Twist Of Love
Encyclopedia
"Twist of Love" was the Danish
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
, performed in English
by Sidsel Ben Semmane
.
As Denmark had finished in the top 10 in the 2005 contest
, the song was pre-qualified for the final. Here, it was performed ninth, following Germany
's Texas Lightning
with "No No Never
" and preceding Russia
's Dima Bilan
with "Never Let You Go
". At the close of voting, it had received 26 points, placing 18th in a field of 24 and meaning that Denmark would have to qualify through the semi-final at their next Contest appearance.
The song describes the attempts of "this guy called Johnny" to catch the eye of "Connie", a girl who is also being pursued by "O'Smarty". In the event, it turns out that O'Smarty is unable to dance the twist, while Johnny's prowess means that he wins the girl.
Fittingly, the music is heavily inspired by early rock-n-roll. Indeed, the guitar solo was performed at the Contest in a manner similar to the iconic scene in the Back to the Future
film.
The song had divided opinion prior to the Contest, with many fans arguing that the lyrics were excessively silly - particularly the names of the characters.
Following the Contest, the song was covered by South Africa
n boy band
Hi-5 as "Die Twist" (The Twist).
It was succeeded as Danish representative
at the 2007 Contest
by DQ
with "Drama Queen".
Due to a change of the rules at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix the year before, songs could be performed in any language chosen as opposed to all being in Danish and the winning song translated into English for the Eurovision night. As a result, this entry was the first ever Danish entry which did not have a Danish language
version in existence. Jakob Sveistrup
did not take advantage of this, having performed his song in Danish
at the national finals and recording a Danish language
version as well.
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...
entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Eurovision Song Contest 2006
The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st Eurovision Song Contest, held at the Olympic Indoor Hall in Athens, Greece on 18 May and 20 May 2006 . The hosting national broadcaster of the contest was Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi . The Finnish band Lordi won the contest with the song "Hard Rock...
, performed in 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...
by Sidsel Ben Semmane
Sidsel Ben Semmane
Sidsel Ben Semmane is a Danish musician who represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens on May 20, 2006. She won the chance to sing on the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on February 11, 2006 with the song "Twist of Love", written by Niels Drevsholt, which she later went onto sing at the...
.
As Denmark had finished in the top 10 in the 2005 contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
, the song was pre-qualified for the final. Here, it was performed ninth, following Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's Texas Lightning
Texas Lightning
Texas Lightning is a German quintet from Hamburg which fits in the country music genre and describes itself as old fashioned and hip. Their music is a mix of country and pop drawing from country classic stars like Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash and Tammy Wynette and pop stars such as ABBA,...
with "No No Never
No No Never
"No No Never" was the German entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in English by Texas Lightning. While Germany had finished the 2005 Contest in last place, their position as one of the Contest's "Big Four" ensured the song an automatic final berth...
" and preceding Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's Dima Bilan
Dima Bilan
' is a Russian actor and pop singer . Bilan represented Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with "Never Let You Go", finishing second, and he won the contest in 2008 in Belgrade, with the song "Believe". He has had several Russian no. 1 hits....
with "Never Let You Go
Never Let You Go (Dima Bilan song)
"Never Let You Go" is a pop/rock song that was performed by Dima Bilan at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. He was representing Russia and ended up in 2nd place....
". At the close of voting, it had received 26 points, placing 18th in a field of 24 and meaning that Denmark would have to qualify through the semi-final at their next Contest appearance.
The song describes the attempts of "this guy called Johnny" to catch the eye of "Connie", a girl who is also being pursued by "O'Smarty". In the event, it turns out that O'Smarty is unable to dance the twist, while Johnny's prowess means that he wins the girl.
Fittingly, the music is heavily inspired by early rock-n-roll. Indeed, the guitar solo was performed at the Contest in a manner similar to the iconic scene in the Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
film.
The song had divided opinion prior to the Contest, with many fans arguing that the lyrics were excessively silly - particularly the names of the characters.
Following the Contest, the song was covered by South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
Hi-5 as "Die Twist" (The Twist).
It was succeeded as Danish representative
Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
Denmark has competed in the Eurovision Song Contest from 1957 to 1966 and from 1978 to the present day and has a good record, finishing in the top three six times and winning twice. From 1967 until 1977, Denmark didn't participate in the contest....
at the 2007 Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 2007
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was won by first-time appearance as an independent country Serbia and was held at the Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland from 10 May to 12 May. The host broadcaster was YLE.Finland earned the right to host...
by DQ
DQ (artist)
DQ is a Danish singer and drag queen who won the Danish Melodi Grand Prix 2007 and therefore represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Drama Queen". The song was eliminated in the semi-final stage.- External links :* *...
with "Drama Queen".
Due to a change of the rules at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix the year before, songs could be performed in any language chosen as opposed to all being in Danish and the winning song translated into English for the Eurovision night. As a result, this entry was the first ever Danish entry which did not have a Danish language
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
version in existence. Jakob Sveistrup
Jakob Sveistrup
Jakob Sveistrup is a Danish singer. He entered the Danish music scene in 2003 as a competitor in the Danish televised talent contest Stjerne for en aften . He made it to the finals. Unusually, Sveistrup is not a professional singer — by day he teaches autistic children...
did not take advantage of this, having performed his song in Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
at the national finals and recording a Danish language
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
version as well.