Bobbysocks is a Norwegian pop duo consisting of Norwegian Hanne Krogh and Swedish-Norwegian Elisabeth Andreassen. They won the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with the song "La det swinge". Elisabeth went by the surname Andreasson until 1994.
Kate Gulbrandsen is a Norwegian singer. In 1986 she represented Norway at the Yamaha Song Festival in Tokyo with the song "Carnival". She won the Norwegian national final Melodi Grand Prix 1987 in a very close regional vote, giving her the opportunity to compete for Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 1987 with the song "Mitt liv", written by Rolf Løvland and Hanne Krogh. She went on to place ninth overall.
Iceland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 35 times since its debut in 1986, missing only two contests since then, in 1998 and 2002, when prevented from competing due to finishing outside qualification places the preceding years. The country's best result is second place, which it achieved with Selma in 1999 and Yohanna in 2009. The Icelandic broadcaster for the contest is Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), which also broadcasts Iceland's national selection competition, Söngvakeppnin.
Hanne Krogh is a Norwegian singer and actress from Haugesund and Oslo. Krogh is among the most selling record artists in Norway ever and is internationally well known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with Elisabeth Andreassen in the group Bobbysocks!.
"La det swinge" is a Norwegian-language song by the pop duo Bobbysocks!. It was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 and Norway's first victory in the contest. The song is a tribute to dancing to old rock 'n' roll heard on the radio. Befitting the subject matter, the song itself is written in an old-fashioned style, with a memorable saxophone melody starting the song. The melody arrangement is in retro style, containing elements of contemporary 1980s music and throwbacks to the 1950s. Following their win, the single peaked at number one in the Norwegian and Belgian singles chart, and entered the charts in various countries, including Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Eiríkur Hauksson is an Icelandic heavy metal vocalist. He represented Iceland at Eurovision in 1986 and in 2007.
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "Valentine Lost" written by Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson and Peter Fenner. The song was performed by Eiríkur Hauksson. Eiríkur Hauksson previously represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 as part of the group ICY and Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 as part of the group Just 4 Fun, placing sixteenth and seventeenth with the songs "Gleðibankinn" and "Mrs. Thompson", respectively. The Icelandic entry for the 2007 contest in Helsinki, Finland was selected through the national final Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2007, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). The selection consisted of three semi-finals and a final, held on 20 January, 27 January, 3 February and 17 February 2007, respectively. Eight songs competed in each semi-final with the top three as selected by a public televote advancing to the final. In the final, "Ég les í lófa þínum" performed by Eiríkur Hauksson emerged as the winner exclusively through public televoting. The song was later translated from Icelandic to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Valentine Lost".
ICY was a vocal trio consisting of Pálmi Gunnarsson, Helga Möller and Eiríkur Hauksson. They were the first Icelandic entrants to the Eurovision Song Contest, appearing at the 1986 final in Bergen. Their entry, "Gleðibankinn", placed 16th.
Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson is an Icelandic songwriter, music producer, and medical doctor, best known for having composed two Eurovision Song Contest entries for Iceland, "Heaven" by Jónsi in 2004 and "Valentine Lost" by Eiríkur Hauksson in 2007. He has also composed music for Chinese action film Wings Over Everest.
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "This Is My Life" written by Örlygur Smári, Paul Oscar and Peter Fenner. The song was performed by the duo Euroband. Songwriter Paul Oscar represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997 with the song "Minn hinsti dans" where he placed twentieth in the competition. The Icelandic entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia was selected through the national final Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2008, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). The selection consisted of eleven heats, a Second Chance round, four semi-finals and a final, held between 6 October 2007 and 23 February 2008. Eight songs ultimately competed in the final, where "This Is My Life" performed by Eurobandið emerged as the winner exclusively through public televoting. The duo was renamed as Euroband for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Söngvakeppnin is an annual music competition organised by Icelandic public broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Aunt Mary is a Norwegian prog rock band from the 1970s.
Iceland was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, held in Bergen, Norway. It was the first time Iceland was represented in the contest. While the country had satellite television contact from other nations since 1981, Iceland was not able to connect to other European nations by satellite before the end of 1985, meaning that 1986 was the first year Iceland could send a delegation to the Eurovision Song Contest.
Jan Leonard Groth was a Norwegian musician.
Melodi Grand Prix, the Norwegian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, began in 1960, the year of Norway's debut in the contest. It has been held almost every year since.
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with the song "Angel" written by Einar Bárðarson and Magnús Þór Sigmundsson. The song was performed by the duo Two Tricky. The Icelandic entry for the 2001 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark was selected through the national final Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2001, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). Eight songs competed in the selection which was held on 17 February 2001. "Birta" performed by Kristján Gíslason and Gunnar Ólason emerged as the winner exclusively through public televoting. The song was later translated from Icelandic to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Angel", while the duo was renamed as Two Tricky.
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2000 with the song "Tell Me!" written by Örlygur Smári and Sigurður Örn Jónsson. The song was performed by August and Telma, which are the artistic names of singers Einar Ágúst Víðisson and Telma Ágústsdóttir. The Icelandic entry for the 2000 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2000, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). Five songs competed in the selection which was held on 26 February 2000. "Hvert sem er" performed by Einar Ágúst Víðisson and Telma Ágústsdóttir emerged as the winner exclusively through public televoting. The song was later translated from Icelandic to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Tell Me!".
Norway was represented by 15-year-old Hanne Krogh, with the song "Lykken er", at the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 3 April in Dublin. "Lykken er" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi Grand Prix on 20 February.
Ingó og Veðurguðirnir is an Icelandic musical formation made up of Ingó as main vocalist and acoustic guitar player with Maggi (guitar), Eyþór (bass) and Óskar (drums).
Iceland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Unbroken" written by Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson and María Ólafsdóttir. The song was performed by María Ólafs. The Icelandic entry for the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria was selected through the national final Söngvakeppnin 2015, organised by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV). The selection consisted of two semi-finals and a final, held on 31 January, 7 February and 14 February 2015, respectively. Six songs competed in each semi-final with the top three as selected by a public televote alongside a jury wildcard advancing to the final. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting: the first involved a 50/50 combination of jury voting and public televoting, which reduced the seven competing entries to two superfinalists and the second round selected the winner exclusively through public televoting. "Unbroken" performed by María Ólafs emerged as the winner after gaining 55.89% of the public vote.
