The Italians sang from their balconies during the COVID-19 lockdown. The Danes sang from in front of their television sets. This happened during live DR1 broadcasts of the show Singing Together – Alone (Danish: Fællessang – hver for sig) every morning, and not least every Friday night in the primetime at 8pm. Here, up to a fifth of the Danish population was watching – and singing together – placing the program solidly in the Top-5 every single week from March until the show ended in June. In the month of April, no less than half of the population – or 2.7 million Danes – had watched one or more of the programs.
The premise of the primetime program was super simple, extremely cheap and very efficient. A popular host and the conductor of the DR Danish Girls’ Choir introduced the songs that were then performed by famous Danish artists from their homes while viewers were singing along from their homes. Many viewers live-streamed their own singing and these live-streams became part of the program. Even the Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen recorded herself and her daughter singing along to a 1980s hit song while doing the dishes.