Icelandic broadcaster RÚV have now revealed the 10 participants of the upcoming edition of Söngvakeppnin as well as their competing entries.
This year there will be 10 participants rather than 12, however the broadcaster assured fans that the line-up would be as diverse as ever. This means that in each semi-final, there will be 5 competing acts. The semi-finals will take place on the 9th and 16th of February where four of the acts will progress to the final. There is also the option of a fifth finalist as a wildcard at the commission’s discretion. The final will be held on the 2nd of March.
During the semi-finals, the acts must perform their songs in Icelandic language, but in the final they are able to choose whether they want to perfom their entries in English.
The first semi-final will feature:
- Hatari – Hatrið mun sigra (Hatari)
- Hera Björk – Eitt andartak / Moving On (Örlygur Smári, Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir & Valgeir Magnússon)
- Kristina Skoubo Bærendsen – Ég á mig sjálf / Mama Said (Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson & Valgeir Magnússon)
- Þórdís Imsland – Nú og hér / What Are You Waiting For? (Svala Björgvinsdóttir, Bjarki Ómarsson / Stefán Hilmarsson)
- Daníel Óliver – Samt ekki / Licky Licky (Daníel Óliver Sveinsson, Linus Josefsson and Peter von Arbin)
The second semi-final will feature:
- Elli Grill, Skaði and Glymur – Jeijó, keyrum alla leið (Barði Jóhannsson)
- Friðrik Ómar – Hvað ef ég get ekki elskað? / What If I Can’t Have Love? (Friðrik Ómar Hjörleifsson & Sveinbjörn I. Baldvinsson)
- Ívar Daníels – Þú bætir mig / Make Me Whole (Stefán Þór Steindórsson & Richard Micallef / Nikos Sofis)
- Tara Mobee – Betri án þín / Fighting For Love (Andri Þór Jónsson and Eyþór Úlfar Þórisson / Tara Mobee English)
- Heiðrún Anna Björnsdóttir – Helgi / Sunday Boy (Heiðrún Anna Björnsdóttir & Sævar Sigurgeirsson)
The line-up features some familiar names, including Friðrik Ómar who represented Iceland at Eurovision as part of the duo Euroband back in 2008 with the song This Is My Life. The line-up also features Hera Björk who represented Iceland in 2010 with the song Je Ne Sais Quoi.
In terms of songwriters, the line-up also features Svala who represented Iceland in 2017 with the song Paper as well as Richard Micallef who represented Malta in 2014 as part of the group Firelight.
Listen to the entries in our Spotify playlist below: