This year, the format of the Icelandic NF is different. Instead of having a weird wildcard system and a superfinal, it’s a lot more straightforward now: two semi-finals, three qualifiers from each and a normal final. I wish more NFs abandoned superfinals as well.
It’s always cool to hear opening acts that showcase a different side of the country’s music. The opening act here did just that by showing us some Icelandic hip-hop (a genre that’s pretty underrepresented in Eurovision). Let’s see if the actual competing entries are any good, though.
People were surprised to see that this qualified, but it was actually obvious. Even though the song lacks some power, the live performance is really good, and he sold it on stage really well. The prop usage was good, the costumes were good, and the vocals were convincing. However, it’s clear that the song was written in English - especially because of the chorus, which sounds very weak in Icelandic.
When I heard this in the studio for the first time, I thought, “There’s no way she’ll be able to sing this live, especially with all those whistle notes”. Thankfully, I was completely wrong, and she performed exceptionally well. So then, how come it flopped? I think the key is that it doesn’t sound all that good in Icelandic. It’s very obviously a song that was written in English, and the Icelandic version just sounds clumsy and unengaging. I also think that the staging failed to sell it to people either. Of course, the language issue would’ve been remedied in the final anyway, and the staging would’ve been improved as well, so I still think it should’ve qualified.
It’s cute, but hardly a standout. I’ll give it some credit: it’s decently enjoyable live, however it doesn’t feel like a song that should be in Icelandic once again. I don’t expect that I’ll ever return to this.
I found this pretty enjoyable. It’s a very straightforward 2000s pop song, but it has a very nice flow in Icelandic, and the performance was very pleasant as well. I’m unsurprised that it failed to qualify as it’s very non-standout, but I’m happy that it was in the competition.
While I really disliked their entry last year, this one is surprisingly tolerable. I still don’t like it, but at least they confirmed that they’ll keep it in Icelandic. Additionally, it has a decently catchy (if quite repetitive) melody and a decent performance - apart from the vocals, which still aren’t all there, but are still a massive improvement on 2024.
The opening act for this semi-final was a little weaker than for the first heat. Yohanna covered Celine Dion’s winning entry and her 2009 entry, which is understandable, but I would’ve liked to see more Icelandic music.
I know this is a very unpopular song, but I don’t mind this sort of song vergin between ballad and midtempo. His voice is quite raspy, which fits both this song and the Icelandic language, so it’s pleasant to listen to. Though I don’t think the children’s choir at the end was necessary or added anything. Overall, it’s a decent attempt.
I don’t usually enjoy rapping in songs, but it does work here. I think the difference is that the woman is rapping and the male is singing, which makes it stand out from the songs that have a rap section in an interesting way. Interestingly enough, she’s a much better vocalist than him too. I also like the clever staging with the “mirror” that transitions to reflecting the other singer. I think that maybe this would be the best option for Iceland.
Once again, this isn’t unpleasant, but it isn’t very remarkable either. At least the title repetitis here isn’t that bad and the staging is quite cute. Plus, there are live backing singers, which is an element that will always get some credit from me.
Sure, it’s very dated, but I think he delivers this perfectly. I think people always really underestimate ballads like this because it’s not what they expect from Eurovision, but this should go well with the casual audience.
I actually quite like this. Sure, perhaps it’s a little underwhelming as a full package, but I like her voice, I enjoy the staging and I like the nostalgic feel of the song. Plus, it sounds good in Icelandic, which is always a positive.
After the semi-finals, four of the competitors switched their songs to English. I don’t like that, but more power to them, I guess. Let’s see if this was a huge downgrade or a minor downgrade (or maybe an upgrade).
This is way worse in English because it’s so so so boring and generic. The performance tries to make it sound fun, but it does absolutely nothing for me.
I think this was basically a perfect performance. The staging actually helps elevate it, with the old-style microphone and fog on stage. This doesn’t need anything more than this. I don’t even think the song is dated - it feels like an intentional throwback, not an accidental one.
The rapped Icelandic parts are way better than the sung English parts. Partly, this is due to her being a better performer than him, but partly it’s because they just sound more interesting, while the sung parts just sound like a generic American-sounding song.
This is still incredibly annoying. I think I’m just entirely over televote bait and would be happy if we didn’t get any of it in ESC ever again.
This is very bland in English. It just sounds like the most average pop song ever, and I forgot everything about it the second after it ended. And she was quite off vocally as well, which didn’t help either.
It’s still a good performance, but I can’t say the song interests me at all now that it’s in English. It just sounds like a song I’ve hears a million times before.
I’m strongly underwhelmed by this year’s Söngvakeppnin. It was really good last year, but most of the songs completely passed me by now. I also know that my personal favourite isn’t winning, so I can’t say I’m invested in the outcome.
As I expected, Væb won by a huge landslide. On the upside, we’re getting Icelandic again, so yay, I guess.