As with last week, 8 brand new songs all written by Danish composers will be presented to the Danish public and broadcast around the world via Internet streaming. The second semi final of Melodi Grand Prix marks the half way stage in Denmark's Eurovision Song Contest selection. Four of these songs will qualify to the big final on the 2nd of February, while the rest will qualify to a special wildcard round, were the listeners of the radio stations P3 and P4 will decide which two songs will be given a wildcard to final.

As usual DR has kept all this years’ songs secret, so nobody except DR and the singers know the songs, but bookmarker Nordic bet has already revealed their odds for tomorrow which you can see here.

Now the question on everybody’s mind is; Who will qualify to the final? esctoday.com will try to give you a better picture of tonight's participants.

View esctoday.com's second semi final rehearsals gallery here.

01. Gunhild – Vilde hjerter
Gunhild, who is originally from Norway, is quite unknown to the Danish public, but last summer she played together with the ‘Blood Sweat Drum 'n' Bass Big Band’ at the annual musical festival ‘Roskilde Festival’. The song ‘Vilde hjerter’ (‘Wild hearts’) is written by Rune Braager & Mads Løkkegaard. Rune has written many songs for Melodi Grand Prix in the past, including Me & My’s song ‘Two are stronger than one’ last year. He also took part in the compeition himself in 2002 with the song ‘Mon jeg falder?’ as a member in the group U.F.O. Mads isn’t brand new in DMGP either as he wrote the lyrics for James Sampson’s ‘Say you love me’, the runner up in last years Danish final. esctoday.com's editor Roni Klein reports from rehearsals that fans of Me & My's entry will find this song similar and are likely to vote for it.

Gunhild describes her song as catchy and poetic. According to Nordicbet, Gunhild and ‘Vilde hjerter’ is one of the favourites to qualify for the final, with the odds 1,40 : 1

02. Julie Ruugard – Kan ikke forstå
Julie Ruugard isn’t a new name for the Danish public. She had a whole bunch of hits between 1998 – 2001 under the name Blå Øjne, and has also worked as a TV and radio host. The song ‘Kan ikke forstå’ (Can’t understand) is written by Julie herself and her friend and former colleague from Blå Øjne, Jens Simonsen. Julie describes the song as a pop/rock song, with lyrics concerning all the cruelty in the world.

According to Nordicbet, Julie will have a chance of qualifying, giving her the odds 1,70 : 1

03. Simon Mathew – All night long
Simon Mathew is a rather new star on the Danish music scene, yet very popular. In 2005 he won the talent-show ‘Scenen er din’ (‘The stage is yours’) and in 2007 he was the runner up in the 3rd season of ‘Dancing with the stars. Simon released his first album in 2005 and previously this year, he recorded the Danish version of the song ‘You are the music in me’ from Disney’s ‘High School Musical’, together wit his sister Rebekka. Simon Mathew was actually the last artist picked for this years national final. ‘All night long’ is written by Jacob Launbjerg, Svend Gudiksen and Nis Bøgvad. Jacob Launbjerg is the writer of the Danish 2005 entry ‘Talking to you’.

According to Nordicbet Simon is a sure qualifier, giving him the best odds at 1,35 : 1

04. Kendra Lou – Until we’re satisfied
Kendra Lou isn’t totally unknown to the Danish public either. She participated in the talent show ‘Stjerne for en aften’, the same show were many other Danish Eurovision Song Contest participants have participated, including Malene Mortensen (Tallin 2002) and Jakob Sveistrup (Kiev 2005). The song is written by well-known songwriter Sascha Dupont together with Claus Christensen & Jan Winther. Claus Christensen wrote the lyrics of last years winner ‘Drama Queen’. Kendra describes her song as dramatic and full of emotions.

According to Nordicbet, Kendra won’t get a ticket to final, giving her the odds 2,50 : 1

05. Josefine & Lars – Sweet memories of you
Josefine Olesen and Lars Tvergaard, both 20 years old, met each other through the talent show ‘Sangstjerner’, where they ended up in 1st and 2nd place. The song ‘Sweet memories of you’ is actually written by one of the judges from the show, Maria Montell. Josefine & Lars describes the song as a happy, sweet pop-song about love and happiness.

Unfortunately for the young couple, Nordicbet doesn’t believe that ‘Sweet memories of you’ will reach the final, giving them the odds 2,50 : 1.

06. Sandee May – Spanish soul
Sandee May is totally unknown to the Danish public and has spent the last three years studying at Kalundborg High School. Her song ‘Spanish soul’ is written by father and son Lars & Nik Quang. Most of their songs are written for Asian artists and Lars & Nik has written many songs for Asian superstars, including the 'Asian Britney Spears’ Jolin Tsai. Sandee describes the song as a postcard from the south and is about travelling around the world and exploring different countries and cultures.

Nordicbet doesn’t really believe Sandee will reach the final, giving her the odds 2,35 : 1

07. Lasse Lindorff – Hooked on you
Lasse Lindorff is quite unknown to the Danish public as a singer, but as a songwriter he is known to some as the writer of one of last years Melodi Grand Prix songs ‘On top of the world’ and the man behind the group DK Rocks. Lasse also wrote his own song together with Mogens Binderup and Lise Cabble (The woman behind the Danish Eurovision entry from 1995 ‘Fra Mols til Skagen’.) The song is about that feeling you get when you meet someone special for the first time and you just know that this is the one and only.

According to Nordicbet Lasse does have a chance of qualifying for the final, giving him the odds 2,00 : 1

08. The Dreams – La’ mig være
The last song in tonight’s semi final will be performed by Faroese punk band, The Dreams. With their mix of punk, pop and rock the band is very popular in the Faeroe Islands. The song ‘La’ mig være’ (‘Leave me alone’) is written by lead singer Hans Edward and well known and respected producer and songwriter Chief 1 aka Lars Pedersen. He has written song for a dousing of Danish singers including Kim Larsen Michael Learns To Rock and Bryan Rice. Chief 1 also composed the Danish Eurovision entry from 1997 ‘Stemmen I mit liv’ by Kølig Kaj.

According to Nordicbet The Dreams should have a chance of qualifying for the final, giving them the 3rd bests odds of the semifinal, 1,50 : 1.

• You can pre-order your official Denmark Melodi Grand Prix CD through our partner store, CDON.com now for €17.95 here.
• Click here to purchase other Danish Eurovision Song Contest related material.

WATCHLIVE ANDVOTING INFORMATION

The show will be broadcast on Denmark's main television channel and on the internet.You can follow the Danish final live with esctoday.com tonight via our live article. We will provide the link to the live stream and as usual, you can comment on the show through the reactions section on our article.

Special thanks to Christian Hansen for this article