The twelve participating entries of Söngvakeppnin 2017 in Iceland were just announced by the Icelandic broadcaster RÚV. The Icelandic final will be held on 11 March and the winner will go on to represent the nordic country at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.

Söngvakeppnin 2017’s final will be preceded by of two semifinals: one on 25 February and the other on 4 March, with six songs in each. The top three in each semifinal will qualify to the final, making the final’s lineup stand on six entries in total.

Traditionally, the entries were being sung in Icelandic during the semifinals and after qualifying to the final, each act had the option to choose whether to sing in Icelandic or to switch to English, and the language sung in the final will remain for the Eurovision Song Contest itself as well. That’s how we got Unbroken out of Lítil skref in 2015 and Hear them calling out of Raddirnar in 2016.

This year, all twelve participating songs were released in two versions, both Icelandic in English. It is expected that the tradition will remain: the Icelandic versions will be performed during the semifinals while the qualifying artists will have the privilege to choose whether to switch to English for the final or not.

These are the twelve participating entries. Click on the songtitle to listen to the respective version – in Icelandic and in English (in brackets – the songwriters):

1. Arnar Jónsson & Rakel Pálsdóttir – Til mín / Again (Hólmfríður Ósk Samúelsdóttir)
2. Aron Brink –Þú hefur dáleitt mig / Hypnotised (Aron Brink/Þórunn Erna Clausen/Michael James Down/William Taylor)
3. Aron Hannes Emilsson – Nótt / Tonight (Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson/Ágúst Ibsen)
4. Daði Freyr Petúrsson – Hvað með það? / Is this love? (Daði Freyr Petúrsson)
5. Hildur Kristín Stefánsdóttir – Bammbaramm / Bammbaramm (Hildur Kristín Stefánsdóttir)
6. Erna Mist Pétursdóttir – Skuggamynd / I’ll be gone (Erna Mist Pétursdóttir/Guðbjörg Magnúsdóttir)
7. Júlí Heiðar Halldórsson & Þórdís Birna Borgarsdóttir – Heim til þín / Get Back Home (Júlí Heiðar Halldórsson/Guðmundur Snorri Sigurðsson)
8. Linda Hartmanns – Ástfangin / Obvious love (Linda Hartmanns/Erla Bolladóttir)
9. Pall Rósinkranz & Kristina Bærendsen – Þú og ég / You and I (Mark Brink/Þórunn Erna Clausen)
10. Rúnar Eff Rúnarsson – Mér við hlið / Make your way back home (Rúnar Eff Rúnarsson)
11. Sólveig Ásgeirsdóttir – Treystu á mig / Trust in me (Iðunn Ásgeirsdóttir/Ragnheiður Bjarnadóttir)
12. Svala Björgvinsdóttir – Ég veit það / Paper (Einar Egilsson/Lester Mendez/Lily Elise/Stefán Hilmarsson)

Stay tuned to ESCToday for more news regarding Söngvakeppnin and Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2017!