Sjonni's Friends () were an Icelandic

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band, tribute group or tribute artist is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the so ...

also known at times as Sigurjón's Friends. The band formed in early 2011 when the Icelandic singer Sjonni Brink (real name Sigurjón Brink) died just days before he was to perform his entry " Aftur heim" at Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins, the Icelandic national final for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...

Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011

On 12 February 2011, the group won the Icelandic national selection; ''Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011'' with the song " Aftur heim". The original artist was meant to be

Sigurjón Brink Sigurjón Brink (29 August 1974 – 17 January 2011), better known as Sjonni Brink or just the mononym Sjonni, was an Icelandic singer-songwriter. He was one of the founders of the Icelandic theatre group Vesturport, which received the honourable ...

himself, however on 17 January 2011 before he was set to compete in the third semi-final, Sigurjón unexpectedly died, due to natural causes, at his home in

Garðabær Garðabær () is a town and municipality in the Capital Region of Iceland. History Garðabær is a growing town in the Capital Region. It is the fifth largest municipality in Iceland with a population of 20,116 (1 January 2025). The site of Gar ...

. Sigurjón's family decided upon reflection that they would like for the song to remain in the competition, and that it should be performed by a tribute band, formed after his death, consisting of Sigurjón's musician friends. The group made it past the first semi-final into the final, where the group won the right to represent

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

in the

. Band member Gunnar Ólason had previously represented Iceland in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2001 The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song " Fly on the Wings of Love" by Olsen Brothers. Organised by the Eur ...

as part of the band Two Tricky.

Eurovision Song Contest 2011

The actual Eurovision competition was held in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in May 2011 where the formation Sjonni's Friends sang " Coming Home", an English version of "Aftur heim". The first semi-final took place in

Esprit Arena Merkur Spiel-Arena (stylized in all caps), previously known as the Esprit Arena (until 2 August 2018), the LTU Arena (until June 2009), and also called the Düsseldorf Arena (during the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest and the UEFA Euro 2024), is a ...

in Düsseldorf on 10 May 2011. Nineteen country entries, including Iceland, took part. Sjonni's Friends performed fourteenth, finishing 4th (6th at the televoting and 3rd with the jury vote). They moved to the finals of the competition that were held on 14 May 2011 with 25 finalists taking part. They were the 21st entry to perform. They came 20th overall with 61 points.

Members

Members of the band were: *Gunnar Ólason *Vignir Snær Vigfússon *Pálmi Sigurhjartarson *

Matthías Matthíasson Matthías Matthíasson (born 1975), also known as Matti Matt, is an Icelandic musician who was a member of the bands and Reggae on Ice. He took part in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 as the vocalist of the tribute band Sjonni's Friends and ...

*Hreimur Örn Heimisson *Benedikt Brynleifsson Some have continued with solo singing careers. Vignir Snær Vigfússon came back in 2014 to take part in Söngvakeppnin 2014, the qualification rounds for selecting Icelandic song for the

2014 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song " Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European ...

with the song "Elsku þú", but failed to win. Matthías Matthíasson also returned in Söngvakeppnin 2020 with the song "Dreyma", but also failed to win.

Discography

;Sjonni's Friends *2011: " Aftur heim" retitled " Coming Home" ;Member releases *2014: Vignir Snær Vigfússon - "Elsku þú"

References

{{Authority control Icelandic pop music groups Tribute bands Eurovision Song Contest entrants