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Emmelie de Forest

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Emmelie de Forest
De Forest in 2019
De Forest in 2019
Background information
Birth nameEmmelie Charlotte-Victoria de Forest
Born (1993-02-28) 28 February 1993 (age 31)
Randers, Denmark
OriginMariager, Denmark
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2013–present
Labels

Emmelie Charlotte-Victoria de Forest (born 28 February 1993) is a Danish-Swedish singer and songwriter. She represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Only Teardrops" and went on to win the competition.

Personal life

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De Forest was born in Randers, Denmark, to a Danish mother, Marianna Birgitte Gudnitz and a Swedish father, Ingvar de Forest (1938–2010). Following her parents' divorce when she was young, she grew up with her mother in Mariager, Denmark,[1][2] and in Stockholm, Sweden.[3] She had previously claimed that she was a great granddaughter of Edward VII of the United Kingdom (and thus a great-great-granddaughter of Victoria of the United Kingdom and Albert, Prince Consort). DR used the story of her claim to royal ancestry in its promotion of the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, although the claim has been discredited by researchers.[4][5]

Music career

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Early career

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De Forest began singing at the age of nine and sang with her mother in the Steve Cameron Gospel Choir for several years.[6] From the age of 14, she began performing at music festivals and small venues with Scottish folk musician Fraser Neill.[7] According to Neill, they made an album together titled Emmelié de Forest and Fraser Neill that sold only 100 copies.[8] When de Forest was 18 years old, she ended her collaboration with Neill and moved to Copenhagen to study at the Complete Vocal Institute.[8]

2013: Eurovision Song Contest and Only Teardrops

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De Forest at the Eurovision 2013 winner's press conference
De Forest performing in Malmö

De Forest was one of ten acts that performed in the 2013 Dansk Melodi Grand Prix for a chance to represent Denmark at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden.[9] On 26 January 2013, she performed the song "Only Teardrops" (written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen and Thomas Stengaard) and won the national selection.[9]

Her debut album, Only Teardrops, was released on 6 May, a week before her performance in the Eurovision contest.[9] The album has twelve tracks, including the original and symphonic versions of "Only Teardrops."[10]

On 14 May, de Forest reached the final of the Eurovision, being one of the ten finalists that qualified from the first semi-final.[11] According to British bookmakers, de Forest was the odds on favourite to win the contest.[12] De Forest won the 2013 Eurovision final on 18 May with a total of 281 points, 47 points more than second-place finisher Farid Mammadov of Azerbaijan.[13][14]

She performed her Eurovision winning entry at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Kyiv, Ukraine on 30 November.[15] In December it was revealed that de Forest had been awarded the European of the Year Award (Danish: Årets Europæer Award) by the Danish European Movement.[16]

2014–present: Label change and History

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De Forest performing at Unser Song für Dänemark

On 7 February 2014, de Forest uploaded a video that spoke about her third single "Rainmaker", explained the meaning of the song, and previewed it. It was the official #JoinUs song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 and she performed the song live during the final at the B&W Hallerne, in Copenhagen. Talking about the song, de Forest said "It is about a tribe joining together to call upon the rainmaker to make their land blossom again. But on a more general level the rainmaker can be anything or anyone – it is about coming together and helping each other out". She also talked about enjoying success after winning Eurovision last year, "I've been performing my music around Europe, released my debut album and written a lot of new songs – to be honest, I'm living my dream!".[17]

In a Wiwibloggs interview in September 2014, de Forest said she was recording her second studio album, which was originally due to be released in February 2015.[18] On 14 July, de Forest announced that "Rainmaker" was certified Gold.[19] On 3 August 2014, de Forest announced via Facebook that she would perform the first single of her yet untitled album, "Drunk Tonight" at Amsterdam Pride 2014. Via Instagram, de Forest unveiled the cover and snippets of "Drunk Tonight", as well as its music video preview. The single was later released on 18 August, while the music video for the song was released on 25 August.[20] De Forest, who appears nude in the video, has said in interviews that she wanted it to be "elegant and sexy" at the same time.[18]

In December 2015, she left her record label Universal Music Group, and later signed with Swedish record company Cosmos Music.[21] De Forest participated in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016 as a songwriter of the song "Never Alone" performed by Anja Nissen. However, it risked disqualification as de Forest had performed the song several times prior to it competing in the competition. It was ultimately approved by the European Broadcasting Union, which organises the Eurovision Song Contest.[22][23] The song competed in the final on 13 February 2016, where it advanced to the super final and ended in second place.[24]

De Forest later participated in the British national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 as a songwriter for the song "Never Give Up on You" performed by Lucie Jones. The song went on to win the competition, and later placed 15th at the Eurovision Song Contest in Kyiv.[25][26][27] De Forest went on to release the single "Sanctuary" in November 2017, her first release since her split from Universal.[21] Her second studio album History was released on 9 February 2018.[28] Under the independent label Day In Day Out Records, a division of Cosmos Music, De Forest released the single "Typical Love Song" on 8 October 2021.[29]

Discography

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Main article: Emmelie de Forest discography

References

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  1. ^ Washuus, Dorte (18 May 2013). "Danske Emmelie kan vinde aftenens Melodi Grand Prix". Kristeligt Dagblad (in Danish). Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  2. ^ Seeberg, Keenan (21 January 2013). "Sådan hænger Emmelies royale aner sammen". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  3. ^ http://www.svt.se/melodifestivalen/danmark-i-eurovision-2013-emmelie-de-forest-only-teardrops read 2015-05-28
  4. ^ Jensen, Charlotte (16 April 2013). "Is Emmelie de Forest royal or not? Researchers disagree". Eurovisionary. eurovisionary.com. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  5. ^ Blyberg, Søren (16 April 2013). "Blåt blod skal ikke markedsføre Emmelie" (in Danish). Danmarks Radio. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Emmelie De Forest: Only teardrops". Ugens album (in Danish). DR. 6 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  7. ^ Munk-Petersen, Trine (19 May 2013). "Det, jeg elsker mest, er at synge og spille". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  8. ^ a b Hartley, Emma (23 May 2013). "Meet Fraser Neill, the Scots folk musician behind Eurovision winner Emmelie de Forest". The Spectator. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  9. ^ a b c "Meet Emmelie de Forest from Denmark - Eurovision Song Contest – Malmö 2013". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013.
  10. ^ Søren Bygbjerg (14 April 2013). "Emmelie udsender album: Min drøm går i opfyldelse -". DR1 (in Danish). Dr.dk. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  11. ^ Cato, Carl (16 May 2013). "Danska favoriten till final i ESC – Kultur & Nöje". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). TT Spektra. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Eurovision 2013: Denmark's Emmelie de Forest is bookies' favourite to win". The Independent. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest won by Denmark". BBC News. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  14. ^ McDougall, David; Jan Olsen (18 May 2013). "Denmark's Emmelie de Forest wins Eurovision song contest ahead of Azerbaijan, Ukraine". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 19 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  15. ^ "Emmelie de Forest to perform at Junior 2013 - News - Eurovision Song Contest – Copenhagen 2014". Eurovision.tv. 15 November 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  16. ^ "Eurovision Denmark: Emmelie de Forest wins European of the Year award". 17 December 2013. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  17. ^ Official #JoinUs song launched, penned by Emmelie | News | Eurovision Song Contest – Copenhagen 2014
  18. ^ a b Adams, William Lee (1 September 2014). "Exclusive: Emmelie de Forest tells Wiwibloggs about her "acoustic session" EP and second album". wiwibloggs.
  19. ^ "A LITTLE BREAK IN MEXICO ????????⁣ ⁣ as you know, my normal trips usually involve me solo with a camera but this time I'm changing things up.⁣ ⁣ I'm in".
  20. ^ @emmeliedeforest, Twitter.com, 17 August 2014, accessed 23 August 2014
  21. ^ a b "ESC-vinnaren Emmelie de Forest finner fristad på ny singel" (in Swedish). My News Desk. 17 November 2017.
  22. ^ Christensen, Mette (21 January 2016). "Regelbrud? Emmelie de Forest har tidligere optrådt med Anja Nissen "Never Alone"". Good Evening Europe (in Danish).
  23. ^ Rasmus (26 January 2016). "Denmark: Emmelie-song for MGP 2016 approved by EBU". Eurovision World.
  24. ^ Granger, Anthony (13 February 2022). "Denmark: Lighthouse X Wins Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016". Eurovoix.
  25. ^ "2017 Grand Final Scoreboard". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  26. ^ Robichaud, David (27 January 2017). "Lucie Jones will represent the United Kingdom at Eurovision 2017". EuroVisionary.
  27. ^ Peebles, Cheryl (27 January 2017). "X Factor finalist Lucie Jones chosen for Eurovision 2017". The Courier.
  28. ^ Agadellis, Stratos (11 February 2018). "Denmark: Emmelie de Forest returns with new album History". ESCToday.
  29. ^ "Emmelie de Forest - Typical Love Song — Day in Day out - DIDO". 8 October 2021.
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Media related to Emmelie de Forest at Wikimedia Commons

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest
2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by European of the Year
(by the Danish European Movement)
2013 		Succeeded by
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