ICELAND

The Icelandic Final was held on February 15th at Háskólabíó in Reykjavik, hosted by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir & Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals where the list of 10 was reduced to a final of 6. The winner was chosen in 2 rounds of voting - the first to select the top 2 and the second to select the winner. In the first round the voting was 50% televoting & 50% "expert" jury while in the second round the winner was chosen by televoting alone. Wining the ticket to Copenhagen was the group Pollapönk with the song "Enga fordóma" (No prejudices)

 

I did not watch any of the Icelandic shows but did follow a lot of the comments and reactions through twitter and the Eurovision website. I did also watch replays of the acts in the final on you tube. Mot of he songs were what I would call typical Icelandic fayre with some folky and rocky numbers (and even a rogue operatic turn!) However the stand out track was definitely the winner although many would say it stood out for the wrong reasons.

 

This rock/pop number is a welcome change to the entries chosen so far, which cannot be a bad thing. The 4-piece band, all playing instruments, are backed by 2 backing singers. The set up is quite striking as the guys all wear different colours. Yes, it looks like they ARE the Icelandic Wiggles... Although they are playing instruments they end up doing a lot. There is some armography, audience participation hand capping and some Status Quo-esque dad dancing. Think Inculto but with electric guitars.

 

During the Superfinal, the two acts were required so sing the song in the language they would perform in Copenhagen. Up to now, the song had been in Icelandic all the way but for this final performance the last minute or so was in English. The song has a feel of 90s Brit Pop and makes me feel strangely nostalgic - not sure why. The 'na-na-na' parts are extremely catchy and the chorus has a very memorable tune. They also blend together really well in the singing. The English parts don't work as well and feels like they've struggled to fit the words they want into the pace of the tune. All Icelandic would have worked better.

 

The problem is that it does come across as a bit of a 'joke' entry. They look a bit funny, the stuttering parts make it sound weird and the dancing is a little bit cringe worthy. It was quite obviously when the votes came in a lot of the Eurovision fans were not at all happy with this result. However beneath this exterior this is a really catchy and enjoyable song waiting to come out.

 

I think this was the best choice and will do well. It will certainly get enough votes from the semi to get into the final and considering some of the songs that we've already got will be a breath of fresh air. I think this will appeal very much to the "Radio 2" type person and I predict this will do much, much better than people think. I may be going against the grain here but this may well be my early guilty pleasure!

 

Artist - Pollapönk
Song - Enga fordóma (No prejudices)
Music - Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson

Lyrics - Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson, Haraldur F. Gíslason