Iceland this year are presenting what is generally seen as a strong selection this year and ahead of tonight's first semi-final I take a look that the songs in the competition.
Mangí Ásgeirsson – Ekki Líta Undan
A rather unusual song from Mangí given his song last year –
it is more of a pop song with some rock overtones. It is a good piece of music
in this national final and does hold the listeners attention for the song.
Personally I was never as big a fan of Mangí as many fans are, so I am less
convinced by the song but it is still a good entry. Grade: C+
Eyϸór Ingi Gunnlaugsson – Ég Á Lif
Though I am sometimes critical of the number of simple
ballads in national finals this song really stands out from the crowd as there
are so few similar songs in the Icelandic selection. I love the Celtic
overtones in the song, particularly. However I think it lacks original song
writing, which is a serious fault. Grade: B
Svavar Knútur Kristinsson & Hreindís Ylva Gardardóttir
Holm – Lífio Snyst
This is a really happy song which bounces along and is a
nice and pleasant song to listen to. However if this was in a national final
with more songs than the Icelandic semi-finals I would be concerned for it as
it is not the most memorable song, however it is still a great song to listen
to and may surprise a few in the national final, should it get that far. Grade:
B+
Birgitta Haukdal – Medal Andanna
Birgitta returns to the national final for the first time
since representing the Icelandic nation in 2003 with the song “Open Your
Heart”. However I would say that this song is very different to her song in
2003. It is very dramatic and relies on the percussion elements of the song to
carry it forward. It could be a success, given Birgitta’s public profile in
Iceland. Personally I am less convinced. This is far from the strongest song in
this competition and is lacking in creativity. Grade: B
Edda Vidarsdóttir – Sá Sem Laetur Hjartad Ráda For
A slow and gentle song that is similar to many songs we have
seen the Icelandic national final before. Personally I think this is the
weakest song in this semi-final. It is too simple to be really considered a
good song. Grade: C-
Yohanna – Du
After surprisingly returning once again to the national
selection Yohanna has a completely different song to the one that brought
Iceland to second place in Moscow. It is difficult to say how this pop song
will go down in Iceland, though in my opinion, I think that this is far from
the best song in this selection process, though it is the best in this semi.
This surprises me a lot as I was convinced after 2011, Yohanna would not enter
again unless she was certain about a song. Grade: A-
