Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2008 was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The seventeen shows in the competition took place at the RÚV studios in Reykjavík during the television programme Laugardagslögin, hosted by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Gísli Einarsson.[3]

Thirty-three songs in total competed in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2008, where the winner was determined after eleven heats, a Second Chance round, four semi-finals and a final.[4] Three songs competed in each heat between 6 October 2007 and 12 January 2008. The winning song from each heat, as determined by public televoting qualified to the semi-finals. Following each heat, a second round of televoting selected a wildcard act out of the remaining two non-qualifying acts.[5] A jury selected three of the eleven wildcards for the Second Chance round on 12 January 2008, during which the top two songs, as determined by public televoting qualified to the semi-finals. Three songs competed in each semi-final on 19 January, 26 January, 2 February and 9 February 2008. The top two songs from each semi-final qualified to the final which took place on 23 February 2008.[6] The results of the semi-finals and final were determined by 100% public televoting.[7]

On 10 July 2007, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 3 September 2007. Songwriters were required to be Icelandic, possess Icelandic citizenship or have permanent residency in Iceland by 1 October 2007, and had the right to submit up to three entries.[2] At the close of the submission deadline, 146 entries were received. A selection committee was formed in order to select the top six entries, while additional twenty-seven entries came from nine composers invited by RÚV to each create three entries for the competition. The invited composers were:[8]

Among the competing artists were previous Icelandic Eurovision entrants Pálmi Gunnarsson, who represented Iceland in 1986 as part of ICY, Einar Ágúst Víðisson, who represented Iceland in 2000 as part of August and Telma, and Birgitta Haukdal, who represented Iceland in 2003.

The eleven heats took place between 6 October 2007 and 12 January 2008. In each heat three acts presented their entries, and the winning entry voted upon solely by public televoting qualified directly to the semi-finals. An additional eleven entries, one per heat voted upon by an additional televote following each heat from the two remaining acts, were awarded wildcards for the Second Chance round.[9]

The Second Chance round took place on 12 January 2008 where three of the eleven wildcards selected by a jury panel on 6 January 2008 competed.[10] "Hvar ertu nú?" performed by Dr. Spock was voted upon solely by public televoting to proceed to the final.[11]

The four semi-finals took place on 19 January, 26 January, 2 February and 9 February 2008. In each semi-final three acts presented their entries, and the top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final.[12]

The final took place on 23 February 2008 where the eight entries that qualified from the preceding four semi-finals competed. Eurobandið performed their entry in Icelandic in the heats and semi-final, however, they presented their entry in English in the final.[3] The winner, "This Is My Life" performed Eurobandið, was determined solely by televoting.[13] In addition to the performances of the competing artists, the show was opened by a medley featuring past Icelandic Eurovision entrants performing their songs.[14][15]

Euroband made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "This Is My Life" as the Icelandic Eurovision entry. On 24 April, Euroband was one of the guest performers of 1995 Icelandic Eurovision entrant Björgvin Halldórsson's Jólagestir Björgvins concert which was held at the Circus Building in Copenhagen, Denmark.[16][17] On 25 April, Euroband performed during the UKEurovision Preview Party event which was held at the Scala Club in London, United Kingdom and hosted by Paddy O'Connell.[18]

Euroband during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

Euroband took part in technical rehearsals on 13 and 16 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 21 and 22 May. The Icelandic performance featured the members of Euroband dressed in black and pink outfits and performing choreography, joined on stage by four backing vocalists in black outfits.[23][24] The stage lighting were in deep blue and white colours.[25] The backing vocalists that joined Euroband were: Grétar Örvarsson, Guðrún Gunnarsdóttir, Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir and Pétur Örn Guðmundsson. Grétar Örvarsson previously represented Iceland in 1990 and 1992 as part of Stjórnin and Heart 2 Heart, respectively, while Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir would go on to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.[26]

At the end of the show, Iceland was announced as having finished in the top 10 and subsequently qualifying for the grand final. This marked the first time that Iceland qualified to the final of the Eurovision Song Contest from a semi-final since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004. It was later revealed that Iceland placed eighth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 68 points.[27]

Shortly after the second semi-final, a winners' press conference was held for the ten qualifying countries. As part of this press conference, the qualifying artists took part in a draw to determine the running order of the final. This draw was done in the order the countries appeared in the semi-final running order. Iceland was drawn to perform in position 11, following the entry from Poland and before the entry from Turkey.

Euroband once again took part in dress rehearsals on 23 and 24 May before the final. The duo performed a repeat of their semi-final performance during the final on 24 May. At the conclusion of the voting, Iceland finished in fourteenth place with 64 points.[28]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Iceland and awarded by Iceland in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Denmark in the semi-final and the final of the contest.