Five acts performed in Háskólabíó, but only two impressed the public enough to advance to the Söngvakeppnin 2020 grand final. Rock band DIMMA and duo Ísold & Helga will be heading to the grand final on February 29th.

The show was an impressive mix between professional musicians and new talents and every single performer gave their all for three minutes. But in the end, it was heavy metal band DIMMA with their song “Almyrkvi” (Eclipse) and the female duo of Ísold & Helga with “Klukkan tifar” (The clock is ticking)  who ended the ever-so-entertaining night as winners. They are now one step closer to the golden ticket to Rotterdam and the honour of representing Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.

Five more songs will compete at the second semi-final next Saturday and two (or three if the wildcard will be used) of them will proceed to the grand final later in the month.

Dimma – “Almyrkvi” Söngvakeppnin 2020

The metal band DIMMA are far from the average Eurovision contestant despite being on the Wiwi Wishlist back in 2016. The band was formed by brothers Silli and Ingó Geirdal in 2004 and, after releasing two albums, the line-up changed in 2011 when singer Stefán Jakobsson and drummer Egill Rafnsson entered the band and suddenly all eyes were on this powerful and melodic metal band. Since then, they have become Iceland’s most beloved band in that particular genre.

Many eyebrows were raised when word got out that DIMMA was to enter Söngvakeppnin with their song “Almyrkvi”. It was something their fans did not see coming at all.

“We realized we had a good song, so we thought, why not? And we couldn’t come up with a decent answer so we just went for it,” the band said in an interview with RÚV. But they admit it was difficult to write a song under the three-minute maximum. But because the band is tight and used to facing all sorts of challenges, they wrote “Almyrkvi”.

The public showed their undying love and rewarded DIMMA with a spot in the grand finals at the end of the month. Unlike some acts who have an English version of their song, DIMMA’s metal anthem “Almyrkvi” is only available in Icelandic.

Ísold & Helga – “Klukkan tifar” Söngvakeppnin 2020

Ísold and Helga only met two months ago, when the “Klukkan tifar” songwriters recruited them for Söngvakeppnin 2020. During that short time, the two have become good friends and are determined to have each others’ backs in the Eurovision bubble.

“We”re both strong characters but together, we just work,” they said in an interview with K100. They have different backgrounds Eurovision wise. While Ísold is a devoted fan, Helga is just beginning to appreciate the wonder that is ESC and enjoys every single moment.

Prior to the contest, the girls were relatively unknown, but that didn’t stop the composers taking chance on them. A chance that has paid off immensely, for the Icelandic public spotted the same thing the songwriters saw. Great chemistry and a duo that owns the stage.

They will have a chance to own it again on February 28th in Söngvakeppnin 2020 grand finals. It is likely that they will perform the English version of their song in the grand final, “Meet Me Halfway”.

Five down, five to go. The second semi-final of Söngvakeppnin 2020 is in a week’s time. There two more songs will advance to the grand final, with the possibility of a fifth finalist being selected via the jury wildcard.

What are your thoughts about the qualifying acts? Did you agree with the Icelandic public? What was your personal choice for tonight? Please sound off in the comment section below.

Read more Iceland Eurovision news here

17 Comments
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Ashton Schier
Ashton Schier
4 years ago

brynja mary robbed

Mr Vanilla Bean
Mr Vanilla Bean
4 years ago

Good. The two best choices.

Kuhkatz
Kuhkatz
4 years ago

To be honest, I just watched DIMMA live yesterday as I do want more rock in ESC (and I randomly turned in exactly when it was their turn).

I personally wasn‘t blown away either by the song or by the performance (it lacked something) so I didn‘t expect them to qualify. In the end, I‘m pleased that they made it but they‘re surely not the winner.

poe-tay-toe chips
poe-tay-toe chips
4 years ago

That’s good! Dimma is my favorite in this semi.

But we all know the winner is in the second one.

Jake
Jake
4 years ago

Ísold & Helga sounded great, but the outfit of the one in silver was very distracting and didn’t fit the song (nor the sperm LED wall)….Dimma is going to pale in comparison to Hatari

Mr X
Mr X
4 years ago

The singer of Dimma is very hot !

Daniel
Daniel
4 years ago

Two deserving qualifiers. DIMMA were amazing, and Ísold & Helga delivered a lot of chemistry onstage.

I hope none of the other three gets a wildcard. Elísabet was a disaster, Brynja’s performance looked cheap, and Kid had the stage presence of a toddler.

This goes for a full Iva vs DIMMA on the final

Chessguy99
4 years ago
Reply to  Daniel

That is the final I would like.

Mr X
Mr X
4 years ago
Reply to  Chessguy99

Me too !

Lilja
Lilja
4 years ago
Reply to  Daniel

Dimma, Iva and Daði Freyr will will be top 3

Sabrina
Sabrina
4 years ago

Ísold & Helga gave the best performance of the night and I was hoping Dimma to qualify also for diversity purposes, so we’re on the same page, Iceland. Let’s keep it this way until Iva wins! I bet Elísabet will get the wildcard, she gave a professional performance.

emeej
emeej
4 years ago

Very happy for Ísold & Helga, lovely song and deserves a good result in the final. For a metal song I thought Almyrkvi was very average and not too excited about it qualifying

Lolek
Lolek
4 years ago

Though I would have liked to see Elizabet in the finals, I am partially happy that Dimma won – as a fan of metal and as someone who wishes we would see more of it in eurovision/pre-qualifying contests.
Now, certainly its not the ‘best’ metal I’ve heard but its nice enough. Still, I think this contest is Iva’s to win.

KESC
KESC
4 years ago

Iva is their only choice either way

poe-tay-toe chips
poe-tay-toe chips
4 years ago
Reply to  KESC

You’re probably right. Dimma would qualify for being lilely the only rock song, but end up with a bottom 5 placing similar to AWS

Meliris
Meliris
4 years ago

which still would not be a bad result for Iceland, it’s not easy to fill the huge platform boots of hatari.

Kosey
Kosey
4 years ago

I am delighted for isold and helge, their performance was on point and captivating. It is such a good song, I think it could push Oculis Videre close in the final.
And congrats to Dimma as well, it’s great to have a metal band in the final.
The losing 3 were great too. All in all, well done Iceland, this was a great show!