Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson or Jónsi (born 1 June 1977) is an

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 ...

ic singer and a former member of the band ''Í svörtum fötum'' ("In black clothing"). He represented Iceland in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2004 The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the with the song " Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European B ...

and finished 19th. Jónsi once again represented Iceland in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan in a duet with singer

Greta Salóme Greta may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Greta'' (2018 film), a thriller film directed by Neil Jordan * ''Greta'' (2020 film), a documentary film about activist Greta Thunberg Music * Greta (band), hard rock band * Greta (song), ...

, qualifying for the Eurovision final and finishing in 20th place. Jón Jósep also performed the opening theme song to the Icelandic children's television show ''

LazyTown ''LazyTown'' () is an Icelandic children's educational musical television series created by aerobics champion Magnús Scheving. Originally produced in English, it has been broadcast in dozens of languages globally. Designed to encourage health ...

''.

Biography

Jónsi is the nickname of Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson, one of the most popular Icelandic male singers according to 2004 public vote. He was born on 1 June 1977 in

Akureyri Akureyri (, ) is a town in northern Iceland, the country's fifth most populous Municipalities of Iceland, municipality (under the official name of Akureyrarbær , 'town of Akureyri') and the largest outside the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital R ...

in the northern part of Iceland. Having been singing ever since he can remember, Jónsi moved to Reykjavík in 1997 and decided to try for a career in music. He soon got several opportunities as a singer and in 1998 he joined a group of friends who had formed a band and were looking for a singer. The band was named ''Í Svörtum Fötum'' (''Dressed in Black'') and they debuted on 1 January 1999, dressed in black suits, white shirts, wearing black ties. After releasing the single "Nakinn" ("Naked") in spring 2001 they earned national recognition when the song reached number two on the Icelandic Chart. The band landed a four album agreement with Skifan Records in September 2001 and started preparations for their second album. The band has been known for their active live performances and for busy tour schedules. During summer 2002 they worked on finishing their second album ''Í svörtum fötum'', a gold selling album that got good reviews. They kept on strengthening their popularity and working on their songwriting in 2003, having even greater success with the third album ''Tengsl''. Jónsi was nominated Vocalist of the Year at the Icelandic Music Awards 2003 for his powerful performance. He has repeatedly been awarded Male Vocalist of the Year and Best Live Performer by popular listeners' polls on radio stations. Jónsi has also performed and recorded with many of Iceland's biggest names and in 2003 he was featured in the starring role of

Danny Zuko ''Grease'' is a 1971 musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers and set in 1959 at the fictional Rydell High School in Northwest Ch ...

in the musical '' Grease'', with Birgitta playing Sandy, making ''Grease'' one of Iceland's biggest theater block busters.

Eurovision

2004 In 2004, represented Iceland in the

with a song called "

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

", which finishing 19th in the final. 2007 Jónsi competed in

Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2007 Iceland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Valentine Lost", written by Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson and Peter Fenner, and performed by Eiríkur Hauksson. The Icelandic participating broadcaster, (RÚV), selected its ...

with his song "Segðu Mér" but failed to qualify for a place in Eurovision. 2012 Again, Jónsi represented Iceland in the

, Azerbaijan in a duet with singer

with the song " Never Forget", finishing 8th in the first semi-final to qualify for the Eurovision final where it finished 20th.

Discography

Albums

;as part of Í svörtum fötum *2002: ''Í svörtum fötum''

Singles

;as part of Í svörtum fötum *2001: "Nakinn" (as part of the band Í Svörtum Fötum) ;solo or collaborations *2004: "

" *2007: "Segðu Mér" *2012: " Never Forget" (with

)

Theatre

*'' Grease'' musical as

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snaebjornsson, Jon Josep 1977 births Living people Jon Josep Snaebjornsson Jon Josep Snaebjornsson Eurovision Song Contest entrants