Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Valentine Lost" written by
Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson
Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson (born 24 December 1976 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic songwriter, music producer, and medical doctor, best known for having composed two Eurovision Song Contest entries for Iceland, "Heaven" by Jónsi in 2004 and " Vale ...
and Peter Fenner. The song was performed by
Eiríkur Hauksson
Eiríkur Hauksson (born 4 July 1959, in Reykjavik) is an Icelandic heavy metal vocalist. He represented Iceland at Eurovision in 1986 and in 2007.
Career
Eiríkur's career as a vocalist began in earnest when the song "Sekur" he wrote and perfo ...
. Eiríkur Hauksson previously represented
Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986
Iceland was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, held in Bergen, Norway. It was the first time Iceland was represented in the contest. While the country had satellite television contact from other nations (the United States and Canada) sin ...
and
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1991
Norway has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 60 times since making its debut in and has only been absent twice since then. In 1970, the country boycotted the contest over disagreements about the voting structure, and in 2002, they wer ...
, where they placed sixteenth and seventeenth with the songs "Gleðibankinn" (as part of
ICY Icy commonly refers to conditions involving ice, a frozen state, usually referring to frozen water.
Icy or Icey may also refer to:
People
* Icy Spicy Leoncie, an Icelandic-Indian musician
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ICY (band), a vocal ...
) and "Mrs. Thompson" (as part of
Just 4 Fun), respectively. The Icelandic entry for the 2007 contest in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
was selected through the national final ''Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2007'', organised by the Icelandic broadcaster
Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). The selection consisted of three semi-finals and a final, held on 20 January, 27 January, 3 February and 17 February 2007, respectively. Eight songs competed in each semi-final with the top three as selected by a public televote advancing to the final. In the final, "Ég les í lófa þínum" performed by Eiríkur Hauksson emerged as the winner exclusively through public televoting. The song was later translated from
Icelandic to
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Valentine Lost".
Iceland competed in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 10 May 2007. Performing during the show in position 5, "Valentine Lost" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Iceland placed thirteenth out of the 28 participating countries in the semi-final with 77 points.
Background
Prior to the 2007 Contest, Iceland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest nineteen times since its first entry in 1986. Iceland's best placing in the contest to this point was second, which it achieved in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
with the song "All Out of Luck" performed by
Selma
Selma may refer to:
Places
* Selma, Algeria
*Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada
*Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons
United States:
*Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches
*Selma, Arkansas
*Selma, Cal ...
. Since the introduction of a semi-final to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, Iceland has, to this point, yet to qualify to the final. In
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
, Iceland failed to qualify to the final with the song "Congratulations" performed by
Silvía Night
Silvía Night ( is, Silvía Nótt) is a fictional, satirical character on (''The Silvia Night Show''), an Icelandic comedy show of the television channel Skjár einn. The character was invented by Gaukur Úlfarsson and Ágústa Eva Erlendsdót ...
.
The Icelandic national broadcaster,
Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), broadcasts the event within Iceland and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. RÚV confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest on 21 October 2006.
In 2004 and 2005, Iceland opted to internally select their entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2006, a national final was used to select the Icelandic entry, a method that continued for their 2007 participation.
Before Eurovision
Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2007
''Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2007'' was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The four shows in the competition were hosted by
Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir
Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir (born 29 April 1981) is an Icelandic actress and television presenter who is the assistant director of RÚV, the Icelandic national broadcaster. She is a former Miss Iceland.
Life and career
Ragnhildur was born K ...
and all took place at the BaseCamp Studio in
Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
. The semi-finals and final were broadcast on RÚV and online at the broadcaster's official website ''ruv.is''.
Format
Twenty-four songs in total competed in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2007 where the winner was determined after three semi-finals and a final. Eight songs competed in each semi-final on 20 January, 27 January and 3 February 2007. The top three songs from each semi-final qualified to the final which took place on 3 February 2007. The results of the semi-finals and final were determined by 100% public televoting. All songs were required to be performed in
Icelandic during all portions of the competition, however, it will be up to the winning composers to decide the language that will be performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki.
Competing entries
On 21 October 2006, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 16 November 2006. Songwriters were required to be Icelandic, possess Icelandic citizenship or have permanent residency in Iceland by 1 October 2006, and had the right to submit up to three entries. At the close of the submission deadline, 188 entries were received. A selection committee was formed in order to select the top twenty-four entries.
The twenty-four competing artists and songs were revealed by the broadcaster on 15 January 2007. Among the competing artists were previous Icelandic Eurovision entrants
Eiríkur Hauksson
Eiríkur Hauksson (born 4 July 1959, in Reykjavik) is an Icelandic heavy metal vocalist. He represented Iceland at Eurovision in 1986 and in 2007.
Career
Eiríkur's career as a vocalist began in earnest when the song "Sekur" he wrote and perfo ...
, who represented Iceland and Norway in
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
and
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
as part of
ICY Icy commonly refers to conditions involving ice, a frozen state, usually referring to frozen water.
Icy or Icey may also refer to:
People
* Icy Spicy Leoncie, an Icelandic-Indian musician
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ICY (band), a vocal ...
and
Just 4 Fun, respectively, and
Jónsi
Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson (; born 23 April 1975) is an Icelandic musician; he is the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist for the Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. He is known for his use of a cello bow on guitar and his "angelic" falset ...
, who represented Iceland in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
.
Matthías Matthíasson
Matthías Matthíasson is an Icelandic musician best known for being the vocalist of the Icelandic tribute band Sjonni's Friends and being the singing voice of Sportacus in the children's television series '' LazyTown''.
Life and career
Matth ...
was initially announced as the performer of the song "Eldur", however, RÚV announced on the same day that his song would be performed by
Friðrik Ómar Hjörleifsson Friðrik is a masculine Icelandic given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Friðrik Þór Friðriksson (born 1953), Icelandic film director
*Friðrik Ólafsson (born 1935), Icelandic chess Grandmaster and former president of FIDE
*Frið ...
instead.
Shows
Semi-finals
The three semi-finals took place on 20 January, 27 January and 3 February 2007. In each semi-final eight acts presented their entries, and the top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final.
Final
The final took place on 17 February 2007 where the nine entries that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals competed. The winner, "Ég les í lófa þínum" performed
Eiríkur Hauksson
Eiríkur Hauksson (born 4 July 1959, in Reykjavik) is an Icelandic heavy metal vocalist. He represented Iceland at Eurovision in 1986 and in 2007.
Career
Eiríkur's career as a vocalist began in earnest when the song "Sekur" he wrote and perfo ...
, was determined solely by televoting. In addition to the performances of the competing artists, the interval act featured guest performances by
Mihai Trăistariu
Mihai Trăistariu (; born December 16, 1979 in Constanța, Romania), also known as simply Mihai (stylized as M I H A I or MIHAI), is a Romanian singer and songwriter. He is best known for representing Romania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 ...
, who represented
Romania at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "
Tornerò".
Preparation
On 12 March 2007, it was announced that "Ég les í lófa þínum" would be performed in English at the Eurovision Song Contest and would be titled "Valentine Lost" with lyrics by Peter Fenner. The official music video for the song was released on 15 March 2007.
At Eurovision
![ESC 2007 Iceland - Eirikur Hauksson - Valentine Lost](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/ESC_2007_Iceland_-_Eirikur_Hauksson_-_Valentine_Lost.jpg)
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the "
Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
contest are required to qualify from the semi-final on 10 May 2007 in order to compete for the final on 12 May 2007. On 12 March 2007, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final. Iceland was drawn to perform in position 5, following the entry from
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
and before the entry from
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
The semi-final and the final were broadcast in Iceland on
RÚV
Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) (pronounced or ) ( en, 'The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service') is Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization.
Operating from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional cent ...
with commentary by Sigmar Guðmundsson. The Icelandic spokesperson, who announced the Icelandic votes during the final, was
Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir
Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir (born 29 April 1981) is an Icelandic actress and television presenter who is the assistant director of RÚV, the Icelandic national broadcaster. She is a former Miss Iceland.
Life and career
Ragnhildur was born K ...
.
Semi-final
Eiríkur Hauksson took part in technical rehearsals on 5 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May. The Icelandic performance featured Eiríkur Hauksson dressed in a black outfit and performing in a band set-up. The LED screens transitioned from white spots pointing downwards to interwoven Celtic chain symbol in blue and white colours. The musicians that joined Eiríkur Hauksson were members of the Svenster Bling Band: Axel Þórir Þórissson,
Benedikt Brynleifsson, Gunnar Þór Jónsson, Sigurbjörn Þór Þórsson and Stefán Steindórsson.
At the end of the show, Iceland was not announced among the top 10 entries in the semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Iceland placed thirteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 77 points.
Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Iceland and awarded by Iceland in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Hungary in the semi-final and to Finland in the final of the contest.
Points awarded to Iceland
Points awarded by Iceland
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2007
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...