by Ofek Jerassi Comment Closed




Following the revelation of songs in the Icelandic Eurovision selection and numerous accusations surrounding the duo allegedly copying an Israeli song, the creator of the Israeli song now responds to the supposed copying by the Icelandic duo: “Considering legal action.”

About a month ago, the Icelandic national broadcaster, RÚV, revealed the ten artists and songs that will compete in the Icelandic Eurovision selection “Söngvakeppnin 2025,” scheduled for February 22nd. The winner will represent Iceland at Eurovision 2025 in Basel. As previously reported, minutes after the songs were unveiled, social media was flooded with comments claiming that the song “Róa” by the duo VÆB bears a controversial resemblance in its chorus to “Hatunat HaShana” by Israeli singers Eyal Golan and Itay Levy, a popular wedding song released about 7 years ago. After the duo’s official response, the creator of the Israeli song – “Hatunat HaShana”, Ofir Cohen, has now reacted.




Ofir Cohen, the creator of the Israeli song, commented on the incident: “I received calls from Israel and abroad asking if I had heard the song competing to represent Iceland at Eurovision. People told me that its chorus is the chorus of ‘Wedding of the Year’ that I wrote. I went to YouTube to listen. At first, it made me laugh; I thought someone had made a cover. But this is my creation, it’s my baby. On one hand, it’s flattering, on the other hand, it’s undoubtedly a copyright infringement.”

Regarding the Icelandic duo’s claims that they don’t listen to Israeli music, Cohen said: “That could be. But like all of us in the digital age, we’re on social media; it’s a different era. You can be musically fed from any playlist and any country on the globe. We’re not talking about similarity; this is copying. I believe they were exposed to the song. Even if it was done innocently, there’s an infringement here.” The situation remains under review as the contest approaches. What do you think? Is there a similarity between the two? Listen to both songs:

 

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Contestants and Their Entries

Click on the song title to listen!

Familiar Names Among Participants

  • The duo VÆB participated in Iceland’s 2024 Eurovision pre-selection, reaching fourth place in the final with their song “Bíómynd“.
  • Bjarni Arason has participated in Iceland’s Eurovision pre-selection twice before: in 1988 with the song “Aftur og aftur“, placing ninth, and in 1992 with “Karen“, finishing second.

National Selection Format and Changes

The national selection format includes significant changes this year. Ten songs will advance to the semi-final stage, with each semi-final featuring five songs. Three songs from each semi-final will progress to the final, effectively eliminating the “Wildcard” previously awarded by RÚV and increasing the number of finalists from 5 to 6. Another major change is the elimination of the final duel, a signature element of previous selections. In previous years, two rounds of voting were held, with the top two songs from the first round advancing to a final duel. This year, the winner will be determined by a single round of voting, combining seven international jury points and public votes in a 50-50 split. The hosts for the national selection will be Benedikt Valsson, Fannar Sveinsson, and Guðrún Dís Emilsdóttir, who have previously served as RÚV’s Eurovision commentators and individually hosted the national selection in different years.

The Icelandic song contest “Söngvakeppnin” has been held since 1981, serving as Iceland’s Eurovision national selection since 1986, except for years when internal selection was used. The competition includes two semi-finals where songs must be performed in Icelandic, with the public and a jury selecting the finalists. In the final, qualifying songs can be performed in Icelandic or English, depending on the artist’s preferred language for Eurovision.

Key Dates for Iceland’s National Selection:

  • First Semi-Final: February 8, 2025
  • Second Semi-Final: February 15, 2025
  • Final: February 22, 2025




Iceland in Eurovision 2024

“Scared Of Heights” is the name of the song performed by singer Hera Björk, who was chosen to represent Iceland after winning the local national finals. Iceland did not advance to the final, finishing 15th and last in the first semi-final with only 3 points.

This is the second consecutive year that Iceland has not qualified for the final, and the fourth time overall that the country has finished last in the competition.

Source: N12

Eurovision 2025: This will be Iceland’s 37th participation in Eurovision. Iceland joined the competition in 1986 and achieved its best result in Eurovision 1999 and Eurovision 2009 after finishing second twice.