Iceland on the safe side

This Saturday, Iceland will pick the entry that will represent them at Copenhagen and it seems very likely that I will have the same opinion about their song this time around as I had every single year lately.

It will be nice. It will be pleasant. It will be safe.

Which is a sad thing when Iceland is capable of so much good when they are up to a bit of mischief. When they are pushing the limits like Paul Oscar, when they are modern and fabulous like Selma or when they are plain chaotic and leave half the continent upset like Silvia Night.

Maybe it would be time for RÚV to consider an internal selection again? Just once or twice, in order to heat things up a couple of degrees again?

1. F.U.N.K - Þangað til ég dey
It seems Daft Punk's latest - and brilliant - album made a bit of an impact in Iceland, as this song could be a distant Scandinavian cousin to Lose Yourself To Dance. The lads are likeable and the song is catchy enough, but would need more bite and attitude to be a real contender internationally.
Grade: 3/5

2. Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir - Amor
A quirky song with an ambitious arrangement and a personable performer and yet it isn't enough to keep this entry interesting for a full three minutes.
Grade: 2/5

3. Sigríður Eyrún Friðriksdóttir - Lífið kviknar á ný
A lively and ambitious performer and a catchy song with a clever idea, and yet it falls into the same trap as song number 2 - after a strong first minute, my interest declines and I find myself thinking of something else.
Grade: 2/5

4. Gissur Páll Gissurarson - Von
A tenor with a rather lovely but violently unfashionable schlager ballad of a kind you could hear in Eurovision already in the 1960's. Like a tribute to Kenneth McKellar. I have a soft spot for this well-sung little ditty, but is there any point to send it off to Copenhagen?
Grade: 3/5

5. Greta Mjöll Samúelsdóttir - Eftir eitt lag
Another jaunty and quirky little effort by a likeable female performer, but the song in itself should be far too thin to stand a chance.
Grade: 2/5

6. Pollapönk - Enga fordóma
To complete the line-up: a bit of humour. Luckily most of the humour lies in the lyrics and not so much in the performance, and this is pretty catchy in its own little way. Not my dream choice, but wouldn't be a disaster either.
Grade: 2/5

Tobson predicts: You never know anything when Iceland is let loose to select a song, but I would think they are opting for Pollapönk since they stand out a bit from the rest. But so does the tenor, and Gissur could be a surprise winner too.

My choice for Copenhagen would be F.U.N.K as the boys are fun and energetic and you probably could inject quite a lot of life into their little song in good time before the ESC.