4 direct qualifiers and a wildcard made it to the 2022 Söngvakeppnin final, which takes place 12 March. We’ll meet a brother/sister duo, an all female rap group, three folk sisters and two solo acts. Here you get to know a bit more about all the five acts. You also get the chance to listen to some of their other songs.
Amarosis
Amarosis is a sister and brother duo consisting of Ísold and Már. It’s not Ísold’s first time in Söngvakeppnin, as she took part two years ago. Back then she performed “Klukkan tifar” as part of the duo Ísold og Helga. They qualified for the final, where they finished fourth with the English version of their song.
Her younger brother Már has up until now been better known as a paralympic swimmer. He is blind, and has been swimming since he was very young. And between swim practice and competitions, he’s been writing and recording music. And as we saw in the semi-final; he also plays the piano. This is Már’s first time in Söngvakeppnin, but he’s had a dream of participating since he was very young. He also has another connection to the 2020 edition of the contest, as he has released several songs with his friend Iva. She finished third in the final with “Oculis videre“. One of their songs, which also has the most Icelandic video, is “Barn“.
Amarosis has decided to perform their entry, Don’t You Know, in English in the final on Saturday.
Katla
Katla is a fairly new name and voice on the Icelandic music scene. So far she’s more known for acting than singing. She has, among other things, had roles in Ófærð (Trapped), Fangar (Prisoners) and Hjartasteinn (Heartstone). However, she started singing and performing at an early age, and has taken part in (and won) song competitions before. She has also been in productions of “Aladdin” and “We Will Rock You”.
Katla is one of three (and a half) finalists who have decided to keep their songs in Icelandic for the final. This means that if she wins the ticket to Turin, we will hear Icelandic on the Eurovision stage again.
Reykjavíkurdætur
Reykjavíkurdætur is an all female rap group that was founded in 2011. Over the years the composition of the group has changed quite a bit, with a total of 15 former daughters. Today it consists of Blær, Dísa, Steinunn, Sura, Salka, Steyney, Karítas and Ragga Holm. Like most Icelandic artists, they have connections to Söngvakeppnin way before taking part themselves. Back in 2014 they released “Drusla” (Slut) featuring Ásdís María, who participated in Söngvakeppnin the very same year with the gorgeous song “Amor“. In 2018 they released the song “Ekkert drama” (No drama) with Svala, who represented Iceland in 2017. They have also recorded a cover of Selma’s “All Out of Luck”, which finished 2nd in 1999.
As we know, only six of the members can appear on stage at Eurovision, so it might be hard to decide which of them won’t get to join.
They have decided to go with the English version of their song, “Turn This Around” if they should win the ticket to Turin. However, calling it “the English version” is a bit of a stretch, as most of the lyrics are still in Icelandic.
Sigga, Beta og Elín
Sisters Sigga, Beta and Elín grew up in a musical family. Their mother is singer Ellen Kristjánsdóttir, their father is musician Eyþór Gunnarsson and their uncle is blues/folk musician KK (Kristján Kristjánsson). Ellen has participated in Söngvakeppnin twice; she came 2nd in 1989 with “Línudans” and finished 5th in 1990 with “Ég læt mig dreyma“.
The three have their individual solo careers, but they might still be best known under their band name Sísý Ey. The sisters founded the house/electronica group along with DJ Oculus back in 2011. Their single, “Ain’t Got Nobody“, which was released in 2013, shot straight to the top of the Icelandic charts. They have played several international festivals, such as Glastonbury, Sonar Barcelona and (of course) Iceland Airwaves.
They have also played more folky stuff, so the sound we’re getting from their Söngvakeppnin entry is absolutely nothing new from them. However, it’s been a while since they were quite this lowkey. Their entry, Með hækkandi sól, is written by the singer/songwriter Lay Low. In Söngvakeppnin they are joined on stage by their brother, Eyþór, on drums. In addition to singing, the sisters also play instruments on stage; Sigga plays the electric guitar, Beta plays the bass and Elín plays the accoustic guitar.
Stefán Óli
Earlier in this presentation we said that Katla is a new name on the Icelandic music scene. Well, in that case Stefán Óli is a REALLY new name. In RÚV’s podcast “Með Söngvakeppnina á heilanum” (With Söngvakeppnin on our brain) one of the guests said “he’s so unknown you can’t even google him”. The only thing that showed up in her search was that he had his confirmation in Ísafjörður church on 26 April 2008! They all agree however that his voice is amazing, asking where in the world this guy has been hiding.
And this is all true. He has never been on a stage in front of a large audience before. When you google him now, there are a few more hits, and based on the airplay his song has gotten in Iceland, especially in the weeks since the first semi, this number is likely to increase greatly.
On his YouTube channel we find a handful covers, such as Adele’s “When We Were Young” and Billie Eilish’ “Everything I Wanted“. It’s safe to assume that the number of videos there will also increase in the weeks and months to come.
Stefán Óli recorded both an Icelandic and an English version (All I Know) of his song. Most people assumed this meant that he would sing the English version in the final. However, he and the songwriters have decided to stick with the Icelandic version, Ljósið. Which might be a good idea, as the lyrics, written by Stefán Hilmarsson are really beautiful. Stefán has represented Iceland at Eurovision no less than SIX times! He was lead singer in 1988/1991, did backing vocals in 1995/1999 and was the songwriter in 1992/1994.
Iceland in ESC 2022
The Icelandic entry will be performed in the second half of the first semifinal of Eurovision Song Contest 2022, on 10 May.
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