🇮🇸 Road to Basel: Iceland

Road to Basel: Iceland

Road to Basel: Iceland. As the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel approaches, we continue our daily spotlight on this year’s contestants. Today, we focus on Iceland.

photo: RÚV

VÆB

VÆB is an Icelandic electronic music duo composed of brothers Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson and Matthías Davíð Matthíasson. They emerged on the Icelandic music scene in 2022 with their debut album “Væb tékk,” which introduced their unique blend of electronic, hip-hop, and electro-pop sounds. Over the years, they have gained recognition for their innovative music style and dynamic performances.

RÓA (What does AI say?)

Their Eurovision entry, “RÓA,” is a captivating track that showcases VÆB’s signature electronic soundscapes combined with emotive lyrics. The song has resonated with audiences, achieving significant success by reaching number one on the Icelandic charts.

National Selection Process

Iceland selected its Eurovision 2025 representative through the national competition Söngvakeppnin. VÆB participated with “RÓA,” advancing through the semi-finals and ultimately winning the final held on February 22, 2025. Their victory was determined by a combination of jury and public votes, earning them the opportunity to represent Iceland in Basel.

Here are the full results of the final:

  1. VÆB, “Róa
  2. Stebbi Jak, “Set Me Free
  3. Júlï & Dísa, “Fire
  4. Bjarni Arason, “Aðeins lengur
  5. Tinna, “Words
  6. Ágúst, “Like You
Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest

Iceland has been a part of the Eurovision Song Contest since 1986. Despite never securing a win, the country has achieved notable success, finishing as runner-up in 1999 with Selma‘s “All Out of Luck” and in 2009 with Yohanna‘s “Is It True?”. Iceland’s entries are often praised for their creativity and distinctive musical styles, like in recent years the entries of Hatari and Daði Freyr.

​Daði Freyr (photo: EBU/Thomas Hanses)

A Random Icelandic Entry

Reflecting on Iceland’s Eurovision history, random.org selected the 1996 entry. Anna Mjöll sang “Sjúbidú”. She had previously taken part in the Icelandic selection, so it was no surprise when she was finally, internally, selected. “Sjúbidú” was a song containing many international words and names, like Timbuktu, Louis, Sarah and Ella.

Betting Odds

As of now, VÆB’s “RÓA” the betting odds are not very positive towards Iceland. The country has a 36th place in order to win the contest. Only one country has a worse score. For the odds to get into the final, Iceland has a 14th and shared last place. But there is always hope: on this stage, the odds can change completely.​

We eagerly await the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel and look forward to witnessing VÆB’s performance on the grand stage.

Share

Related news

Eurovision 2025

Top Finalists React to Their Results

Top finalists react to their results at the Eurovision Song Contest. We have collected the reactions of some of the artists.  Austria (JJ) Austria’s JJ won the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with his ballad “Wasted Love.” He said he was “so pleased” that people connected with the song. JJ, trained in opera, had taken a break from the Vienna State Opera to join the contest. He explained the meaning behind the song: “There’s no wasted love… it’s the strongest force on planet Earth.” After the final, JJ thanked fans for their support. He said he was proud to bring classical music to a large pop audience. “This is the biggest pop stage in the world,” he noted. JJ appeared humble about his victory. When asked how he would celebrate, he smiled and said he needed sleep after the long night. Estonia (Tommy Cash) Tommy Cash placed third for Estonia with “Espresso Macchiato.” He received 356 points, just one point behind the runner-up. He spoke openly about the result. “Too bad we didn’t get that one point. Things got a bit political there. Sorry we came in third, but second and third place are pretty good too,” he said. Estonia had a modest jury result with 98 points, but the public gave him 258 points. Cash thanked his fans for the strong televote. He also joked that now he could say he could sing, as even the jury gave him nearly 100 points. “Estonians, we’re still the most popular and the most famous in this game,” he added with a smile. news.err.ee. Sweden (KAJ) KAJ from Sweden ended in fourth place. Their song “Bara Bada Bastu” was seen as a favorite before the final. They scored 321 points. Axel Åhman from the group said, “It’s clear one is a little surprised. You can’t deny that.” The band received 126 points from juries. Finland gave them only 10 points, even though KAJ has Finland-Swedish roots. “We’ll probably have a serious talk with [Finland’s] government,” Åhman joked. Still, they were happy with the 195 televote points. “We had a great time on stage,” they said, thanking their supporters. svt.se. Italy (Lucio Corsi) Lucio Corsi placed fifth for Italy with “Volevo Essere Un Duro.” He got 256 points. Corsi had said before the final that he did not expect to win. “Music is not a competition,” he told reporters. “It goes beyond the ranking. I care about my song and giving a good performance.” After the final, Corsi said he was happy with the top-5 result. He outperformed expectations and thanked his listeners. Lucio was glad that people liked his Italian-language ballad. The Italian singer ended by saying that the experience mattered more than points. “This journey was a success for me,” he said. spettacolomusicasport.com Greece (Klavdia) Klavdia came sixth for Greece with “Asteromáta.” She earned 231 points, one of Greece’s best scores in recent years. After the show, she was emotional and thankful. “I feel the luckiest, most blessed, happiest, and most protected person on the planet right now,” she said. “I feel like a winner.” Klavdia said she had dreamed of fifth place. “But sixth is also a victory,” she added. Greece came second in the “Rest of the World” vote and got a strong televote overall. She thanked everyone who voted and supported her. “We did this together,” she said. “This night was unforgettable.” en.protothema.gr. Share

Share
Read More »
Eurovision 2025
Martijn

Top Finalists React to Their Results

Top finalists react to their results at the Eurovision Song Contest. We have collected the reactions of some of the artists.  Austria (JJ) Austria’s JJ won the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with his ballad “Wasted Love.” He said he was “so pleased” that people connected with the song. JJ, trained in opera, had taken a break from the Vienna State Opera to join the contest. He explained the meaning behind the song: “There’s no wasted love… it’s the strongest force on planet Earth.” After the final, JJ thanked fans for their support. He said he was proud to bring classical music to a large pop audience. “This is the biggest pop stage in the world,” he noted. JJ appeared humble about his victory. When asked how he would celebrate, he smiled and said he needed sleep after the long night. Estonia (Tommy Cash) Tommy Cash placed third for Estonia with “Espresso Macchiato.” He received 356 points, just one point behind the runner-up. He spoke openly about the result. “Too bad we didn’t get that one point. Things got a bit political there. Sorry we came in third, but second and third place are pretty good too,” he said. Estonia had a modest jury result with 98 points, but the public gave him 258 points. Cash thanked his fans for the strong televote. He also joked that now he could say he could sing, as even the jury gave him nearly 100 points. “Estonians, we’re still the most popular and the most famous in this game,” he added with a smile. news.err.ee. Sweden (KAJ) KAJ from Sweden ended in fourth place. Their song “Bara Bada Bastu” was seen as a favorite before the final. They scored 321 points. Axel Åhman from the group said, “It’s clear one is a little surprised. You can’t deny that.” The band received 126 points from juries. Finland gave them only 10 points, even though KAJ has Finland-Swedish roots. “We’ll probably have a serious talk with [Finland’s] government,” Åhman joked. Still, they were happy with the 195 televote points. “We had a great time on stage,” they said, thanking their supporters. svt.se. Italy (Lucio Corsi) Lucio Corsi placed fifth for Italy with “Volevo Essere Un Duro.” He got 256 points. Corsi had said before the final that he did not expect to win. “Music is not a competition,” he told reporters. “It goes beyond the ranking. I care about my song and giving a good performance.” After the final, Corsi said he was happy with the top-5 result. He outperformed expectations and thanked his listeners. Lucio was glad that people liked his Italian-language ballad. The Italian singer ended by saying that the experience mattered more than points. “This journey was a success for me,” he said. spettacolomusicasport.com Greece (Klavdia) Klavdia came sixth for Greece with “Asteromáta.” She earned 231 points, one of Greece’s best scores in recent years. After the show, she was emotional and thankful. “I feel the luckiest, most blessed, happiest, and most protected person on the planet right now,” she said. “I feel like a winner.” Klavdia said she had dreamed of fifth place. “But sixth is also a victory,” she added. Greece came second in the “Rest of the World” vote and got a strong televote overall. She thanked everyone who voted and supported her. “We did this together,” she said. “This night was unforgettable.” en.protothema.gr. Share

Share
Read More »