Malene Winter Mortensen (born May 23, 1982) is a Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 singer. She made her entrance into the Danish music scene in 2001, during the first season of "Stjerne for en aften", the Danish edition of Star for a Night

Star for a Night

Star for a Night is a British television singing competition that ran for five annual episodes from 1999 to 2002. It was presented by Jane McDonald and the judges were Nigel Martin Smith and Barbara Windsor.-Famous alumni:...

. She made it to the finals, with her rendition of Moloko

Moloko

Moloko were an Anglo-Irish electronic/pop duo consisting of Róisín Murphy from Wicklow, Ireland and Mark Brydon, from Sunderland, England.- Origin of band name :...

's "Sing it back". The following year, she entered the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, the Danish national pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision Song Contest

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...

.

Although her song "Vis mig hvem du er" performed strongly in the national final, receiving top marks from all televoting regions, it was a full-scale failure at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002

Eurovision Song Contest 2002

The Eurovision Song Contest 2002 was the 47th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place on 25 May 2002 at the Saku Suurhall Arena in Tallinn, Estonia....

, in its English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 version, "Tell me who you are". Her song received a mere seven points, placing her last amongst the 24 participating countries.

The unforeseen Eurovision outcome was a blow to her previous achievements, but it did not make her give up her musical career. In 2003 she released her debut album called "Paradise". This album, revolving around modern jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, was supported by three of Denmark's best known jazz musicians: Niels Lan Doky

Niels Lan Doky

Niels Lan Doky is a Danish jazz pianist and record producer.-Biography:He was born in Copenhagen of a Danish mother and Vietnamese father. His father worked as a doctor, but was also a classically trained guitarist so guitar was Niels's first instrument...

 (piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

), Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen

- Discography :* My Name Is Albert Ayler 1963 * Kirk in Copenhagen 1963 * Ben Webster in Denmark 1965-1971 Live at Danish Radio studios, Jazzhus Montmartre and Odd Fellow Palæet - Universal Music Denmark*One Flight Up 1964 *Sunday Walk 1969 - Discography :* My Name Is Albert Ayler 1963 (with...

 (bass

Double bass

The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...

) and Alex Riel

Alex Riel

Alex Riel, , is a Danish jazz and rock drummer. His first group Alex Riel/Palle Mikkelborg Quintet won Montreux Grand Prix Award at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968 and it was published in Billboards June 1968 edition.-Biography:Riel has recorded with, among others, Kenny Drew, Kenny Werner, Bob...

 (drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

).

Discography

• Paradise (2003)
• Date With A Dream (2005)
• Malene (2006)
• Desperado (2007)
• Agony & Ecstasy (2009)

External links

• Official Malene Mortensen Homepage in Danish and English