Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins is an annual music competition organised by Icelandic public broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest.
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The contest was first organised in 1986, when Iceland made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest. Since then, RÚV has used Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins to select the Icelandic entry, but has also used an internal selection at times, mainly between 1995 and 1999, 2004 and 2005.
Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins has consisted of a multi-artist competition, with between 5 and 10 songs competing. Most contests in the past have been a one-night event, however since 2006 the contest has consisted of a number of semi-finals aired before a grand 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 were not happy with the winning song, and so enlisted Frank McNamara to rearrange the entry and select a new singer.[1]
Songs in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins were once only allowed to be performed in Icelandic. However 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.
| Year | Song | Translation | Artist | Songwriter(s) | Position in ESC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Gleðibankinn" | Bank of fun | Pálmi Gunnarsson | Magnús Eiríksson | 16th (as ICY) |
| 1987 | "Hægt og hljótt" | Slowly and quietly | Halla Margrét Árnadóttir | Valgeir Guðjónsson | 16th |
| 1988 | "Þú og þeir" | You and they | Sverrir Stormsker & Stefán Hilmarsson |
Sverrir Stormsker | 16th (as Beathoven) |
| 1989 | "Það sem enginn sér" | What no one sees | Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson | Valgeir Guðjónsson | 22nd |
| 1990 | "Eitt lag enn" | One more song | Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir & Grétar Örvarsson |
Hörður G. Ólafsson, Aðalsteinn Ásberg Sigurðsson | 4th (as Stjórnin) |
| 1991 | "Draumur um Nínu" | The dream about Nina | Stefán Hilmarsson & Eyjólfur Kristjánsson |
Eyjólfur Kristjánsson | 15th (as Stefán & Eyfi) |
| 1992 | "Nei eða já" | No or yes? | Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir & Sigrún Eva Ármannsdottir |
Friðrik Karlsson, Grétar Örvarsson, Stefán Hilmarsson | 7th (as Heart 2 Heart) |
| 1993 | "Þá veistu svarið" | Then you'll know the answer | Ingibjörg Stefánsdóttir | Jon Kjell Seljeseth, Friðrik Sturluson | 13th (as Inga) |
| 1994 | "Nætur" | Nights | Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir | Friðrik Karlsson, Stefán Hilmarsson | 12th (performed by Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir as Sigga) |
| 2000 | "Hvert sem er" | Anywhere | Einar Ágúst Víðisson & Telma Ágústsdóttir |
Örlygur Smári, Sigurður Örn Jónsson | 10th (August & Telma with "Tell Me!") |
| 2001 | "Birta" | — | Kristján Gíslason & Gunnar Ólason | Einar Bárðarson, Magnús Þór Sigmundsson | 23rd (Two Tricky with "Angel") |
| 2003 | "Segðu mér allt" | Tell me everything | Birgitta Haukdal | Hallgrímur Óskarsson, Birgitta Haukdal Brynjarsdóttir | 8th (as "Open Your Heart") |
| 2006 | "Til hamingju Ísland" | Congratulations Iceland | Silvía Nótt | Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson, Silvía Nótt | SF: 13th (as "Congratulations") |
| 2007 | "Ég les í lófa þínum" | I read from your palm | Eiríkur Hauksson | Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson, Kristján Hreinsson | SF: 13th |
| 2008 | "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 | I Don't Know What | Hera Björk | Örlygur Smári, Hera Björk | 19th |
| 2011 | Aftur heim | Back Home | Sigurjón’s friends | Sigurjón Brink, Þórunn Erna Clausen |
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