Denmark

Believe Again Brinck

"Though I look the same, I'm not as strong..."

There aren't many countries in Eurovision as dependable as Denmark. From their debut entry, 1957's Skibet Skal Sejle I Nat, through the disco days of the '70s and early '80s to the easy-listening '00s, they have always had a talent for the homespun and cosy. In recent years the supreme Danishness of their entries has only twice been denied, in the pseudo-Latino Shame On You from 2004 and the drag by name, drag by nature Drama Queen from 2007; everything else has been business as usual for the laid-back Scandinavians, and generally they've been rewarded for it. 2005 saw them return to the top ten with Talking To You, having come 3rd in the semi-final in Kyiv, a feat Simon Mathew repeated last year in Serbia with All Night Long. It's a result they could easily achieve this year in Moscow, with Brinck's Believe Again looking every bit the kind of song to earn them the top three approval of its Thursday night audience and a left-hand side of the scoreboard finish in the final.

Like most of Denmark's entries, Believe Again does nothing terribly innovative but does it very well. The country rarely has problems producing something solid, and if they do it usually coincides with a mediocre result. The slightly ironic thing about their 2009 entry is that it does sound so Danish, considering it was one-third (or more) written by Irishman Ronan Keating: it's either an achievement managing to retain the feel of the country's music, or indicative of Irish and Danish sensibilities when it comes to producing music being highly compatible. Either way it portends a good result, and not simply - if at all - because of its co-composer/lyricist. Believe Again would doubtless do well in either semi, but being in the same one as Ireland, neighbour Norway, the Baltic States and any number of other like-minded countries makes it one of this year's strongest contenders for qualification.

Then there's the fact that Mr Brinck sounds like he's modelling himself on Ronan Keating, which neither jars with the song nor harms its chances any. He even looks the part. Some people see him as the weakest link in the song, but it's easy to interpret his rattled national final performance - which was plagued by sound problems - as a lack of ability. To me at least there's a rawness to his delivery that suits Believe Again perfectly, in what is vocally a more demanding song than you might expect it to be. Besides, it's the kind of thing that will survive a wobble; he would have to turn it into a shouting match to ruin the song's chances, and coming straight after the Slovakian entry the audience is likely to be more forgiving. Certainly enough to see it make the final in any case, and at least go on to match Denmark's 2008 result. Believe Again is reliable and inoffensive without being faceless, and that's probably all it needs to be.