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
The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 58th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Euphoria (Loreen song), Euphoria" by Loreen. Organised by the Europea ...
with the song "
Only Teardrops
"Only Teardrops" is a song recorded by Danish singer Emmelie de Forest, written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, and Thomas Stengaard, and produced by Frederik Thaae. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in Malmö, resulting in ...
" and went on to win the competition.
Personal life
De Forest was born in
Randers
Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Mariager
Mariager is a town in Denmark with a population of 2,650 (1 January 2025). and in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, Sweden.http://www.svt.se/melodifestivalen/danmark-i-eurovision-2013-emmelie-de-forest-only-teardrops read 2015-05-28 She had previously claimed that she was a great granddaughter of
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria and ...
(and thus a great-great-granddaughter of
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
and
Albert, Prince Consort
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the husband of Queen Victoria. As such, he was consort of the British monarch from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his ...
). DR used the story of her claim to royal ancestry in its promotion of the
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix (), also known as Melodi Grand Prix or simply DMGP, is an annual music competition organised by the Danish public broadcaster DR since 1957, which determines for the Eurovision Song Contest. The festival has produced ...
, although the claim has been discredited by researchers.
Music career
Early career
De Forest began singing at the age of nine and sang with her mother in the Steve Cameron Gospel Choir for several years. From the age of 14, she began performing at music festivals and small venues with Scottish folk musician Fraser Neill. According to Neill, they made an album together titled ''Emmelié de Forest and Fraser Neill'' that sold only 100 copies. When de Forest was 18 years old, she ended her collaboration with Neill and moved to Copenhagen to study at the Complete Vocal Institute.
2013: Eurovision Song Contest and ''Only Teardrops''
De Forest was one of ten acts that performed in the 2013
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix (), also known as Melodi Grand Prix or simply DMGP, is an annual music competition organised by the Danish public broadcaster DR since 1957, which determines for the Eurovision Song Contest. The festival has produced ...
Eurovision Song Contest 2013
The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 58th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Euphoria (Loreen song), Euphoria" by Loreen. Organised by the Europea ...
in
Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
, Sweden. On 26 January 2013, she performed the song "
Only Teardrops
"Only Teardrops" is a song recorded by Danish singer Emmelie de Forest, written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, and Thomas Stengaard, and produced by Frederik Thaae. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in Malmö, resulting in ...
" (written by
Lise Cabble
Lise Cabble (born 10 January 1958, in Amager) is a Danish singer and songwriter. Cabble has written more than ten songs for Dansk Melodi Grand Prix and Eurovision Song Contest performers. Notable songs include the 1995 Danish song '' Fra Mols til ...
, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen and Thomas Stengaard) and won the national selection.
Her debut album, ''
Only Teardrops
"Only Teardrops" is a song recorded by Danish singer Emmelie de Forest, written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, and Thomas Stengaard, and produced by Frederik Thaae. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in Malmö, resulting in ...
'', was released on 6 May, a week before her performance in the Eurovision contest. The album has twelve tracks, including the original and symphonic versions of "Only Teardrops."
On 14 May, de Forest reached the final of the Eurovision, being one of the ten finalists that qualified from the first semi-final. According to British bookmakers, de Forest was the odds on favourite to win the contest. 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
Farid Mammadov (; born 30 August 1991, in Baku) is an Azerbaijani singer. He represented Azerbaijan in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö with the song "Hold Me" and came second after Denmark.
Biography Early life and career
Mammadov wa ...
of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
.
She performed her Eurovision winning entry at the
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 11th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine on 30 November 2013. The venue for the contest was announced on 17 April 2013, as the Palace "Ukraine". Ukrainian ...
in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
on 30 November. In December it was revealed that de Forest had been awarded the European of the Year Award () by the Danish European Movement.
2014–present: Label change and ''History''
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
The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European B ...
and she performed the song live during the final at the
B&W Hallerne
B&W Hallerne (English: ''The B&W Halls'') is a former industrial complex located on the island of Refshaleøen, Copenhagen, Refshaleøen in Copenhagen, Denmark. Built in the early 1960s by Burmeister & Wain, the complex consists of two large hall ...
, in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
. 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!".
In a
Wiwibloggs
Wiwibloggs is a fansite and YouTube channel focusing on the Eurovision Song Contest, launched in 2009 by journalist William Lee Adams.
History
In April 2015, Wiwibloggs won the Arts & Culture category at the UK Blog Awards.
Adams has judged ...
interview in September 2014, de Forest said she was recording her second studio album, which was originally due to be released in February 2015. On 14 July, de Forest announced that "Rainmaker" was certified Gold. 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
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
, 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. 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.
In December 2015, she left her record label
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
, and later signed with Swedish record company
Cosmos Music
Cosmos Music, formerly Bonnier Amigo Music Group (BAMG), is an independent record company based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was formed in 2001, when record company and distributor Amigo Musik merged with the record company Bonnier Music. BAMG cla ...
. De Forest participated in
Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016
Denmark was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Soldiers of Love" written by Sebastian F. Ovens, Daniel Lund Jørgensen, Katrine Klith Andersen, Søren Bregendal, Johannes Nymark and Martin Skriver. The song was perform ...
as a songwriter of the song "Never Alone" performed by
Anja Nissen
Anja Nissen (born 6 November 1995), sometimes known as simply Anja, is a Danish-Australian singer. She was the winner of the third season of ''The Voice Australia''. Following her win, Nissen was signed to Universal Music Group and lists her i ...
. 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
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
, which organises the Eurovision Song Contest. The song competed in the final on 13 February 2016, where it advanced to the super final and ended in second place.
De Forest later participated in the British national selection for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2017
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song " 1944" by Jamala.
Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) an ...
Lucie Jones
Lucie Bethan Jones (born 20 March 1991) is a Welsh singer, musical theatre actress, and model. Jones first came to prominence while competing on series 6 of '' The X Factor UK'' in 2009, where she was the fifth contestant eliminated. She repr ...
. The song went on to win the competition, and later placed 15th at the Eurovision Song Contest in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
. De Forest went on to release the single "Sanctuary" in November 2017, her first release since her split from Universal. Her second studio album ''History'' was released on 9 February 2018. 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.
Discography
*''
Only Teardrops
"Only Teardrops" is a song recorded by Danish singer Emmelie de Forest, written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, and Thomas Stengaard, and produced by Frederik Thaae. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in Malmö, resulting in ...
'' (2013)
*''History'' (2018)
*''Into the Moon'' (2025)