Eurovision 2019 spotlight: Iceland's Hatari with "Hatrið mun sigra"...

I'm rolling through the first semi-finals as I spotlight the countries and singers taking part in this year's Eurovision Song Contest in Tel Aviv, Israel in May. You can catch up with the other entries so far by clicking here...

If I could point to one country who has changed things up from the previous year, there would be no better example than the Scandinavian island country of Iceland. Last year the country came in last place in the semi-finals with 0 televote points (from the public) for their song "Our Choice" by then 19-year-old singer Ari Ólafsson. Ari didn't deserve that bad of a showing - his voice is choirboy spotless, but the song was simply too bland and dated to even come close to the songs competing last year (it probably would've done great in like 1988). Well this year at their national finals, an act as far away from soft pop ballad as you can make dominated their contest and now is on track as one of the favorites in the race...

Iceland - "Hatrið mun sigra" by Hatari 

Let me say that before the national competition I came across the regular music video that proceeded their win, for the song "Hatrið mun sigra" ("Hate Will Prevail") from the trio Hatari. There's a reason why there is a truckload full of reaction videos to this. We are getting Nitzer Ebb by way of Rammstein in this BSDM fantasy number that at that time I didn't even know the meaning of the lyrics but DID. NOT. CARE. This is epic.

Wow.

Well this homoerotic masterpiece was concocted by the trio Hatari from the capital of Reykjavik, with Matthías Tryggvi Haraldsson, the son of a law firm owner, providing the dictator-ish shouting-style vocals in the verses, while Klemens Nikulásson Hannigan, the son of an Icelandic government department leader and a lawyer in that legal firm and sister of the law firm owner (Matthias and Klemens are first cousins) with the "clean vocals" in postcore lingo. Adding musician Einar Hrafn Stefánsson, the son of the country's ambassador to the UK, a couple backup singers/dancers, and stir in a healthy dose of anti-capitalism, and you've got a political industrial band. Now that's new. Despite the jarring sonics of the song, it's put together quite conventionally, with the dark verses detailing how hate will cause the downfall of Europe, comparing strikingly with the chorus about dreaming of another way (love). In fact, you can say the theme of "choice" between hatred and love isn't too much different than the theme of Ari's "Our Choice", you know? But can they deliver this message in a live setting? Well here's the proof...

You've even got a fucking key change.

Well I can probably safely say that Iceland's streak of missing the finals will end this year with this. Beyond the popularity of the track, you've got Finland, Portugal, Spain, and Estonia being able to vote for them, and in the "weaker" of the two semis this is possibly the strongest song in there. And with Hatari doing great press coverage of their alter egos as family men while pushing the message of the song out there to avoid confusion with the title, and I honestly think there is a chance for a potential winner here. Mind you, their controversy isn't ignored, and their joking interviews about being sponsored by Sodastream (mixed up with the fictional "Soda Dream") with is a read on the Israeli company's dealings in the West Bank, could get them in trouble. Also, Klemens and the two backup singers chorus vocals need to be on point there. Nevertheless, I'm excited to see how they're going to pull the staging off in Tel Aviv. (Rating: 9.5/10)

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Iceland has been involved with Eurovision since 1986, and while they have yet to win, the country has been runner-up twice. In 1999, Selma channeled her inner Gina G for the HI-NRG nugget "All Out Of Luck", placing second behind Sweden's equally cheesy "Take Me To Your Heaven"...

Ten years later in 2009, Yohanna claimed second behind the unstoppable "Fairytale" from Norway's Alexander Rybak with her ballad "Is It True?"...

"Is It True" is in my mind the best Iceland had sent before, but not far behind in personal faves came in 2013 when singer Eyþór Ingi Gunnlaugsson brought back a song in the Icelandic language for the first time in the 2000s with "Ég á líf" ("I'm Alive"), which came in 17th in the finals...

Also of note is the children's music group Polla Ponk, who took on intolerance (with a veiled jab at Russia) with their song "No Prejudice", which landed at 15th place in the finals, and even had an Icelandic parliament member singing backup at the event...