Introduction

• Participant(s): Daði og Gagnamagnið
• Song: 10 Years
  
• Writer(s): Daði Freyr Pétursson
  
• Composer(s): Daði Freyr Pétursson
• Broadcaster: RÚV
• Social media:           
  
• Team review: 

For Iceland it’s the 33rd participation at the Eurovision Song Contest. For Daði and his band Gagnamagnið it is the second chance. Last year they have won clearly the Icelandic national final “Söngvakeppnin” with 60% of the televotes. The song “Thing About Things” has become an internet hit. The song has been streamed over seventy million times on Spotify! Furthermore it reached various charts in the UK, Sweden and Ireland. Even Hollywood super star Russel Crowe liked this song and posted it on Twitter, this has also helped to promote this dance song all over the world. Many people believed that this song would have won the ESC.

Daði Freyr Pétursson was born in Reykjavik in 1992. He spent his childhood in Denmark, returned to Iceland and lives in Berlin since 2014, where is studied music production. Daði composes his own songs “Seinni tíma vandamál”  and has performed in different bands like Mixophyrgian . In 2017 Daði participated in the Icelandic national final Söngvakeppnin with the song “Hvað með það”  and made the second place.

This year there has not been a national final, Daði & Gagnamagnið have been directly nominated by the Icelandic broadcaster RÚV. The new song “10 Years” is a love song which is dedicated to his wife Árný Fjóla, who is also a member of the band.

For all the singers, who are having another chance this year, as last year has been cancelled, the big task is to have a better song than last year. Well, it’s always a matter of taste and Daði & Gagnamagnið new song appears a bit more adult. By the way it’s exactly the style of music Daði is always known for, a mix of electro and pop, danceable and with a funny twist.

Love takes some time,
takes a little time so take a little time
As it ages like wine
How does it keep getting better
Everyday our love finds a new way to grow

The unique outfit of the band with pullovers with the band’s own faces is clever and brilliant at the same time a bit of Berlin in the 1980’s. The choreography has a certain retro style as well.
Again, Iceland will be handled as one of the favourites, together with Lithuania. Will this kind of groovy and funny disco music be liked the most? There is still a certain chance that Iceland could win with his entry, as Daði & Gagnamagnið have become so popular and a lot of people would like to watch this entry live. Good luck Daði & Gagnamagnið from Iceland!

History

• Debut: 1986
• Participations: 33
• Victories: 0
• Finals: 25
• Top 10: 6
• Chance for Top 10: 18%
• Chances for Final: 53%

The Icelanders have always followed the ESC with great enthusiasm, it was broadcasted a long time ago in Iceland, but they had to wait until 1986 when the technical preconditions were ready for a live transmission. So Iceland made its debut with "Gleðibankinn" by the group Icy. This song has already become a cult entry and it's being sung on almost every Eurovision party, especially in Iceland. Great to see that Iceland has become a solid contender with great energy and good songs.

Iceland was able to reach the final 25 times and reached the Top10 six times! The chances to reach one of the Top10 places are 18% and to reach the Grand Final is at 53% (since 2004). Two times Iceland has made the fabulous second place in 1999 and 2009. In recent years Iceland was quite successful and reached the Grand Finals, but this cannot be taken for granted. Last time 2019 the hard core song “Hatrið mun sigra” by Hatari made a great 10th place in the Grand Final, while the four years before there was no qualification possible.

The most fascinating fact is that the creativity in this small country with about 330.000 inhabitants so enormously high and that music from Iceland has become really popular worldwide. The most popular Icelandic singers in general are Björk, Sigur Rós, Mezzoforte and GusGus (better known as Daníel Augúst Haraldsson, who sang “Það Sem Enginn Sér” in Lausanne 1989).

Biggest successes

• 2x 2nd place
  “All Out Of Luck” |Selma Björnsdóttir (Jerusalem 1999)
  “Is It True?” |Yohanna (Moscow 2009)
• 1x 4th place
  “Eit Lag Enn” |Stjórnin (Zagreb 1990)

Video Nostalgia

• “Gleðibankinn” | Icy
  Rank 16, Bergen 1986
  
• “Núna” | Bó Halldórsson
  Rank 15, Dublin 1995
  
• “Open Your Heart” | Birgitta
  Rank 8, Riga 2003