Have you seen the Icelandic National Selection 2023 winning performance? Is it going to be successful? Stay with me to the very end of this article and watch the video to find out if this entry’s going to win.
Let’s focus on the first snippet.
Well, frist things first. A delicate beginning with pretty high notes, head register and distinctive vibrato. It grabs my attention and makes me want more. The first shot makes me think about the Swedish entry from 2022 where Cornelia Jakobs was sitting on the stage in a similar position.
The song was chosen by the combination of the public and international jury voting. Diljá won in both categories and thus she’s the winner of the Söngvakeppnin 2023 and is to represent Iceland in the ESC2023.
The song was written by Diljá herself and Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson who was one of the authors of the Icelandic entry in 2015 (“Unbroken”) and when you listen carefully to these two compositions you can find some similarities in sounds.
I love Diljá’s stage presence imho she’s charismatic and I really like the way she moves on stage, especially that move with her leg like a kick. A lot of positive energy.
There are some parts of the song which remind me of the Australian entry from 2020 Montaigne “Don’t Break Me”.
The stanza builds up to the chorus which is much stronger, more sounds, more energy. This makes you feel like dancing, doesn’t it?
I like the staging, the way Diljá rules the stage, this smoke. Everything seems to add up here. Maybe I’m not the greatest fan of some of these flowers and their colours – I’d rather go for some darker tones but maybe they were supposed to be in contrast to the stage and Diljá’s outfit.
And OMG when I look at the last shot and Diljá’s face she reminds me a bit of the tennis player Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus.
Well, I believe that this song might qualify for the Grand Final but as only it’s the public that votes – anything can happen.
All in all, I’d say this is a decent performance with very good vocals.
Will Diljá’s power lead her to victory? We’ll see if she will get the best result for Iceland. To do that she would have to win the whole contest (as the best result for Iceland so far has been the 2nd place in the Grand Final; it was in 1999 and 2009).
In the end, I can only say: Well done, Diljá! Congratulations, Iceland! I assume this song might qualify for the Grand Final but I’m not 100% sure if this will happen.
What do the bookmakers say about the Icelandic entry? At this moment (29th March 2023) it’s in 14th place in the second semi-final on eurovisionworld.com so is predicted not to qualify and if it makes it to the final, it’s said to finish 23rd.
Let’s hear it for Diljá and the whole team!
Let me know what you think of this performance in the comments below.
Source:
Photo and video: YouTube