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Je ne sais quoi
Iceland: Hera Björk speaks to esctoday.com
First of all, congratulations on qualifying to the national final! How does it feel to be back in the Eurovision race with the possibility of representing your native country Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest just being a heartbeat away?
It is fantastic - This has been my dream since I was a little girl so I am a happy girl today :)
You already are quite an experienced Eurovision performer, having competed in the 2007 Icelandic pre-selection, as well as having sung backing vocals for the Icelandic Eurovision entries of 2008 and 2009. Moreover, you also reached 2nd place at last year’s Danish national final. How big is the desire to finally be the leading artist and go to Eurovision with your own song?
As I said it has been on my “to do list” for as long as I can remember :) ESC is a great platform for us artists to introduce ourselves to the rest of the world. Singing has always been my number one passion in life and performing for such a great and thankful audience is a dream come true :)
After last year’s attempt to win the Danish ticket to the Eurovision Song Contest, you are the favourite to win the Icelandic one this year. You obviously have plenty of connections to Denmark, but, honestly, would representing Denmark mean the same to you as representing Iceland?
Of course not! I am as Icelandic as it gets and proud of it :) Even though Denmark has a big place in my heart I believe it would have been difficult to go up against Iceland and Yohanna last year! For me the Danish selection was a ticket into the Danish music industry and I got to know a lot of great people :)
Having been part of the Icelandic delegation at the 2008 and 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, you already know how the competition works. If you were to represent Iceland this year, do you think that those two previous Eurovision experiences will help you with your endeavour to represent your country the best way possible?
Yes, it goes without saying :) I have met so many lovely people and some of them are close friends today. I was of course very observant and learned all the tricks in the book :) I might even give a lecture in the future about “how to go about when representing your country in ESC” :)
Which edition of Eurovision Song Contest did you prefer? The one in Belgrade or the one in Moscow? What were the main differences? Do you have a special memory or encounter you are particularly fond of? And which of the other participants did you like the most?
The one in Belgrade was my first so I have to give it 12 points :) Moscow was also great but in a whole new way :) I think the main difference was the hotel we were staying at and also the fantastic “sight seeing tour” we had in Moscow with the adorable English speaking tour guide with the fabulous Russian accent and orange hair - Ohh I loved her :) Regarding the participants, in Belgrade my favourites were the Norwegian Maria and Boaz from Israel… and of course Vania Fernandes… and many more :) In Moscow I was really in love with Portugal again, Finland, Norway, Estonia and then some more :)
Let’s talk a bit about your song Je ne sais quoi. You wrote it together with Örlygur Smári, composer of the Icelandic Eurovision entries of 2000 and 2008. As far as the genre is concerned, your song is quite similar to Euroband’s This is my life. Please tell us about the process of creating your song for Eurovision and what message it conveys. And why the French title?
Why the French title? Well, we were watching “Britain's got talent” on TV and heard this catchy phrase and thought it was perfect for our song :) Je ne sais quoi is an up tempo love song really! You know how sometimes when you meet new people you instantly “fall” for them without being able to explain why!?! It can be co-workers, friends, lovers etc.! This is what this song is about and we actually had a little “je ne sais quoi” moment when we were writing it - there was something about this song we both instantly fell for! We decided to go for the “up tempo euro-pop” sound because we like it! It's happy and suits my voice!
How are the preparations for your performance on Saturday going? Will there be any changes compared to the semi final?
It's going great, thank you :) And yes, there will be some slight changes in the graphic and the costumes next Saturday :)
You are the clear favourite to win this year’s Icelandic national final. What is your opinion on that? Does that make you nervous or are you confident about your chances?
I am of course very thankful to those who support me and I hope to make it to Oslo in May! My opponents are all great performers and singers so anything can happen really! I am focused on doing my best on Saturday because at the end of the day it is the performance that determines who will represent Iceland in Oslo 2010! So I hope you'll enjoy :)
In case you win, are you planning on releasing other versions of Je ne sais quoi?
I think I can answer that question with a yes :)
To conclude this interview, do you have a message for the readers of esctoday.com?
MAKE LOVE – NOT WAR :) Hugs & kisses from Iceland, Hera Björk
Esctoday.com would like to thank Hera Björk for taking the time to do this interview and wish her the best of luck for the Icelandic national final on Saturday.
Interview with Icelandic broadcaster RUV:
Hera's bid for Eurovision, Je ne sais quoi:
Live performance of Je ne sais quoi at the third semi final of Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins:
Hera and other participants rehearsing before the third semi final:
Backstage at the third semi final with the contestants watching the handball game Iceland against Denmark at the European Championship in Austria:
Hera and Örlygur talking to RUV:
Hera performing Someday in the 2009 Danish national final, finishing second:
Hera performing Mig Dreymdi in the 2007 Icelandic semi finals
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good luck HERA 
You said she is not fan-hyped and eurofans don't like her and I doubted it because of the poll.
Ah I see. Well I don't pay much attention to the polls, they're rarely anything to go by. But judging from all the harassment and hate she's getting from all of us, my impression is that hating Hera Björk (and other Scandinavian artists) is the new loud amongst eurofans. If we hate her a little more, hopefully she will never return to Eurovision and we can all be happy. Right?
@ Keith Timmons:
You said she is not fan-hyped and eurofans don't like her and I doubted it because of the poll. Nothing more, nothing less. 
THIS HAS TO WIN IF ICELAND, WANTS TO GET TO FINAL , AS ALL OTHER SONGS ARE BAD
I hope her song don't win. It is too similar to Euroband and it's awful!
Really? But she leads the poll with over 50 %.
Maybe so, I just don't see what any of this has to do with me? I have not predicted that Hera will succeed or fail. I just said she has a nice song. Traditionally this type of Swedish schlager hasn't done so well in Eurovision, but that's when it represented Sweden. This might be the Icelandic entry and, remembering Euroband in 2008, may have a chance after all. Being large isn't necessarily a disadvantage. Chiara has proved that - twice. So I'm not at all saying all is lost for Iceland if they choose this. But I guess it is somewhat traditional, and when countries aim to choose a song that "stands out from the rest", well, this song would be that "rest" they want to stand out from.
To quote Hera Bjork " 
"
Very happy lady, hope she wins!
i prefer not to see her in oslo!!! hahaha
I prefer Paschalis 
I prefer Norway
I prefer Hera Bjork
I prefer Iris Holm
I prefer Someday.
@ Keith Timmons:
Really? But she leads the poll with over 50 %.
best song Hera Björk....will win
I find her song cathcy and fun but i fear it might flop like Kate Ryan's "je t'adore"...
i like that woman!!
but her song is not so special to win... but, iceland doesnt even want to win with the crisis still all over their ice... so, why not hera bjork?
*your
@Mi Reina: Thanks for that, you're comments usually make me rofl too.
I quite like it, but I don't think it will do so well for Iceland. Overall I wasn't terribly impressed by the Icelandic NF this year
@ Keith Tmmons, I can´t avoid but laugh after reading your "well dressed" comment because that´s exactly what she is not. I suppose she gets her dresses from her worst enemy or the like. Oh I can´t wait to see the "slight changes in the graphic and the costumes next Saturday"!
Outdated 
They must NOT send something so Swedish
So I take it Iceland won't qualify then if Hera gets the nod?
I cannot for the life of me understand why you're asking me that question.
@ Keith Timmons
So I take it Iceland won't qualify then if Hera gets the nod?
AWFUL song, OKAY singer, AWFUL lyrics, CHEAP tune. She will only win because she is Hera Bjork.
Fan hyped? She's more hated than loved by eurofans.
Go Jogvan! "One more day" to Oslo!
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