The land of fire and ice has made some decisions. Söngvakeppnin 2023 got underway with semi-final 1 on Saturday, where Iceland started the task of selecting their act for Eurovision in Liverpool.
Hosted by Unnsteinn Manuel Stefánsson, Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Sigurður Þorri Gunnarsson, the show saw five acts vying for two spots in the grand final.
Söngvakeppnin 2023 semi-final 1
Results
The two qualifiers were chosen entirely by the public via televoting, SMS and the RÚVStjörnur app. It was a tight race, as the hosts announced only two votes separated second and third place.
But in the end, the two qualifiers were:
- Diljá – “Lifandi inni í mér”
- BRAGI – “Stundum snýst heimurinn gegn þér”
However, it’s not completely over for the remaining three acts. Following both semi-finals, a jury may then choose a wildcard act to become the fifth finalist.
Running order
- Benedikt – “Þora”
- Diljá – “Lifandi inni í mér”
- Celebs – “Dómsdagsdans”
- BRAGI – “Stundum snýst heimurinn gegn þér”
- Móa – “Glötuð ást”
In the semi-finals, all acts have to sing the Icelandic version of their song. Those who make it to the grand final must then perform in the language they would sing at Eurovision if they were selected to go to Liverpool in May.
What do you make of the show? Can Diljá or BRAGI go on to win the whole selection? Shout out in the comments below.
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The venue looks pretty cool, is it different from earlier editions of Söngvakeppnin?
Me talking about the venue says enough though: these songs don’t do much for me.
It’s the same venue as last year which makes this year the second year held there
I’m cool with the idea of alexander skarsgård representing Iceland in Liverpool ?
It’s perhaps an unpopular opinion, but this year I find Iceland to be as inoffensive as Denmark, if not more. Doomsday Dance is the only song in this semi with a theoretical edge, but it wasted it on a quite vanilla performance with nothing interesting going on. I understand why Bragi and Dilja qualified. They had the best live performances. The songs are quite standard, though. Moa performed well, and her song at least has this distinctive vintage quality, but it also lacked true hook. Benedikt… yeah, cute, but not that memorable either. I’m hoping for Silja & Kjalar or… Read more »
I agree. Denmark & Iceland are equally weak this year.
Yeah, these songs are very safe stuff.
I don’t know if it’s an unpopular opinion, because everyone has been picking on poor Iceland since the songs dropped. I disagree with this assessment, in my opinion there are three interesting songs in the mix that could all stand out at Eurovision if well performed, Denmark didn’t have anything nearly as remarkable, they never do. Nor did – dare I say it, because that is an unpopular opinion – Norway. Nor does Sweden at this point. The only Nordic country that is lightyears ahead of its neighbours is Finland.
Of course, music is subjective. Putting Songvakeppnin 2023 ahead of MGP 2023 is something I could never agree with, but I respect the boldness of this statement. 🙂 UMK leads the pack for me too, with MGP being close second. There’s a huge gap between them and the other three. I do enjoy some songs in Melfest 2023, but not nearly as much as I hoped for, based on the line-up they have. Moreover, I don’t really like any of the semi winners thus far. Back to Iceland, I *am* curious how Silja and Kjalar will sound live, because that’s… Read more »
I am curious which three songs you find to be standouts in this selection.
I’d guess Silja & Kjalar, Celebs, and perhaps Moa, but maybe I’d be totally off.
No, you’re not that far off. It’s the duo and Celebs and Kristin Sesselja. Moa is an interesting performer, but her song doesn’t do a lot for me, I’d need her to go all in on the old-fashioned quirkiness she’s exuding. As for MGP, you know I don’t just say that to be deliberately provocative, I really don’t get it. To me as someone who isn’t too fond of either one, it looks as if people have slowly turned their back on Melfest and are calling it too mainstream, derivative and boring nowadays. But instead of turning towards the NFs… Read more »
The duo and Kristin Sesselja are tentatively my top 2 of this selection. I kinda like the songs, but in a ”oh, that’s nice” kind of way. Lives might bring them up, though. I kinda like Ulfar’s old-fashioned ballad too, but again, needs an oomph. Celebs are my winners of semi 1, but the uninteresting performance brought them down a bit. As the difference between them and the rest wasn’t huge, the semi one kinda flatlined for me. But I don’t think that any of the Songvakeppnin songs are bad either. Just okay, kinda. Which can be a problem in… Read more »
The difference between Melfest and MGP is interesting to discuss. I can try to explain just from my own perspective, of course. They both mostly dabble in mainstream, but I feel like MGP songs, on average, do a better job at that. I’ll only take this year as an example. Themes are more specific. A song about the Goddess Freya being the symbol or rebirth, or a song about clogs being symbols of moving forward, or a song about being terrified to lose the specific one person you care about feels more defined and recognizable than having five songs about… Read more »
I agree that this is interesting. And you make some fair points. I haven’t really delved deeply into the MGP lyrics, I have only really read through those of the winner – and I hope we’re on the same page when I say: this is no poetic masterpiece. But I get your point that if you like a song just fine, trite or thoughtful lyrics can make the difference. As for musical diversity, I take your point, but I’m not sure if I entirely agree. Sure, there have been songs in MGP that I wouldn’t expect in Melfest, Blasemafian, Beady… Read more »
The lyrics of Queen of the Kings are by no means a poetic masterpiece indeed, but I do like them for what they are. I see the song as an intro to Xena or Red Sonja, and as such, the lyrics do their job very well. They hook you to admiring this warrior they introduce. Much like SloMo, Fuego, or Aphrodisiac, some songs don’t need to dwell into the depth of human nature to feel fit to the experience the song offers. I’d never criticize them for it, but I’d never highlight them as an example of how to write… Read more »
Iceland once again going for the inoffensively pleasant rather than the perhaps a little rougher but more interesting stuff. The sound mixing on “Domsdags Dans” was a little off, the vocals were very exposed, and her vocals weren’t entirely convincing, but overall this was in my opinion the strongest package. It surely helps that I like lametta pants. Moá’s song was perhaps not the easiest accessible, but the performance was at least interesting. Now we have two standard pop songs in the final that I have already forgotten about. It is what it is.
Both of them have boring songs. I was shocked Bragi is in the Final, instead of Celebs. They really must get the wildcard, Iceland is got one chance of qualifying, and that is Celebs…
i see no real contender for the fairy tale duet but móa was much better than expected – a diva!
The Doomsday Dancing (or Icelanic equiv) hurt me to watch. The song is so cool but that performance is NOT it.
If they get the wildcard, HER outfit needs to go.
Of the two songs i prefer Bragi. The mid section of each verse reminds me of an Arianna Grande song which makes it sound familiar.
Celebs robbed hard, hope they get a wildcard. I actually liked their performance, that song doesn’t work with polished performance.
Lifandi inni í mér has top 15 potential while Power, the English version, is a predictable NQ for Iceland. At least in my opinion.
I love Doomsday Dancing but that live was atrocious.
Celebs wildcard I Hope ! Dilja its my winner so far for Iceland !
I waiting Kristin and the duo.
Didljá’s song is nondescript, and has no power over me.
Diljá
Celebs should get a wildcard. They actually have a catchy song and although the costumes were tacky, it’s Iceland good tacky and the song in general is very Icelandic and stands out!
I must say BRAGI look like he have a really good soul, he is so cute, he is sooo sweet! I watched his performance and all I wanted was to get into the screen and hug him, he’s just adorable..
I CANTTTTTTT!!! BRAGI IS SOO CUTE!!!!!! PLEASE WINNN!! PLEASEEE!!!
YESS BRAGI but he need to sing in ENGLISH!! please!!!!
Definitely hoping Celebs get that wildcard
Wildcard MÓA pleased ??
Please*
can someone explain what good did they find in this piece of trash
celebs robbed
Can you hear a million voices
Calling out in the rain?
😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
1 DOWN 1 TO GO
CELEBS
Oh… KFC… Yum.
Oh…it’s semi (final)… I’ll come back for the final.
Iceland is playing Malta this year with advertisements
they set their own record with the recaps tho
i check them every 10 min and have another tab open for PiN and melfest
guess what
every 10 mins i check there’s a recap-
isnt this like the 1000000th recap?
i need dilija and celebs through
These exact two yes!
MOA’s performance is perfect
sumptuous!
Need her at the final and why not at Eurovision.
At least Wildcard…. I see Celebs qualifying that’s all
this song is Mohombi’s and Tusse’s songs’ hybrid
Can you hear a million voices
Calling out in the rain?
Well, staging and costume wise, Dómsdagsdans was a FEVER DREAM!They sang decently and the song is generally VERY catchy.
The MOST Icelandic out of ALL the songs. The only one that feels like an Icelandic Eurovision song! It’s quite fun and with slightly better staging it could be memorable for all the right reasons!
Running order is different for some reason, btw.
Dilja her voice OMG !!!
The winner so far
Just saw Diljá’s performance. Somehow, she managed to elevate it and she was AMAZING! We MAY have seen the Icelandic winner already!
Móa, of course !!
I like only her in this semi TBH
Same