Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014

Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Icelandic entry was selected through the national final Söngvakeppnin 2014, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). Iceland was represented by the song "No Prejudice", performed by Pollapönk and written by Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson, Haraldur F. Gíslason and John Grant. The entry qualified from the first semi-final to compete in the final. Iceland placed 15th in the final, scoring 58 points.

Eurovision Song Contest 2014
Country Iceland
National selection
Selection processSöngvakeppnin 2014
Selection date(s)Semi-finals:
1 February 2014
8 February 2014
Final:
15 February 2014
Selected entrantPollapönk
Selected song"No Prejudice"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson
  • Haraldur Freyr Gíslason
  • John Grant
Finals performance
Semi-final resultQualified (8th, 61 points)
Final result15th, 58 points
Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2013 • 2014 • 2015►

Before Eurovision

Söngvakeppnin 2014

Söngvakeppnin 2014 was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. The three shows in the competition were hosted by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir and all took place in Reykjavík: the two semi-finals were held at the RÚV studios and the final took place at the Háskólabíó venue.[1]

Format

Ten songs in total competed in Söngvakeppnin 2014 where the winner was determined after two semi-finals and a final. Five songs competed in each semi-final on 1 and 8 February 2014. The top two songs from each semi-final, as determined by public televoting qualified to the final which took place on 15 February 2014. Two wildcard acts were selected by a jury for the final out of the remaining non-qualifying acts from both semi-finals. The winning entry in the final was determined over two rounds of voting: the first to select the top two via 50/50 public televoting and jury voting and the second to determine the winner with 100% televoting.[2] All songs were required to be performed in Icelandic during the semi-final and first final round portion of the competition. In the second round of the final, the song was required to be performed in the language that the artist intended to perform in at the Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen. In addition to selecting the Icelandic entry for Eurovision, a monetary prize of 1 million Icelandic króna was awarded to the songwriters responsible for the winning entry.[3]

Competing entries

On 3 September 2013, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 14 October 2013.[3] Songwriters were required to be Icelandic, possess Icelandic citizenship or have permanent residency in Iceland. However, exceptions would be made for minor collaborations with foreign songwriters as long as two-thirds of the composition and lyrics are by Icelandic composers/lyricists. Composers had the right to submit up to two entries, while lyricists could contribute to an unlimited amount of entries. At the close of the submission deadline, 297 entries were received.[4] A selection committee was formed in order to select the top ten entries, while performers of the selected entries were chosen by RÚV in consultation with the songwriters.[5] The ten competing artists and songs were revealed by the broadcaster during the television programme Kastljós on 17 December 2013.[1]

Artist Song Composer(s)
Icelandic title (English translation) English title
Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir "Amor" (Amor) N/A Haukur Johnson
Guðbjörg Magnúsdóttir "Aðeins ætluð þér" (Only for you) N/A María Björk Sverrisdóttir, Marcus Frenell
Sverrir Bergmann "Dönsum burtu blús" (Dance away the blues) N/A Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson
Vignir Snær Vigfússon "Elsku þú" (Dear you) N/A Vignir Snær Vigfússon, Þórunn Erna Clausen
Greta Mjöll Samúelsdóttir "Eftir eitt lag" (After one song) N/A Ásta Björg Björgvinsdóttir, Bergrún Íris Sævarsdóttir
Pollapönk "Enga fordóma" (No prejudices) "No Prejudice" Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson, Haraldur Freyr Gíslason
Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir "Lífið kviknar á ný" (Life ignites again) "Up and Away" Karl Olgeir Olgeirsson, Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir
Guðrún Árný Karlsdóttir "Til þín" (To you) N/A Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir
Gissur Páll Gissurarson "Von" (Hope) N/A Jóhann Helgason
F.U.N.K. "Þangað til ég dey" (Until I die) N/A Franz Ploder Ottósson, Pétur Finnbogason, Lárus Örn Arnarsson

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 1 February 2014 where five competing acts presented their entries. The top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final. "Eftir eitt lag" performed by Greta Mjöll Samúelsdóttir and "Von" performed by Gissur Páll Gissurarson were the qualifiers. One of the two jury wildcards was awarded to an entry from the first semi-final: "Amor" performed by Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir.[6]

Semi-final 1 – 1 February 2014
Draw Artist Song Result
1 Sverrir Bergmann "Dönsum burtu blús" Eliminated
2 Greta Mjöll Samúelsdóttir "Eftir eitt lag" Advanced
3 Gissur Páll Gissurarson "Von" Advanced
4 Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir "Amor" Wildcard
5 Vignir Snær Vigfússon "Elsku þú" Eliminated

Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 8 February 2014 where five competing acts presented their entries. The top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final. "Þangað til ég dey" performed by F.U.N.K. and "Enga fordóma" performed by Pollapönk were the qualifiers. One of the jury wildcards was awarded to an entry from the second semi-final: "Lífið kviknar á ný" performed by Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir.[7]

Semi-final 2 – 8 February 2014
Draw Artist Song Result
1 Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir "Lífið kviknar á ný" Wildcard
2 Guðrún Árný Karlsdóttir "Til þín" Eliminated
3 F.U.N.K. "Þangað til ég dey" Advanced
4 Guðbjörg Magnúsdóttir "Aðeins ætluð þér" Eliminated
5 Pollapönk "Enga fordóma" Advanced

Final

The final took place on 2 February 2013 where the four entries that qualified from the preceding two semi-finals and two jury wildcards selected from the remaining non-qualified entries competed. In the first round of voting, all competing entries were required to be performed in Icelandic and votes from a jury panel (50%) and public televoting (50%) determined the top two entries: "Lífið kviknar á ný" performed by Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir and "Enga fordóma" performed by Pollapönk. The top two entries advanced to a second round of voting, the superfinal. The entries competing in the superfinal were required to be presented in the language they would compete with in the Eurovision Song Contest. Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir presented her entry in English as "Up and Away", while Pollapönk presented their entry in a mix of Icelandic and English as "No Prejudice". The winner, "No Prejudice" performed by Pollapönk, was determined solely by televoting.[8]

Final – 15 February 2014
Draw Artist Song Place Result
1 F.U.N.K. "Þangað til ég dey" 3-4 Eliminated
2 Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir "Amor" 5-6 Eliminated
3 Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir "Lífið kviknar á ný" — Superfinalist
4 Gissur Páll Gissurarson "Von" 5-6 Eliminated
5 Greta Mjöll Samúelsdóttir "Eftir eitt lag" 3-4 Eliminated
6 Pollapönk "Enga fordóma" — Superfinalist
Superfinal – 15 February 2014
Draw Artist Song Place
1 Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir "Up and Away" 2
2 Pollapönk "No Prejudice" 1

At Eurovision
Pollapönk at the first semi-final dress rehearsal

During the semi-final allocation draw on 20 January 2014 at the Copenhagen City Hall, Iceland was drawn to compete in the first half of the first semi-final on 6 May 2014.[9] In the first semi-final, the producers of the show decided that Iceland would perform 5th, following Sweden and preceding Albania.[10] Iceland qualified from the first semi-final and competed in the final on 10 May 2014. During the winner's press conference for the first semi-final qualifiers, Iceland was allocated to compete in the first half of the final.[11] In the final, the producers of the show decided that Iceland would perform 4th, following Azerbaijan and preceding Norway.[12] Iceland placed 15th in the final, scoring 58 points.

While the Icelandic entry was selected to be performed in a language mix of Icelandic and English, Pollapönk performed the song entirely in English at the contest under the title "No Prejudice". Pollapönk were joined on stage by two backing vocalists (one of them being Snæbjörn Ragnarsson, bassist from fellow Icelandic Viking metal band Skálmöld). The Icelandic performance features the band dressed in pink, blue, yellow and red outfits and performing with instruments. Their performance concluded with the members using their bodies to spell the word "LOVE" with the third line of the E being the neck of a guitar.[13][14]

In Iceland, both the semi-finals and the final were broadcast on RÚV and Rás 2 with commentary by Felix Bergsson.[15][16] The Icelandic spokesperson revealing the result of the Icelandic vote in the final was Benedict Valsson.[17] This is also Iceland's third best placing in the contest, since Yohanna's runner-up in 2009.

Points awarded to Iceland
Points awarded to Iceland (semi-final 1)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Points awarded to Iceland (final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Iceland

Split voting results

The following five members comprise the Icelandic jury:[18]

Semi-final 1

The Icelandic votes in the first semi-final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.[19]

Semi-final 1 – Icelandic Results
Draw Country H. Þórhallsdóttir Yohanna K. Guðbergsson F. Jonsson R. Gröndal Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Armenia 5 10 10 15 10 11 7 8 3
02  Latvia 6 12 15 11 11 12 4 5 6
03  Estonia 12 8 7 6 9 7 9 6 5
04  Sweden 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 10
05  Iceland
06  Albania 8 4 1 13 4 6 13 12
07  Russia 14 6 11 10 6 10 8 9 2
08  Azerbaijan 2 7 12 4 3 4 14 10 1
09  Ukraine 11 9 9 7 7 8 6 4 7
10  Belgium 13 13 13 9 12 14 11 14
11  Moldova 9 15 8 14 13 13 15 15
12  San Marino 10 5 4 5 5 5 12 7 4
13  Portugal 15 14 14 12 14 15 5 13
14  Netherlands 3 3 6 3 2 2 1 1 12
15  Montenegro 7 11 5 8 15 9 10 11
16  Hungary 4 2 3 2 8 3 3 3 8

Final

The Icelandic votes in the grand final were based on 50% jury voting and 50% televoting results.[20]

Final – Icelandic Results
Draw Country H. Þórhallsdóttir Yohanna K. Guðbergsson F. Jonsson R. Gröndal Average Jury Rank Televote Rank Combined Rank Scoreboard (Points)
01  Ukraine 21 12 18 8 7 12 15 11
02  Belarus 12 19 19 21 20 19 17 22
03  Azerbaijan 3 7 6 7 5 6 25 15
04  Iceland
05  Norway 15 17 12 13 22 16 9 10 1
06  Romania 7 10 20 19 17 14 16 14
07  Armenia 17 14 24 18 18 18 7 9 2
08  Montenegro 8 16 15 20 19 15 23 24
09  Poland 24 24 23 15 16 23 2 8 3
10  Greece 13 23 21 25 14 21 11 16
11  Austria 2 2 1 5 4 2 3 2 10
12  Germany 16 20 17 16 15 17 13 13
13  Sweden 4 4 4 3 2 4 4 4 7
14  France 23 25 25 22 25 25 10 20
15  Russia 22 11 11 11 13 13 19 17
16  Italy 20 21 13 24 24 22 24 25
17  Slovenia 10 8 9 14 12 10 22 19
18  Finland 9 13 7 12 11 7 8 6 5
19  Spain 18 15 22 17 21 20 18 23
20   Switzerland 25 22 16 23 23 24 12 21
21  Hungary 5 5 5 4 9 5 6 5 6
22  Malta 14 6 14 10 8 8 20 12
23  Denmark 1 1 2 1 1 1 5 3 8
24  Netherlands 6 3 3 2 3 3 1 1 12
25  San Marino 19 9 10 9 6 11 21 18
26  United Kingdom 11 18 8 6 10 9 14 7 4

See also

References
  1. "Lögin í Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins". RÚV (in Icelandic). 17 December 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  2. Escudero, Victor M. (18 December 2013). "Iceland: national selection line-up confirmed". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  3. Williscroft-Ferris, Lee (3 September 2013). "Iceland: RÚV issues call for songs". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  4. Jiandani, Sanjay (18 October 2013). "Iceland: RUV receives 297 songs for national selection". Esctoday.com. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  5. Van Bedts, Raf (4 September 2013). "Inschrijvingen in IJsland zijn geopend". eurosong.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  6. Storvik-Green, Simon (1 February 2014). "First qualifiers through in Iceland". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  7. Escudero, Victor M. (8 February 2014). "Iceland picks two more acts for their final". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  8. Escudero, Victor M. (15 February 2014). "Tonight: Who will represent Iceland in Copenhagen?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  9. Escudero, Victor M. (20 January 2014). "Allocation Draw results: Who's in which Semi-Final?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  10. Siim, Jarmo (24 March 2014). "Running order for Eurovision Semi-Finals decided". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  11. Brey, Marco (7 May 2014). "First Semi-Final: Meet the winners at the press conference!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  12. Storvik-Green, Simon (9 May 2014). "Running order for the Grand Final revealed!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
  13. Leon, Jakov I. (28 April 2014). "Pollapönk (Iceland): No prejudice in Eurovision!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  14. Omelyanchuk, Olena (2 May 2014). "Iceland: Smile and make your inner world colourful!". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  15. "Dagskrá Rásar 2 þriðjudaginn 06. maí" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  16. "Dagskrá RÚV þriðjudaginn 06. maí" (in Icelandic). RÚV. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  17. "Benedikt Valsson stigakynnir í Eurovision". RÚV. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
  18. Brey, Marco (1 May 2014). "Who will be in the expert juries?". Eurovision.tv. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
  19. "Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 First Semi-Final". Eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  20. "Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Grand Final". Eurovision.tv. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
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