About Iceland...

2006 Result
History (1956 to 2005)
This year's entry
What I predicted...
What you thought...
What actually happened...
What the bookies thought...

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2006 Result

Points in Semi Final: 62
Position in Semi Final: 13th

Points in Final: Failed to qualify
Position in Final: Failed to qualify
More about the 2006 result for Iceland

2007 Contest: Must compete in Semi Final

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History (1956 to 2005)

Iceland's previous appearances: 18 year(s) out of 50 [note]
Years participated: 1986-1997; 1999-2001; 2003- [note]
Best result: 2nd (1999)

For many years, Iceland's record at Eurovision was unimpressive, 4th place in 1990 the best result from its twelve efforts between 1986 and 1997. The country's first enforced absence due to relegation, in 1998, appeared to give Iceland the boost it needed, charging back in 1999 with the catchy 'All out of luck'. Selma's 2nd place promptly gave Iceland its best ever result, beaten only by Sweden's Charlotte Nilsson with what was, arguably, a less impressive song. After that, Iceland stuck to powerful, uptempo songs, with variable results - while 2000's 'Tell me!' finished a mid-table 12th, 2001's 'Angel' inexplicably (I rather liked it) scored only 3 points and ended up last. After another relegation-enduced absence, Iceland bounced back with a slice of Selma-lite in 2003. Birgitta's energetic performance of 'Open your heart' was always likely to finish strongly; while its creditable 8th place was enough to secure Iceland's participation in the 2004 Final, the country's first victory remained elusive. in 2004, Jonsi's beautiful ballad - 'Heaven' - promised great things; however, a disappointing live performance on the night failed to do justice to a stunning song, its 19th place meaning that Iceland had to participate in the Semi Final in 2005.

Eurovision fans were delighted when it was announced that Selma would once again represent Iceland in 2005 - a chance for her to secure the victory that had so narrowly eluded her six years earlier. The choice of song also boded well, with 'If I had your love' coming across as a strong and very contemporary track, and most people assumed that Selma would qualify for the Final fairly easily. On the night, her vocal was good, certainly on a par with the one that secured her 2nd place in the 1999 Contest, and the visual presentation - if a little busy - seemed appropriate to the song. However, it was not enough - in one of the biggest shocks of the evening, Iceland ended the Semi Final in a disappointing 16th place with 52 points, and thus missed out on reaching the Final. In 2006, Iceland must therefore once again take part in the Semi Final if it is to stand a chance of progressing any further.
Get 'The Eurovision Song Contest: The Offical History' at Amazon.co.uk

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This year's entry

Position in Semi Final draw: 23
Position in Final draw: Failed to qualify

What I said prior to the Semi Final:
"Since Guildo Horn clambered all over the set at the 1998 Contest in Birmingham, no Eurovision has been complete without at least one entry that features humour, novelty or both. This year's contribution comes courtesy of Iceland, with a song that manages to namecheck Eurovision, the country (Iceland) and even the name of the artist (Silvía Nótt). While mentioning one or the other of these is nothing new at Eurovision, I suspect that this is the first time all three have featured in a single song. To add to the novelty, Silvía Nótt is not even a real person, but the outrageous and outspoken alter ego of actress Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir. Picking up a staggering 70% of the votes in the Icelandic National Final, Silvía's winning song - 'Til hamingju Ísland' - is certainly unlike anything we have ever seen or heard at Eurovision before, with lyrics - written by Erlendsdóttir/Nótt herself, and translated from the original Icelandic below - that have unsurprisingly caused quite a stir:

Hey you! Really cool!
I wanna talk with you.
I'm Silvía Nótt shining in the light.
I know you're longing for me.
I'm born in Reykjavik, talented, no village freak.
I know I'm gonna win the f***ing final.
All the other songs have lost.

Congratulations Iceland, that I was born here.
I'm Silvía Nótt, and you support me.
Eurovision Nation will have a fit when I come along.
I'm born to win this, walk over it.

Cool, cool, cool.

Nice song, really cool, nothing 90s disgust.
It's cool, okay, it isn't gay, I'm here to stay.
The other bitches have spots, but I'm a virgin.
You love me. You worship me.
But again it sucks.

Congratulations Iceland, that I was born here.
I'm Silvía Nótt, and you support me.
Eurovision Nation will have a fit when I come along.
I'm born to win this, walk over it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Iceland. Congratulations Iceland. Congratulations Iceland.
Congratulations Iceland...

Congratulations Iceland, that I was born here.
I'm Silvía Nótt, and you support me.
Eurovision Nation will have a fit when I come along.
I'm born to win this, walk over it.

Reading the translated lyrics, it would be easy to dismiss ''Til hamingju Ísland' as a joke, but hearing the song in Icelandic for the first time it does in fact come across as surprisingly strong and credible. Indeed, the composer is Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson, responsible for Selma's 2005 entry 'If I had your love', and where that song seemed to draw inspiration from James Bond, this year's effort owes something to 1980s pop-rock, with more than a hint of Cyndi Lauper or Paula Abdul in the song's structure, delivery and presentation.

Earlier, I noted that "the balance between credibility and novelty is a precarious one, and I feel that 'Til hamingju Ísland' may well fare better if it remains in Icelandic for Eurovision; lyrics in English, unless they were significantly toned down, would be too 'in your face' and would surely make it much harder to appreciate 'Til hamingju Ísland' as a rather good quality song in its own right". It is now evident that the song WILL be performed in English at Eurovision, under the title 'Congratulations', and the lyrics are indeed toned down from their Icelandic equivalent. The whole thing does work surprisingly well in English, and I think that Iceland may well have made the right decision after all. Interestingly, even Silvía's name has been anglicised, with 'Nótt' becoming 'Night' - it's a barely detectable change, but one that conveniently allows Silvía to rhyme her name with 'light' and 'bright'. This must surely be the first Eurovision entry ever where a performer's name has been changed in order to better fit with the song's lyrics! "

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What I predicted...

My prediction for Semi Final: 2nd to 4th
My prediction for Final: Definite qualifier; 18th to 20th
See all my predictions for the 2006 Semi Final
See all my predictions for the 2006 Final

What I predicted prior to the Semi Final:
"To start with I really wasn't sure what might happen to the Icelandic song in Athens - would it strike a chord with the televoters, or would no-one get it? However, two important things have happened. First, the translation into English has, in my view, greatly enhanced this song's chances, despite my fears to the contrary before hearing it. Second, it has the perfect draw, with Silvía bringing the Semi Final to a lively and memorable close. So, as is often the case for Marmite songs - ones that you either love or hate - I think the polls may well be underestimating the Icelandic chances of success. For me, it's a definite qualifier, as long as Silvia's diva-esque antics in Athens don't alienate everyone in the same way as t.A.T.u did three years ago; reports of booing at the first dress rehearsal certainly suggest that Silvia's colourful attitude and language has gone down like a lead balloon in Athens.

Interestingly, the Soult.com Eurovision Jury Vote 2006 suggests that Iceland may pick up enough points from enough countries to make it through to the Final, but will then struggle against the higher calibre of competition. This reflects my own thoughts, and I do think that Iceland could be this year's Re-union (Netherlands, 2004) - benefiting from performing last in the Semi Final, before slumping to a much less impressive result on Saturday. "
Want an alternative prediction? See Simon Hylands' 'Je t'adore, Eurovision!' site

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What you thought...

View the final leader board

In the run up to the Contest, 1,721 visitors to this site awarded points to their favourite songs in the Soult.com Eurovision Jury Vote 2006, voting as a representative of their own country's 'jury'. The votes awarded by representatives of each country were totalled, with each of the 38 participating countries (plus the 'Rest of the World') then awarding points - 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - based on the overall voting preference of its representatives. The points awarded to the entry from Iceland are shown in the tables below:

Points awarded to Iceland overall:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	0	ES	0
AD	0	CY	0	IS	X	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	1	DK	4	IE	2	MD	0	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	0	IL	2	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	7	LV	4	NL	3	CS	0	UA	0
BA	0	FR	0	LT	4	NO	7	SI	0	UK	2
BG	0	DE	0	WO	0	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: 36, from 10/39 juries
Position: 18 out of 37

Points awarded to Iceland in the Semi Final:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	4	ES	0
AD	0	CY	0	IS	X	MT	1	PT	0	SE	0
AM	5	DK	7	IE	8	MD	2	RO	0	CH	6
BY	0	EE	4	IL	8	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	1	FI	10	LV	7	NL	6	CS	4	UA	0
BA	1	FR	3	LT	7	NO	7	SI	5	UK	7
BG	0	DE	0	WO	0	Last updated: 18 May 2006 Next scheduled update: None
Total points: 103, from 20/39 juries
Position: 7 out of 23

Points awarded to Iceland in the Final:
AL	0	HR	0	GR	0	MK	0	PL	1	ES	0
AD	0	CY	0	IS	X	MT	0	PT	0	SE	0
AM	2	DK	4	IE	2	MD	1	RO	0	CH	0
BY	0	EE	0	IL	2	MC	0	RU	0	TR	0
BE	0	FI	7	LV	5	NL	3	CS