Denmark are pinning their hopes on young rock band A Friend In London this year, and optimism and a buoyant mood are evident as New Tomorrow is performed on stage. The Danes have great ambitions for their entry this year and are leaving nothing to chance.
Looking every part the rock band, lead singer Tim Schou took to the stage wearing black leather pants paired with a black shirt with the back cut out – suggesting that he may have a problem with perspiration. His outfit contrasts nicely against his white electric guitar. The other members of the band (2 on guitar with supporting vocals and a drummer) as well as two backing singers were also dressed in black outfits.
The backdrop features revolving geometric patterns resembling the facets of a diamond, perhaps referring to the line of their song "You’re the diamonds, you’re the pearls, let’s make a new tomorrow". Floods of white light cascade over ther group, making for a striking effect.
A Friend In London gave an extremely competent performance upon every run through, with rousing vocals sounding relaxed and unstrained and giving New Tomorrow an anthemic feel. The song has great structure and in this case, less is definitely more. The performance appears slightly static but this is in keeping with the rock genre of New Tomorrow, with primary focus on the music. The only slight criticism is that singer Tim comes across as something of an anti-performer in some of the run throughs, singing with his eyes closed for a lot of the time. This makes it difficult to establish contact with the viewers through the camera. This however seems to improve significantly with the other attempts and the performances become more and more engaging. The presence of a giant white balloon on stage only becomes apparent towards the end of the act, when the lead singer kicks it off the stage into the audience. This will apparently trigger the release of many balloons over the audience in the arena.
In my view
Clear Beatles influences can be heard in the song, with parallels also being drawn to Andreas Johnson’s number Sing For Me. Criticism aside, the Danish act is definitely one of the more polished numbers competing for a spot in the final, and should, if there is any justice bring the Danes even closer to the top spot than last year.
The opinion expressed in "In my view" are those of the author and are not necessarily the one of EuroVisionary.com.
