DR’s otherwise strong security couldn’t stop the ten songs from being leaked this year. It is quite embarrassing for the broadcaster who makes a big deal out of the songs not being published before. While DR figures out how to react to this the rest of us can judge if the songs live up to the higher quality we were promised.
It is not unusual that a name or two leaks just like it also did this year, but the songs – they are never available to listen to before DR says go for it. This is normally not before the actual show, but this year would be different as the songs were to be presented gradually in special programs in next week. It will be interesting to see what the Danish broadcaster will do now. Will they put all the songs online on their own website acknowledging the fact that they are leaked and as such it would be better to get the ones who haven’t heard them yet to go to DR’s website instead of using various torrent sites and YouTube? Or will they continue as planned, pretending this didn’t happen and air them for the “first time” next week? Personally I would think that the smartest thing for DR would be to get them up on their website as soon as possible and air them in the radio. The damage has happened and they might as well get hang of some of those visitors who is just now realising what has happened and will be searching the internet to find the songs. The release programs planned for next week can be turned into presentation programs – as long as they remember to remove comments about this being the first time!
Anyway, now that the songs are available do we still have something to look forward to? When I had a first quick listen I admit that I was a bit disappointed. The many great songwriters and DR’s talk about a higher quality level made me expect a lot more. In the middle of my disappointment I was however met with greetings from my foreign friends congratulating me with some really good songs. When one of them even started talking about Copenhagen 2010 I realised that I better give the ten songs another chance – and this time without comparisons to strong national finals like 1984, 1987, 2000 and 2007.
Listening again with open eyes (and ears) I must admit that the songs are actually not that bad. Several of them stand a good chance of winning the 2009 Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, but a Eurovision Song Contest winner among them? No, I still can’t quite see who that should be.
To my surprise one of the stronger songs is Someday written by a group of Eurovision fans. In a Dansk Melodi Grand Prix with so many well established songwriters with success on their CV I was not expecting this one to stand much of a chance. Ok, the lyrics might not be the most beautiful ones ever written, but it is a catchy song that could be among the 4 songs which continues to the second round. If you ask me, Jimmy Jørgensen’s Alice in The Wonderland should be sure to be among those four – and even among the two best. I am close to saying the same thing about Brinck’s Believe Again, the one with Ronan Keating as one of the songwriters, but being up against Johnny Deluxe’s popularity and an easy to sing along to song might be a downfall for it.
Trine Jepsen’s I’ll Never Fall In Love Again will probably be a favourite for many fans as it sounds like something that should have been in Melodifestivalen instead. It is the kind of schlager so many fans love, but I think it is too Swedish in its sound for the Danish viewers taste – probably because it has 100% Swedish songwriters behind it! Marie Carmen Koppel probably has the best voice in this year’s Danish final and I love the saxophone on her song Crying Out Your Name, but I can’t see it winning more than jury points. The song can do well in another forum, but with all due respect for Marie then I think many viewers will have a hard time combining a Dansk Melodi Grand Prix with gospel. It is great that you want to open for a variety of styles in a national final, but it can be too much. Sukkerchok is the complete opposite; a traditional Dansk Melodi Grand Prix song in its classic 80’s style. Unfortunately nothing has been done to up-date it – it sounds like it was written in 1988 and has stayed the same ever since! That is probably why I actually like it , but I also admit that I have a tendency to still be stuck in the 80’s, but realistically I don’t think it counts for more than just a group of fanatic fans!
I haven’t mentioned Christina Undhjem, Claus Christensen and Jeppe Laursen, but I can’t see any of those being performed more than once on Saturday the 31st of January. Should there be a surprise hidden here it must be Claus’s Big Bang Baby. I had high expectations for Underneath My Skin sung by Christina Undhjem. I might not be too much fan of her, but written by Bryan Rice I remain quite disappointed about this one. He can do so much better than a song that really never kicks off. Maria Carmen Koppel can make a song kick off with her splendid voice so it might have been better had she been singing this one instead. The extra spot which becomes available by withdrawing her own song could then be given to Alphabeat or Infernal !
