The ninth semi final of the Icelandic selection for the Eurovision Song Contest is about to take place. You can watch the webcast by following the link below.
Live coverage by Bjarni Heiðar Halldórsson.
Please note that there might be some problems with the webcast today.
Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir welcomes the audience and says that this weekthe songs are from the sweetest love song to hard rock.
There is a recap of all songs that have qualified for the final so far. Hara got the wildcard for the second chance round with I wanna manicure.
1. Dr. Spock (composer: Dr. Gunni) – Hvar ert þú?
Óttar Proppe and Finni are the singers of the band Dr. Spock. It's Wig Wam meets Lordi meets The Ark. The band is wearing yellow gloves – a pair of them is also used for the stage design. The song is screamed rock song in the versus and a ballad in the chorus – or is it the other way around?
Jury member Erpur is replaced by Freyr Eyjólfsson tonight. Þorvaldur Bjarni sarcasticly says that "this is a real eurovision song" but that they should send this song to Serbia and freak them out. Selma is delighted with the show build around the song and she thinks that the stage show is fascinating. Freyr says that we should send a retarded song like this one to this retarded contest! Ragnheiður reminds them that there weretwo songs to come so that they shouldn't decide the song as a winner just yet…
2. Ragnheiður Gröndal (composer: Magnús Þór Sigmundsson) – Skot í myrkri
Ragnheiður Gröndal is one of Iceland's most succesful female singers while her composerMagnús Þór Sigmundsson is one of the most repsected persons in the Icelandic music business. The dreamy ballad is nicely enhancedby awide-eyed performance. Ragnheiður is one of the artists who decided to sing live and her vocals are flawless. The overall performance is very simple but emotional and fits very well with the song. Magnús Þór has already made a song called Ást which Ragnheiður performed – it's known as Iceland's most popular love song of all times.
Selma says that this is Magnús Þór Sigmundsson's best song in the competition and that when he teams up with Ragnheiður which is such a professional artist they produce something very pure and honest. Þorvaldur says it has very nice flow… maybe a little too easy going but Ragnheiður's performance makes up for it in his opinion. Freyr agrees that it's very easy going and it just flows very nicely he compliments Ragnheiður as well and credits her for a very believable performance.
3. Birgitta Haukdal & Magni Áseirsson (composer: Hafdís Huld Þrastardóttir) – Núna veit ég
You all know Birgitta Haukdal but Magni Áseirsson (it's his birthday today!)is also a very big name in Iceland: he took part in Rock Star: Supernova, an American reality show and reached the final episode. He's in the band Á móti Sól which has recieved numerous awards. A romantic atmosphere is created on stage with some candles and the lights put down. Brigitta is wearing an evening dress and Magni a classic black suit. Probably the best outfits in the Icelandic selection so far! The song is a very gentle ballad and even a bit more melodic than Hafdís Huld Þrastardóttir's other two songs.
Selma says that it was a good performance and that Hafdís made a good move on getting both of them to performance as it will get her many votes… She prefers her other songs, even though this one is okay. Freyr says that you cant get a better duet in Icelandic pop music and that it was a good performance and it kept gettig stronger until the end. Þorvaldur's favourite song of the competion so far is Boys and Perfume which got a wildcard. But he says that this song needs to be more lively, it was pretty safe and plain and even though she has brought in Iceland's 2 biggest pop stars, he's not sure if it will be enough to get her song through.. and if it were to get through, it would need to reworked in some areas.
