| Year: | 1997 |
| Country: | Denmark |
| Preselection: | Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 1997 |
| Preselection Date: | 1 March 1997 |
| Entrant: | Kølig Kaj |
| Song: | Stemmen i mit liv |
| Final Result: | 16th, 25 points |
| Next: | 1999 |
Denmark was represented by rapper Kølig Kaj, with the song "Stemmen i mit liv", at the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 May in Dublin. "Stemmen i mit liv" was chosen as the Danish entry at the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix on 1 March.
The final was held at the DR TV studios in Copenhagen on 1 March 1997 and hosted by Hans Otto Bisgård. Ten songs competed in the contest and the winner was selected solely by a public televote, which led to the victory of "Stemmen i mit liv" performed by Kølig Kaj. The song won by a relatively narrow margin over "Utopia" performed Jette Torp, and was regarded as something of a risky choice as rap had only been tried once before at Eurovision (by the United Kingdom's Love City Groove in 1995), without a great deal of success.[1] The show was watched by 1.1 million viewers in Denmark, making it the most popular show of the evening and third most popular show of the week.[2]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Televote | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lars Nielsen | "Du er den eneste" | Peter Michael | 535 | 8 | |
| 2 | Gry Harrit | "Mon du tænker en smule på mig" | Erik Nielsen, Søren Kollerup | 185 | 10 | |
| 3 | Gorm Bull Sarning | "Si' mig li' Mari" | Ebbe Ravn, Gorm Bull Sarning | 1,642 | 3 | |
| 4 | Maria Abel | "Hyldest til livet" | Maria Abel, Michael Ronson | 1,275 | 5 | |
| 5 | Stay Tuned | "Hvor går man hen med kærlighed" | Jacob Launbjerg | 452 | 9 | |
| 6 | Dennis Ademsen Jensen | "Livet er en ubåd" | Knud Andersen, Michael Neergaard | 642 | 7 | |
| 7 | Kølig Kaj | "Stemmen i mit liv" | Thomas Lægård, Lars Pedersen | 5,695 | 1 | |
| 8 | Jette Torp | "Utopia" | Iben Plesner, Ivar Lind Greiner | 5,331 | 2 | |
| 9 | Hans Olsen | "Et skyggespil" | Cathrine Borg, Hans Olsen | 916 | 6 | |
| 10 | Lei Moe | "Vejen til paradis" | Kirsten Østrup, Tom Østrup | 1,432 | 4 |
Heading into the final of the contest, RTÉ reported that bookmakers ranked the entry 19th out of the 25 entries.[3] On the night of the final Kølig Kaj performed 21st in the running order, following Russia and preceding France. At the close of voting "Stemmen i mit liv" had received 25 points, placing Denmark 16th of the 25 entries.[4] The Danish jury awarded its 12 points to contest winners the United Kingdom.[5] The contest was watched by a total of 1 million viewers in Denmark.[6]