Prior to the 2021 contest, Iceland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 36 times since its first entry in 1986. Iceland's best placing in the contest to this point was second, which it achieved on two occasions: in 1999 with the song "All Out of Luck" performed by Selma and in 2009 with the song "Is It True?" performed by Yohanna. Since the introduction of a semi-final to the format of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, Iceland has failed to qualify to the final seven times. In 2019, Iceland placed tenth in the grand final with the song "Hatrið mun sigra" performed by the band Hatari.