Söngvakeppnin Explained

Söngvakeppnin
Location:Iceland
Years Active:1981–present
Founders: (RÚV)
Genre:Various
Website:Official website

Söngvakeppnin (known from 1986–1989 as Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsstöðva and in 1981, 1983 and 1990–2012 as Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins,) is an annual music competition organised by Icelandic public broadcaster (RÚV). It determines the for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Format

The contest was first organised in 1981, although neither it nor its subsequent 1983 edition were used to determine any representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest until Iceland made its debut in the .[1] Since then, RÚV has used Icelandic: Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins to select the Icelandic entry, but has also used an internal selection at times, between 1995 and 1999, and in 2004, 2005, and 2021.

has consisted of a multi-artist competition, with between five and ten songs competing. Most contests in the past have been a one-night event. Since 2006, the contest has consisted of a number of semi-finals aired before a final.

It was known for RÚV to change the performers for Eurovision. This can be seen in 1986, when winner Pálmi Gunnarsson was joined by Eiríkur Hauksson and Helga Möller to form ICY for Eurovision. In 1994, RÚV was not happy with the winning song, and so enlisted Frank McNamara to rearrange the entry and select a new singer.[2]

Songs at were previously only allowed to be performed in Icelandic. However, the winning songs were normally translated into English for Eurovision. This rule was abolished in 2008, when English-language songs were allowed to compete for the first time. The rules were later changed again in 2015, and the same is still used at present. The rules now require that in the semi-finals, the songs must be performed in Icelandic. In the final, the finalists will be asked to determine the language they will perform their song in Eurovision.[3]

Winners

The winners of since 1986 have gone on to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest. Iceland has never won the contest, being the only Nordic country never to do so, but it has finished second twice: in 1999 (when an internal selection was used), losing to, and in 2009, when it lost to .[4] [5]

2020 was the first time in history where the winner of, in this case Daði og Gagnamagnið, did not advance to Eurovision, as that event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] Instead, RÚV internally re-selected Daði og Gagnamagnið to represent the country in, with the song also chosen internally.[7]

+ Table key
1First place
2Second place
3Third place
Last place
XEntry selected but did not compete
Upcoming event
List of Söngvakeppnin winners
YearArtistSongSongwriter(s)At Eurovision
Final PointsSemiPoints
1981Pálmi Gunnarsson"Icelandic: Af litlum neista|i=unset"Guðmundur Ingólfsson, Magnús Haraldssonrowspan="2" colspan="4" X
1983Sigríður Gröndalcolspan="2"
1986Pálmi Gunnarsson"Icelandic: Gleðibankinn|i=unset"Magnús Eiríksson16th19colspan="2" rowspan="7"
1987Halla Margrét Árnadóttir"Icelandic: Hægt og hljótt|i=unset"16th28
1988Sverrir Stormsker and Stefán Hilmarsson"Icelandic: Þú og þeir (Sókrates)|i=unset"Sverrir Stormsker16th20
1989Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson"Icelandic: Það sem enginn sér|i=unset"Valgeir Guðjónsson22nd ◁0
1990Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir and "Icelandic: Eitt lag enn|i=unset", Hörður G. Ólafsson4th124
1991Stefán Hilmarsson and "Icelandic: Draumur um Nínu|i=unset"Eyjólfur Kristjánsson15th26
1992Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir and "Icelandic: Nei eða já|i=unset"Friðrik Karlsson, Grétar Örvarsson, Stefán Hilmarsson7th80
1993"Icelandic: Þá veistu svarið|i=unset"Friðrik Sturluson, Jon Kjell Seljeseth13th42colspan="2"
1994Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir"Icelandic: Nætur|i=unset"Friðrik Karlsson, Stefán Hilmarsson12th49colspan="2" rowspan="4"
2000Einar Ágúst Víðisson and "Icelandic: Hvert sem er|i=unset"Örlygur Smári, Sigurður Örn Jónsson12th45
2001Kristján Gíslason and Gunnar Ólason"Icelandic: Birta|i=unset"Einar Bárðarson, 22nd ◁3
2003Birgitta Haukdal"Icelandic: Segðu mér allt|i=unset"Birgitta Haukdal Brynjarsdóttir, Hallgrímur Óskarsson8th81
2006Silvía Nótt"Icelandic: Til hamingju Ísland|i=unset"Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, 13th62
2007Eiríkur Hauksson"Icelandic: Ég les í lófa þínum|i=unset"Kristján Hreinsson, Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson13th77
2008Eurobandið"This is My Life"Örlygur Smári, Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson, Peter Fenner14th648th68
2009Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir"Is It True?"Chris Neil, Óskar Páll Sveinsson, Tinatin Japaridze2nd2181st174
2010Hera Björk"French: [[Je ne sais quoi (song)|Je ne sais quoi]]|i=no"Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir, Örlygur Smári19th413rd123
2011Sigurjón's Friends"Icelandic: Aftur heim|i=unset"Sigurjón Brink, Þórunn Erna Clausen20th614th100
2012Greta Salóme and Jónsi"Icelandic: Mundu eftir mér|i=unset"Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir20th468th75
2013Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson"Icelandic: [[Ég á líf]]|i=unset"Örlygur Smári, Pétur Örn Guðmundsson17th476th72
2014Pollapönk"No Prejudice"John William Grant, Haraldur F. Gíslason, Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson15th588th61
2015María Ólafsdóttir"Unbroken"Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson15th14
2016Greta Salóme"Hear Them Calling"Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir14th51
2017Svala"Paper"Einar Egilsson, Lester Mendez, Lily Elise, Svala Björgvinsdóttir15th60
2018Ari Ólafsson"Our Choice"Þórunn Erna Clausen19th ◁15
Hatari"Icelandic: [[Hatrið mun sigra]]|i=unset"Einar Hrafn Stefánsson, Klemens Nikulásson Hannigan, Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson10th2323rd221
2020Daði og Gagnamagnið"Think About Things"Daði Freyr Péturssoncolspan="4" X
2022Sigga, Beta and Elin"Icelandic: [[Með hækkandi sól]]|i=unset"Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir23rd 2010th103
2023Diljá"Power"Diljá Pétursdóttir, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson11th44
2024Hera Björk"Scared of Heights"Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir, Ferras Alqaisi, Jaro Omar, Michael Burek15th ◁3

Performers and songwriters with multiple wins

The following individuals have won Söngvakeppnin as a performer or songwriter more than once.

+ Individuals with multiple Söngvakeppnin wins
WinsNameWins as performerWins as songwriter
4Stefán Hilmarsson1988, 19911992, 1994
Örlygur Smári2000, 2008, 2010, 2013
2Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir2012, 2016
Hera Björk2010, 20242010
Gunnar Ólason2001, 2011 (as part of Sigurjón's Friends)rowspan="4"
Pálmi Gunnarsson1981, 1986
Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir1990, 1992
1992, 1994
Friðrik Karlsson1992, 1994
Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson2015, 2023
Þórunn Erna Clausen2011, 2018
1987, 1989

Söngvakeppnin Hall of Fame

Icelandic: Heiðurshöll Söngvakeppninnar or the Icelandic: Söngvakeppnin Hall of Fame was introduced in to acknowledge artists who have outstanding contributions to the competition.[8]

YearArtist
Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir[9]
Björgvin Halldórsson[10]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Kristjánsson . Jónas . 1981-03-07 . Bikarúrslitaleikurinn í körfu og svigkeppni . . . 2024-02-25 . is.
  2. http://natfinals.50webs.com/90s_00s/Iceland1994.html Icelandic National Final 1994
  3. Web site: 2015-02-12 . Iceland: Songvakeppnin running order and language rules revealed . eurovoix.com . 2024-02-25.
  4. Web site: Participants of Jerusalem 1999 . eurovision.tv . . 2024-02-25 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201103039/https://eurovision.tv/event/jerusalem-1999/participants . 2023-02-01.
  5. Web site: Participants of Moscow 2009 . 2024-02-25 . eurovision.tv . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230323050340/https://eurovision.tv/event/moscow-2009/participants . 2023-03-23.
  6. Web site: 2020-04-06 . Official EBU statement & FAQ on Eurovision 2020 cancellation . eurovision.tv . . 2024-02-25.
  7. News: 2020-11-10 . Smith . Thomas . Daði Freyr on Iceland Airwaves, Hot Chip's influence and next year's Eurovision song . 2024-02-25 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20210418123624/https://www.nme.com/features/music-interviews/dadi-freyr-pumped-to-hear-hot-chip-remix-think-about-things-2812575 . 2021-04-18 . live.
  8. Web site: Björnsdóttir . Anna María . 2024-02-18 . VÆB og Aníta áfram í úrslit Söngvakeppninnar . VÆB and Aníta continue to the finals of Söngvakeppninn . ruv.is . . 2024-02-25 . is.
  9. Web site: Björnsdóttir . Anna María . 2024-02-22 . Sigga Beinteins heiðruð á Söngvakeppninni . Sigga Beinteins honored at Söngvakeppninn . ruv.is . . 2024-02-27 . is.
  10. Web site: Aradóttir . Júlía . 2024-02-25 . Hera, Bashar og Sigga Ózk komin í úrslit Söngvakeppninnar . Hera, Bashar and Sigga Ózk have reached the finals of Söngvakeppninn . ruv.is . . 2024-02-25 . is.