[tds_note]This review and thoughts are based on my opinions.[/tds_note]
Eurovision season has begun (for me) as the artists who are competing in Songvakeppnin 2020 and their songs are now up on Spotify and Apple Music!!! And I have some thoughts!
For those unaware, Songvakeppnin is the Icelandic national selection for Eurovision. 10 artists compete for the chance to represent Iceland. I’ve been following Songvakeppnin since 2018 and I’m now somewhat invested that I watch it with the fans over in the r/Eurovision Discord Server
The 2020 Contestants
There are a few familiar names that I recognize in this lineup and those are Daði Freyr and Matti Matt.
Daði competed and was the fan favourite in the 2017 national selection.
Matti competed in Eurovision in 2011 with his group Sjonni’s Friends.
So the fact that there are familiar names that I know and recognize shows that this year is up for a good start for me.
The Songs
Interestingly enough, there are more “Icelandic Only” songs this year unlike before. Back then, only 1 or 2 wouldn’t get an English counterpart, this year it increased to 4!
I guess this is because of Hatari and how they made it to the grand finals with an Icelandic-only song. Even during the superfinal, Friðrik tried to go against Hatari with the Icelandic version of his song despite him having an English version prepared.
At least 1/2 of the songs are good – and I much prefered their Icelandic versions than their English counterparts
A lot of the songs fall under the ‘Europop’ genre while some tried to do their own thing. It’s nice to see a mix of genres but what I think Iceland needs to have at least a grand final streak in Eurovision is to send songs which arent ‘Europop‘ and that are strong and unique.
Who I think Iceland should bring to Eurovision
Oculis Videre (Icelandic) by Iva
Oculis Videre (Icelandic Version) by Iva is who I think Iceland should bring to Eurovision. Iva is a newcomer in the Icelandic music scene and this is her first song.
The song is unique in regards to music style, it gives me some nordic/medieval vibes based on instrumentation, and it’s a mix of Icelandic and Latin!
According to a few people that I know in Iceland, they told me that this singer is actually blind which makes the song more interesting as it’s about wanting to see the truth of the world.
The English version of the song is alright too but I want Iceland to represent themselves with their own language, like how a lot of us wanted Electric Fields to represent Australia because not only it’s catchy, but it also gives representation to the indigenous languages.
If Iva doesn’t win, I’ll riot.
But if Iva doesn’t make it, other songs I’d consider are:
- Daði Freyr – Think About Things/Gagnamagnið – the song is good and funky.
- Nína – Ekkó/Echo – A cheesy love song disguised as a dance song
- Dimma – Almyrkvi – a heavy rock song so that’s something unique that Iceland could bring. The only reason why it didn’t stick with me as much because Iceland sent already an aggressive song and I don’t want to see a pattern on what gets submitted
- Elísabet – Elta þig/Haunting – Fuego inspired (I guess???). It’s a strong song… but can we please stop with the “Fuego clones“.
Songvakeppnin starts on February 8 (Iceland Time) over in RUV so I look forward to waking up at 7 am just to watch it live on their website!
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