We shoud've known better?
Posted 22/Jan at 08:20 by Looney Tunes. Topics: Denmark, DMGP, Soluna Samay, winner
What are the reactions in Denmark to the 2012 version of the "Dansk Melodi Grand Prix"? And who is Soluna Samay, the girl who won the show?
Judging by the comments on the DMGP Website, Danmarks Radio, the national broadcaster, is going to be bombarded with e-mails, letters, phone-calls, forum comments, text messages etc. in the days to follow. The main reason for this seems to be the character of the show, which has turned a bit too international according to many. How come that only one of the songs is sung in Danish, by a Danish (and a Swedish) performer? And what the heck are international juries doing there, telling us Danes what to like? After all, wouldn't they pick the song with the least potential at the 2012 ESC, thereby increasing their nation's chances?
Unlike previous years, this year DR chose to involve international juries in the decision making, in order to ensure that the Danish representative would strike a chord with the international audience. Therefore, the winning nations of the last four ESCs were invited to give a hand. These juries counted several of the actual winning performers, such as Alexander Rybak from Norway. Importantly, however, the international juries only had a say in the so-called superfinal, where the three songs chosen by the people and by the Danish jury had to compete for the trophy.
People also complain about a far too large scene and bad sound quality. Some say the hosts were too cocky and not professional enough. Louise Wolf's low-cut dress was a flop, though people cannot agree why: some say that it was not suitable for such a show, others that she has nothing to show anyway, so why emphasise this? Finally, drunk people and somebody's naked bottom had nothing to do on our TV screens, someone claimed.
The winner? The first time I heard the song, the entering line reminded me of Nelly Furtado for some reason. In addition, the melody of this line sounded a bit like Seal's "Crazy" to me. I found the song's winning potential rather poor, and it was in fact stuck in the middle of the DR poll. Most people liked other things better, and so did I.
After the performers had been on stage, though, I didn't know what to think. The songs were the same, but some singers were better performers than others. Now I am prone to believe that all in all, Soluna Samay deserved to win.
And what an interesting story this lady has! Born to a German father, Gerd George Kettel, and a Swiss mother, Annelis Ziegler, Soluna has seen more of the world than most. She came to the world in Guatemala, in 1990, during her parents' trip to South America. At that point, her father was a renowned street musician, performing under the name "Gee Gee Kettel". In a slightly more than a decade, his one-man-band had performed on the U.S. west coast to the west, to places like Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan to the east. At the age of five, Soluna received a junior drum kit from her father, and soon they would perform together as a duo. At the age of 10, she added the bass guitar to her instrument repertoire, at the age of 16, the double bass.
In 2000, the family moved to the Danish island of Bornholm. The following years saw them touring in the Scandinavian countries and Germany, although they also performed as far away as Cuba. During this time, the duo, now officially called Gee Gee & Soluna, also released several CDs.
Having spent, as she says, roughly one third of her life on the road, Soluna likes to call herself "a genuine busker". Living in Copenhagen, she can sometimes be seen performing in the pedestrian area, at or around "Amagertorv".
The below footage stems from Würzburg, Germany, where Gee Gee & Soluna performed at the 2008 Stramu Festival. The song is "Wagon wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show.
Judging by the comments on the DMGP Website, Danmarks Radio, the national broadcaster, is going to be bombarded with e-mails, letters, phone-calls, forum comments, text messages etc. in the days to follow. The main reason for this seems to be the character of the show, which has turned a bit too international according to many. How come that only one of the songs is sung in Danish, by a Danish (and a Swedish) performer? And what the heck are international juries doing there, telling us Danes what to like? After all, wouldn't they pick the song with the least potential at the 2012 ESC, thereby increasing their nation's chances?
Unlike previous years, this year DR chose to involve international juries in the decision making, in order to ensure that the Danish representative would strike a chord with the international audience. Therefore, the winning nations of the last four ESCs were invited to give a hand. These juries counted several of the actual winning performers, such as Alexander Rybak from Norway. Importantly, however, the international juries only had a say in the so-called superfinal, where the three songs chosen by the people and by the Danish jury had to compete for the trophy.
People also complain about a far too large scene and bad sound quality. Some say the hosts were too cocky and not professional enough. Louise Wolf's low-cut dress was a flop, though people cannot agree why: some say that it was not suitable for such a show, others that she has nothing to show anyway, so why emphasise this? Finally, drunk people and somebody's naked bottom had nothing to do on our TV screens, someone claimed.
The winner? The first time I heard the song, the entering line reminded me of Nelly Furtado for some reason. In addition, the melody of this line sounded a bit like Seal's "Crazy" to me. I found the song's winning potential rather poor, and it was in fact stuck in the middle of the DR poll. Most people liked other things better, and so did I.
After the performers had been on stage, though, I didn't know what to think. The songs were the same, but some singers were better performers than others. Now I am prone to believe that all in all, Soluna Samay deserved to win.
And what an interesting story this lady has! Born to a German father, Gerd George Kettel, and a Swiss mother, Annelis Ziegler, Soluna has seen more of the world than most. She came to the world in Guatemala, in 1990, during her parents' trip to South America. At that point, her father was a renowned street musician, performing under the name "Gee Gee Kettel". In a slightly more than a decade, his one-man-band had performed on the U.S. west coast to the west, to places like Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Japan to the east. At the age of five, Soluna received a junior drum kit from her father, and soon they would perform together as a duo. At the age of 10, she added the bass guitar to her instrument repertoire, at the age of 16, the double bass.
In 2000, the family moved to the Danish island of Bornholm. The following years saw them touring in the Scandinavian countries and Germany, although they also performed as far away as Cuba. During this time, the duo, now officially called Gee Gee & Soluna, also released several CDs.
Having spent, as she says, roughly one third of her life on the road, Soluna likes to call herself "a genuine busker". Living in Copenhagen, she can sometimes be seen performing in the pedestrian area, at or around "Amagertorv".
The below footage stems from Würzburg, Germany, where Gee Gee & Soluna performed at the 2008 Stramu Festival. The song is "Wagon wheel" by Old Crow Medicine Show.
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