The third semi final of this year's Icelandic national selection is about to start. Five acts will battle in order to qualify for the final of Songvakeppni Sonvarpsins.

The show

Iceland willpick its Eurovision hopeful by the formula of Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins, their traditional national selection for Europe's favourite music show. Five acts are taking part in each of the three semi finals which will determine the lucky six artists that will compete in the national final to be held on February 12th.

How to watch

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

Participants

1. Buff – Sáluhjálp (music and lyrics: Pétur Örn Guðmundsson)
2. Jógvan Hansen – Ég lofa (music: Vigni Snæ Vigfússon, Jógvan Hansen; lyrics: SigurðurÖrn Jónsson)
3. Magni Ásgeirsson – Ég trúi á betra líf(music: Hallgrímur Óskarsson; lyrics: Eiríkur Hauksson, Gerard James Borg)
4. Georg Alexander – Morgunsól (music and lyrics: Jóhannes Kári Kristinsson)
5. Sigurjón's friends – Aftur heim(the late Sjonni Brink) -(music: Sigurjón Brink; lyrics: Þórunn Erna Clausen)

Live

The show starts with the introduction of the hosts.

Song 1 – Hljómsveitin Buff – Sáluhjálp (music and lyrics: Pétur Örn Guðmundsson)

The first song of tonight's show is being performed by Buff. Pétur Örn Guðmundsson, the songwriter, is best known for supporting Iceland's last year Eurovision hopeful as a backing vocalist. His entry Sáluhjálp is a mid-tempo song which features some nice guitar effects. The change between the verse and the chorus is very effective and the drums really lift up the whole idea of the composition. The background of the stageturns from yellow to blue and fits nicely the song's message. Petur's manner of performance is interesting and his musical experience recommends him as a good potential Icelandic Eurovision representative.

Song 2 – Jógvan Hansen – Ég lofa (music: Vigni Snæ Vigfússon, Jógvan Hansen; lyrics: SigurðurÖrn Jónsson)

Jógvan Hansen is one of the most popular performers in Iceland and also a favourite to win this year's selection. Ég lofa is a mid-tempo song with some interesting piano orchestration which fit the warm mood of the melody. This entry sounds very contemporany and nothing but Icelandic. Jógvan receives a warm applause from the audience. The stage backdrop features a very effective and interesting light show that helps the performance a lot. Jógvan is dressed in a classy black outfit. One could say that it's a typical American mid-tempo song which by the way sounds very radio friendly. Last year, Jógvan managed to occupy the runner-up spot of the Icelandic national selection. Will his actual Eurovision effort get enough support in order to win one of the two tickets for the final?

Song 3 – Magni Ásgeirsson – Ég trúi á betra líf(music: Hallgrímur Óskarsson; lyrics: Eiríkur Hauksson, Gerard James Borg)

The third song of tonight's show is being performed by Magni Ásgeirsson. Ég trúi á betra líf starts just like a typical piano bar song before turning into a nicely performed power ballad with some rockish touch to it. Despite that, it seems that this number lacks something. Maybe it's just the vocal performance that should be improved in order to fit this type of songs. Magni decided to use a simple stage backdrop for the very start of his performance. Overall, this was a nice number, but I'm afraid that it would not trouble the top 10 of a Eurovision final.

Song 4 – Georg Alexander – Morgunsól (music and lyrics: Jóhannes Kári Kristinsson)

Georg Alexander Valgeirsson is next on stage and he tries to conquer the Icelandic hearts with a nice pop tune. Morgunsól sounds like a typical Northern European song that seems to lack a key change in order to get the desired effect. Georg is using a chair in the choreography of his performance while shades of blue and turqoise fill the background of the stage. Will this style fit the Eurovision Song Contest?

Song 5 – Sigurjón's friends – Aftur heim(the late Sjonni Brink) -(music: Sigurjón Brink; lyrics: Þórunn Erna Clausen)

The show ends with a special performance of Sigurjón Brink's Friends who decided to honour the artist by performing his song. Aftur heim is a nice mid-tempo song which sounds as being part of a musical. The acoustic guitars at the very start of the melody add a contemporany feeling to this performance which reminds us of a 80's French musical. The stage features a very effective light show which features yellow, orange and red as main colours. The guys receive a very warm applause from the public. Will this number conquer the Icelandic hearts tonight? esctoday.com would like to congratulate Sigurjón for this wonderful composition.

This concludes tonight's participating songs.

A recapitulation of the already qualified songs for the Icelandic final is being played by RUV.

Results

To the final :

• Magni Ásgeirsson – Ég trúi á betra líf(music: Hallgrímur Óskarsson; lyrics: Eiríkur Hauksson, Gerard James Borg)
• Sigurjón's friends – Aftur heim(the late Sjonni Brink) -(music: Sigurjón Brink; lyrics: Þórunn Erna Clausen)
• Jógvan Hansen – Ég lofa (music: Vigni Snæ Vigfússon, Jógvan Hansen; lyrics: SigurðurÖrn Jónsson)

As all the three semi finals concluded, this is how the line-up for the Icelandic national final is looking like :

• Haraldur Reynisson – Ef ég hefði vængi (Haraldur Reynisson)
• Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir – Ástin mín eina (Arnar Ástráðsson)
• Yohanna – Nótt (María Björk Sverrisdóttir, Marcus Frenell, Beatrice – Magnús Þór Sigmundsson)
• Matthías Matthíasson & Erla Björg Káradóttir – Eldgos (Matthías Stefánsson – Kristján Hreinsson)
• Jógvan Hansen – Ég lofa (music: Vigni Snæ Vigfússon, Jógvan Hansen; lyrics: SigurðurÖrn Jónsson)
• Sigurjón's friends – Aftur heim(the late Sjonni Brink) -(music: Sigurjón Brink; lyrics: Þórunn Erna Clausen)
• Magni Ásgeirsson – Ég trúi á betra líf(music: Hallgrímur Óskarsson; lyrics: Eiríkur Hauksson, Gerard James Borg)