Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2007 was the national final format developed by RÚV in order to select Iceland’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. The four shows in the competition were hosted by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and all took place at the BaseCamp Studio in Reykjavík. The semi-finals and final were broadcast on RÚV and online at the broadcaster’s official website ruv.is.
Format
Twenty-four songs in total competed in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2007 where the winner was determined after three semi-finals and a final. Eight songs competed in each semi-final on 20 January, 27 January and 3 February 2007. The top three songs from each semi-final qualified to the final which took place on 3 February 2007. The results of the semi-finals and final were determined by 100% public televoting. All songs were required to be performed in Icelandic during all portions of the competition, however, it will be up to the winning composers to decide the language that will be performed at the Eurovision Song Contest in Helsinki.
Competing entries
On 21 October 2006, RÚV opened the submission period for interested songwriters to submit their entries until the deadline on 16 November 2006. Songwriters were required to be Icelandic, possess Icelandic citizenship or have permanent residency in Iceland by 1 October 2006, and had the right to submit up to three entries. At the close of the submission deadline, 188 entries were received. A selection committee was formed in order to select the top twenty-four entries. The twenty-four competing artists and songs were revealed by the broadcaster on 15 January 2007. Among the competing artists were previous Icelandic Eurovision entrants Eiríkur Hauksson, who represented Iceland and Norway in 1986 and 1991 as part of ICY and Just 4 Fun, respectively, and Jónsi, who represented Iceland in 2004. Matthías Matthíasson was initially announced as the performer of the song „Eldur“, however, RÚV announced on the same day that his song would be performed by Friðrik Ómar Hjörleifsson instead.
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
| Aðalheiður Ólafsdóttir | „Enginn eins og þú“ | Kristján Hreinsson, Roland Hartwell |
| Alexander Aron Guðbjartsson | „Villtir skuggar“ | Kristján Hreinsson, Gunnar Jóhannsson |
| Andri Bergmann | „Bjarta brosið“ | Kristján Hreinsson, Torfa Ólafsson |
| Bergþór Smári | „Þú gafst mér allt“ | Bergþór Smári |
| Bríet Sunna Valdemarsdóttir | „Blómabörn“ | Magnús Þór Sigmundsson |
| Davíð Smári Harðarsson | „Leiðin liggur heim“ | Kristján Hreinsson, Elvar Gottskálksson |
| Eiríkur Hauksson | „Ég les í lófa þínum“ | Kristján Hreinsson, Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson |
| Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir | „Örlagadís“ | Roland Hartwell, Kristján Hreinsson |
| Finnur Jóhannsson | „Allt eða ekki neitt“ | Torfa Ólafsson, Eðvarð Lárusson, Þorkel Olgeirsson |
| Friðrik Ómar Hjörleifsson | „Eldur“ | Ingibjörg Gunnarsdóttir, Grétar Örvarsson, Kristján Grétarsson |
| Guðrún Lísa | „Eitt símtal í burtu“ | Roland Hartwell, Kristján Hreinsson |
| Hafsteinn Þórólfsson | „Þú tryllir mig“ | Hafsteinn Þórólfsson, Hannes Pál Pálsson |
| Helgi Rafn Ingvarsson | „Vetur“ | Magnús Guðmann Jónsson |
| Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir | „Mig dreymdi“ | Ingólf Steinsson, Oskar Guðnason |
| Hjalti Ómar Ágústsson | „Fyrir þig“ | Torfa Ólafsson, Þorkel Olgeirsson |
| Hljómsveitin Von | „Ég hef fengið nóg“ | Ellert H. Jóhansson, Gunnar I. Sigurðsson, Sigurður Björnsson, Sigurpáll Aðalsteinsson, Sorin M. Lazar, Magnús Þór Sigmundsson |
| Hreimur Heimisson | „Draumur“ | Kristján Hreinsson, Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson |
| Jónsi | „Segðu mér“ | Trausta Bjarnason, Ragnheiði Bjarnsdóttir |
| Matthías Matthíasson | „Húsin hafa augu“ | Þormar Ingimarsson, Kristján Hreinsson |
| Ragnheiður Eiríksdóttir | „Ég og heilinn minn“ | Ragnheiður Eiriksdóttir, Gunnar L. Herlmarsson |
| Richard Scobie | „Dásamleg raun“ | Bergstein Björgúlfsson |
| Sigurjón Brink | „Áfram“ | Sigurjón Brink, Bryndís Sunna Valdimarsdóttir, Jóhannes Ásbjörnsson |
| Snorri Snorrason | „Orðin komu aldrei“ | Kristján Hreinsson, Óskar Guðnason |
| Soffía Karlsdóttir | „Júnínótt“ | Ómar Ragnarsson |
Shows
Semi-finals
The three semi-finals took place on 20 January, 27 January and 3 February 2007. In each semi-final eight acts presented their entries, and the top two entries voted upon solely by public televoting proceeded to the final.
Semi-final 1 – 20 January 2007
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Bríet Sunna Valdemarsdóttir | „Blómabörn“ | Advanced |
| 2 | Snorri Snorrason | „Orðin komu aldrei“ | Eliminated |
| 3 | Aðalheiður Ólafsdóttir | „Enginn eins og þú“ | Eliminated |
| 4 | Finnur Jóhannsson | „Allt eða ekki neitt“ | Eliminated |
| 5 | Sigurjón Brink | „Áfram“ | Advanced |
| 6 | Bergþór Smári | „Þú gafst mér allt“ | Eliminated |
| 7 | Hreimur Heimisson | „Draumur“ | Eliminated |
| 8 | Matthías Matthíasson | „Húsin hafa augu“ | Advanced |
Semi-final 2 – 27 January 2007
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Hljómsveitin Von | „Ég hef fengið nóg“ | Eliminated |
| 2 | Richard Scobie | „Dásamleg raun“ | Eliminated |
| 3 | Friðrik Ómar Hjörleifsson | „Eldur“ | Advanced |
| 4 | Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir | „Mig dreymdi“ | Eliminated |
| 5 | Jónsi | „Segðu mér“ | Advanced |
| 6 | Guðrún Lísa | „Eitt símtal í burtu“ | Eliminated |
| 7 | Hjalti Ómar Ágústsson | „Fyrir þig“ | Eliminated |
| 8 | Eiríkur Hauksson | „Ég les í lófa þínum“ | Advanced |
Semi-final 3 – 3 February 2007
| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 1 | Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir | „Örlagadís“ | Eliminated |
| 2 | Alexander Aron Guðbjartsson | „Villtir skuggar“ | Eliminated |
| 3 | Soffía Karlsdóttir | „Júnínótt“ | Eliminated |
| 4 | Davíð Smári Harðarsson | „Leiðin liggur heim“ | Eliminated |
| 5 | Andri Bergmann | „Bjarta brosið“ | Advanced |
| 6 | Helgi Rafn Ingvarsson | „Vetur“ | Eliminated |
| 7 | Ragnheiður Eiríksdóttir | „Ég og heilinn minn“ | Advanced |
| 8 | Hafsteinn Þórólfsson | „Þú tryllir mig“ | Advanced |
Final
The final took place on 17 February 2007 where the nine entries that qualified from the preceding three semi-finals competed. The winner, „Ég les í lófa þínum“ performed Eiríkur Hauksson, was determined solely by televoting. In addition to the performances of the competing artists, the interval act featured guest performances by Mihai Trăistariu, who represented Romania at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest with the song „Tornerò“.
Final – 17 February 2007
| Draw | Artist | Song | Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Friðrik Ómar Hjörleifsson | „Eldur“ | 2 |
| 2 | Ragnheiður Eiríksdóttir | „Ég og heilinn minn“ | 5 |
| 3 | Andri Bergmann | „Bjarta brosið“ | 7 |
| 4 | Eiríkur Hauksson | „Ég les í lófa þínum“ | 1 |
| 5 | Bríet Sunna Valdemarsdóttir | „Blómabörn“ | 8 |
| 6 | Matthías Matthíasson | „Húsin hafa augu“ | 4 |
| 7 | Jónsi | „Segðu mér“ | 9 |
| 8 | Hafsteinn Þórólfsson | „Þú tryllir mig“ | 3 |
| 9 | Sigurjón Brink | „Áfram“ | 6 |
Preparation
On 12 March 2007, it was announced that „Ég les í lófa þínum“ would be performed in English at the Eurovision Song Contest and would be titled „Valentine Lost“ with lyrics by Peter Fenner. The official music video for the song was released on 15 March 2007.
Eiríkur Hauksson previously represented Iceland in ESC 1986 in the group Icy and Norway in 1991 in the group Just 4 Fun. He also came 2nd in the 1987 Icelandic Final in the group Model. At the ESC Semi-Final he was 13th. Pétur Örn Guðmundsson was a backing singer for Iceland in ESC 2000 & 2006 while Jónsi represented Iceland in ESC 2004. Amongst Jónsi’s backing singers was Kristján Gíslason who represented Iceland in ESC 2001.