Live: First semifinal in Iceland

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by Victor Hondal January 15, 2011 9:59 pm 77 views

The first semifinal of the 2011 Icelandic selection for Eurovision, Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins, is about to be held. A total of five acts will fight for two places in the country's national final.

How to watch

  • Live on RÚV at 21:15 CET (20:15 local time)
  • Webcast(RÚV official)

Participants

  1. Böddi og JJ Soul Band –Lagiðþitt(Ingvi Þór Kormáksson)
  2. Haraldur Reynisson –Ef ég hefðivængi(Haraldur Reynisson)
  3. Pétur Örn Guðmundsson –Elísabet(Pétur Örn Guðmundsson)
  4. Hanna Guðný Hitchon –Huldumey(Ragnar Hermannsson)
  5. Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir –Ástin mín eina(Arnar Ástráðsson)

Have your say

You can vote for your favourite act in the first Icelandic semifinal in our pollhere.

LIVE

The show has started with a choreography of Lena's Satellite by a group of little girls dressed in magenta outfits.

The hosts of the Icelandic selection for Eurovision welcome the audience. Lovísa Arnadóttir is reporting from the green room, where all 5 contestants are.

Time for the songs.

1. Böddi og JJ Soul Band –Lagiðþitt(Ingvi Þór Kormáksson)
Böddi's song can be described as a pop tune with some reggae elements. It is a happy, mid-tempo song and the lead singer's vocals sound in tune, sui0ingt this kind of music. Lagið þitt is not the kind of song Iceland usually sends to the Eurovision Song Contest, maybe because these Jamaican rhythms don't match the island's culture and musical tradition. Though it's original. It seems that all performaces will have a sober and simple setup, with rather clear stages.

Current esctoday.com poll result: 2.8% (5th)

2. Haraldur Reynisson –Ef ég hefðivængi(Haraldur Reynisson)
Haraldur's entry reminds of the American pop style of the 70-80s, clearly getting inspired by the traditional country music from the United States. Ef ég hefði vængi might well be played in a tavern in Iowa or Kentucky. The song sounds quite plain, although the singer's vocals are good.

Current esctoday.com poll result: 5.0% (4th)

3. Pétur Örn Guðmundsson –Elísabet(Pétur Örn Guðmundsson)
Self-composed by Pétur, Elísabet is a slow and gentle tune, reminding of the music from the 60s. The ballad sounds melancholic, breathtaking at times, especially when the backing soundtrack sounds more orchestral and intense. It is also remarkable that the song relies a lot on the backing vocalists in the chorus part. The overall impression is professional and the audience aplauds. So far, the strongest contender of the night.

Current esctoday.poll result: 16.2% (3rd)

4. Hanna Guðný Hitchon –Huldumey(Ragnar Hermannsson)
Next up is Hanna with Huldumey, a pop song following the 90s music style. The entry is refreshing and possesses many elements that could help it qualify tonight: good vocals and instrumentation. Something like Huldumey could be used as the soundtrack for a tv series, for example, as it manages to engage the audience and has a memorable tune. By the way, for the forthcoming shows, RÚV should think of fixing some sound problems.

Current esctoday.com poll result: 26.1% (2nd)

5. Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir –Ástin mín eina(Arnar Ástráðsson)
We are listening to the song that has been tipped as the hot favourite tonight, at least our readers say so. Ástin mín eina is a beautiful ballad, with a slow and delicade start – similar to that of Niamh's It's for you last year, but getting slightly more powerful towards the end of the song. Erna's vocals are flawlessandwe witness it. Anyway, the song can be regarded as plain – it lacks strength right after the bridge.

Current esctoday.com poll result: 49.7% (1st)

This concludes tonight's performances. The results are expected to be announced shortly.

Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir and Haraldur Reynisson qualify for the final!

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