Good morning and welcome back to ESCBubble’s coverage for Eurovision 2021! Over the weekend we brought you all the updates of the first semi finalists rehearsing. It seems to have flown by, but we’re already over to the second semi final! Today we will have the first nine competing in semi final two

As always, you can check out our ongoing coverage through both our Live Rehearsal Blog and also rolling  daily updates on our Twitter Account.

If you are avoiding potential rehearsal spoilers then don’t read any further! Semi Final Two will take place at 21.00 CET on Thursday 20th May 2021 with sixteen countries competing for ten qualifying spots for the final.

Aaand we’re back with the last two of the day. First up to rehearse is last years favourite and potential winner… Iceland!

First Rehearsal

Iceland bring exactly what we have come to love from them – 16-bit disco goodness, paired with Dadi & Gagnamagnið all with their usual quirky routines. They make good use of the stage, with backdrop elements which resemble the graphics and settings from their recently released video game. They are of course in their trademark jumpers with their faces on and have quirky little routines in the same light as their previous national selection performances.

Fans are going to be delighted with the way this one has turned out – they are rocking the stage, the instruments that half the band have look fantastic and they do a little trick both with them at one point and at the end – but will leave those spoilers for a surprise when you see it in the semi final next week! All in all, a really solid effort from Iceland and they are 100% still in contention to win the whole thing.

Before Eurovision

What a journey to Rotterdam that Icelandic singer Dadi Freyr & his band Gagnamagnið have had! First appearing in 2017, they were beaten by Svala in the final of Icelandic selection Songvakeppnin, placing second. With some promotional support from Netflix, their return to the contest in 2020 ended up becoming a huge viral success globally thanks to TikTok and the promotion of some very popular celebrities. “Think About Things” even went to chart across Europe despite not having the promotion from the actual contest. For many, Iceland were set to get their first ever win last year but sadly the cancellation stopped this.

After initially suggesting that Dadi would not be invited back automatically, Icelandic broadcaster RUV bucked the Nordic trend by internally selecting their 2020 participant. This year, Dadi joined by his band of friends & compatriots will be taking on “10 Years”, which takes full advantage of the permitted backing vocals rule change having invited fans from across the world to submit audio clips to feature in the middle 8 section. He’s not short of innovation, but can Iceland secure their win this year? Check out the music video below: