Can you hear her calling? According to the combined results of our Wiwi Jury and our fan poll, Greta Salóme will win Söngvakeppnin 2016 tonight in Iceland. The Icelandic representative in 2012 should take the trophy again — and in a landslide! Will she be able to avenge Maria Ólafs? Only time will tell…
Greta Salóme won with our in-house panel with an impressive 8.17/10. That put her almost one point and a half ahead of the runner-up, Elísabet Ormslev. “Hear them calling” was also your favourite song, as it gathered 367 votes in the poll, 200 more than Alda Dís, who placed second. We’ve combined the results of the Wiwi Jury and our poll to offer a prediction of how the results should be tonight. In case of a tie (a triple one, in this case) the results of the poll prevail. Read on to see the full results.
1. Greta Salóme – “Hear them calling” (8.17/10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp6gYJE3oLE
The best: 2016 is shaping up as the year of returning artists and there are very few people I’d like to see come back more than Greta Salóme. “The Voices” has a haunting effect through the verses before hammering home a catchy chorus. All of the different instruments that come in work very well together, especially those drums. Get her back to Eurovision immediately! (Antranig, 10/10)
The worst: Naturally, everyone is going to compare this to “Never Forget” in 2012, and unfortunately “The Voices” misses the mark for me completely. We’ve seen Greta Salóme deliver power, and this song feels like a blackout. The folky sounds are too common in Söngvakeppnin 2016 and I’d expect something different and with more wow-factor from Greta. Disappointing! (Josh, 6/10)
Poll result: 1st; Wiwi Jury: 1st
2. Alda Dís – “Now” (6.5/10)
The best: Alda’s song is very cute and makes for some very easy listening. This has shades of Anna Bergendahl but the last minute is explosive with some powerful vocals and this would be memorable in Stockholm. With the right staging and the right performance, she could win the ticket to Stockholm — this is definitely the dark horse of the competition. (Antranig, 8/10)
The worst: I’ve listened to this song several times, but all I can remember about it is that it’s kind of folky and has a few of the “hey” shouts that were all over pop from 2015. I guess that’s the trouble – there’s nothing striking about this song, nothing that makes me sit up and go “wow!” (Robyn, 5/10)
Poll result: 2nd; Wiwi Jury: 4th
3. Karlotta – “Eye of the storm” (6.57/10)
The best: There’s a lot to like about Karlotta and “Unstoppable”. I love the crescendo of the beat throughout the verses, culminating in a powerful chorus. The ooh-woah-oh-ohs are spectacular and it’s impossible to resist joining in. This entry would work incredibly well at Eurovision — the last note would earn extra points in drinking game circles. This girl is unstoppable! (Antranig, 10/10)
The worst: I can see the appeal in “Unstoppable”, but it’s not really for me. Karlotta’s voice is far too dainty and soft to match the grunge and drama in the instrumental. It’s like asking Yohanna to sing Amandine Bourgeois. Some say opposites attract – but this combination just doesn’t work! (Josh, 4/10)
Poll: 3rd; Wiwi Jury: 3rd
4. Elísabet Ormslev – “Á Ný” (6.73/10)
The best: I have to admit I’d totally love “Á Ny” as a soundtrack. It’s well constructed — although its transitions are a bit forced in some points — and the progression of the instruments creates an interesting dark atmosphere, like a suspense film. It reminds me of the soundtrack of Borgen in a way. I’m loving that, but I have to say that I can hardly see it translated into a Eurovision stage. In fact, I can’t imagine this song staged if it’s not with a big orchestra and a choir, and with only six people allowed on stage, that’s quite difficult. (Luis, 7/10)
The worst: There’s a lot of drama happening with “Á Ny”, and a good sense of progression and musical storytelling. It builds and unfurls, but feels like it never reaches the climax it’s promising to deliver. The drums worry me, in the way that drums props at Eurovision always seem to be a curse. (Robyn, 6/10)
Poll: 4th; Wiwi Jury: 2nd.
5. Þórdís & Guðmundur – “Ready To Break Free” (6.3/10)
The best: I’m digging this. Is it a hard-core hip-hop song? No. But it has just the right amount of rap and just the right amount of pop elements to meet the Eurovision criteria. It all depends on the performance. If they nail that factor, I believe this is going to go far in Söngvakeppnin 2016. (Steinunn, 7.5/10)
The worst: It’s true that the opening bars are sleepy and a bit dull. But do we really need an Icelandic rapper to wake us up? Hell to the NO! Rap is bad enough in English, but the reality is that English is the linga franca of rap. Straight Outta Reykjavik just doesn’t work for me. (William, 2.5/10)
Poll: 5th; Wiwi Jury: 5th
6. Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir & Hjörtur Traustason – “I Promised You Then” (5.53/10)
The best: Söngvakeppnin is celebrating its 30th anniversary, but that’s no excuse to bring back this slice of the mid 1990s. I’m a little partial to Erna & Hjörtur’s power harmonies, but that’s really the only thing that’s stopping me from disliking this song entirely. It’s expertly performed, but oh so dull. (Robyn, 6/10)
The worst: God, this is boring. I appreciate that they have lovely voices and know how to blend, but in a competition filled with similarly down-tempo, atmospheric songs, it just feels like more of the same. The dated sound is fine — I think with duets one overlooks throwback melodies — but it’s just not inspiring. Sorry ’bout it. (William, 4.5/10)
Poll: 6th; Wiwi Jury: 6th.
Söngvakeppnin 2016 – Combined results
Söngvakeppnin 2016 – Poll results
Söngvakeppnin 2016 – Wiwi Jury results
- Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir – “Hear Them Calling” (8.17/10)
- Elísabet Ormslev – “Á ný” (6.73/10)
- Karlotta Sigurðardóttir – “Eye Of The Storm” (6.57/10)
- Alda Dís Arnardóttir – “Now” (6.5/10)
- & Guðmundur – “Ready To Break Free” (6.3/10)
- Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir & Hjörtur Traustason – “I Promised You Then” (5.53/10)
Greta´s song is simply amazing, it deserves to go to ESC and a sure top 5 if not win
KARLOTTA or ALDAAA. Greta is going to flop, I know it.
If Greta wins, I do not believe that this song placed to ESC final. Never forget was way better than this.
Please Greta, keep it in Icelandic! You lost the etheral, magical, quality of the song when you decided to do it in English.
Since changing the lyrics of “Raddirnar” into English Greta’s song lost much of its magic – Icelandic version was way better. However it’d still be solid entry for Iceland. Although I prefer Elisabet Ormslev to win.
If Greta won, judging on current songs anyway, she’d be my #1 in the contest so far (and will likely stay there judging by the other Nordic Selections thats for sure cough UMK cough MGP cough)
Greta is probably the only one that could bring Iceland back into the final. However, there have not been any terrible songs yet (2 bad, Georgia and Belarus) so I would like a weak song to be chosen.