- Selma Björnsdóttir
Selma Björnsdóttir (born
13 June 1974 ), also known as simply Selma, is an Icelandic singer born inReykjavík , best known internationally for representing her country in theEurovision Song Contest .Her first Eurovision experience occurred when she took her highly-fancied entry "All Out of Luck" to the 1999 contest in
Jerusalem , placing Iceland in the unaccustomed position of being the pre-contest favourites with many bookmakers. Following a vibrant vocal and visual display on the night – with choreography that appeared to be somewhat influenced by Carola's famous routine from the 1991 contest – Selma shot into an early lead in the voting, but was gradually pegged back bySweden , represented byCharlotte Nilsson . Despite trailing Nilsson only very narrowly before the penultimate set of votes were announced, Selma's hopes of victory came to an abrupt end whenBosnia and Herzegovina awarded maximum points to Sweden and nothing at all to Iceland. However, Selma's second place in Jerusalem still ranks as Iceland's best showing in the contest to date by some distance.Such a fine pedigree ensured she was a hugely popular choice to represent Iceland for a second time in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2005 , to be held inKyiv . However, despite its being one of the favourites to go on to win the contest, her song "If I Had Your Love" did not make it to the final. Iceland's early exit at the semi-final stage was one of the biggest upsets of the 2005 contest. Ironically, this also means that Selma's 16th place in the semi-final ranks as Iceland's worst result in the contest.Selma also was one of the main attractions under the Eurovision gala concert during
Europride 2005 inOslo , performing both of her hugely beloved Eurovision entries. Other celebrities includedBaccara ,Nanne ,Bobbysocks andNora Brockstedt . Later the same night she held an intimate concert at the popularnightclub Smuget right by, where also another Icelandic Eurovision participant,Paul Oscar and the reputed Norwegian Eurovision commentator,Jostein Pedersen , showed up.ee also
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Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest
*Europride External links
* [http://www.ruv.is/eurovision Iceland's Eurovision website]
* [http://media.t-online.de/lifestyle/F/wm/1999IcelandFW10000068421.asx Clip of "All Out Of Luck" from Eurovision 1999]
* [http://media.t-online.de/music/F/wm/musi-20050504-17-iceland-544FW10000061537.asx The video of "If I had Your Love" (requires Windows Media Player & broadband)]
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