RUV has announced the name of the ten candidates that will compete in the Icelandic national selection for Eurovision. The semi-finals of Söngvakeppnin 2019 will take place on 9 and 16 February, while the final will be held in Laugardalshöll on 2 March.
You can find the semi-finalists and listen to their songs below:
- Hatari – Hatrið mun sigra
- Hera Björk – Eitt Andartak / Moving On
- Kristina Skoubo – Ég á mig sjálf / Mama Said
- Þórdís Imsland – Nú og hér / What Are You Waiting For?
- Daníel Óliver – Samt ekki / Licky Licky
- Elli Grill, Skaði og Glymur – Jeijó, keyrum alla leið
- Friðrik Ómar – Hvað ef ég get ekki elskað? / What If I Can’t Have Love?
- Ívar Daníels – Þú bætir mig / Make Me Whole
- Tara Mobee – Betri án þín / Fighting For Love
- Heiðrún Anna – Helgi / Sunday Boy
Hera Bjork represented Iceland in 2010 in Oslo with a song that has gone on to be a Eurovision classic, ‘Je ne sais quoi’. Hera placed 19th in the final. Fridrik Omar represented Iceland in 2008 as a member of the group, Euroband. The song, ‘This Is My Life‘, placed 14th at the final in Belgrade.
Two songs of each semi-final will advance to the final, and thus four songs will battle for the right to represent Iceland in Tel Aviv. However, the producers of the show reserve the right to add one extra song (that didn’t qualify) to the final as a wildcard.
In a change to this year’s competition, the results of the two semi-finals will be determined by both televoting and jury votes.
In both the semi-finals and final, both of them will have 50% power. In the final, the two songs with the most votes by the public and the jury will be put up to battle in a “super final” where the public will have full power and will decide the winner of the contest. Another change to this year is that in the “super final” the points from the first round will be carried forward to the “super final”.
The entries will be performed in Icelandic in the semifinals, while the candidates have to sing the version of the song the intend for the Eurovision Song Contest in the national final. The winner will be awarded the right to represent Iceland in Tel Aviv.