the top 10 there, but stranger things have happened in Eurovision.
Review on final performance and result:
Denmark brought one of the cutest moments to the Eurovision stage with the endearing ‘Love Is Forever’. It has to be said though, that in this competition, the Danish entry was one of the ones that least stood out to me. Interestingly enough, Leonora only just made it to the final with 1 point over Lithuania in the second semi-final, but still managed to score a respectable 12th spot in the big final!
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