Only Teardrops

For the album, see Only Teardrops (album).

"Only Teardrops"
Single by Emmelie de Forest
from the album Only Teardrops
Released22 January 2013
Recorded2012
Genre
Length3:03
LabelSony Music
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Frederik Thaae
Emmelie de Forest singles chronology
"Only Teardrops"
(2013) 		"Hunter & Prey"
(2013)
Audio sample
Music video
"Only Teardrops" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2013 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
English
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final result
1st
Semi-final points
167
Final result
1st
Final points
281
Entry chronology
◄ "Should've Known Better" (2012)
"Cliché Love Song" (2014) ►
Official performance video
"Only Teardrops" (Semi-Final) on YouTube
"Only Teardrops" (Final) on YouTube

"Only Teardrops" is a song recorded by Danish singer Emmelie de Forest, written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, and Thomas Stengaard, and produced by Frederik Thaae. It represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in Malmö, resulting in the country's third win in the contest.

Background

Conception

"Only Teardrops" was written by Lise Cabble, Julia Fabrin Jakobsen, and Thomas Stengaard, and produced by Frederik Thaae.[1]

Eurovision

"Only Teardrops" at Eurovision

On 26 January 2013, "Only Teardrops" performed by Emmelie de Forest competed in the 43rd edition of the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix, winning the competition. As the festival was used by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) to select its song and performer for the 58th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, the song became the Danish entrant, and de Forest the performer, for Eurovision.[2][3]

On 14 May 2013, the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest was held in the Malmö Arena in Malmö hosted by Sveriges Television (SVT) and broadcast live throughout the continent. Emmelie de Forest performed "Only Teardrops" fifth on the evening. After the grand final it was revealed that it had received in its semi-final 167 points, placing first and qualifying for the grand final.[4] On 18 May 2013, she performed the song again in the grand final eighteenth on the evening.[5] At the close of voting, it had received 281 points finished in first place and winning the contest.[6] It was Denmark's third win in the contest.

Aftermath

As the winning broadcaster, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) gave DR the responsibility to host the following edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. De Forest opened the first semi-final on 6 May 2014 performing "Only Teardrops".[7] On 31 March 2015, she performed the song in the Eurovision sixtieth anniversary show Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits held in London.[8][9]

Track listing

  • Digital download
  1. "Only Teardrops" – 3:03
  • CD single
  1. "Only Teardrops" – 3:03
  2. "Only Teardrops" (instrumental version) – 3:03
  • Digital download – Kongsted remix
  1. "Only Teardrops" (Kongsted remix) – 5:34
  2. "Only Teardrops" (Kongsted remix radio edit) – 3:40

Credits and personnel

  • Lise Cabble – songwriter
  • Julia Fabrin Jakobsen – first songwriter
  • Thomas Stengaard – songwriter
  • Frederik Thaae – producer, keyboards, guitar, drums, programming
  • Emmelie de Forest – vocals
  • Gunhild Overegseth – backing vocals
  • Hans Find Møller – Tin whistle
  • Tore Nissen – vocal production

Credits adapted from DR.[1]

Music video

De Forest posted several photographs onto her Facebook account from the shooting of the video. The video is directed by Michael Sauer Christensen. It has been filmed in the forest and on the beach.[10] It was released on 13 June 2013, in DR's official website.[11][12]

Commercial performance

The song was an instant hit in de Forest's home country of Denmark, where it debuted and peaked at number two on the Danish Singles Chart upon its release.[13] Following its victory in Eurovision, the song re-entered the singles chart at number one. It has since been certified gold by IFPI Denmark for sales of 15,000 digital copies. It was the fourteenth best-selling digital single in Denmark in 2013.[14]

In the United Kingdom, "Only Teardrops" debuted at number 99, despite Eurovision airing only four hours before the cut-off point for the chart.[15] A week later, the single rose to a high of No. 15 in the UK. In its third week, it dropped to No. 84 and dropped out of the chart the following week after 3 weeks on British chart. According to The Official Charts Company, "Only Teardrops" is the seventh most downloaded Eurovision song to date in the United Kingdom.[16]

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[53] Platinum 30,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[54] Platinum 1,800,000†
Germany (BVMI)[55] Gold 150,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Denmark[56] 22 January 2013 Digital download Sony Music
Worldwide[57] 2 May 2013
Austria[58] 14 June 2013 CD single
Germany[59]
Switzerland[60]
Worldwide[61] 24 June 2013 Digital download – Kongsted remix

References

  1. ^ a b "Only Teardrops – Emmelie de Forest". DR (in Danish). Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Denmark: Melodi Grand Prix 2013". Eurovisionworld.
  3. ^ Storvik-Green, Simon (26 January 2013). "Emmelie de Forest to fly the Danish flag in Malmö". EBU.
  4. ^ "Official Eurovision Song Contest 2013 first semi-final scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest.
  5. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2013". Eurovision Song Contest. 18 May 2013. SVT / EBU.
  6. ^ "Official Eurovision Song Contest 2013 grand final scoreboard". Eurovision Song Contest.
  7. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2014 first semi-final". Eurovision Song Contest. 6 May 2014. DR / EBU.
  8. ^ "Only Teardrops" on YouTube at Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits
  9. ^ "Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits". Eurovision Song Contest. 3 April 2015. BBC / EBU.
  10. ^ "Denmark: Emmelie records Only Teardrops videoclip". esctoday. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  11. ^ "VIDEO Se Emmelies officielle musikvideo til Only Teardrops – helt eksklusivt". DR. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  12. ^ "Emmelie de Forest – Only Teardrops". Retrieved 13 June 2013 – via Facebook. This morning the official music video of Emmelie de Forest's "Only Teardrops" was released.
  13. ^ Busa, Alexandru (28 January 2013). "Denmark: Emmelie de Forest tops the iTunes Download Chart". Esctoday.com.
  14. ^ "Track Top-50". hitlisten.nu. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Bonnie Tyler beats Denmark in Eurovision chart race". Official Charts Company. 19 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  16. ^ "The Most Downloaded Eurovision Songs of All Time Revealed!". Official Charts Company.
  17. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  18. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  19. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  20. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  21. ^ "Digital Singles Charts – Brasil". Brasil Hitlist. 7 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  22. ^ Emmelie De Forest — Only Teardrops. TopHit. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops". Tracklisten.
  24. ^ "Euro Digital Song Sales Chart (The week of June 8, 2013)". Billboard. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Emmelie De Forest: Only Teardrops" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  26. ^ "Musiikkituottajat – Tilastot – Suomen virallinen lista – Artistit". ifpi.fi.
  27. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops" (in French). Les classement single.
  28. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  29. ^ "Digital Singles Charts – Greece". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  30. ^ "RÚV – Vinsældalisti Rásar 2". RÚV. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  31. ^ "Chart Track: Week 21, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
  32. ^ "Classifiche – Top Digital – Classifica settimanale WK 21 del 2013". Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (in Italian). Retrieved 11 October 2022
  33. ^ "Emmelie de Forest Chart History (Luxembourg Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-05-30. [dead link]
  34. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Emmelie De Forest" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  35. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  36. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops". VG-lista.
  37. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  38. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201330 into search.
  39. ^ "SloTop50: Slovenian official singles weekly chart" (in Slovenian). SloTop50. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  40. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops" Canciones Top 50.
  41. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops". Singles Top 100.
  42. ^ "DigiListan 2013-05-26". Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
  43. ^ "Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops". Swiss Singles Chart.
  44. ^ "Digital Singles Charts – Turkey". Number One Top 20. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  45. ^ "Ukraine Airplay Chart for 2013-08-12." TopHit. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  46. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  47. ^ "As 100 Mais – Compilação das Melhores Músicas 2013" (in Portuguese). Antena 1 Radio (Brazil). Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  48. ^ "Track Top-50 2013" (in Danish). Tracklisten. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  49. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  50. ^ "Jaarlijsten 2013" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  51. ^ "Årslista Singlar – År 2013" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  52. ^ "Top Radio Hits Ukraine Annual Chart 2013" (in Russian). TopHit. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  53. ^ "Danish single certifications – Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops". IFPI Danmark.
  54. ^ "Danish single certifications – Emmelie De Forest – Only Teardrops (Streaming)". IFPI Danmark.
  55. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Emmelie De Forest; 'Only Teardrops')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  56. ^ "iTunes – Music – Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2013 by Various Artists". iTunes.
  57. ^ "iTunes – Musik – "Only Teardrops – Single" von Emmelie de Forest". iTunes.
  58. ^ "Emmelie de Forest – Only Teardrops – Sony Music Entertainment Austria GMBH". Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
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  61. ^ "iTunes – Music – Only Teardrops – Single by Emmelie de Forest". iTunes.
Preceded by Eurovision Song Contest winners
2013 		Succeeded by