ICELAND 2022

The Icelandic Final (Söngvakeppnin) was held on March 12th at the RVK Studios in Gufunes, Reykjavík, presented by Björg Magnúsdóttir, Jón Jónsson and Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir. Before the final there were 2 semi-finals of five songs each. The two qualifiers from each were joined by a wildcard. The winner was chosen in two rounds of voting -  the first was to find the top two using half and half televote/jury) the these results were carried forward to the second round which was 100% televote. The winners were Sigga, Beta & Elín - now known as Systur - singing "Með hækkandi sól" (With the rising sun)

Sigríður, Elísabet and Elín Eyþórsdætur are sisters who were born into a family of musicians and have been singing and playing since childhood. In 2011 they formed the trio Sísý Ey releasing the electronic hit "Ain't Got Nobody" in 2013 in collaboration with DJ Oculus. As well as their success as a three-piece, they have also had some individual success. After their Eurovision, it was decided that the act would be called 'Systur' rather than their individual names.

The song begins with a short guitar intro - acoustic followed by electric - which sets up the mood of the song. They sing two verses in quick succession before the first chorus. After a short instrumental there is another verse and chorus. Now into the final minute the song becomes slightly darker and the girls - instead of singing in unison - are not performing slightly different parts of the song which really gives this part of the song a different feel. Then a final chorus before the song has a slowed down acapella ending.

This is very laid back has that slightly melancholy country feel too it. To many of the lay watchers, they may hark back to entries like "Calm After The Storm". In this song the girls' voices blend so well together and the whole thing looks and sounds effortless. The way the microphones are placed makes for some interesting camerawork. The Icelandic language also makes this song sound rather intriguing to the ear, especially with the whispery quality of the words and their vocals style. Visually it is a little bit dark and brown, which fits with the mood of the song but not very memorable. However this is somewhere negated by the clever camera shots, in particular the three-way split screen during the bridge. That all said and done, this ends up feeling like a rather uneventful song. There are a freakishly large proportion of country inspired songs this year and I am not sure how well this stands up in comparison. Part of me wishes there was a little more drama and maybe a bit more ooomph in the instrumentation - something to keep the interest going. This is a nice song - but nice does not guarantee points.

ARTIST - Systur

SONG - Með hækkandi sól

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Arnar Guðjónsson, Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir