Tonight is the night… the 2nd semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest. 17 countries compete for a place in the final, including Iceland with Daði & Gagnamagnið. But who are they actually?
(It was announced yesterday( May 19th 2021) that one of the members, Jóhann Sigurður Jóhannsson, has tested positive for Covid-19. The entire band is in quarantine, and at least they will not be performing live at Ahoy tonight. footage from their rehearsals on May 13)
Daði (full name: Daði Freyr Pétursson) was born on June 30, 1992 in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Shortly after his birth, he moved to Denmark, only to return to Iceland, Ásahreppur, at the age of 9, where he spent his childhood. From an early age he has been involved in music, playing drums, piano and bass guitar. In 2012 he founded the band RetRoBot, with which he won Músíktilraunir, a national competition for emerging talent. The band disbanded in 2014, after which Daði left for Berlin, where he still lives, for musical training. In 2017 he founded Gagnamagnið (Meaning: Amount of Dates), together with his sister Sigrún Birna Pétursdóttir and his wife Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir, and childhood friends Hulda Kristín Kolbrúnardóttir (backing vocalist), Stefán Hannóðursson (dancer), and Jóðóðursson (dancer), and Jóðursson . Árný and Daði have 1 daughter together, Áróra Björg, and are expecting their second child at the end of 2021.
In 2017 they participate with Söngvakeppn in the Icelandic preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest, and become 2nd. They were already performing in what would become their trademark; the signature green sweaters, on which an avatar of themselves is printed, inspired by Daði’s greatest hobby; Lego.
In 2020 they will give it another try and they win. The 2020 Eurovision Song Contest was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but Iceland was declared the unofficial winner of the festival. In October 2020, Icelandic public broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið, confirmed that Daði & Gagnamagnið was chosen internally to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, in which they will participate with the song “Ten Years”.
Anyone who thinks that tonight’s act is a gathering of accidentally awkward dance steps will be disappointed. Nothing at all has been left to chance. Everything, but everything is thought out, practiced and executed in detail. The costumes were devised and made by themselves, including the rings, which were designed by sister Sigrún (student goldsmith).
They are also high in the polls this year. They will certainly make it to the final. Despite the dire circumstances, we wish Daði & Gagnamagnið a lot of success.
In Cooperation with Eurovision Artists
Photo-Video Credits: EBU
