The Nordic nation has failed to make the grand final of Eurovision for three years running. But there’s still plenty of love for Iceland, the little country that many Eurofans are longing to see win the contest.

So back in August we asked our readers to vote for their favourite of Iceland’s three non-qualifiers since 2015 — Maria Olafs, Greta Salóme and Svala. The results are in and verified. After counting 2,102 votes, we can reveal that Greta has won the day with her song “Hear Them Calling”.

Iceland’s best non-qualifier since 2015

 
 

 

Greta, who made the Eurovision final with Jonsi in 2012, forged her comeback with “Hear Them Calling” — a solid pop song that built on Nordic melancholia.

Before the national final in Iceland even finished Greta emerged as a fan favourite and hopes were high she could top her earlier result. Amongst our own Wiwi Jury, Greta placed fourth. As one juror wrote:

“Rooted in Icelandic folk, ‘Hear Them Calling’ is less pop music and more three-minute art piece. The clever lyrics set up an ambiguity that never resolves: The voices call, whisper and howl, but we don’t know if they are a source of comfort or torment, and at times their pledge to come home sounds like a threat. The music builds on that tension, with the thumping timpani — reminiscent of a heartbeat —  and metallic clangs creating a sense of urgency and drive. Despite tapping into something tribal and ancient, the song swells with modern instrumentation and production. It’s mystical, other-worldly and gripping.”

But performances don’t always translate from national final stage to Eurovision stage, and broader European tastes frequently differ from the fandom’s. Iceland ended up in 14th place in the first semi final with only 51 points.

As soon as the contest came to an end, Iceland’s many fans searched for reasons — “stolen” graphics, a dark stage, even the outfit (which was eventually auctioned on eBay).

Others swallowed their pride and accepted that Iceland just didn’t have a winning formula.

What do you make of the results and who did you vote for? Who would have done the best in the grand final if she had made it? Let us know in the comments box below.

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Zebb
Zebb
6 years ago

Still such a robbery, Greta 🙁

Andrea
Andrea
6 years ago

Greta was robbed.

Sasha
Sasha
6 years ago

I can’t believe there are people who actually liked Paper.

Jo
Jo
6 years ago
Reply to  Sasha

I think Paper is a better song than most entries of this year.

Zebb
Zebb
6 years ago
Reply to  Sasha

She’s tried make it better live though 🙂

Niko
Niko
6 years ago

Maria wasn’t just good while live singing, not convincing at all. Greta on the other hand was great live, but the performance was too dark and messy. And I would have kept it in Icelandic language. Svala’s song was great, too… Unfortunately she was all alone on the stage, it was almost like…there wasn’t a performance. She needed to fill the stage, maybe dark was a better idea, with some green lasers perhaps, I dunno… It was just too simple and minimalist…. And yes, the English version of the song destroyed all that magic, just like in Albania’s case (every… Read more »

Erasmus
Erasmus
6 years ago

I love all of them.

Polegend Godgarina
Polegend Godgarina
6 years ago

Both Hear God Calling and Unbroken are bops, their non-qualification is still a mystery to me. Toilet Paper, on the other hand, never had a chance–I’m not saying it’s a bad song, it’s just that it’s so generic and uninteresting (both sound and visual wise) that no one thought it was the best in order to vote for it.

Jo
Jo
6 years ago

Personally, I prefer Paper, but the staging destroyed every chance of qualifying for Svala.
Unbroken was just boring, and Hear Them Calling is a nice song, but Semi-Final 1 was too difficult in 2016.

olvr20
olvr20
6 years ago

Greta was quite good and should have qualified. Maria and Svala were awful though.