It may come as a surprise to many that bluegrass, which is a sub-genre of American country music, has made a resurgence in Iceland. Yeah, that’s right. Eurovision 2009 runner-up Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir, otherwise known as Yohanna, is busy storming the Icelandic charts with this new track, “Mamma þarf að djamma”.
Yohanna joined the fold of Eurovision royalty in 2009, when she gave Iceland its best result to date, with a soaring ballad ‘Is It True’ Since then, she tried to make a comeback in the Iceland pre-selection in 2011 and 2013, but failed to advance to the finals. It is unclear at this stage whether she’ll be competing in the 2014 heats. My advice: Girl, you came second in one of the most hotly contested editions of the contest. Use that as a platform to develop your career. No comebacks please. Plus, unless you’re either Dima Bilan or Carola Haagvist, runner-up positions are hard to beat.
That said, her move to Oslo has sparked more creativity from her. She may not be Dolly Parton, but this collaborative effort with Baggalutur reads like an authentic effort. Cleverly avoiding the obvious yeee-haw pastiche of American country music, the Icelanders have done their homework well. Yohanna keeps it simple, flirty and danceable in the music video. Actually, there are two music videos, but please, don’t bother clicking on the other one.
Rating: 3/5
The band Johanna is singing with is very popular in Iceland and usually releases new songs just before Christmas, mostly covers with humorous lyrics. This one could be translated as ‘Mama needs to party’ and is about a single mom going out to the bars to find a new dad for her kids. This song is one of their most successful efforts to date, hitting number one, due in no small part to Johanna’s singing and personality.
She looks stunning 🙂
Hmmm……I don’t think that her voice suits bluegrass.
Nice song 🙂