Iceland – RUV, the Icelandic broadcaster, concluded tonight Söngvakeppnin 2016, the national final for Eurovision 2016 Greta Salóme won with Hear Them Calling. Check out the full results!
There were 6 entries participating tonight and 2 made it to the superfinal with juries and televote at 50% each, then 100% televote decided the ultimate winner.
The show was hosted by Ragnhildur Steinunn Jónsdóttir and Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir. There was also an opening act featuring all Icelandic esc entries in history and many of the former artists on stage sharing a great reprise of the 1986 entry, the first ever for Iceland!
Tonight’s line-up was as follows:
- Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir – Hear Them Calling
- Erna Hrönn Ólafsdóttir & Hjörtur Traustason – I Promised You Then
- Þórdís Birna Borgarsdóttir & Guðmundur Snorri Sigurðarson – Ready To Break Free
- Karlotta Sigurðardóttir – Eye Of The Storm
- Elísabet Ormslev – Á ný
- Alda Dís Arnardóttir – Now
All songs are available here. The interval acts featured performances by Sandra Kim who won Eurovision in 1986, the first year Iceland took part in the contest, and Loreen, the 2012 winner.
The top 2 after 18 local juries voted and televote was added was:
- Greta Salóme Stefánsdóttir – Hear Them Calling
- Alda Dís Arnardóttir – Now
Then televote chose the winner and it was:
What do you think of this new Eurovision 2016 entry? What are its chances in Stockholm?
The Eurovision Times 
It’s like watching Loreen and Mans at the same time, that is not working for me, and that is a shame, song is nice but I was hoping to see something new and fresh.
My man Donald J Trump just won the South Carolina primary.
Sadly Bernie Sanders lost the Nevada Caucus.
I’m still ALIVE btw :P
Thank goodness :)
Song-wise Italy remains my favourite entry so far but Francesca’s live is soooo insecure :(
Full scores and rankings on my profile
Well that was a foregone conclusion. It also finally gives 2016 a song that I love. The staging doesn’t feel like a copy of Måns at all, more like the next logical step when it comes to performer interaction. There are way more human elements to Greta’s visuals, and their scale is much larger, so it creates a different effect. Also, unlike Heroes which felt written to accompany the visuals, Hear Them Calling is complimented by the visuals. That’s not to say it’s a flawless package by any stretch; some of the shots need retooling, the choreography could stand to be tightened up, and she should seriously consider adding some Icelandic back into the mix. Overall, though, it’s a strong entry and a contender for a high finish in Stockholm.
I’ve been kept away from closely following most selections thanks to having the most active social life I’ve ever had, but I sat down and made a top this weekend:
1) Iceland
2) Italy*
3) Georgia
4) Austria
—
5) Spain
6) Bosnia & Herzegovina
7) Albania
8) Belgium
—
9) Malta
10) Denmark
11) Switzerland
12) Ireland
13) Belarus
Fine entery I like it ! Show reminded me of two last winning entries Of Sweden but I liked it a lot! The first contender entery of the season !
boring song , optic efects what remember much the last two winners , nothing original or interesting , not from my favourites
This is nothing like Mans. I don’t see any little men walking around with some generic Swedish pop star. The only similarity is that they are both good songs. Dark and mysterious, love it.
Well done Greta!
My ESC Stockholm 2016
Straight to the final: Iceland and Italy, if the song is the one everyone thinks it’s going to be.
Andra chansen: Austria
Now dear Ukraine, surprise everyone else round here except me and Max and choose NuAngels. Why? Because you would get into my straight to the final list. Surely that must be enough!
I think we have settled that I am not a fan of Greta Salome in general back in 2012.
That said, in this final she had composed a great song. That was not the winning one though.
To be totally honest this is not bad. I really like the dark visuals that cause this sense of anxiety, running from something etc and they fit the song. It just that I dont find the song memorable enough or Greta’s vocal performance very convincing. Of course it is one of the better acts so far and will be scored accordingly but I dont love it yet tbh. I will score it a bit later after some more listenings.
I don’t like it for 2 reasons. 1.) its Mans song copy and 2.) She use Loreen dancing routines ;/
Don’t like it at all, on the border of horrific..