This weekend, Iceland begin their search for their artist and song for Eurovision 2025 with the return of Söngvakeppnin!
For the semi finals, all the artists must perform their songs in Icelandic. There are 5 artists in each semi, with 2 qualifying for the final – they will then get to decide which language they would like to perform their entry in. For this article, we have linked both the Icelandic and English versions of the songs.
With that being said, let’s meet the 5 artists in semi final 1!
Stebbi Jak – ‘Frelsið Mitt’
Stebbi Jak (Stefán Jakobsson) is an Icelandic rock singer living in Mývatnsveit. He released his first solo album ‘JAK’ in 2022, but is far from a new artist on the scene. He is the lead vocalist of Rock/Metal band DIMMA, who were formed in 2004. The group have released 6 albums to critical acclaim, with 4 of these going to #1 on the Icelandic album charts. According to their Spotify, their sound reflects “the long dark winters of Iceland” and “melancholic glory”.
Stebbi enters Söngvakeppnin alone with ‘Frelsið Mitt’, or ‘Set Me Free’ in English. He says the song is about freedom, which you can hear in Icelandic below – or click here for the English version!
BIRGO – ‘Ég flýg í storminn’
Rising star BIRGO says she has been singing her whole life, and now she takes the biggest step yet in her career by taking part in Söngvakeppnin 2025. She used to make music under her real name Birgitta Ólafsdóttir, releasing music under this name from 2020 up until last year – changing to the stage name BIRGO for Iceland’s national final.
Her entry ‘is called ‘Ég flýg í storminn’, and whilst she does have an English version available – ‘Stormchaser’, which you can listen to here and was the original language the song was written in – she told the Building Bridges podcast she and her team are unsure whether they’ll use this version if she makes the final – potentially keeping it in Icelandic or making a mixture of both versions. You can hear her song below!
Ágúst – ‘Eins og þú”
Húsavik resident Ágúst is a footballer turned singer, who has been creating his own solo music since the start of the 2020s. He’s been touring for the last year with Stuðlabandið, but will stepping onto the stage alone for Söngvakeppnin. ‘Eins og þú’ is an upbeat pop song, and in English is known as ‘Like You’, which you can hear by clicking here – or, listen to the Icelandic version below!
BIA – ‘Norðurljós’
BIA is a new name on the Icelandic music scene, only releasing her first single back in June 2023. She’s 24 years old and spoke of how blessed she is to be taking part in Söngvakeppnin on her Instagram, where she also posts covers. Her entry is called ‘Norðurljós‘ which you can hear below, or click here to listen to the English version ‘Northern Lights’.
Væb – ‘Róa’
Returning to Söngvakeppnin and performing last this week is duo Væb. You may remember them from last years contest with the song ‘Biómynd’ (‘Movie Scene’). Consisting of members Matthias and Hálfdán, they began releasing music in 2022 – including their debut album ‘VÆB TEKK’. Their most recent work is the 2024 EP ‘VÆBAUER’, which they made in collaboration with Ingi Bauer.
Their entry this year is an electronic track called ‘Róa’. The current run away favourite in the odds, it seems like they plan to keep this song fully in Icelandic as their is no English version this time around – so, you can hear ‘Róa’ below!
You can watch the first semi final on RÚV at 19:45 GMT // 20:45 CET.
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