AMANDA--"ONLY TEARDROPS" by EMMELIE DE FOREST

Hey everyone! Today I've got some delightful Danish pop for y'all. The winner of last month's Eurovision contest held in Sweden was up-and-coming singer and songwriter Emmelie de Forest. She represented her home country of Denmark and won with her only single to date "Only Teardrops," beating out Germany's Cascada and the U.K.'s Bonnie Tyler, among other top acts. That is one hell of an accomplishment for a twenty year old artist. Once you've seen the live performance you should understand why. She has a fantastic look and stage presence and, more importantly, she can sing. Every year I forget Eurovision is a thing, chide myself for missing it, and vow not to next time, then repeat. It's ridiculously fun to watch and a great reminder that Europe is one giant bag of talent and crazy, mostly crazy. Seriously, check out some of the other finalists. But back to the song. From the second I heard the flute at the opening I knew I was in for something amazing. Then she opened her mouth and the drums kicked in and I fell in love. Her voice is so crisp and refreshing and really compliments the instrumentation, which in my opinion makes the song. The production is just right so as to show off her voice but not overpower it while demonstrating how awesome truly folk instruments can be. I would love to see more American pop artists incorporating elements of folk into their music. Moreover, "Only Teardrops" is insanely catchy and an excellent debut by Emmelie de Forest. I look forward to seeing the official music video for the single later this month and hearing more from her soon. Happy listening!