Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Iceland was represented by the fictional character Silvía Night in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with the song "Congratulations". The song tells the story of how Silvía will win the Eurovision Song Contest and how she is better than everyone else. The song was considered a strong favourite from the moment the competing songs were announced. It was written by Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, Gaukur Úlfarsson and composed by Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson.
| Eurovision Song Contest 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2006 | |||
| Selection date(s) | Semi-finals 21 January 2006 28 January 2006 4 February 2006 Final 18 February 2006 | |||
| Selected entrant | Silvia Night | |||
| Selected song | "Congratulations" | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Failed to qualify (13th, 62 points) | |||
| Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Silvía Nótt is a fictional character in Sjáumst með Silvíu Nótt, an extremely popular Icelandic semi-reality show on the TV channel Skjár 1. Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, singer for band Ske and an actress, and Gaukur Úlfarsson decided to invent a character that brought out all the worst things in human behaviour in modern society. Silvía's personality is highly affected by narcissism and she sees herself as the most famous and talented person in the world.
Before Eurovision
Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2006
Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2006 was the music competition that selected Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.
Format
Twenty-four songs in total competed in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2006, where the winner was determined after three semi-finals and a final. The three semi-finals took place at the Fiskislóð 45 in Reykjavík on 21 January, 28 January and 4 February 2006, with eight songs competing in each. The final once again took place at the Fiskislóð 45 in Reykjavík on 18 February 2006, where the top four songs from each semi-final competed. In addition to that, the Icelandic national broadcaster reserved a right to advance a number of wildcard acts to the final out of the remaining non-qualifying acts from the semi-finals.
Competing entries
RÚV opened a submission period in order for interested parties to submit their entries. From all 226 songs submitted to RÚV, 24 songs were selected for the competition, with the selected entries being announced on 13 December 2005.[1]
| Artist | Song (English translation) | Composer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Ardís Ólöf | "Eldur nýr" (A new fire) | Örlygur Smári, Niclas Kings, Daniella Vecchia |
| Birgitta Haukdal | "Mynd af þér" (A picture of you) | Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson, Kristján Hreinsson |
| Bjartmar Þórðarson | "Á ég?" (Should I?) | Örlygur Smari, Sigurdur Örn Jonsson |
| Davíð Olgeirsson | "Strengjadans" (String dance) | Davíð Olgeirsson |
| Dísella Lárusdóttir | "Útópía" (Utopia) | Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson, Kristján Hreinsson |
| Edgar Smári Atlason & Þóra Gísladóttir | "Stundin – staðurinn" (The time – the place) | Ómar Þ. Ragnarsson |
| Eyjólfur Kristjánsson & Bergsveinn Arilíusson | "Lífið" (Life) | Eyjólfur Kristjánsson |
| Fanney Óskarsdóttir | "Hamingjusöm" (Happy) | Fanney Óskarsdóttir |
| Friðrik Ómar | "Það sem verður" (What will become) | Hallgrímur Óskarsson, Lára Unnur Ægisdóttir |
| Geir Ólafsson | "Dagurinn í dag" (The day is today) | Friðrik Hjörleifsson, Kristján Hreinsson |
| Guðrún Árný Karlsdóttir | "Andvaka" (Sleepless) | Trausti Bjarnason |
| Gunnar Ólason | "María" (Maria) | Roland Hartwell, Birgir S. Klingenberg |
| "Það var lagið" (That was the song) | ||
| Heiða | "100% hamingja" (100% happiness) | Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson, Kristján Hreinsson |
| Íris Kristinsdóttir | "Ég sé" (I see) | Iris Kristinsdottir |
| Katy Þóra Winter | "Meðan hjartað slær" (While the heart beats) | Tómas Hermannsson, Ragnheiður Gröndal |
| Magni Ásgeirsson | "Flottur karl, Sæmi rokk" (Cool man, Sami rock) | Sævar Benediktsson |
| Maríanna Másdóttir | "Í faðmi þér" (In your arms) | Ingvi Þór Kormáksson, Valgeir Skagfjörð |
| Matthías Matthíasson | "Sést það ekki á mér?" (Can't it be seen on me?) | Sigurdur Örn Jonsson |
| Regína Ósk | "Þér við hlið" (By your side) | Trausti Bjarnason, Magnús Þór Sigmundsson |
| Rúna Stefánsdóttir & Brynjar Már Valdimarsson | "100%" | Hördur G. Olafsson |
| Sigurjón Brink | "Hjartaþrá" (Desire of heart) | Bryndís Sunna Valdimarsdóttir, Þórir Úlfarsson |
| Silvía Nótt | "Til hamingju Ísland" (Congratulations Iceland) | Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson, Silvía Nótt |
| Sólveig Samúelsdóttir | "Mig langar að hafa þig hér" (I want to have you here) | Hallgrímur Óskarsson |
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 21 January 2006 and eight of the competing acts performed. The top four entries decided solely by televoting advanced to the final.[2]
| Semi-final 1 – 21 January 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Gunnar Ólason | "Maria" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Matthías Matthíasson | "Sést það ekki á mér?" | Wildcard |
| 3 | Edgar Smári Atlason & Þóra Gísladóttir | "Stundin – staðurinn" | Advanced |
| 4 | Íris Kristinsdóttir | "Ég sé" | Eliminated |
| 5 | Friðrik Ómar | "Það sem verður" | Advanced |
| 6 | Maríanna Másdóttir | "Í faðmi þér" | Eliminated |
| 7 | Regína Ósk | "Þér við hlið" | Advanced |
| 8 | Davíð Olgeirsson | "Strengjadans" | Advanced |
Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 28 January 2006 and eight of the competing acts performed. The top four entries decided solely by televoting advanced to the final.[2]
| Semi-final 2 – 28 January 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Geir Ólafsson | "Dagurinn í dag" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Fanney Óskarsdóttir | "Hamingjusöm" | Eliminated |
| 3 | Eyjólfur Kristjánsson & Bergsveinn Arilíusson | "Lífið" | Eliminated |
| 4 | Guðrún Árný Karlsdóttir | "Andvaka" | Advanced |
| 5 | Magni Ásgeirsson | "Flottur karl, Sæmi rokk" | Wildcard |
| 6 | Ardís Ólöf | "Eldur nýr" | Advanced |
| 7 | Sigurjón Brink | "Hjartaþrá" | Advanced |
| 8 | Heiða | "100% hamingja" | Advanced |
Semi-final 3
The third semi-final took place on 4 February 2006 and eight of the competing acts performed. The top four entries decided solely by televoting advanced to the final.[2]
As Silvía Nótt's song was available to download on the internet shortly before the third semi-final, it was decided that the top 5 songs in the third semi-final would qualify for the final.[3]
| Semi-final 3 – 4 February 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Rúna Stefánsdóttir & Brynjar Már Valdimarsson | "100%" | Advanced |
| 2 | Dísella Lárusdóttir | "Útópía" | Advanced |
| 3 | Bjartmar Þórðarson | "Á ég?" | Advanced |
| 4 | Silvía Nótt | "Til hamingju Ísland" | Advanced |
| 5 | Katy Þóra Winter | "Meðan hjartað slær" | Eliminated |
| 6 | Sólveig Samúelsdóttir | "Mig langar að hafa þig hér" | Eliminated |
| 7 | Gunnar Ólason | "Það var lagið" | Eliminated |
| 8 | Birgitta Haukdal | "Mynd af þér" | Advanced |
Final
The final took place on 18 February 2006 with the 15 qualifiers from the semi-finals competing. The winner was decided solely by televoting, and only the top 3 were announced.[4]
| Final – 18 February 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Artist | Song | Televote | Place |
| 1 | Ardís Ólöf | "Eldur nýr" | — | — |
| 2 | Edgar Smári Atlason & Þóra Gísladóttir | "Stundin – staðurinn" | — | — |
| 3 | Dísella Lárusdóttir | "Útópía" | — | 5 |
| 4 | Magni Ásgeirsson | "Flottur karl, Sæmi rokk" | — | — |
| 5 | Friðrik Ómar | "Það sem verður" | 9,942 | 3 |
| 6 | Matthías Matthíasson | "Sést það ekki á mér?" | — | — |
| 7 | Heiða | "100% hamingja" | — | — |
| 8 | Davíð Olgeirsson | "Strengjadans" | — | — |
| 9 | Guðrún Árný Karlsdóttir | "Andvaka" | — | 6 |
| 10 | Sigurjón Brink | "Hjartaþrá" | — | — |
| 11 | Silvía Nótt | "Til hamingju Ísland" | 70,190 | 1 |
| 12 | Bjartmar Þórðarson | "Á ég?" | — | — |
| 13 | Birgitta Haukdal | "Mynd af þér" | — | 4 |
| 14 | Rúna Stefánsdóttir & Brynjar Már Valdimarsson | "100%" | — | 7 |
| 15 | Regína Ósk | "Þér við hlið" | 30,018 | 2 |
Controversy
The English version of the song caused some controversy as the preview video for the song contained a swear word, even though this was not included in the official version of the lyrics. The European Broadcasting Union threatened to disqualify the entry if the offending word was included in the live performance , and although Silvía used it in the rehearsals, she dropped it for the live performance.
At Eurovision
In Athens, Iceland was eliminated in the semifinal, finishing in 13th place with 62 points and Silvía Night was booed off the stage.
Points awarded by Iceland
Semi final
|
Final
|
.svg.png){kind=small}
Points awarded to Iceland
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
%3B_Flag_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro_(2003%E2%80%932006).svg.png){kind=small}
References
- "24 lög frá 18 höfundum í forvali Söngvakeppninnar". Morgunblaðið. 13 December 2005.
- "Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2006 • semi-finals".
- "ICELANDIC SEMI-FINALS 2006".
- "ICELANDIC NATIONAL FINAL 2006".