# Söngvakeppnin

Söngvakeppnin (known from 1986–1989 as Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsstöðva and in 1981, 1983 and 1990–2012 as Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins, lit. 'the Television's Song Contest') is an annual music competition organised by Icelandic public broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) to determine its entry for the Eurovision Song Contest.

## Format

The contest was first organised in 1981, although neither it nor its subsequent 1983 edition were used to determine any representatives for the Eurovision Song Contest until Iceland made its debut in the 1986 contest. Since then, RÚV has used Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins to select the Icelandic entry, but has also used an internal selection at times, between 1995 and 1999, and in 2004, 2005, and 2021.
Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins has consisted of a multi-artist competition, with between five and ten songs competing. Most contests in the past have been a one-night event. Since 2006, the contest has consisted of a number of semi-finals aired before a final.
It was known for RÚV to change the performers for Eurovision. This can be seen in 1986, when winner Pálmi Gunnarsson was joined by Eiríkur Hauksson and Helga Möller to form ICY for Eurovision. In 1994, RÚV was not happy with the winning song, and so enlisted Frank McNamara to rearrange the entry and select a new singer.
Songs at Söngvakeppni sjónvarpsins were previously only allowed to be performed in Icelandic. However, the winning songs were normally translated into English for Eurovision. This rule was abolished in 2008, when English-language songs were allowed to compete for the first time. The rules were later changed again in 2015, and the same is still used at present. The rules now require that in the semi-finals, the songs must be performed in Icelandic. In the final, the finalists will be asked to determine the language they will perform their song in Eurovision.

## Winners

The winners of Söngvakeppnin since 1986 have gone on to represent Iceland at the Eurovision Song Contest. Iceland has never won the contest, being the only Nordic country never to do so, but it has finished second twice: in 1999 (when an internal selection was used), losing to Sweden, and in 2009, when it lost to Norway.
2020 was the first time in history where the winner of Söngvakeppnin, in this case Daði og Gagnamagnið, did not advance to Eurovision, as that event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, RÚV internally re-selected Daði og Gagnamagnið to represent the country in 2021, with the song also chosen internally.
List of Söngvakeppnin winners :
| Year | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | At Eurovision | At Eurovision | At Eurovision | At Eurovision |
| Year | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
| 1981 | Pálmi Gunnarsson | "Af litlum neista" | Guðmundur Ingólfsson, Magnús Haraldsson | Did not compete X | Did not compete X | Did not compete X | Did not compete X |
| 1983 | Sigríður Gröndal | — | — | | Did not compete X | Did not compete X | Did not compete X | Did not compete X |
| 1986 | Pálmi Gunnarsson | "Gleðibankinn" | Magnús Eiríksson | 16th | 19 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1987 | Halla Margrét Árnadóttir | "Hægt og hljótt" | Valgeir Guðjónsson [is] | 16th | 28 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1988 | Sverrir Stormsker and Stefán Hilmarsson | "Þú og þeir (Sókrates)" | Sverrir Stormsker | 16th | 20 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1989 | Daníel Ágúst Haraldsson | "Það sem enginn sér" | Valgeir Guðjónsson | 22nd ◁ | 0 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1990 | Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir and Grétar Örvarsson [is] | "Eitt lag enn" | Aðalsteinn Ásberg Sigurðsson [is], Hörður G. Ólafsson | 4th | 124 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1991 | Stefán Hilmarsson and Eyjólfur Kristjánsson [is] | "Draumur um Nínu" | Eyjólfur Kristjánsson | 15th | 26 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1992 | Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir and Sigrún Eva Ármannsdottir [is] | "Nei eða já" | Friðrik Karlsson, Grétar Örvarsson, Stefán Hilmarsson | 7th | 80 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 1993 | Ingibjörg Stefánsdóttir [is] | "Þá veistu svarið" | Friðrik Sturluson, Jon Kjell Seljeseth | 13th | 42 | Kvalifikacija za Millstreet | Kvalifikacija za Millstreet |
| 1994 | Sigrún Eva Ármannsdóttir | "Nætur" | Friðrik Karlsson, Stefán Hilmarsson | 12th | 49 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 2000 | Einar Ágúst Víðisson and Telma Ágústsdóttir [is] | "Hvert sem er" | Örlygur Smári, Sigurður Örn Jónsson | 12th | 45 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 2001 | Kristján Gíslason and Gunnar Ólason | "Birta" | Einar Bárðarson, Magnús Þór Sigmundsson [is] | 22nd ◁ | 3 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 2003 | Birgitta Haukdal | "Segðu mér allt" | Birgitta Haukdal Brynjarsdóttir, Hallgrímur Óskarsson | 8th | 81 | No semi-finals | No semi-finals |
| 2006 | Silvía Nótt | "Til hamingju Ísland" | Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, Þorvaldur Bjarni Þorvaldsson [is] | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 13th | 62 |
| 2007 | Eiríkur Hauksson | "Ég les í lófa þínum" | Kristján Hreinsson, Sveinn Rúnar Sigurðsson | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 13th | 77 |
| 2008 | Eurobandið | "This is My Life" | Örlygur Smári, Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson, Peter Fenner | 14th | 64 | 8th | 68 |
| 2009 | Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir | "Is It True?" | Chris Neil, Óskar Páll Sveinsson, Tinatin Japaridze | 2nd | 218 | 1st | 174 |
| 2010 | Hera Björk | "Je ne sais quoi" | Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir, Örlygur Smári | 19th | 41 | 3rd | 123 |
| 2011 | Sigurjón's Friends | "Aftur heim" | Sigurjón Brink, Þórunn Erna Clausen | 20th | 61 | 4th | 100 |
| 2012 | Greta Salóme and Jónsi | "Mundu eftir mér" | Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir | 20th | 46 | 8th | 75 |
| 2013 | Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson | "Ég á líf" | Örlygur Smári, Pétur Örn Guðmundsson | 17th | 47 | 6th | 72 |
| 2014 | Pollapönk | "No Prejudice" | John William Grant, Haraldur F. Gíslason, Heiðar Örn Kristjánsson | 15th | 58 | 8th | 61 |
| 2015 | María Ólafsdóttir | "Unbroken" | Ásgeir Orri Ásgeirsson, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson, Sæþór Kristjánsson | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 15th | 14 |
| 2016 | Greta Salóme | "Hear Them Calling" | Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 14th | 51 |
| 2017 | Svala | "Paper" | Einar Egilsson, Lester Mendez, Lily Elise, Svala Björgvinsdóttir | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 15th | 60 |
| 2018 | Ari Ólafsson | "Our Choice" | Þórunn Erna Clausen | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 19th ◁ | 15 |
| 2019 | Hatari | "Hatrið mun sigra" | Einar Hrafn Stefánsson, Klemens Nikulásson Hannigan, Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson | 10th | 232 | 3rd | 221 |
| 2020 | Daði og Gagnamagnið | "Think About Things" | Daði Freyr Pétursson | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X | Contest cancelled X |
| 2022 | Sigga, Beta and Elin | "Með hækkandi sól" | Lovísa Elísabet Sigrúnardóttir | 23rd | 20 | 10th | 103 |
| 2023 | Diljá | "Power" | Diljá Pétursdóttir, Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 11th | 44 |
| 2024 | Hera Björk | "Scared of Heights" | Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir, Ferras Alqaisi, Jaro Omar, Michael Burek | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify | 15th ◁ | 3 |
| 2025 | Væb | "Róa" | Matthías Davíð Matthíasson, Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson, Ingi Þór Garðarsson | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |

### Performers and songwriters with multiple wins

The following individuals have won Söngvakeppnin as a performer or songwriter more than once.

## Söngvakeppnin Hall of Fame

Heiðurshöll Söngvakeppninnar or the Söngvakeppnin Hall of Fame was introduced in 2024 to acknowledge artists who have outstanding contributions to the competition.
| Year | Artist |
| 2024 | Sigríður Beinteinsdóttir |
| 2024 | Björgvin Halldórsson |
| 2025 | Jóhanna Guðrún |