Seebach wrote the song as a lullaby to his daughter, and his family encouraged him to suggest it as a finalist for the Danish final in 1993, where it won.

At the Eurovision Song Contest, the song was performed fifth on the night, following Switzerland's Annie Cotton with "Moi, tout simplement" and preceding Greece's Katerina Garbi with "Ellada, chora tou fotos".

The media reacted poorly to this, putting the blame on Seebach personally, which his son later revealed was one of the main reasons for his father's descent into alcoholism and depression,[1] which led to his divorce and ultimately his early death ten years later.

"Under stjernerne på himlen" was played at Seebach's funeral, as the coffin was carried out of the church.

[2] It was succeeded as Danish representative at the 1995 contest (to which Denmark had been invited) by Aud Wilken with "Fra Mols til Skagen".