Today, 5 June, marks Constitution Day in Denmark. Both the first and current constitution of Denmark were signed on this date in 1849 and 1953. The Nordic nation is notably one of the few countries that does not have an official nation day, with Constitution Day being seen as an equivalent.
2023 is a notable year for Denmark in a Eurovision context, as it is 50 years since Denmark first won Eurovision in 1963 with Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann triumphing with 'Dansevise' (which means 'Dance Song'). It has also been 10 years since the last Danish victory, when Emmelie de Forest being was victorious with 'Only Teardrops'. In light of this, for this year's Danish Constituion Day the Aussievision team has decided to do a ranking of Denmark's entries at Eurovision.
Before we get to the ranking, let's have a quick synopsis of Denmark's history at the contest.
Brief History of Denmark at Eurovision
Denmark has participated in Eurovision 51 times, making the final on 44 occasions.
After missing the deadline to participate at the inaugural contest in 1956, Denmark made its debut at Eurovision in 1957 when Birthe Wilkie and Gustav Winckler performed 'Skibet skal sejle i nat' which translates to 'The ship must sail tonight'. The most notable moment of that entry was the 13 second kiss at the end, which is still the longest stage kiss in Eurovision history. The duo finished in third place, which until 1994 was the most successful debut by a country at Eurovision.
Denmark has won the contest three times: Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann with 'Dansevise' in 1963, Olsen Brothers with 'Fly on the Wings of Love' in 2000, and Emmelie de Forest with 'Only Tearddrops' in 2013.
The Nordic nation took a lengthy break from the contest from 1967 to 1977. The head of entertainment of Denmark's Eurovision broadcaster at the time, Nielsen Jørgen Kaiser, viewed the contest as being low-quality. He used the result of the 1966 contest, in which Denmark finished at the time a historically low 14th, as a reason for the country to withdraw.
Since 2004, Denmark has qualified from the semi-final stage of the contest 13 out of 19 times. However, currently they are on a three contest non-qualification streak, their worst ever.
Aussievision's all-time Denmark Eurovision ranking
Now let's look at how the team has ranked Denmark's Eurovision entries. Thirteen Aussievision contributors awarded points to their 10 favourite songs in the same manner as per Eurovision voting style.
Let's see which songs received points from the team before we get to the Top 10!
35th to 11th
35. Anne-Cathrine Herdorf - 'En lille melodi' (1987) - 1 point
32. Hot Eyes - 'Sku' du spørg' fra no'en?' (1985) - 2 points
32. Lise Haavik - 'Du er fuld af løgn' (1986) - 2 points
32. Anti Social Media - 'The Way You Are' (2015) - 2 points
31. Hot Eyes - 'Det' lige det' (1984) - 4 points
28. Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler - 'Skibet skal sejle i nat' (1957) - 5 points
28. Malene Mortensen - 'Tell Me Who You Are' (2002) - 5 points
28. Simon Mathew - 'All Night Long' (2008) - 5 points
27. Hot Eyes - 'Ka' du se hva' jeg sa'?' (1988) - 7 points
25. Sidsel Ben Semmane - 'Twist of Love' (2006) - 8 points
25. Lighthouse X - 'Soldiers of Love' (2016) - 8 points
24. Aud Wilken - 'Fra Mols til Skagen' (1995) - 9 points
23. Tommy Seebach Band - 'Under stjernerne på himlen' (1993) - 10 points
"I'm starting to think that I only really love the Danish entries that are unjustly robbed. It's so sad that Tommy Seebach was shunned after placing 22nd and it's even more of a shame that this song only got the appreciation it deserved after he passed away. If I could say anything to Tommy Seebach, I would say that under stjernerne på himlen is a beautiful song that never fails to make me emotional and that the juries were so wrong for robbing you." ~Colleen
21. Brixx - 'Video-video' (1982) - 11 points
21. A Friend in London - 'New Tomorrow' (2011) - 11 points
20. Lotte Nillson and Kenny Lübcke - 'Alt det som ingen ser' (1992) - 12 points
"It's too Danish and it represents the joys and sorrows of a complicated relationship." ~John Christian
18. Anja Nissen - 'Where I Am' (2017) - 13 points
18. Reiley - 'Breaking My Heart' (2023) - 13 points
16. Basim - 'Cliche Love Song' (2014) - 14 points
16. Ulla Pia - 'Stop – mens legen er go' (1966) - 14 points
"There is something incredibly whimsical and wholesome about this entry. Ulla’s expressive face and beautiful, brown eyes really make this performance. Not only stunned this didn’t do better, but also the fact the poor result precipitated a 12-year Eurovision absence from Denmark. This entry makes me believe the curse of the second slot at Eurovision is real." ~Samuel
15. Tommy Seebach - 'Disco Tango' (1979) - 15 points
"An absolutely addictive melody coupled with interesting lyrics that contain many cultural and musical references. 1979 was a competitive year, otherwise it really should have done better than sixth." ~Samuel
14. Birthe Kjær - 'Vi maler byen rød' (1989) - 17 points
11. Rollo and King - 'Never Ever Let You Go' (2001) - 18 points
11. Soluna Samay - 'Should've Known Better' (2012) - 18 points
11. Leonora - 'Love Is Forever' (2019) - 18 points
"It's just a nice little song and sometimes that's all a song needs to be. The song is not filled to the brim with key changes or dance breaks. Just a person singing about love and in multiple languages as well. What's not to love? " ~Olivia
Now for the top 10!
10. DQ - 'Drama Queen' (2007) - 20 points
Highs: 8 points from Craig; 6 points from Steven
9. Reddi - 'The Show' (2022) - 26 points
Highs: 8 points from Olivia and Justin; 7 points from Cooper
8. Chanée and N'evergreen - 'In a Moment like This' (2010) - 35 points
Highs: 8 points from John Christian and Steven; 7 points from Dale
7. Rasmussen - Higher Ground' (2018) - 43 points
Highs: 8 points from Emma; 6 points from Hayley and Kyriakos
6. Debbie Cameron and Tommy Seebach - 'Krøller eller ej' (1981) - 45 points
Highs: 10 points from Fleur; 8 points from Dale, Kyriakos and Colleen
"This is fantastic. They deserved so much more than 11th place. An absolute banger. I just love Debbie Cameron's energy. I'm also a sucker for Euro-disco and this sure brings it." ~Fleur
5. Ben and Tan - 'Yes' (2020) - 49 points
Highs: 12 points from Cooper; 10 points from Olivia and Hayley
"What could've been! This song was an instant favourite of mine in 2020 as soon as I heard it. That chorus is such a catchy melody and is stuck in your head for a very long time after listening to it. Definitely my favourite Danish song of all time" ~Cooper
"I think I may be the only person that really loved this song but the harmonies of their two voices together was really good. Might have had super basic and daggy lyrics but it's a harmless little love song. I always wonder how well this may have done at Eurovision, but we will never know I guess." ~Hayley
"I don't listen to many songs from the 2020 season but this was truly robbed of its chance to shine. It's got great vocal talent it's uplifting and the melody get stuck in my head every time" ~Olivia
4. Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann - 'Dansevise' (1963) - 55 points
Highs: 12 points from Fleur and Craig; 7 points from Hayley, Justin and Colleen
"It's no secret that this is one of my all time favourite Eurovision songs. I absolutely love it. That riff is so simple but yet so hauntingly memorable- in a good way. This song was ahead of its time. An obvious winner in 1963. There's something so special about older songs like this." ~Fleur
3. Olsen Brothers - 'Fly on the Wings of Love' (2000) - 61 points
Highs: 12 points from Steven and Hayley; 10 points from Justin and John Christian
"This song has a special place in my heart as it is the first Eurovision I ever watched and I will never forget seeing this song win. It really has the sweetest lyrics." ~Hayley
"Yes, it’s twee. Yes, for many, it’s yet one of many examples of unexciting Danish Eurovision entries. But this particular song just works for me - it’s catchy, it’s sweet and it cheers me up." ~Steven
"This is definitely one of the best winning songs Denmark has ever sent." ~John Christian
"This is probably an accurate time capsule (especially in English speaking countries) given a Phil Collins-produced soundtrack was doing quite well. Also another track not out of place on my playlist!" ~Justin
2. Emmelie de Forest - 'Only Teardrops' (2013) - 85 points
Highs: 10 points from Cooper, Steven, Kyriakos, Emma and Dale
"This was a perfect winner for the time and it was a time that I really enjoy! From the opening tin whistle, to Emmelie's barefoot performance and then the introduction of the drums it is just perfect." ~Dale
"There’s a reason this song won, and that’s because it’s so damn catchy. Emmelie also performs the hell out of it, both the calmer verses and the rousing choruses." ~Steven
"Emmelie de Forest and her flautists/drummers gave such an emotive performance in 2013 that had winner stamped all over it. It's not a song I ever seek out to listen to but 'Only Teardrops' rightly gave Denmark one of their three wins and remains one of their best entries to date." ~Emma
"Only Teardrops is a Eurovision classic, the song is the perfect balance of solid pop with elements that make it stand out. The flute, the drums, Emmelie looking like she forgot to brush her hair and put shoes on before being thrown on stage. The whole performance is so well done." ~Cooper
"This is a fantastic winning entry by Denmark. 'Only Teardrops' is so catchy and I think it hasn't aged too badly." ~Kyriakos
1. Fyr og Flamme - 'Øve os på hinanden' (2021) - 91 points
Highs: 12 points from Dale, Kyriakos, Justin, Emma and Colleen; 10 points from Craig
"I am still obsessed with this entry that was absolutely robbed in Rotterdam!! I love how uplifting it is, it's dedicated homage to the 80's. If forever remains one of my favourite Eurovision entries ever!!" ~Kyriakos
"Given my revived interest in this type of music, Fyr og Flamme’s track totally was the right song at the right time. It was fun, a great throwback to the music production in the '80s, and they were both fun performers. Not out of place in my playlist!" ~Justin
"ROBBED!! Øve os på hinanden was my main favourite of 2021 and this NQ'ing on top of Australia NQ'ing two nights earlier honestly did leave me less motivated to watch the final. Despite the less than ideal result, I remain a Fyr og Flamme fan to this day, even buying and treasuring a signed copy of their album." ~Colleen
"This is so dated it could be straight out of Eurovision 1985 but I love how it stays true to the genre - it really does sound as if it could have been released in the mid 80's and not 2021. They did such a great job with hamming up the 80's staging and performance style...I'm still dark this didn't qualify to the Grand Final!" ~Emma
"Is this the greatest Danish entry and song? Probably not! But this is the song I still seek out first and foremost. It was a great and cheeky homage to the 80s done with love. The boys had great energy and charisma and were unlucky not to qualify!" ~Dale
So, despite not qualifying for the final in 2022, Fyr og Flamme is the Aussievision team's favourite all-time Eurovision entry from Denmark, edging out the three Danish winners. We hope your enjoyed our ranking, and we wish all our Danish readers and followers a Happy Constitution Day.
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