Iceland: winner of the 2020 contest?

It was 1986 when Iceland first participated in the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision fans were anxious to know what this new country would bring. And they brought three of their stars, singing the song “Gleðibankinn”. They became 16th, which seemed to be their destiny in the beginning. Also the previous two years, Iceland became 16th. In 1989, they even got no points at all.
Things all changed in 1990. Sigriður Beinteinsdóttir and Grétar Örvarsson, also known as Stjórnin, sang “Eitt lag enn” and reached the 4th place. It was celebrated at the island as if it was a victory.

Another time Iceland came very close to a victory was with Selma in 1999. She was the first one to sing in English for Iceland. “All out of luck” was in the lead for some time, but in the end Sweden was the winner.

This remained the best score for Iceland, shared with the 2009 contestant Johanna.

Iceland’s songs are often chosen via a national final called “Söngvakeppnin”. Although in some years, Icelandic broadcaster RÚV decided not to have one. One time, back in 1994, the winner of Söngvakeppnin dit not enter Eurovision. RÚV decided that the original singer, Sissa, was not the right person to perform the song, so she was replaced by her colleague Sigga.
Iceland is not ashamed to send controversial songs. In 2019 the BDSM act of Hatari, “Hatrið mun sigra”, appeared on stage. RÚV received a fine because Hatari waved a Palestine flag in the greenroom.

Also the 2020 contestant Daði & Gagnamagnið caught a lot of attention with their green shirts and their anti-hero performance. It was not the number 1 at the bookmakers, but nobody would have been surprised if their entry “Think about things” would have been the first Icelandic entry to win the contest. Unfortunately, we all know why that didn’t happen. But who knows what Iceland will do next year. We are looking forward to it!

Share

Related news

After the Eurovision fame: Sandra Kim
After the Eurovision Fame

After the Eurovision fame: Sandra Kim

Sandra Kim, born Sandra Caldarone in Montegnée (Liège, Belgium) on October 15, 1972, won the Eurovision Song Contest in Bergen (Norway) at the age of 13.5 in 1986, making her the youngest winner in the history of the festival.   J’aime la vie Her single, “J’aime la vie,” quickly achieved double platinum status. With over 350,000 copies sold in Belgium and 1.4 million worldwide, it topped the Belgian Top 50 for weeks. The following year, she participated in the Yamaha Tokyo Festival, finishing in fourth place alongside Eros Ramazzotti. Together with the Italian singer, she embarked on a tour of Japan. A few months later, Sandra was asked to sing the theme song for the animated series “Il était une fois la vie,” composed by Michel Legrand. She then enjoyed success with numerous singles, albums, gold records, and television appearances in Belgium and internationally. Her fame extended to the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, Romania, Israel, Japan, and the United States. Personal life Sandra Kim is of Italian descent. Her parents came to Belgium in the 1950s. In 2001 she married Jurgen Dlanghe.The singer also really wanted children, but, as she said: “Mother Nature didn’t grant them to me”. And the singer is still very sad about that. Furthermore, Sandra Kim is very discreet about her private life. The media attention is mainly focused on her work as an artist National Career Since 1990 she has focused mainly on her national career: she performed a patriotic song “J’aime mon pays” (I love my country)  before the Belgian royal family for King Boudewijn’s 60th birthday and his 40 years on the throne. That same year, she co-presented the music show “10 qu’on aime” on RTL-TVI. Her TV presence continued with her role as a jury member on “Pour la Gloire” in 1996 and singing “Song for Kosovo” in 1997 with Helmut Lotti and Paul Michiels. She then joined the cast of “Les Misérables” in Antwerp as Éponine. In the early 2000s, she performed as a soloist in musical revue shows touring Flanders and the Netherlands. In 2003, to celebrate Belgium’s monarchy’s 10th anniversary, Sandra and other artists recorded “Mon Pays.” ( My country).  In 2005, she performed “No n’ho l’eta” at Eurovision’s 50th anniversary gala. From 2006, she explored soul music with “The SouldivaZ,”   In 2011, she sang the Belgian national anthem in three languages at the Spa- Francorchamps F1 Grand Prix, and a documentary about Eurovision, “L’Autre vie,” ( The orher life)  was produced. The following years saw her sharing her life on TV, performing for national celebrations, and releasing new singles reflecting her Italian roots. In 2017 and 2018, she participated in Télévie and paid homage to Maurane. She collaborated on the “Bella Italia” project with Marco Z and Bejir, celebrating Italian culture. In 2022, she released the single “Gravity,” marking her 50th birthday, with a special concert and new song “Take me as I am.” In 2023, she performed at “The Masked Singer,” “Night of the Proms,” and celebrated her career milestones. She’s also involved in holiday projects and special commemorations. Sandra Kim is still active. Her current schedule can be found here Share

Share
Read More »
After the Eurovision fame: Sandra Kim
After the Eurovision Fame
Anja Kroeze

After the Eurovision fame: Sandra Kim

Sandra Kim, born Sandra Caldarone in Montegnée (Liège, Belgium) on October 15, 1972, won the Eurovision Song Contest in Bergen (Norway) at the age of 13.5 in 1986, making her the youngest winner in the history of the festival.   J’aime la vie Her single, “J’aime la vie,” quickly achieved double platinum status. With over 350,000 copies sold in Belgium and 1.4 million worldwide, it topped the Belgian Top 50 for weeks. The following year, she participated in the Yamaha Tokyo Festival, finishing in fourth place alongside Eros Ramazzotti. Together with the Italian singer, she embarked on a tour of Japan. A few months later, Sandra was asked to sing the theme song for the animated series “Il était une fois la vie,” composed by Michel Legrand. She then enjoyed success with numerous singles, albums, gold records, and television appearances in Belgium and internationally. Her fame extended to the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, Romania, Israel, Japan, and the United States. Personal life Sandra Kim is of Italian descent. Her parents came to Belgium in the 1950s. In 2001 she married Jurgen Dlanghe.The singer also really wanted children, but, as she said: “Mother Nature didn’t grant them to me”. And the singer is still very sad about that. Furthermore, Sandra Kim is very discreet about her private life. The media attention is mainly focused on her work as an artist National Career Since 1990 she has focused mainly on her national career: she performed a patriotic song “J’aime mon pays” (I love my country)  before the Belgian royal family for King Boudewijn’s 60th birthday and his 40 years on the throne. That same year, she co-presented the music show “10 qu’on aime” on RTL-TVI. Her TV presence continued with her role as a jury member on “Pour la Gloire” in 1996 and singing “Song for Kosovo” in 1997 with Helmut Lotti and Paul Michiels. She then joined the cast of “Les Misérables” in Antwerp as Éponine. In the early 2000s, she performed as a soloist in musical revue shows touring Flanders and the Netherlands. In 2003, to celebrate Belgium’s monarchy’s 10th anniversary, Sandra and other artists recorded “Mon Pays.” ( My country).  In 2005, she performed “No n’ho l’eta” at Eurovision’s 50th anniversary gala. From 2006, she explored soul music with “The SouldivaZ,”   In 2011, she sang the Belgian national anthem in three languages at the Spa- Francorchamps F1 Grand Prix, and a documentary about Eurovision, “L’Autre vie,” ( The orher life)  was produced. The following years saw her sharing her life on TV, performing for national celebrations, and releasing new singles reflecting her Italian roots. In 2017 and 2018, she participated in Télévie and paid homage to Maurane. She collaborated on the “Bella Italia” project with Marco Z and Bejir, celebrating Italian culture. In 2022, she released the single “Gravity,” marking her 50th birthday, with a special concert and new song “Take me as I am.” In 2023, she performed at “The Masked Singer,” “Night of the Proms,” and celebrated her career milestones. She’s also involved in holiday projects and special commemorations. Sandra Kim is still active. Her current schedule can be found here Share

Share
Read More »