Tomorrow night, Iceland chooses its song for the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. Its Söngvakeppnin pre-selection draws to it conclusion after two semi-finals reduced ten songs down to our final five.
Iceland has a tough act to follow, in the form of everything Daði Freyr achieved at (and outside of) Eurovision. But there are at least a couple of songs in the final line-up that could do big things for the small nation, too.
If you’d like to watch it all unfold, be here at 7.45pm UK time tomorrow.
Here’s what’s in the running…
Amarosis – Don’t You Know
The very definition of ‘pleasant’, it’s pretty hard to dislike this. But then it’s pretty hard to feel anything too strongly for it. Leading us to believe that it probably wouldn’t be the best option for Iceland in Turin. Or the second best. Or the third best, either, really…
Stefan Oli – Ljosið
A bit of a stunner this one, and one we’ll still be listening to long after Söngvakeppnin has ended. But from a competitive point of view, looking at the sea of male-fronted ballads already in the line-up at the Eurovision Song Contest in May, this song would find it much less easy to stand out in Turin as it has in Söngvakeppnin.
Sigga, Beta and Elín – Með Hækkandi Sol
A minor-key folk fest that is much more impactful than it would at first have you believe. It would be a strong entry for Iceland at Eurovision, and despite its low tempo, should easily mark itself out from the rest of the competition, through nothing more complex than just genuinely great songwriting.
Katla – Þaðan Af
This is the one finalist that baffles us as to why it’s made it this far. Clearly the Icelandic voting public saw and heard something special in it. But could that appreciation for it be restricted to a local level? We think that’s potentially quite likely.
Daughters of Reykjavík – Turn This Around
The clear stand-out on the night in terms of both sound and sheer impact. If Iceland wish to maintain the reputation at Eurovision that it has carefully carved out for itself over the past three years, with HATARI, Daði Freyr and even (unintentionally) Fire Saga, then Daughters of Reykjavík have the song that they should be sending to represent them. Let’s turn the youth of Europe into daughters of Reykjavík!
