Söngvakeppnin
Söngvakeppnin (known from 1986–1989 as Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsstöðva and in 1981, 1983 and 1990–2012 as Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins, lit. 'the Television's Song Contest') is an annual music competition organised by Icelandic public broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest.
| Söngvakeppnin | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Various |
| Location(s) | Iceland |
| Years active | 7 March 1981–present |
| Founded by | Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) |
| Website | Official website |
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 1986 contest. Since then, RÚV has used 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.
Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins 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.[1]
Songs at Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins 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.
Winners
The first 33 winners of Söngvakeppnin have gone on to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest. Iceland has never won the contest (the only Nordic country never to do so), but it has finished second twice: in 1999 (when an internal selection was used), losing to Sweden, and in 2009, when it lost to Norway.
2020 was the first time in history where the winner of Söngvakeppnin, in this case Daði og Gagnamagnið, did not advance to Eurovision, as that event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, RÚV internally re-selected Daði og Gagnamagnið to represent the country in 2021, with the song also chosen internally.
| Year | City Venue |
Song | Artist | Songwriter(s) | Result at Eurovision |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Reykjavík RÚV Studios |
"Gleðibankinn" | Pálmi Gunnarsson | Magnús Eiríksson | 16th (as ICY) |
| 1987 | "Hægt og hljótt" | Halla Margrét Árnadóttir | Valgeir Guðjónsson | 16th | |
| 1988 | "Þú og þeir" | Sverrir Stormsker and Stefán Hilmarsson |
Sverrir Stormsker | 16th (as Beathoven) | |
| 1989 | "Það sem enginn sér" | Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson | Valgeir Guðjónsson | 22nd | |
| 1990 | "Eitt lag enn" | Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir and Grétar Örvarsson |
Hörður G. Ólafsson, Aðalsteinn Ásberg Sigurðsson | 4th (as Stjórnin) | |
| 1991 | "Draumur um Nínu" | Stefán Hilmarsson and Eyjólfur Kristjánsson |
Eyjólfur Kristjánsson | 15th (as Stefán and Eyfi) | |
| 1992 | Reykjavík RÚV Studios |
"Nei eða já" | Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir and Sigrún Eva Ármannsdottir |
Friðrik Karlsson, Grétar Örvarsson, Stefán Hilmarsson | 7th (as Heart 2 Heart) |
| 1993 | Reykjavík RÚV Studios |
"Þá veistu svarið" | Ingibjörg Stefánsdóttir | Jon Kjell Seljeseth, Friðrik Sturluson | 13th (as Inga) |
| 1994 | "Nætur" | Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir | Friðrik Karlsson, Stefán Hilmarsson | 12th (performed by Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir as Sigga) | |
| 2000 | Reykjavík RÚV Studios |
"Hvert sem er" | Einar Ágúst Víðisson and Telma Ágústsdóttir |
Örlygur Smári, Sigurður Örn Jónsson | 12th (August and Telma with "Tell Me!") |
| 2001 | Reykjavík RÚV Studios |
"Birta" | Kristján Gíslason and Gunnar Ólason | Einar Bárðarson, Magnús Þór Sigmundsson | 22nd (Two Tricky with "Angel") |
| 2003 | Reykjavík Háskólabíó |
"Segðu mér allt" | Birgitta Haukdal | Hallgrímur Óskarsson, Birgitta Haukdal Brynjarsdóttir | 8th (as "Open Your Heart") |
| 2006 | Reykjavík | "Til hamingju Ísland" | Silvía Nótt | Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson, Silvía Nótt | SF: 13th (as "Congratulations") |
| 2007 | Reykjavík Basecamp Studio |
"Ég les í lófa þínum" | Eiríkur Hauksson | Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson, Kristján Hreinsson | SF: 13th (as "Valentine Lost") |
| 2008 | Reykjavík | "This Is My Life" | Eurobandið | Örlygur Smári, Paul Oscar, Peter Fenner | 14th |
| 2009 | "Is It True?" | Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir | Óskar Páll Sveinsson, Tinatin Japaridze, Chris Neil | 2nd (as Yohanna) | |
| 2010 | "Je ne sais quoi" | Hera Björk | Örlygur Smári, Hera Björk | 19th | |
| 2011 | "Aftur heim" | Sigurjón's Friends | Sigurjón Brink, Þórunn Erna Clausen | 20th (as "Coming Home") | |
| 2012 | "Mundu eftir mér" | Greta Salóme and Jónsi | Greta Salóme | 20th (as "Never Forget") | |
| 2013 | (Two semi-finals) Reykjavík RÚV Studios (final) Reykjavík Harpa |
"Ég á líf" | Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson | Örlygur Smári, Pétur Örn Guðmundsson | 17th |
| 2014 | (Two semi-finals) Reykjavík RÚV Studios (final) Reykjavík Háskólabíó |
"No Prejudice" | Pollapönk | Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson, Haraldur F. Gíslason | 15th |
| 2015 | (Two semi-finals) Reykjavík RÚV Studios (final) Reykjavík Háskólabíó |
"Unbroken" | María Ólafsdóttir | Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson | SF: 15th |
| 2016 | (Two semi-finals) Reykjavík RÚV Studios (final) Reykjavík Háskólabíó |
"Hear Them Calling" | Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir | Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir | SF: 14th |
| 2017 | (Two semi-finals) Reykjavík RÚV Studios (final) Reykjavík Háskólabíó |
"Paper" | Svala | Svala Björgvinsdóttir, Einar Egilsson, Lester Mendez, Lily Elise | SF: 15th |
| 2018 | (Two semi-finals) Reykjavík Háskólabíó (final) Reykjavík Laugardalshöll |
"Our Choice" | Ari Ólafsson | Þórunn Erna Clausen | SF: 19th |
| 2019 | "Hatrið mun sigra" | Hatari | Einar Hrafn Stefánsson, Klemens Nikulásson Hannigan, Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson | 10th | |
| 2020 | "Think About Things" | Daði Freyr and Gagnamagnið | Daði Freyr Pétursson | Contest cancelled | |
| 2022 | Reykjavík Gufunes - Söngvakeppnishöllin - RVK Studios |
"Með hækkandi sól" | Sigga, Beta and Elín | Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir | 23rd (as Systur) |
| 2023 | "Power" | Diljá | Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Diljá Pétursdóttir | SF: 11th |
See also
References
External links
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