Lynn Macgillivray
Svala will represent Iceland at the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest after winning the country’s national selection – ‘Söngvakeppin’. Her song ‘Paper’ won over the viewing public as well as the jury. After competing against eleven other acts the top two then had to perform again for the public. Svala managed to hold on the the lead and she won the contest.
‘Paper’ is an edgy, modern song with a chorus which is sure to get stuck in everyone’s head. From last night’s performance we can expect the staging to be first class on the night.
You can watch Svala performing ‘Paper below:
Svala has been in the music industry since the nineties when she was in a band. In 1999 she signed a record deal with EMI and Priority Records, releasing her debut album The Real Me. The single of the same title reached the Billboard Top 40 Singles Chart. After this, Svala formed a band called Steel Lord with her brother and now husband. The band have since toured all over the world and have had their music featured on popular American shows.
Iceland at Eurovision
Iceland have never won the contest. However, they have finished in second place on two occasions – in 1999 with Selma and in 2009 with Yohanna. They have failed to qualify for the final in the last two years so will be hoping Svala and her song ‘Paper’ can turn things around for them.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 is set to be a competitive year once again. It will take place in Kyiv, Ukraine after Jamala won with “1944” last year.
With under three months to go, many countries have selected their acts for this year’s contest. These are the acts who have been announced so far: Cyprus’ Hovig, The Netherlands’ O’G3NE, Belgium’s Blanche, Macedonia’s Jana Burceska, Azerbaijan’s DiHaj, Ireland’s Brendan Murray, Austria’s Nathan Trent, Albania’s Lindita, Armenia’s Artsvik, Montenegro’s Slavko Kalezic, Greece’s Demy, Georgia’s Tako Gachechiladze, Belarus’ Navi, The United Kingdom’s Lucie Jones, Finland’s Norma John, Switzerland’s Timebelle, Germany’s Levina, France’s Alma, Spain’s Manel Navarro, Italy’s Francesco Gabbani, Israel’s Imri Ziv, Czech Republic’s Martina Bárta, Croatia’s Jacques Houdek, Malta’s Claudia Faniello, Poland’s Kasia Mos, Hungary’s Joci Pápai, Slovenia’s Omar Naber, Denmark’s Anja Nissen, Moldova’s SunStroke Project, Ukraine’s O.Torvald, Latvia’s Triana Park, Serbia’s Tijana Bogicevic, Estonia’s Koit Toome & Laura, Romania’s Ilinca feat. Alex Florea, Portugal’s Salvador Sobral, Australia’s Isaiah, Lithuania’s Fusedmarc and Norway’s Jowst.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 semi-finals will take place on 9 May 2017 and 11 May 2017, with the grand final expected to take place on 13 May 2017.
