Denmark: Reiley wins Melodi Grand Prix 2023
Denmark's Melodi Grand Prix 2023 was held tonight with eight songs fighting for the throne. The Danish representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will be Reiley with the song "Breaking My Heart"
Denmark held its national selection Melodi Grand Prix 2023 tonight in Arena Næstved.
After almost 2 hours and eight songs, all the focus was on the winner Reiley and the song "Breaking My Heart," which will compete for Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool.
Three songs from the eight competing acts advanced to the Superfinal, determined solely by the public viewers via app/SMS throughout the week and during the show: Reiley, Micky Skeel, and Nicklas Sonne. In the Superfinal, it was the Danish public, combined with votes from a jury, that selected Reiley as the winner of Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2023.
"Breaking My Heart" was written by Reiley himself, along with Bård Mathias Bonsaksen, Hilda Stenmalm, and Sivert Hjeltnes Hagtvet.
Melodi Grand Prix 2023
First round
| Voting | 100% App/SMS |
Superfinal
| Voting | 50% App/SMS 50% jury |
Reiley
It's a long way from the Faroe Islands to South Korea, but that's exactly the journey Rani Petersen, aka Reiley, has been on in recent years. He has been very successful in K-pop's homeland, where he's both performed and recorded music with one of the country's biggest K-pop bands.
Now the voyage will go on to Liverpool, where he'll represent Denmark with the song "Breaking My Heart":
– "Breaking My Heart" is a kind of toxic love story where I romanticize someone who makes me feel great, even if the relationship is not good for me, says Reiley.
Reiley is also a big Eurovision fan himself, and before tonight's Melodi Grand Prix, he said:
– I am really excited about the opportunity to perhaps represent Denmark and make the country proud in such an iconic competition.
In addition to being a big name in South Korea, Reiley is also an extremely popular gentleman on the social media site TikTok, where he has more than 10 million followers.
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2023
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2023 was broadcast on Saturday 11 February live from Arena Næstved.
The voting had already started five days before the show. From Monday, 6 February to Friday, 10 February people could cast one vote on each song every day on the official DR Grand Prix app. The votes were added to the votes received during Saturday's show (app/SMS), and the three top songs (Reiley, Micky Skeel, and Nicklas Sonne) went on to the Superfinal. There, the votes were reset and a new vote among the three superfinalists decided the Danish song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
This year's Danish national final was hosted by Tina Müller and Heino Hansen. Tina Müller is best known in Denmark as a sports journalist and presenter, and has hosted Melodi Grand Prix the last couple of years. Heino Hansen is a well-known Danish comedian.
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
Denmark has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 50 times. Since its debut in 1957, Denmark has won the contest 3 times:
Their worst result came in 2002 (last). Since the introduction of the Semi-finals in Eurovision in 2004, Denmark has qualified for the Grand Final 12 out of 18 times.
