Who is Reiley? Get to know the 2023 Eurovision representative from Denmark

Reiley won the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2023 and secured Denmark’s ticket to represent the Nordic country at Eurovision 2023, which will take place in Liverpool (United Kingdom).

Get to know Reiley

Rani Petersen, known artistically as Reiley, is a singer-songwriter and Tik Tok star born on November 24, 1997, in Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, a remote nation located in the North Atlantic and belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark. At the age of 6, he began playing the piano and developed a great interest in music thanks to the influence of his family – his mother sings in a choir and his father is the lead singer of a local rock band.

However, at the age of 14, his passion for music waned and he became interested in gymnastics. It was thanks to his participation as a dancer and choir singer in a high school production of Grease that he became interested in music again. He began taking singing lessons and recording and producing videos with his music in visual formats.

He lived in the Faroe Islands until 2019, when he traveled to London and Los Angeles to record his first musical pieces and audition for the British X Factor. In 2020, he secured a contract with Atlantis Records, and in 2021, he released his first single, “Let It Ring,” which was well received and notably successful in South Korea.

The young man always dreamed of becoming a pop star, but he never thought he could progress because he came from a small and remote place. He says that for a long time he was not proud of where he came from, he felt that it was a shame to have grown up there and not in New York or Denmark, where the possibility of becoming someone notable was much greater.

Despite the distance, Reiley has managed to connect with the rest of the world thanks to his more than 10 million followers on TikTok. Some of his videos have been viewed more than 30 million times.

“Breaking my heart” – Danish song for Eurovision 2023

“Breaking my heart” by Reiley is a song about the fear and uncertainty that comes with falling in love. The lyrics detail the struggle of a relationship that has faced numerous challenges and obstacles and the reluctance to fully give into love out of fear of being hurt.

“Breaking my heart” by Reiley lyrics

Denmark in Eurovision

Denmark is one of the most prominent countries in the Eurovision Song Contest, having participated in the event a total of 50 times since its first appearance in 1957. After competing in ten consecutive editions until 1966, Denmark withdrew from the contest for eleven years in a row, from 1967 to 1977. However, since 1978 they have only been absent four times. Throughout its history in the contest, Denmark has managed to win three times, in 1963, 2000 and 2013. Additionally, they have managed to reach the top five on a total of 14 occasions.

In their debut in 1957, Denmark achieved a very notable third place with the song “Skibet Skal Sejle I Nat” performed by Birthe Wilke and Gustav Winckler. In 1963, Denmark achieved its first victory in the contest with the song “Dansevise” performed by Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann. The country returned to the top three in 1988 and 1989 with the songs “Ka’ du se hva’ jeg sa'” by Hot Eyes and “Vi maler byen rød” by Birthe Kjær, respectively. In the 1990s, Denmark only managed a fifth place with the song “Fra Mols til Skagen” performed by Aud Wilken in 1995.

In the year 2000, the Olsen Brothers achieved Denmark’s second victory with the song “Fly on the Wings of Love”. A year later, Denmark achieved second place with “Never Ever Let You Go” performed by Rollo & King. In 2002, Malene Mortensen became the first Danish representative to finish in last place. However, in 2013, Emmelie de Forest achieved Denmark’s third victory with her song “Only Teardrops”.

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