🇩🇰 Xtra Insider 2020: We Review Denmark!

Welcome to Xtra Insider, our new series which will give you an insight into how well each country was statistically likely to do this year, as well as what the team at ESCXTRA think of your favourite entries into (what would have been) this year’s contest! Today, we analyze and review Denmark!

Yes, this year’s contest has been cancelled…but that doesn’t mean we can’t love the songs! In this series, we’ll review each and every entry that would have taken part in this year’s Eurovision. On top of this, we’re introducing a new analysis section in which we take a look into each country’s history and how likely they would have been to do well this year. Our honest and brutal reviews and analysis will keep you entertained throughout what would’ve been the Eurovision season! We will also each give points using the usual Eurovision points system (12, 10, then 8 down to 1), and create an ESCXTRA leaderboard of the entries!

Today, we’ll be giving analysis and reviews of the Danish entry, Yes by Ben & Tan, from Dominik, Luke, Matt, Sean, Simon and Tom R. Let’s get started!

Denmark’s history at Eurovision

Denmark has won the contest three times, most recently in 2013. Overall, Denmark is generally performing pretty well, with only failing to qualify twice over the past ten years. Their best result recently came in 2018, when Rasmussen finished 9th in the final. The Danish vikings were particularly popular with the televoters, who placed them fifth in the final.

This year’s entry

For this year’s Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, five finalists were selected through the P4 radio selection, while the other five entries were selected as direct qualifiers by the broadcaster. The winners Ben & Tan competed in the radio selection and qualified to the final from the Eastern Denmark group. Due the exceptional situation, there wasn’t any live audience in the final. The duo Ben & Tan met during the Danish X Factor, where they both competed in 2019. The entry “YES” is their first released song.

How does this kind of song tend to do in the contest?

Denmark is quite well known of their positive, easy to sing-along songs. “YES” is very radio-friendly, extremely catchy song, but it also might be seen as disposable pop. It’s probably easiest to compare the song to some other Danish entries such as “Cliché Love Song” and even “Love Is Forever”. Both of those songs did slightly better with the professional juries, but both got respectable results.

The Reviews

Dominik

Oh this is very catchy and radio friendly. Great chorus. I feel like the verses could be a bit stronger, but overall a solid entry. It’s certainly an entry that is coming even more alive with a crowd belting out the chorus. I can see myself listening to it when it comes on during shuffle play.

Luke

YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! …sorry, was just giving Ben & Tan what they wanted. I am utterly obsessed with this; how can you NOT listen and be absolutely in love?!? Denmark is now my favourite entry for the second year running, and “think my heart is beating me to death” is one of my favourite lyrics of this year!

Matt

I was slightly disappointed with the selection of songs in the danish national final this year, but “Yes” could have been a real dark horse at Eurovision. Like many entries, this would have come down to staging – something Denmark got right last year. That ‘Mumford & Sons’ vibe would have stood out and maybe mopped up a few votes

Sean

DMGP this year was, as it is every year, painfully weak. Every year there’s only one or two quality entries and it’s just a matter of Denmark actually getting it right. Luckily, they did this year. In the long run, Neither this nor Human were winners, but they’re both good. However, if Denmark ever wants a shot at a top ten, “good” isn’t good enough.

Simon

Cheerfulness by numbers. Not unpleasant but after 20 seconds you know exactly what’s coming until the saccharine sweet end.

Tom R

Say YES! Social distancing came early with Ben & Tan’s national final performance but the dynamic on stage was there! This song is so ‘Eurovision’ which isn’t always the best approach anymore but I think it demonstrates that sometimes a quality, feel-good song would still do well in Eurovision. I’m saying YES to keeping this on my 2020 playlist. Good job Denmark!

Scores

Costa	6	Nick	7	Tim	10
Dominik	7	Riccardo	6	Tom O	10
Isaac	12	Rigmo	7	Tom R	8
Lisa	6	Rodrigo	5	Vincent	10
Luke	12	Sami	8	Wiv	1
Matt	5	Sean	8
Nathan P	6	Simon	2

Therefore, Denmark scores 136 points in total!

Leaderboard

Denmark ties with Ireland both have a score of 136! Using the standard Eurovision tiebreaker rules, both entries have the same number of 12 points (two each)…but Denmark has three sets of 10 points whereas Ireland only has two. Therefore, Denmark beats Ireland and gets 7th place!