Emmelie De Forest

Few Eurovision winners have arrived with a family story quite as contested as Emmelie de Forest's. Born on 28 February 1993 in Randers, Denmark, to a Danish mother and a Swedish father, she grew up between Mariager and Stockholm, and began singing at nine, joining her mother in the Steve Cameron Gospel Choir. From the age of 14 she performed at festivals and small venues alongside Scottish folk musician Fraser Neill, and at 18 she moved to Copenhagen to study at the Complete Vocal Institute.

Her breakthrough came in 2013, when "Only Teardrops" won Dansk Melodi Grand Prix and then the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö with 281 points, 47 clear of Farid Mammadov. Her 2014 single "Rainmaker" became the official #JoinUs song for the contest and was later certified Gold. After leaving Universal in December 2015, she wrote "Never Alone" for Anja Nissen, which took second place at Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016, and "Never Give Up on You" for Lucie Jones, which won the British selection for 2017. Her second album, History, appeared in February 2018, and "Typical Love Song" followed on Day in Day Out Records in October 2021.