Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Country  Iceland
National selection
Selection process Söngvakeppnin 2015
Selection date(s) Semi-finals:
31 January 2015
7 February 2015
Final:
14 February 2015
Selected entrant María Ólafsdóttir
Selected song "Unbroken"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson
  • Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson
  • Sæþór Kristjánsson
  • María Ólafsdóttir
Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2014 • 2015

Iceland will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria. Their entry was selected through the national final Söngvakeppnin 2015, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster RÚV. The nation will be represented by the song "Unbroken" performed by María Ólafsdóttir and written by Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson.

Background

Prior to the 2015 Contest, Iceland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest twenty-seven times since its first entry in 1986.[1] Iceland's best placing in the contest to this point was second, which it achieved on two occasions: in 1999 with the song "All Out of Luck" performed by Selma and in 2009 with the song "Is It True?" performed by Yohanna. Since the introduction of a semi-final to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, Iceland has, to this point, only failed to qualify to the final three times. The nation has thus far managed to qualify to the final every year since 2008. In 2014, the band Pollapönk, performing the song "No Prejudice", placed the nation fifteenth in the final.

Iceland confirmed their participation in the 2015 contest on 21 May 2014.[2] On 26 September 2014, the broadcaster revealed details regarding their selection procedure and announced the organization of Söngvakeppnin 2015.[3]

Söngvakeppnin 2015

Söngvakeppnin 2015 was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2015.

Format

Twelve songs in total competed in Söngvakeppnin 2015 where the winner was determined after two semi-finals and a final. Six songs competed in each semi-final on 31 January 2015 and 7 February 2015. The top three songs from each semi-final, as determined by public televoting, and one jury wildcard selected from the remaining entries qualified to the final which took place on 14 February 2015.[4] The winning entry in the final was determined over two rounds of voting: the first to select the top two via 50/50 public televoting and jury voting and the second to determine the winner with 100% televoting. Both the semi-finals and the final were held at the Háskólabíó venue in Reykjavík, hosted by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir, Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir and Salka Sól Eyfeld.[5]

Competing entries

On 26 September 2014, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 27 October 2014.[3][6] Songwriters were required to be Icelandic or possess Icelandic citizenship, though exceptions would be made for minor collaborations with foreign songwriters. Composers had the right to submit up to two entries, while lyricists could contribute to an unlimited amount of entries.[3] Initially, RÚV included a new rule that would require 50% of the selected competing songs to be composed by females.[7] Following public criticism from Friðrik Ómar, who represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 as part of the duo Euroband, and 1997 Icelandic entrant Paul Oscar, the broadcaster decided to revoke the rule.[8][9] At the close of the submission deadline, 258 entries were received.[4] The twelve competing artists and songs were revealed by the broadcaster during a press conference on 8 January 2015.[5]

Artist Song (English Translation) Composer(s)
Bjarni Lárus Hall "Brotið gler" (Shattered glass) Axel Árnason, Bjarni Lárus Hall
Björn og félagar "Piltur og stúlka" (Boys and girls) Björn Þór Sigbjörnsson, Tómas Hermannsson, Björn Jörundur Friðbjörnsson
Cadem "Fyrir alla" (For everyone) Daníel Óliver Sveinsson, Jimmy Åkerfors, Einar Ágúst Víðisson
Elín Sif Halldórsdóttir "Í kvöld" (Tonight) Elín Sif Halldórsdóttir
Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir "Myrkrið hljótt" (Silent darkness) Arnar Ástráðsson, Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir
Friðrik Dór "Í síðasta skipti" (The last time) Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson, Friðrik Dór Jónsson
Haukur Heiðar Hauksson "Milljón augnablik" (A million moments) Karl Olgeir Olgeirsson, Haukur Heiðar Hauksson
Hinemoa "Þú leitar líka að mér" (You're also searching for me) Ásta Björg Björgvinsdóttir, Bergrún Íris Sævarsdóttir
María Ólafsdóttir "Lítil skref" (Small steps) Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson
Regína Ósk "Aldrei of seint" (Never too late) María Björk Sverrisdóttir, Marcus Frenell, Sarah Reede, Regína Ósk Óskarsdóttir
Stefanía Svavarsdóttir "Augnablik" (Moment) Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson
Sunday "Fjaðrir" (Feathers) Hildur Kristín Stefánsdóttir, Guðfinnur Sveinsson

Shows

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 31 January 2015 where six competing artists presented their entries. The top three entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final.[10][11]

Semi-final 1 – 31 January 2015
Draw Artist Song Televote Place Result
1 Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir "Myrkrið hljótt" 2,958 4 Eliminated
2 Hinemoa "Þú leitar líka að mér" 2,738 5 Eliminated
3 Elín Sif Halldórsdóttir "Í kvöld" 6,857 2 Advanced
4 Friðrik Dór "Í síðasta skipti" 6,970 1 Advanced
5 Stefanía Svavarsdóttir "Augnablik" 2,427 6 Eliminated
6 Björn og félagar "Piltur og stúlka" 6,616 3 Advanced

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 7 February 2015 where six competing artists presented their entries. The top three entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final. The jury wildcard was awarded to an entry from the second semi-final: "Milljón augnablik" performed by Haukur Heiðar Hauksson.[12][11]

Semi-final 2 – 7 February 2015
Draw Artist Song Televote Place Result
1 Haukur Heiðar Hauksson "Milljón augnablik" 2,899 4 Wildcard
2 María Ólafsdóttir "Lítil skref" 6,428 1 Advanced
3 Sunday "Fjaðrir" 3,185 3 Advanced
4 Regína Ósk "Aldrei of seint" 2,190 6 Eliminated
5 Bjarni Lárus Hall "Brotið gler" 2,351 5 Eliminated
6 Cadem "Fyrir alla" 4,953 2 Advanced

Final

The final took place on 14 February 2015 where the six entries that qualified from the preceding two semi-finals and a jury wildcard selected from the remaining unqualified entries competed. In the semi-finals, all competing entries were required to be performed in Icelandic; however, entries competing in the final were required to be presented in the language they would compete with in the Eurovision Song Contest.[13] The entries performed by Cadem, Sunday, María Ólafsdóttir, Elín Sif Halldórsdóttir, and Friðrik Dór were performed in English while the entries performed by Björn og félagar and Haukur Heiðar Hauksson remained in Icelandic.[14] In the first round of voting, votes from a jury panel (50%) and public televoting (50%) determined the top two entries, "Once Again" performed by Friðrik Dór and "Unbroken" performed by María Ólafsdóttir. The top two entries advanced to a second round of voting, the superfinal, where the winner, "Unbroken" performed by María Ólafsdóttir, was determined solely by televoting.[15]

The jury panel that voted in the first round consisted of:[14]

Final – 14 February 2015[11]
Draw Artist Song Televote Jury Total Place Result
1 Cadem "Fly" 6,491 5 4 9 6 Eliminated
2 Sunday "Feathers" 8,539 7 6 13 5 Eliminated
3 Björn og félagar "Piltur og stúlka" 8,444 6 10 16 4 Eliminated
4 María Ólafsdóttir "Unbroken" 21,437 10 7 17 2 Superfinal
5 Elín Sif Halldórsdóttir "Dance Slow" 14,409 8 8 16 3 Eliminated
6 Friðrik Dór "Once Again" 21,834 12 12 24 1 Superfinal
7 Haukur Heiðar Hauksson "Milljón augnablik" 4,239 4 5 9 7 Eliminated
Superfinal – 14 February 2015
Draw Artist Song Televote[16] Place
1 María Ólafsdóttir "Unbroken" 70,774 1
2 Friðrik Dór "Once Again" 55,850 2

At Eurovision

All countries except the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), the host country and guest participant Australia, which was invited to compete in 2015 in order to commemorate the Contest's 60th anniversary,[17] are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[18] On 26 January 2015, an allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Iceland was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 21 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.[19]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Iceland Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  2. ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay (21 May 2014). "Iceland: RUV confirms participation in Eurovision 2015". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wells, Simon (27 September 2014). "Iceland: Submissions by 20 October". escXtra. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Escudero, Victor M. (27 November 2014). "Iceland announces dates for national selection". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Pálsson, Stefán Árni (8 January 2015). "Þau taka þátt í Eurovision". Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Halloun, Ahmad (21 October 2014). "Deadline extension in Iceland!". escbubble.com. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Kristjans, Kristin (30 September 2014). "Iceland calls for gender equality as it opens Eurovision song submissions". wiwibloggs.
  8. ↑ Kristjans, Kristin (2 October 2014). "Iceland: Fridrik Omar Criticizes RUV Gender Quotas". wiwibloggs.
  9. ↑ Kristjans, Kristin (7 October 2014). "Iceland: RUV revokes gender quota for Eurovision selection". wiwibloggs.
  10. ↑ Escudero, Victor M. (31 January 2015). "Iceland: First finalists chosen". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Olgeirsson, Birgir (18 February 2015). "Friðrik Dór var efstur eftir fyrri umferð". visir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  12. ↑ Escudero, Victor M. (7 February 2015). "Last finalists chosen in Iceland". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  13. ↑ "Tvö tungumál og dómnefnd í úrslitum". RÚV (in Icelandic). 12 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Jóhanna Guðrún í dómnefnd í Eurovision". Nútíminn (in Icelandic). 11 February 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  15. ↑ Escudero, Victor M. (14 February 2015). "It's María Ólafsdóttir for Iceland!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  16. ↑ Kristiansen, Wivian R. (16 February 2015). "Record number of votes received in Söngvakeppnin". ESC Bubble. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  17. ↑ Siim, Jarmo (10 February 2015). "Australia participate in the 60th Eurovision". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
  18. ↑ Brey, Marco (26 January 2015). "Today: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  19. ↑ Escudero, Victor M. (26 January 2015). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 January 2015.