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Tonight is the first Semi-Final of Söngvakeppnin 2019 live from
Háskólabíó!

10 acts will compete in tonight’s Semi-Final:

1. Hatari – Hatrið mun sigra (Hate will prevail)
2. Hera Björk – Eitt andartak (One moment)
3. Kristina Skoubo Bærendsen – Ég á mig sjálf (I own myself)
4. Þórdís Imsland – Nú og hér (Now and here)
5. Daníel Óliver – Samt ekki (Not yet)

Two acts will qualify from each semi-final, so tonight we’ll have our first 2 finalists! The decision of who will qualify will be based on the votes of the jury and the public, 50% each.

Get comfortable, with a drink and a snack (maybe a blanket and some tissues?) and let your own Mr. B from Eurovision Ireland entertain you with his comments. As I don’t know Icelandic, my judgment will be solely on the performance and the feeling I get from each and every song.

You might know the drill by now: To see updates on this live blog, just refresh this page!

You can watch the RUV online here

LIVE BLOG STARTS HERE

Good evening Europe! Mr. B is here with you so be sure to refresh for updates. We will begin shortly. We don’t have a ‘zero gravity’ here, but surely this Semi will be interesting!

And we’re finally live folks! A blue stage with lots of blue cubes …

Tonight’s show is presented by Fannar Sveinsson, Benedikt Valsson, and Björg Magnúsdóttir. Don’t they look fit?

Without much introduction, we’re straight to song number 1

Hatari – Hatrið mun sigra (Hate will prevail)

The group’s presentation takes place in a gym, where all the members of Hatari are wearing blue tracksuits.

A hard-rock-pop song from Hatari. Very visual and I feel like in a trance. Black and white latex and hypnotic voices. I can’t really describe what I’ve heard, but the public seemed to have enjoyed it. Was definitely something I haven’t seen before. A game of master-slaves?

Þórdís Imsland – Nú og hér (Now and here)

Well, that’s definitely a change! From the intense performance that we’ve seen on the first act tonight to the innocence of Imsland. She almost seemed to innocent in a world long lost. But having said that, I’ve enjoyed her performance. Simple and peaceful… Reminded me of Loin d’ici, but not as pleasant.

Daníel Óliver – Samt ekki (Not yet)

Daniel’s song sounds quite Melodifestivalen-ish, but I’m not quite convinced by his vocals or dancers. It needs more power. Someone help him with more backing-vocalists because this is actually not bad. I’ve enjoyed the song and the background was very inspired.

We’re now on a small break in the Green room. I must admit it all seems on a smaller scale than I remembered.

First ad from Iceland: coffee – yes please!

Kristina Skoubo Bærendsen – Ég á mig sjálf (I own myself)

A song with a 70’s sound and with a Bond movie vibe. I’m tapping my feet to the sound. And by the way, doesn’t she look like Cortney Act? Go girl! A shiny outfit, girls dancing, cool tune. It might have a chance…

Hera Björk – Eitt andartak (One moment)

Je ne sais quoi, but the beginning of this song reminds me of ‘One Night Only’. Hera needs no gimmicks; she’s alone on the stage, dressed in black and the focus is only on her and what she’s singing. I love Hera, but I’m not a big fan of this ballad. Having said that, you can’t fault her performance. Hera delivered!

Those were our five songs of the night. It pains me to say, but I can’t say I’ve seen a wow song/performance.

I would put through to the final Daniel and Kristina, but I think Hatari has a chance as well.

I suppose it’s the time to vote now as we are again on another ad break.

Who do you want to qualify? Do you have any favourites?

We’re now shown another recap of all the songs that we’ve heard tonight. I hope Daniel qualifies.

I love the Icelandic language. I don’t understand it, but in the last minute, I thought I’ve heard f*k three times. You can’t help but smile.

And they are eating popcorn. Give me some!

Time for another recap.

Now we’re treated to an Icelandic version of ‘To Love Somebody’ (originally by Bee Gees)

And again a recap; I have a feeling Hatari will have the support of the public.

I hope soon we’ll find out the results. For five songs we shouldn’t have hours of suspense.

The first act to qualify is:
Hera Björk – Eitt andartak (One moment)

The second act to qualify for the final is:

Hatari – Hatrið mun sigra (Hate will prevail)

Congratulations to both qualifiers! For the rest, there might still be a chance as a wildcard, but that will be decided later on.

Thank you all for reading! You are awesome!

Good night and see you soon!

Author: Bogdan-Stefan Fedeles

Source: RUV