Saba
“Sand”, 2024 in Malmö (2nd semi-final)
As of: May 10, 2024 12:08 a.m
26-year-old Saba Lykke Oehlenschlæger won the 54th Dansk Melodi Grand Prix. With the title “Sand” she only made it to the semi-finals at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö.
The pop song, which had already been a favorite in advance, was performed by ESC veterans Melanie Wehbe (“Love Is Forever”, “Move”), Jonas Thander (“I’ve Been Waiting for This Night”, “Bigger Than Us”, “Amen”) and written by Pil Jeppesen. Saba was born in Ethiopia with her twin sister Andrea, who is also a singer, and adopted by Danish parents at the age of eight months. She suffers from bipolar disorder and met her partner in a group therapy course. Her song is about the failure of a relationship.
VIDEO: Denmark: Saba – “Sand” | Second ESC semi-final 2024 (3 min)
Prominent cast with Basim and Aura Dione
Although the last three Danish ESC entries by Fyr og Flamme, Reddi and Reiley did not make it to the final, Danish television will continue to rely on the tried and tested Melodi Grand Prix format in 2024, which at least meets all expectations in terms of ratings. The song selection was tweaked a bit and, in addition to the around 600 contributions submitted, direct contact was made with some big names in the Danish music scene. But this year too it wasn’t enough to make it to the final. And that despite the fact that the national preliminary round, with former song contest participant Basim and singer Aura Dione, who also had a number 1 hit in Germany, was more prominent than it has been for a long time.
Climate activists storm the preliminary decision stage
The selection process was also modified: between February 10th and 16th, the audience was able to vote for the eight finalists using their own app. These votes were added to the evening’s televoting result. In view of the meager results in recent years, the televoting was also supported by a jury of ten Danish and ten international ESC experts, who had a 50 percent say. After a group of climate activists briefly stormed the stage with banners, Saba’s victory in the super final against Basim and Janus Wilberg put a conciliatory final note on an otherwise rather surprise-free event.
Further information
The 26-year-old wants to bring diversity to the ESC. In advance, she talks about mental health, her music – and what drives her. more
3 Min
Saba will compete for Denmark at the ESC 2024 with “Sand”. Here is the official music video for the song. 3 mins
Denmark has been involved in the ESC since 1957. The country achieved its first victory in 1963: Grethe & Jørgen Ingmann sang “Dansevise”. All placements, participants and songs from Denmark at the ESC. more
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ONE | Eurovision Song Contest | May 9, 2024 | 9:00 p.m