Earlier tonight, we got our first taste of Icelandic Eurovision action, as the first heat of Söngvakeppnin 2017 took place. And now we have our first three finalists for the big final on March 11, where they will compete for the golden ticket to Kiev in May. Who will follow in the footsteps of Greta Salóme?
Six acts went on stage in Háskólabíó and sang their hearts out, hoping to win the hearts of the Icelandic public, but only three could go all the way to Laugardagshöll for the final extravaganza. But who are the lucky three?
The first one to be revealed was Rúnar Eff with his song “Mér við hlið”.
Rúnar was one of the Wiwi jury favourites and tonight he impressed with his sexy raspy vocals and powerful stage presence.
The second act to make it to the finals was Aron Hannes with the song “Nótt”.
Aron brought tropical summer fun to the Icelandic selection, and his high energy performance was actually super enjoyable. This felt more like Ibiza than Iceland, but it was refreshing and it worked.
The third and final act through was the duo Arnar Jónsson and Rakel Pálsdóttir, and they will get to perform their song “Til mín” again in two weeks time.
Arnar and Rakel served up drama and killer vocals. Their subdued performance was totally classy, but the duo gave us more emotion than we could handle. Chills.
This means that Hildur, Júlí Heiðar Halldórsson and Þórdís Birna Borgarsdóttir, and Wiwi jury favourite Erna Mist Pétursdóttir were all eliminated. Erna Mist was also our readers favourite to win tonight’s semi-final. Talk about shocking. Iceland is cut-throat y’all.
Social media users were split in their reactions to tonight’s results:
Noo! Gutted that Hildur and Júlí & Þórdís didn't qualify 🙁 they were my top 2! Happy for Arnar & Rakel though #songvakeppnin #eurovision ??
— Bushpepa ?????????? (@12pointsgoto) February 25, 2017
Iclandic guys are so stupid! They chose the worst they can even choose! I have no longer any interest to look further #songvakeppnin
— Black Lemonade (@blacklemonad) February 25, 2017
#songvakeppnin
Arnar and Rakel made it?? Yeeeesss!!! Runar made it?? Woooo!! Aron made it?? Yeah!!
This is really good!!!— ???????????? Jerome ???? (@JeromeJTrain) February 25, 2017
The second semi final of Söngvakeppnin 2017 will take place in exactly one week’s time, when three more hopefuls will try to make it all the way to the finals in Laugardagshöll. Will Wiwi jury favourite Svala Björgvinsdóttir destroy the competition? Or will there be more shocks and surprises in store?
What are your thoughts on the first three Icelandic finalists? Please let us know below!
My favorite is Til Mín! Arnar Jónsson and Rakel Pálsdóttir keep this beautiful song in Icelandic, please.
Whoa! You guys included my tweet!! (The third one)
After all the drama from the other national selections, this one gave the best news imo. Arnar and Rakel have been my second favourite after Svala, even though they were really underrated. So happy that their live performance was amazing, enough to put them to the final. Runar’s my third favourite, so i was hoping for another surprise from him and sure enough, he delivered.
I’m really happy with these results.
I am so glad everyone finally realizes how underrated Arnar and Rakel were, both in the poll and in the jury rating. This song can potentially win it all.
Mr. Arnar Jónsson. Well…oh, my.
The song was also good. 🙂
Erna Mist Pétursdóttir got eliminated? Genuine shock!
Rúnar Eff has got a potential winner here, though.
Arnar and Rakel really surprised me tonight, they have become my ones to beat, waiting to see what Svala does next week
Arnar & Rakel (“Til Min”) delivered a big surprise tonight. They literally went from 6th to 1st in my opinion for tonight, thanks to this one performance. Well done! 🙂
I hope Arnar and Rakel keep this in Icelandic. Their English lyrics are insufferably bland to me. Not a fan of the black-and-white parts of the performance, either. Other than that, I’m very pleased they’re still in the race.
I really never expected Erna to make it through. She couldn’t qualify last year with an even better song. Hildur had a terrible live performance, so that sorts that.
Very happy for all 3 who made it. Runar was so awesome with his chill, yet emotional song. Arnar and Rakel were really tender and deep. Aron brought some much wanted fun and dance. Yet, I am disappointed that Júlí and Þórdís didn’t make it, because their performance was probably the best one. Erna was also very good and Hildur was cute too. As I said, great semi. Now that they are finalists, I wonder which version would they pick for the finals? Judging by their official videos, Mér við hlið and Til mín remain in Icelandic and Nott becomes… Read more »
Just as a curiosity, all 3 qualifiers from tonight have released official videos for their entries, and if we are based on them, it gives us the answer of which language the performers will go for in the final:
– “Til mín” in Icelandic.
– “Mér við hlið” in Icelandic.
– “Nótt” in English, titled “Tonight”.
My last words on this thread: BEWARE OF ICELAND! They are going for everything this year.
So I don’t dislike any of the icelandic songs but a bit sad that my top three from this semi were the ones eliminated. That includes my numbe 1 (i’ll be gone) and 3 (get back home) in he whole contest. Not holding out much hope for my number 2 which performs next week as its ‘trust in me’. Still iceland cant do too bad this year
The perfect qualifiers. They were the best tonight and totally earned their places in the final.
The worst of the night was Hildur, what was she thinking dressing in pink and bringing Simone’s heart to Reykjavík? Zero class!
Aron is like the Icelandic Freddy kalas:P
To compensate the fact that Loreen got trashed down by Swedish viewers (or STV pathetic rattings strategies) Rúnar Eff IS IN THE ICELANDIC FINAL and that is all I need to sleep better tonight. Music wins one way or another … Ain’t nobody got time for Icelandic Justin Bieber-wannabes unless Anton throws up on stage, offends fans and gets Grammy nominations …
Aww Rúnar
I’m so glad Arnar & Rakel made it! Their vocals (and Arnar’s looks) were on point.
Love Aron with “Nótt”