ICELAND 2023

The Icelandic final "Söngvakeppnin 2023" was held on March 4th at the RVK Studios in Gufunes, Reykjavík, presented by Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson, Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson. Before the final, two songs qualified from each of the 2 semi-finals plus a wildcard pass to the final. The winner was chosen in two rounds - a top 2 was chosen by a 50/50 split of televoting/app voting and an international jury/ These votes were carried forward to the second round where the winner was chosen by televoting and app voting alone. The winner was Diljá with the song "Power". 

Diljá made her name by participating in the talent show "Ísland Got Talent" in 2015 aged just 12 years old. She had actually auditioned the year before but did not progress past the first stage. In 2020, she moved to Copenhagen, where she alternated her studies in physiotherapy with singing lessons. Currently she is is balancing her singing career with studying physiotherapy at the University of Iceland. In the semi-final of Söngvakeppnin she sang her entry in Icelandic but changed to English in the final as this was the way the song was originally sung.

Diljá is wearing a grey spangly trouser suit with a sliver top. Her hair is in two buns ether side of her head. As the song begins we realise she is lying on the floor as the starts to sing and begins to stand up after the first verse. The songs structure is very simplistic and it's repetitive structure, especially in the/ short but effective chorus, really gets into your head. The song starts verse - pre chorus - chorus. This then repeats again and finally a shortened pre chorus and a final chorus. During the verses the backing track is quite basic but in the verse the track has a really quick beat and drives the song onwards. Diljá is very effective at finding the camera but she also uses a lot of gesture and jerky choreography to emphasise the beat and  meaning of the song. The backdrop is quite plain in the verses but explodes to colour as is shows different pictures and short clips of flowers

This is a very active entry but this does not affect the clarity and technique of the vocals. She has a slightly raspy-Bjork-esque growl to her vocal which gives it a lot of character.  Diljá is an engaging performer and is not afraid to not play to the camera. I appreciate that the staging is not as bombastic as others because this show makes her the star. I could imagine a lot of young girls liking the song and her and getting a lot of votes through this. I feel like the staging needs a slight overhaul, mainly in the backdrop although I hope they keep Diljá running amok on stage. 

My main concern with this entry is that this show is a little more rough and ready and lacking polish. Whilst many might see this as a bit of a charm, many could see this as being slightly amateurish. If this got to the final I would hope that jury members would reward her vocal dexterity rather than sanction her stage craft. I just wonder if this song has the personality to stand out against the groups and rock numbers. I also feel the the start of the song is the least engaging part and people might take this as an excuse to have a toilet or tea beak.

ARTIST - Diljá

SONG - Power

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Diljá Pétursdóttir