Members of the Euromix editorial team convened to vote for the competing songs in Songvakeppnin 2025. Who should represent Iceland at Eurovision according to the editorial team?
The Icelandic Eurovision national selection, “Songvakeppnin 2025”, is set to take place tonight at 20:45, featuring 6 contestants. The winner of this local competition will represent Iceland at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. In anticipation of this event, Euromix editorial team members gathered to listen to the participating songs and select their favorites from the Icelandic national selection.
Editorial Picks: Who Should Represent Iceland?
Ofek Jerassi: First Place – Stebbi Jak – “Set Me Free”
After a dramatic year last year in the Icelandic pre-selection (but with a happy ending), it seems that everything is calm in Iceland this year, but unfortunately, the quality hasn’t particularly improved. This year’s Icelandic pre-selection is weak, with mostly formulaic songs, and that’s not a recipe that will get Iceland to the final. Iceland’s only chances of qualifying for the final this year are choosing Stebbi Jak or VAEB. My personal first place is Stebbi Jak, he brought a song in the style of Linkin Park, and among all the crowd-pleasing songs this year, it would be a refreshing change in the lineup, with a good chance of putting Iceland among the top ten qualifiers from the first semi-final this year.
Ronnie Glik: First Place – VAEB – “Roa”
For my first place, I chose the amazing duo VAEB, whom I’ve been crazy about since last year. Their song is so cute, cheerful, and catchy, and more than that, it hits the bullseye of my musical taste so I fell in love with it from the first second and they are the most important to me and deserving of victory this year. Last year, due to the many dramas in the selection process, they didn’t get the appreciation they deserved, and this year it’s completely theirs. They’re both sweet, captivating, and even though their target audience is mostly young children, they’ll bring an amazing performance to the competition and undoubtedly excite all types of viewers. Regarding the mentioned drama – as much as the song sounds similar to a well-known Israeli song, I personally don’t connect the two and compare them because I’ve known the twins and their music long before and don’t think there’s even a small connection besides a similar chorus. It’s the most deserving song for winning and representation there is and woe betide if it’s disqualified.
Regarding second place – they captivated me, a bit less, but they’re also an amazing duo and their song is catchy but also touching and I’ll be very happy if they win. It can be understood that Iceland is going to send some duo this year, the question is which one…
Roy Moreno: First Place – Juli & Disa – “Fire”
I find it hard to believe they’ll actually win, but when I listened to the songs in the Icelandic Eurovision pre-selection final this year, I felt that only Júlí & Dísa’s song was refreshing and varied enough for me to enjoy, although the other songs aren’t necessarily bad. The combination of a slower first verse with a male voice and a faster second verse with a female voice was fun and well-done in my opinion and mainly kept me from getting lost in the song. I can’t say if they’ll win and what place they’ll reach in Basel if indeed chosen, but I think they’d be a good choice among the other options in this pre-selection.
Guy Solo: First Place – VAEB – “Roa”
Strong pre-selection in Iceland this year with songs that might pass the playlist test and stay there for a considerable period. However, the clear winners are the blonde twins VAEB who are known in the country mainly because of the alleged copying controversy of Eyal Golan and Itay Levy’s song. The performance on stage in the first semi-final was cute, childish, and captivating. The staging was electrifying with visual elements on the screen and on stage, combined with energetic dancers. The song describes a person on a long sea journey dealing with the challenges the sea presents, with descriptions emphasizing their persistence and determination to continue their journey despite the difficulties and dangers. The duo deserves to represent Iceland once and for all, and maybe they’ll leave us alone with such forced participations in the future (and bring back Daði Freyr already).
Aviad Berger: First Place – Tinna – “Words”
Will Iceland fail to qualify for the Eurovision final for the third consecutive time? I believe so. Overall, this year’s national selection is one of the weakest, and unless we see some crazy surprise, I predict Iceland won’t qualify for the final. Nevertheless, if I must choose, I’ll pick Tinna. Her song is the only one that manages to evoke any emotion in me. It’s a cute ballad overall, but I find it hard to believe it will stand out in her semi-final, especially with the songs we already know will compete against her (Estonia, Poland, Norway, and Belgium are just some of them).
Tal Dahan: First Place – Stebbi Jak – “Set Me Free”
This year’s Icelandic Eurovision pre-selection is most disappointing. Birgo was robbed and didn’t make it to the final, and none of the six songs in the final appealed to me. I chose Stebbi Jak’s song, not because the song is amazing, but because the performance is very visually appealing and I feel the song has potential to be more powerful and catchy, which can only be realized with a revamped version. Unfortunately, with the existing selection, Iceland is likely to remain in the semi-final this year as well.
Ilan Tzoler: First Place – VAEB – “Roa”
Although the song is controversial because it’s a copy of a well-known Israeli song, it’s uplifting and fun, and Israelis will celebrate it precisely because of its similarity to the Israeli song.
Full Results
| Ofek | Ronnie | Roy | Guy | Aviad | Tal | Ilan | Result | |
| Vaeb | 10 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 74 |
| Juli & Disa | 8 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 64 |
| Stebbi Jak | 12 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 54 |
| Tinna | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 54 |
| August | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 50 |
| Bjarni Arason | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 40 |
List of Contestants and Their Songs:
- Júlí & Dísa – Eldur / Fire
- Bjarni Arason – Aðeins lengur
- Tinna – Þrá / Words
- Stebbi Jak – Frelsið Mitt / Set Me Free
- Ágúst – Eins og þú / Like You
- VÆB – Róa
Click on the song titles to listen!
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.
