All songs for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 have been selected. During the weeks between the national final season and the actual Eurovision Song Contest, we will introduce all 39 entries in random order. Part thirty-six of the series is dedicated to the Icelandic entry.

Basic information

Performer:	Hera Björk
Song:	Je ne sais quoi
Language:	English (also includes a few words in French)
Music:	Örlygur Smári, Hera Björk
Lyrics:	Örlygur Smári, Hera Björk
Draw:	17th in the first semi final

The song

Je ne sais quoi is a mid-tempo/up-tempo Europop song. Through the lyrics, the singer tells about a special someone who made her overcome the sadness she felt:

Now, I look up and see
The bright blue sky above me
And it's reflecting in your eyes

Je ne sais quoi
I know you have that special something
Je ne sais quoi
Something I just can't explain

The performer

At the age of twelve, Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir recorded first songs for cildren's music albums. In the late 1980s, she competed in various talent shows and later she performed in various musical productions in Iceland including Evita and The Rocky Horror Show. In 1999, she started co-hosting the TV show Stutt í spunann and over the following years, she would participate in many different radio and television programmes. Also in 1999, she was featured in the preview video of the Icelandic Eurovision Song Contest entry All out of luck. In 2004, she was invited by musician Björk to contribute vocals to the acoustic album Medúlla, which reached number one on the European album charts.

In 2007, Hera Björk competed in the Icelandic national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest but did not make it past the semi final stage with the song Mig dreymdi. Last year, she entered the Danish national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix with the song Someday and finished second behind Brinck. Furthermore, she was a backing singer for Iceland in Belgrade in 2008 and in Moscow Last year.

The singer returned the Ielandic national final in 2010 and she won the national selection and will therefore be the country's 23rd representative in Oslo. The song has since reached number two in the Icelandic single charts.

The songwriters

The Icelandic entry was written by Örlygur Smári and Hera Björk. Örlygur Smári is a very successful producer in Iceland having worked with many of the country's most famous music artists including 1997 Eurovision Song Contest representative Paul Oscar. He composed the Icelandic entries in 2000 (Tell me!, 12th place) and 2008 (This is my life, 14th place) and he is a frequent contributor to the Icelandic national finals.

The national selection

Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins was held over four shows. Three semi finals were held and a total of six acts qulified for the national final, where the winner was chosen by televoting.

Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Iceland was the last Nordic country to enter the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986. After poor results in the first four participations, Iceland finished fourth in 1990. This was the first of only five top ten placings for Iceland, most notably the second places in 1999 and 2009. In 2008, Iceland had made it to the final again having been eliminated in the semi finals three years in a row between 2005 and 2007.

Við óskum góðs gengis og alls hins besta í Ósló!

Videos

National final performance/Official preview video:

Video clip:

Hera Björk in 2007:

Danish national final performance 2009:

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the German entry.

Previous parts of this series:

1. Ireland
2. Belarus
3. Albania
4. Denmark
5. Russia
6. Bulgaria
7. Switzerland
8. FYR Macedonia
9. Armenia
10. Spain
11. Poland
12. Croatia
13. Finland
14. Greece
15. Ukraine
16. Lithuania
17. Belgium
18. Norway
19. Portugal
20. Moldova
21. The Netherlands
22. The United Kingdom
23. Latvia
24. Serbia
25. France
26. Slovenia
27. Azerbaijan
28. Bosnia & Herzegovina
29. Georgia
30. Romania
31. Sweden
32. Israel
33. Estonia
34. Cyprus
35. Slovakia