Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011

Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany, selecting their entry through the national final Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011, organised by Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV).

Eurovision Song Contest 2011
Country Iceland
National selection
Selection processSöngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011
Selection date(s)Semi-final
15 January 2011
22 January 2011
29 January 2011
Final
12 February 2011
Selected entrantSigurjón's Friends
Selected song"Coming Home"
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (4th, 100 points)
Final result20th, 61 points
Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2010 • 2011 • 2012►

Before Eurovision

Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011

In a letter to the Association of Icelandic songwriters, Páll Magnússon, the managing director of Icelandic television broadcaster RÚV has announced that all entries to Söngvakeppnin 2011 shall be performed entirely in Icelandic, claiming that it's an Icelandic song contest intended for the entertainment of Icelandic television viewers.[1] The statement has received mixed feelings amongst the Icelandic public, who for the most part support and prefer the Icelandic Eurovision entries to be performed in English.

Format

Fifteen songs in total competed in where the winner was determined after three semi-finals and a final. Five songs competed in each semi-final and the top two songs from each semi-final, as determined by public televoting, qualified to the final which took place on 12 February 2011. The winning entry in the final was determined once again by televoting.[2]

Competing entries

Composers can submit their entries until midnight on 18 October 2010. The selection process is open only to residents of Iceland. Icelandic composers are however allowed to collaborate with composers residing outside Iceland and each composer may enter a maximum of three songs.[3]

Artist Song Composer(s)
Böddi & JJ Soul Band "Lagið þitt" Ingvi Þór Kormáksson
Bryndís Ásmundsdóttir "Segðu mér" Jakob Jóhannsson, Tómas Guðmundsson
Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir "Ástin mín eina" Arnar Ástráðsson
Georg Alexander "Morgunsól" Jóhannes Kára Kristinsson
Hanna Guðný Hitchon "Huldumey" Ragnar Hermannsson, Anna Þóra Jónsdóttir
Haraldur Reynisson "Ef ég hefði vængi" Haraldur Reynisson
Hljómsveitin Buff "Sáluhjálp" Pétur Örn Guðmundsson
Jógvan Hansen "Ég lofa" Vigni Snæ Vigfússon, Jógvan Hansen, Sigurður Örn Jónsson
Kristján Gíslason & Íslenzka Sveitin "Þessi þrá" Albert G. Jónsson
Magni Ásgeirsson "Ég trúi á betra líf" Hallgrím Óskarsson, Eiríkur Hauksson, Gerard James Borg
Matthías Matthíasson & Erla Björg Káradóttir "Eldgos" Matthías Stefánsson - Kristján Hreinsson
Pétur Örn Guðmundsson "Elísabet" Pétur Örn Guðmundsson
Rakel Mjöll Leifsdóttir "Beint á ská" Tómas Hermannsson, Orri Harðarson, Rakel Mjöll Leifsdóttir
Sigurjón's Friends "Aftur heim" Sigurjón Brink, Þórunn Erna Clausen
Yohanna "Nótt" María Björk Sverrisdóttir, Marcus Frenell, Beatrice, Magnús Þór Sigmundsson

Shows

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 15 January 2011 where five of the competing acts performed. The top two entries decided solely by televoting advanced to the final.

Semi-final 1 – 15 January 2011
Draw Artist Song Result
1 Böddi & JJ Soul Band "Lagið þitt" Eliminated
2 Haraldur Reynisson "Ef ég hefði vængi" Advanced
3 Pétur Örn Guðmundsson "Elísabet" Eliminated
4 Hanna Guðný Hitchon "Huldumey" Eliminated
5 Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir "Ástin mín eina" Advanced

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 22 January 2011 where five of the competing acts performed. The top two entries decided solely by televoting advanced to the final.

Semi-final 2 – 22 January 2011
Draw Artist Song Result
1 Yohanna "Nótt" Advanced
2 Bryndís Ásmundsdóttir "Segðu mér" Eliminated
3 Kristján Gíslason & Íslenzka Sveitin "Þessi þrá" Eliminated
4 Rakel Mjöll Leifsdóttir "Beint á ská" Eliminated
5 Matthías Matthíasson & Erla Björg Káradóttir "Eldgos" Advanced

Semi-final 3

The third semi-final took place on 29 January 2011 where five of the competing acts performed. The top two entries decided solely by televoting advanced to the final. Sigurjón Brink was expected to compete in the semi-final, however Brink died unexpectedly on 17 January in Garðabær.[4] Therefore, 3 songs were allowed to qualify from the semi-final.

Semi-final 3 – 29 January 2011
Draw Artist Song Result
1 Hljómsveitin Buff "Sáluhjálp" Eliminated
2 Jógvan Hansen "Ég lofa" Advanced
3 Magni Ásgeirsson "Ég trúi á betra líf" Advanced
4 Georg Alexander "Morgunsól" Eliminated
5 Sigurjón's Friends "Aftur heim" Advanced

Final

The final was held on 12 February 2011. The winner was decided solely by televoting.[5]

Final – 12 February 2011
Draw Artist Song Televote Place
1 Haraldur Reynisson "Ef ég hefði vængi" — —
2 Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir "Ástin mín eina" — —
3 Yohanna "Nótt" — —
4 Matthías Matthíasson & Erla Björg Káradóttir "Eldgos" — —
5 Jógvan Hansen "Ég lofa" — —
6 Magni Ásgeirsson "Ég trúi á betra líf" 18,506 2
7 Sigurjón's Friends "Aftur heim" 25,449 1

At Eurovision

Iceland sang in fourteenth position in the first semi-final of the contest, on 10 May, qualifying for the final. Alexandru Busa of Esctoday.com regarded the Icelandic song as one of the darkest horses in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.[6] In the final, the group got 20th, but also Hungary gave it 12 points.

Split results
  • In the Semi-final 1 Iceland came 4th with 100 points: the public awarded Iceland 6th place with 79 points and the jury awarded 3rd place with 104 points.
  • In the Final Iceland came 20th with 61 points: the public awarded Iceland 19th place with 60 points and the jury awarded 19th place with 72 points.

Points awarded by Iceland[7]
Points awarded to Iceland (Semi-final 1)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to Iceland (Final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

See also

References
  1. H. Halldorsson, Bjarni (2 June 2010). "RÚV announces changes to Söngvakeppnin 2011". ESCToday. Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  2. "ICELANDIC NATIONAL FINAL 2011".
  3. H. Halldorsson, Bjarni (14 September 2010). "Iceland announces search for 2011 entry". ESCToday. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
  4. Bakker, Sietse. "Icelandic selection contestant Sigurjón Brink (36) died". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  5. Busa, Alexandru (6 November 2010). "Iceland: 16 authors in the battle for Düsseldorf". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  6. Jónsson, Sigurður Mikael (10 May 2011). "Einhver verður ríkur ef Ísland vinnur". DV. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
  7. Eurovision Song Contest 2008
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