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Iceland: Interview with Stefanía Svavarsdóttir | With a song about parental love in Söngvakeppnin 2022! (Video)

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After the announcement of her taking in Söngvakeppnin 2022, Stefanía Svavarsdóttir speaks exclusively to EurovisionFun and Apostolis Matamis.

Stefanía Svavarsdóttir is one of the finalists of the national final of Iceland, Söngvakeppnin 2022 with the song “Heart of Mine“.

I was called from the composer of the track, with whom I have collaborated in the past. He is fantastic and I decided to make this step without hesitation. I hadn’t even heard the song but I knew it would be great. Watching the contest last year with his daughter, she asked him when is he going to take part in the contest. He had never thought about it and he did it for her. “Heart of Mine”  speaks about the parental love towards their children. I also have two little kids and I honestly felt the song when I read the lyrics, they are wonderful! It means a lot to me.  

In the semi-final of the national final, Stefanía as the rules want it, she will compete with the Icelandic version of the song “Hjartað mitt“:

We wanted, other than the English version, a little part in Icelandic. So that our children can understand by listening to it. Because a specific part is exclusively for them.

She has already started making preparations for the staging of the semi-final of  Söngvakeppnin 2022.

It will be a powerful performance. Thanks to the lyrics, it will be a personal performance and full of emotions. 

Stefanía has taken part in the national final five more times, also by taking part in the vocals of a competing song.

From the competing songs, she likes Suncity and Sanna.

Her favorite Icelandic songs are that of  Selma (1999) and ICY (1986) while from the contest in general the song that stands out for her is that of Salvador Sobral (Portugal 2017).

If she could collaborate with a Eurostar that would be Marija Šerifović (Serbia 2007).

Sometime before the end of the interview, Stefanía Svavarsdóttir offered us a part of her song acapella.

Watch the exclusive interview with Stefanía Svavarsdóttir in the following video:

Listen to “Heart of Mine“, the song of Stefanía Svavarsdóttir for Söngvakeppnin 2022!

 

Iceland: Listen to the entries of Söngvakeppnin 2022!

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After a short break in 2021, when Dadi Freyr was internally selected to represent Iceland, Söngvakeppnin returns to select the country’s entry for Eurovision 2022.

Iceland’s broadcaster, RUV, officially announced the 10 entries selected to compete in the semifinals of Söngvakeppnin 2022 tomorrow.

The competing artists and entries in Söngvakeppnin 2022 are :

1st Semi Final :

  1. Amarosis – “Don’t you know”
  2. Stefán Óli – “Ljósið” (The light)/ “All I know”
  3. Haffi Haff – “Gía” / “Volcano”
  4. Stefanía Svavarsdóttir – “Hjartað mitt” (My heart) / “Heart of mine”
  5. Sigga, Beta & Elín – “Með hækkandi sól” (With the rising sun)

2nd Semi Final :

  1. Hanna Mia and the Astrotourists – “Séns með þér” (See you soon) / “Gemini”
  2. Katla – “Þaðan af” (From there) / “Then again”
  3. Markéta Irglová – “Mögulegt” (Possible) / “Possible”
  4. Reykjavikurdaetur – “Tökum af stað” (Let’s get started) / “Turn this around”
  5. Suncity and Sanna – “Hækkum í botn” (Let’s go to the bottom) / “Keep it cool”

You can listen to all of the songs here

As usual, all the candidates will sing their songs in Icelandic in the semifinals, while in the final they have the option to perform the English versions.

The 2 semifinals will be held on February 26 and March 5. From each semifinal 2 out of 5 contestants will qualify for the final, which will take place on March 12. The jury can choose one of the 6 artists who were eliminated to compete in the final as a wildcard.

The final will consist of 2 rounds. In the first round, the audience and the jury will choose which 2 acts will advance to the Super Final, where the winner will be determined exclusively by the televoters.

Söngvakeppnin 2022 will be presented by Björg Magnúsdóttir, Jón Jónsson and Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir.

In 2021 Iceland was represented by Dadi Freyr with his band and the song “10 years” and finished 4th with 378 points, the best result of the country since 2009.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSMhu-PrLME

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news concerning Iceland in the competition!

Iceland: With Daði Freyr and Gagnamagnið in Eurovision 2021!

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Through his social media accounts, Daði Freyr Pétursson announced that he is going to represent Iceland in Eurovision 2021. Of course, he will be accompanied by the Gagnamagnið.

Iceland becomes 22nd country confirming the same artist from the canceled 2020 edition for the 2021 contest.

Moreover Daði Freyr stated that he has not written a song yet but he is going to do so (write a new one) for the upcoming contest.

Daði Freyr Pétursson with Thing About Things was one of the hot favourites to win the 2020 contest. There weren’t a few those who wanted him back for 2021.

What do you think? Will he manage to bring the first trophy ever to the nation of ice and fire?

https://youtu.be/1HU7ocv3S2o

 

Felix Bergsson talks exclusively to Jans Bors: “In 2-3 weeks we will announce our decisions for Eurovision 2021”

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The head of delegation of Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest, Felix Bergsson, gave a very interesting interview to the former head of delegation of Czechia, Jans Frost Bors. Felix Bergsson revealed that the public broadcaster of Iceland has yet to decide whether to select Daði Freyr internally or to organise their national final shows of  Söngvakeppnin. The relevant announcements will be made in two-three weeks.

In an in-depth interview, Felix Bergsson spoke to Jan Bors and his new project, Humans of Eurovision. The head of the Icelandic delegation in the competition, referred to how his country managed to be at the Eurovision epicenter  in the last two years. How they changed the national final, reducing the number of songs participating in the Söngvakeppnin, which gives them more time and money for each act.

Felix explained in detail what his job is, that he actually takes over the winner of Söngvakeppnin in early March and deals with everything related to Iceland’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. The video clip, the final production of the song, the stage appearance, but also the necessary promotion.

Jan could not help but ask Felix about the 2019 experience and the Hatari. Felix responded very honestly saying it was a very difficult year for him. The Hatari essentially participated solely because they wanted to convey their message, which was purely against Israel and in favour of Palestine. In addition to their obligations for the competition, the Hatari were also shooting a documentary, explaining the reasons for their participation. This was also the biggest difficulty of that year, the balance between their obligations as Iceland’s representatives in the competition and their obligations for this documentary, which was more important for them, since it was the reason why they participated in that year’s Eurovision.

In the end, Felix Bergsson explained that due to the pandemic and the budget cut of the Icelandic public broadcaster, no decision has been made yet on how to choose their participation in the next competition. That is, if they perform Söngvakeppnin normally or if they give Dadi another chance, after this year’s great acceptance of  Think about Things. But soon and more specifically in the next 2-3 weeks we will have official announcements.

Below you can watch the entire interview of Felix Bergsson to Jans Bors

 

Iceland: Daði Freyr responds to rumors about Netflix

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“Netflix doesn’t push the song in any way” – these are the words of Daði Freyr, the frontman of Daði og Gagnamagnið, the Icelandic representatives at this year’s Eurovision. In recent weeks, the band’s “Think About Things” section has become a sensation in all social media and with a large number of celebrities expressing their love.

Supporters range from Hollywood actror Russell Crowe and designer Bridal Princess Diana to one of Britain’s leading political journalists.

Viral phenomena, by their very nature, spread rapidly through the internet, and for no reason at all. But some Europeans seeking to make sense of a pointless world have come up with their own theory – Netflix pays verified Twitter users to support Daði and the band as a way of promoting Will Ferrell’s upcoming Eurovision movie on the Netflix platform.

Daði Freyr denies rumors about Netflix

Speaking in a blog by Birta Rán and Guðný Rós – the creative mind behind the music video “Think About Things” – Daði says:

“We didn’t pay Russel Crow to share the video. We didn’t pay anyone to share anything. The only thing I paid for was to make the video, to make the costumes and the material to make the instruments.

Many people really believe that Netflix is ​​paying to promote us and the reason is supposed to be that our song is in next season’s Stranger Things. This is not the case.

Netflix doesn’t push the song in any way. It would be great if Netflix really paid to promote the song, I’d be okay with it and wouldn’t be ashamed to say it because it would be great. But that’s not the case”.

Iceland at Eurovision 2020 – The Conspiracy Theory with Netflix

There are dozens of reports on Twitter, Reddit and elsewhere, but the situation is about as follows.

Netflix is ​​making a Eurovision movie starring Will Ferrell, Rachel McAdams and several other Hollywood A-Listers. In the film, the central couple plays two Icelandic singers competing in a song contest.

In some of the behind-the-scenes photos, Ferrell is seen with long hair, bringing something of the Daði style.

From this summary, we move on to the “Think About Things” which goes viral. The logic is that Netflix is ​​undertaking some sort of special marketing strategy to promote the movie by promoting the song.

According to the theorists, the streaming giant is either paying or asking celebrities to send backing tweets.

So far, none of the famous tweeters have responded to online rumors. However, British journalist Rob Holley – the man who first uploaded the video to Twitter – told a fan that “I tweeted because I’m a fan. As I did with Alligator or Verona. How Does the Internet Work? Do you honestly think that fans like me and you have been deceived? ” Despite the explanation, he appeared to remain convinced.

Source: wiwibloggs.com

Iceland: The detailed results of Söngvakeppnin 2020

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For the 15th consecutive year, Iceland has chosen to participate in the Eurovision Contest through Söngvakeppnin. This year, two semifinal rounds took place on February 8 and 15, with the final taking place on Saturday, February 29.

Daði & Gagnamagnið were named “Winners of the Söngvakeppnin 2020 and therefore representatives of the country at the 65th Eurovision Contest with “ Think About Things ”. These winners gained over 30,000 votes!

Analytically:

SEMI-FINAL 1 – 8 FEBRUARY 2020
DRAW ARTIST SONG TELEVOTE PLACE RESULT
1 Kid Isak “Ævintýri” 3.651 3 Eliminated
2 Elísabet “Elta þig” 1.989 5 Eliminated
3 Brynja Mary “Augun þín” 3.374 4 Eliminated
4 Ísold & Helga “Klukkan tifar” 6.654 2 Advanced
5 Dimma “Almyrkvi” 14.984 1 Advanced
SEMI-FINAL 2 – 15 FEBRUARY 2020
DRAW ARTIST SONG TELEVOTE PLACE RESULT
1 Daði & Gagnamagnið “Gagnamagnið” 11.218 1 Advanced
2 Hildur Vala “Fellibylur” 1.336 6 Eliminated
3 Iva “Oculis Videre” 10.924 2 Advanced
4 Nína “Ekkó” 5.905 3 Wildcard
5 Matti Matt “Dreyma” 5.634 4 Eliminated

 

Although Nína failed to reach the top  in the semifinals, she eventually qualified for the Söngvakeppnin 2020 final, on the advice of the Icelandic broadcaster RUV.

FINAL – 29 FEBRUARY 2020
DRAW ARTIST SONG JURY TELEVOTE TOTAL PLACE RESULT
1 Ísold & Helga “Meet Me Halfway” 17.170 5.568 22.738 4 Out
2 Daði & Gagnamagnið “Think About Things” 24.289 36.035 60.324 1 Qualified
3 Nína “Echo” 15.286 6.515 21.801 5 Out
4 Iva “Oculis Videre” 18.426 19.072 37.498 3 Out
5 Dimma “Almyrkvi” 14.867 22.848 37.715 2 Qualified
SUPERFINAL – 29 FEBRUARY 2020
DRAW ARTIST SONG TELEVOTE PLACE
1 Daði & Gagnamagnið “Think About Things” 118.643 1
2 Dimma “Almyrkvi” 80.183 2

A few hours ago, Iceland became the new big favorite to win in Rotterdam! Read more HERE.

Iceland: 157 entries submitted for Söngvakeppnin 2020

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A total of 157 songs have been submitted to Iceland’s public broadcaster, RÚV, ahead of the Icelandic selection for Eurovision 2020, in the hope all to compete in the “Söngvakeppnin 2020” national final in February. The application period was open until October 17, with interest being particularly high. In fact, the total of applications this year exceeds 20% of the last year.

All songs will be evaluated by a seven-member jury composed of RÚV executives, professional musicians, composers and songwriters. In the process of listening to the songs, the committee will know neither the singers nor their composers.

The top-ten songs chosen by the experts will be revealed in January. Then, on February 8 and 15, they will take part in the two semifinals that will take place at the Reykjavik Háskólabíó Convention Center. Two songs from each semifinal will qualify for the grand final on February 29 at the Laugardalshöll Indoor Stadium.  RÚV reserves the right to issue a wild-card for the final in one of the 6 songs that failed to reach the final stage.

In the semifinals, all songs must be interpreted in Icelandic. Instead, in the final, the artists have to interpret the songs in the language they intend to sing in the Netherlands if they win the Icelandic national final. The winner of the “Söngvakeppnin 2020” will represent Iceland at the 60th Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam’s Ahoy Arena.

In the 64th edition of the contest held in Tel Aviv last May, the iconic Hatari represented Iceland with the song “Hatrið mun sigra” ranking 10th with 232 points.