Taggad: sjónni brink

On the Brink

Schlagerfiasko or not? That seems to sum up the reactions to Iceland’s Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins, where Sjónni’s friends (vinir Sjónna) won the competition. The main surprise seems to stem from the fact that Jóhanna – whom many, particularly outside Iceland, had tipped to win – didn’t even come second.

It was always going to be an emotional evening, with Sjónni Brink’s absence having a huge impact on proceedings. Despite the sterling efforts of Guðmundur Gunnarsson, joined by the inimitable Páll Óskar (Ragnhildur was apparently on her holidays!), the tone was muted and respectful, rather than fun. That’s not to say there wasn’t humour along the way, and Pálli’s interjections were great. And he definitely knows his Eurovision…

Crowd-pleasers were Jóhanna and Erna Hrönn, both of whom delivered great performances that definitely had potential for the Düsseldorf stage. Erna Hrönn, in particular, had great confidence and was an absolute treat. But given the circumstances, I’m not sure Eurovision was the point any longer.

Sjónni’s friends received a rapturous response, with the song seemingly taking on a new dimension as a celebration of Sjónni. I’d have been surprised if it didn’t win. Was that because of his passing? Quite possibly. But even if it was, it doesn’t matter. The Icelandic music community are mourning one of their own, and the contest became a tribute to his life. And you know what? That’s absolutely fine.

There’s been much internet comment about Jóhanna being Iceland’s only chance of victory. But who’s to say that she would have had a better chance at Eurovision than Sjónni’s friends, or Erna Hrönn, or Magni (who came second)? It doesn’t matter if Iceland wins the whole contest or doesn’t make it past the semi-final, it will (if the Friends are allowed to perform in place of Sjónni) have sent a song that truly represents the country at this moment in time.

Just a further note about the minor scandal surrounding Jóhanna’s perceived reaction to the announcement of the top two entries. She has had to issue a statement to say she supports the outcome, and congratulated the performers on the night. That’s fine, but why shouldn’t she be disappointed? She worked as hard as everyone else in the contest and wanted to represent her country. Any of us in the same position would be disappointed not to do as well as we hoped. Trying to create a drama from nothing is not going to achieve anything except a cheap headline, especially given the exceptional circumstances of this particular situation.

Goodness me, what a serious review. I’m going off to watch Babsan from Saturday evening.

Schlageroverload

It’s a huge night for schlager, with contest finals taking place in Iceland, Norway and Finland, and the second week of Melodifestivalen in Sweden. There is nothing happening in Denmark.

There’s been plenty of comment about all the finals in the past few weeks on Schlagerfiasko, so we’re just going to briefly discuss each one and then reserve analysis for the morning after. Assuming there’s no drinking involved in tonight’s proceedings. I had plenty of refreshment yesterday at lunchtime. Which started at 1pm and ended at 8. I think. I can’t remember.

ANYWAY, there’s much anticipation in Oslo this evening about friend of Schlagerfiasko Stella Mwangi. Can she win? Her song has been at the top of Norway’s iTunes chart since it won in Skien, and would be fantastic on the stage at Düsseldorf. Other songs to to look out for is the marvellous friend of Schlagerfiasko, Hanne Sørvaag, who has a great chance of success this evening. Babel Fish will also provide competition, and Helena Bøksle is also in with an outsider opportunity… Hopefully, Åste of Åste & Rikke will be on good form – she had to miss a rehearsal this week because of illness, so Schlagerfiasko sends its best wishes.

Helene Bøksle – Vardlokk
Sie Gubba – Alt du vil ha
Babel Fish – Depend On Me
The Lucky Bullets – Fire Below
The BlackSheeps – Dance Tonight
Stella Mwangi – Haba Haba
Åste & Rikke – Not That Easy (Ah-åh-ah-åh)
Hanne Sørvaag – You’re Like A Melody

Across the sea in Iceland, another friend of Schlagerfiasko, Erna Hrönn, will be hoping for success. She faces stiff competition from past winner Jóhanna, while Jógvan Hansen and Matti Matts could also break through. Sjónni Brink’s song is also getting a lot of attention, and could finish at the top. This is definitely a wide-open competition, and I’m not sure that Jóhanna can be assured of victory as many fans outside Iceland assume.

Haraldur Reynisson – Ef ég hefði vængi
Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir – Ástin mín eina
Yohanna – Nótt
Matthías Matthíasson & Erla Björg Káradóttir – Eldgos
Jógvan Hansen – Ég lofa
Magni Ásgeirsson – Ég trúi á betra líf
Sigurjón’s friends – Aftur heim

Finland’s final selection comes down to ten songs from a very un-schlager selection. The bookie’s favourite is Paradise Oskar (friend of… etc etc), with his gentle ballad. I’m also hoping that (friend of…) Saara Aalto will attract attention as well.

Eveliina Määttä – Dancing In The Dark
Sami Hintsanen – Täältä maailmaan
Milana Misic – Sydämeni kaksi maata
Paradise Oskar – Da da dam
Cardiant – Rapture In Time
Johanna Iivanainen – Luojani mun
Father McKenzie – Good Enough
Marko Maunuksela – Synkän maan tango
Saara Aalto – Blessed With Love
Stala & So – Pamela

About to erupt?

We’ve got the first Nordic final tomorrow, as Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins reaches its climax. We’ve covered it extensively here on Schlagerfiasko, so we’re not going to review each song again (in other words, we can’t be bothered), but we’re looking forward to it immensely. Of course, we’ll actually be watching the first round of Melodifestivalen when its on. And as the final only lasts for 50 minutes, we’re not expecting to miss too much of a spectacle.

Schlagerfiasko is making no predictions about the outcome, but we think the strongest entries are from Erna Hrönn, Matti, Jógvan, Jóhanna and Sjónni’s friends.

Anyway, the full line-up is:

Aftur heim (Almost Home)
Sjónni’s Friends: Gunnar Ólason, Vignir Snær Vigfússon, Pálmi Sigurhjartarson, Matthías Matthíasson, Hreimur Örn Heimisson and Benedikt Brynleifsson

Ástin mín eina (My Only Love)
Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir

Ef ég hefði vængi (If I Had Wings)
Halli Reynis

Ég lofa (I Promise)
Jógvan Hansen

Ég trúi á betra líf (I Believed In A Better Life)
Magni Ásgeirsson

Eldgos (Eruption)
Matthías Matthíasson and Erla Björg Káradóttir

Nótt (Night)
Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir

Almost there

The third semi-final of Söngvakeppni started off with the contestants having a great big sing-song in the green room. It was a wonderful sight to see, given the circumstances that we’re all aware of, and it was clear that everyone was determined to have an up-beat show.

Buff’s entry was introduced with a tour of Pétur Örm Guðmundsson’s DVD collection, which took up a good couple of minutes. Pétur likes a lot of films. The song, a meandering rock’n'roll ballad, demonstrated his great vocal strength, but wasn’t our cup of coffee.

The strongest – and most Schlagerfiasko – song in the contest was Jógvan Hansen’s Ég lofa (I promise). A nervous start quickly led into confident, soaring vocals over the rocky chorus. Unsurprisingly, it went through, and is definitely going to be a contender in the final.

Magni Ásgeirsson is very tall. So tall, in fact, that he can pick up Jógvan’s microphone stand and it barely reaches his knee. The simplest of performances saw Magni perform with just a single back-up singer on stage with him. Confident vocals and presence saw him get his ticket to the final. Could he be a surprise winner? Stranger things have happened…

Georg Alexander Valgerisson stuck to his stool for his number, with a trio of Blues Brothers (Blues Triplets!) behind him taking care of the moving. Then, in a shock twist, he got off the stool and moved a few steps. The weakest performance of the night, it was all a bit forced. Georg would clearly have preferred to stay on that stool, while the Blues Triplets danced and waved their arms around, taking off their jackets and generally being a massive distraction. A shame.

The song everyone was waiting for started off with Sjónni Brink’s interview where he talked about his ponies and, heartbreakingly, looked a picture of health. Aftur heim (Almost Home) was performed by six of his friends, including Matti Matt – aka Matthías Matthíasson, competing with Eldgos. Big cheers greeted the song, while the singers took turns with the lines. A great performance of a song that isn’t to our taste, apart from the big Weimar ending, which is fabulous. Aftur heim is through to the final.

Just a note on the Söngvakeppni hosts, with whom we’re slightly obsessed. Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Guðmundur Gunnarsson have both been fantastic, and they’re both stunning. We fancy Guðmundur more than is healthy. Silly Schlagerfiasko.

Hansen’s promise

It’ll be an emotional Söngvakeppni tonight, as a group of Sjónni Brink’s friends gather to perform his entry Aftur heim (Almost Home). We won’t be surprised if it makes it to the final – and it deserves to. It’s a lovely, meandering new-country track that will appeal to many viewers. In fact, there’s a lot of old-style German schlager in the sound, before it builds up in an almost Weimar-esque way to a brass finish.

At the risk of sounding patronising, it’s important to remember there are four other songs in the contest tonight – and they’re all performed by men. Pétur Örn Guðmundsson makes his second appearance after performing in the first heat. He’s written Sáluhjálp (Salvation) for Hljómsveitin Buff and will be performing it with the group. To be honest, it’s a rather forgettable soft-rock track, although the chorus is lively enough.

Faroese singer Jógvan Hansen made an album with Friðrík Ómar (Euroband) last year, and he pops up here with the evening’s most appealing track to our ears, Ég lofa (I promise). It’s a great pop-rock track that would go down really well with Eurovision voters if it got through to the Grand Prix. Definitely one to keep an eye on. Jógvan won the Icelandic X Factor in 2007 with 70% of the vote, and has had a number one single and album.

Magni Ásgeirsson performs Ég trúi á betra líf (I Believed In A Better Life). It’s a great big rock ballad and will go down very well. Like Jóhanna last week, this is a song that would work amazing well in English. As the writers are Malta’s Eurovision master, Gerard James Borg, and rock star (and three-time Eurovision entrant) Eiríkur Hauksson, we’re looking forward to hearing that quite soon!

Finally, Morgunsól (Morning Sun), performed by Jóhannes Kári Kristinsson. We don’t like criticising people (much), but this track reminds us far too much of the smug stylings of Jack Johnson. Then it goes off into a great brass arrangement, that we love. In itself, it’s a solid song, but overall, it’s not to our taste.

All the songs can be heard at vefir.ruv.is/songvakeppnin/

UPDATE:
Today’s Fréttablaðið features an interview with the six men who will perform Sjónni’s song tonight. The original article can be read here: visir.is/heidra-minningu-sjonna–hann-batt-okkur-alla-saman/article/201112198394

The singers are Hreimur Örn, Vignir Snær, Benedikt Brynleifsson, Matthías Matthíasson, Gunnar Ólason and Pálmi Sigurhjartarson. Matthías competed last week with his song Eldgos.

Before he passed, Sjónni recorded a question-and-answer session for Söngvakeppni – it’s not too difficult to understand.

Sjónni’s tribute

RÚV has confirmed that the song the late Sigurjón Brink was due to perform at next week’s Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins will still compete in the competition – performed by friends of the singer.

The track, Aftur heim (Back Home), will remain in competition following consultation with the singer’s family and friends. Sjónni’s pre-performance interview was filmed earlier this month, and a studio recording of the song with Sjónni’s vocal was ready for release prior to the contest.

Tonight’s Söngvakeppni featured a tribute to the singer, who died as a result of a stroke on Monday. The presenters, guests and many of the performers also wore black ribbons as a mark of respect.

Details were released following the broadcast of tonight’s show, where the plans were announced.

Iceland: No decision

Icelandic news website visir.is reports tonight that no decision has been taken about what to do with Sigurjón Brink’s entry for the third week of Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins.

Sigurjón, also known as Sjónni, died suddenly on Monday night at the age of 36.

RÚV’s Elísabet Linda Þórðardóttir confirmed that there are no rules preventing another singer from performing Sjónni’s song in the contest, although there is no indication so far that anyone will do this. She added that the station has been in touch with Sjónni’s family about the song, but no decision has been agreed yet on a performance, or whether the original track will be released at some point.

More details as we get them. For the original details (in Icelandic), visit: visir.is/engin-akvordun-tekin-um-eurovision—sjonni-tok-upp-lagid/article/2011232237689

Photo: visir.is