So after just the traditional two semifinals plus the seemingly obligatory Wild Card selection of a fifth song – we have the five finalists for Söngvakeppnin 2023. There has been a crucial difference between the semifinals and the final – namely that the artists were now free to change the language of the song if they wanted to. Four of them chose this route with only Langi Seli og Skuggarnir choosing to keep their song in Icelandic, which is true to their roots.
The result was determined though the now traditional televote and jury mix with the jury of ten people, four Icelanders and six from the rest of Europe and Australia, having 50 percent of the vote, with the other half coming from the nine Icelanders with a telephone in the first round, and those nine people got to vote again in the SuperFinal.
After a near three-hour show, and Lord knows, RUV clearly have time to fill on a Saturday Evening on their one channel, the result was as follows.
| Song | Performer(s) | Result First Round | Final Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dancing Lonely | Sigga Ózk | ||
| Sometimes the World's Against You | Bragi | ||
| Doomsday Dancing | Celebs | ||
| Power | Diljá | SUPER FINAL | WINNER |
| OK | Langi Seli og Skuggarnir | SUPER FINAL |
I don’t know what is worse – this beige winning or Sistur showing up on my computer screens again – it’s a close run thing!