The Icelandic national broadcaster, RUV, has released the names of the 12 acts selected to compete in the country’s upcoming national selection, Söngvakeppnin 2016.

Back in October, RUV opened submissions for artists and composers wanting to compete in the 2016 Icelandic national selection, Söngvakeppnin, with submissions closing last month. Artists wishing to compete in the national selection were required to have Icelandic citizenship, however Icelandic songwriters were eligible to co-write and submit song entries with non-Icelandic composers.

A total of 260 entries were submitted to the Icelandic national broadcaster and a special committee have since narrowed down the 260 entries to a total of 12. The 12 selected acts along with the song composers were revealed this evening during the television programme Vikan með Gísla Marteini. The 12 Söngvakeppnin 2016 acts are as follows:

Söngvakeppnin 2016 acts

• Sigga Eyrún – Kreisí (Crazy) (Karl Olgeirsson, Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir)
• Helgi Valur Ásgeirsson – Óvær (Uneasy) (Karl Olgeirsson)
• Erna Mist & Magnús Thorlacius – Ótöluðorð (Unspoken words) (Erna Mist, Magnús Thorlacius)
• Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir & Hjörtur Traustason – Hugurminner (My mind is) (Þórunn Erna Clausen)
• Þórdís Birna Borgarsdóttir & Guðmundur Snorri Sigurðarson – Spring yfirheiminn (All over the world) (Júlí Heiðar Halldórsson, Guðmundur Snorri Sigurðarson)
• Alda Dís Arnardóttir – Augnablik (One moment) (Alma Guðmundsdóttir, James Wong, Alda Dís Arnardóttir)
• Karlotta Sigurðardóttir – Óstöðvandi (Unstoppable) (Kristinn Sigurpáll Sturluson, Ylfa Persson, Linda Persson, Alma Rut Kristjánsdóttir)
• Ingólfur Þórarinsson – Fátækurnámsmaður (A broke student) (Ingólfur Þórarinsson)
• Elísabet Ormslev – Á ný (Again) (Greta Salome Stefánsdóttir)
• Greta Salome Stefánsdóttir – Raddirnar (The voices) (Greta Salome Stefánsdóttir)
• Sigríður Eir Zophoniasardóttir & Jóhanna Vala Höskuldsdóttir – Égséþig (I see you) (Sigríður Eir Zophoniasardóttir, Jóhanna Vala Höskuldsdóttir)
• Pálmi Gunnarsson – Égleiðiþigheim (I lead you home) (Þórir Úlfarsson)

Song title translations and composers are included in brackets.

Returning to the Icelandic national selection is Greta Salóme who was selected to represent Iceland previously at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest with her entry Never forget.

Tickets for the 3 Söngvakeppnin shows will go on sale from the 6 January 2016. More information regarding tickets can be found at tix.is.

As with last year, Söngvakeppnin 2016 will consist of 3 televised shows; 2 semi-finals and a grand final. Each semi-final will include a total of 6 acts in which 3 from each show will qualify to the grand final. A special jury will then go on to select a wildcard act from one of the semi-finals, meaning that a total of 7 acts will compete in the final of the Icelandic national selection.

Söngvakeppnin 2016 dates

• 06/02: Semi-final 1 (6 competitors, 3 qualifiers)
• 13/02: Semi-final 2 (6 competitors, 3 qualifiers)
• 20/02: Grand Final (7 finalists; 6 semi-final qualifiers and 1 wildcard act)

The country’s previous representative, María Ólafs, was selected via the Icelandic national selection Söngvakeppnin in order to represent her country at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest. With her entry Unbroken, María competed in the second semi-final of the contest where she received a total of 14 points, ending in 15th position.

Stay tuned to esctoday.com for the latest news on Iceland, Söngvakeppnin 2016 and the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest