Iceland is back with Söngvakeppnin for another week. Join me Richard, as we discover who’ll progress from Semi Final Two. You know the drill by now – just refresh this page every so often and follow the goings ons of the second show in this National Selection.

You can watch the shown HERE.

Refresh from 20:45CET

And we are LIVE as the hosts take to the stage. We have a run down of tonight’s artists and their voting numbers. The vote is purely public and no jury is involved in choosing the three going through to the final.

Let’s get to it. One of these six songs could represent Iceland and bring the Eurovision Song Contest home to the island.

1 – Aron Hannes – Golddigger/Gold digger

Oh, this sounds very familiar! Do we have a same tune with different lyrics – I’m getting slightly suspect. I do like it as it’s a lively start a stage for of dancers. Aron Hannes is dressed a la US Baseball get up. The lighting and backdrop creates a nice white and orange diamond/geometric type design.

2 – Rakel Pálsdóttir – Óskin mín/My wish

Rachel is dressed in a simple pale pink wrap around dress. The stage is draped by white curtains at the back, which adds into the classical/heritage sound of the song. This is a very sweet and inoffensive song – however one that would easily get lost amongst others in Lisbon. We do have a key change and Rakel gets up on her feet – but too little, too late sadly.

3 – Stefanía Svavarsdóttir, Agnes Marinósdóttir & Regína Lilja Magnúsdóttir – Svaka stuð/Heart attack

Glitter ball alert! So we have Iceland’s idea of a girl group – sadly we have some more maturer women making a good attempt. Lighting is disco-esque. While I want to praise such a good attempt from these ladies, I am finding it all slightly off tune – nothing wrong with the dancing side of things though. The crowd are going mad however!?!?

We are now in the Green Room as we mark the half way stage of tonight’s participants performing for the Icelandic vote.

After an advert break included, we are now back!

4 – Guðmundur Þórarinsson – Brosa

Already hearing mentions of Social Media brands – the EBU won’t be happy. The stage is set as a jamming lounge and works well with standing tall lamps. There is something special in this performance and I just can’t put my finger on it – this has to be a qualifier for the final for sure!

5 – Dagur Sigurðarson – Í stormi/Saviour

Oh we have a very dark and cloudy stage with jumping camera effects – are we expecting a storm? I would describe I stormi as a hard metal/ballad genre mash up. The whole overall effect reminds me of Rasmus from Eesti Laul last year. It’s hard not to enjoy this entry as it does grab you from the start and is surely another finalist.

6 – Áttan – Hér með þér/Here for you

We have 3D geometric back projection now. This is slightly street and harks back to the mid 90’s a la Love City Groove (United Kingdom, 1995). While I see this entry also as inoffensive and maybe more youth orientated, this is another that will easily get lost amongst the crowd in Lisbon.

For some reason, Aron Hannes is getting another run. I did suspect sound issues during the first performance so this is only fair.

We are now back in the Green Room as the voting opens for the Icelandic public to pick their three finalists. For me, it’d have to be songs 4 and 5, with 1 taking the final spot.

After a recap of the entries, we have gone to an advert break. We return from the advert break and are treated to another voting recap!

It’s time for the interval act… And it’s an Icelandic interpretation of The Netherland’s Calm After The Storm from 2014 – featuring a more maturer Silvia Night amongst others.

Another two voting recaps later and the lines are still open!!! Back to the advertisements.

The voting is closed – through to the final are:

• Aron Hannes – Golddigger/Gold digger
• Áttan – Hér með þér/Here for you
• Dagur Sigurðarson – Í stormi/Saviour

Do you agree with the finalists picked this week? Let us know below in the comments or on any of our Social Media feeds.

Author: Richard Taylor

Source: Eurovision Ireland