Today the rehearsals for Eurovision 2023 continue in Liverpool. Countries rehearsing on Day 3 include Estonia, Iceland, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Georgia, San Marino, Austria, Albania, Lithuania and Australia. The second to rehearse today is Iceland’s Diljá.
Diljá’s first rehearsal
The next to take to the Eurovision 2023 stage at Liverpool Arena in Liverpool was Iceland’s Diljá. Diljá will be competing in this year’s competition with her entry “POWER” following on from winning the selection Söngvakeppnin 2023.
Following Diljá’s first rehearsal a clip of what went on was posted on the official TikTok account of the Eurovision Song Contest. The clip showed Diljá before and after she took to the Eurovision stage for the first time, as well as giving us some insight into how well her first rehearsal went.
What did we learn about Iceland’s staging?
Photo Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU
As reported by the Eurovision 2023 liveblog, Diljá’s is wearing a silver suit similar to, but not the same as, the one from her Söngvakeppnin performance. Her powerful vocals are matched with her energetic performance style, which sees the Icelandic singer pull a variety of intense moves. Diljá makes use of the entire stage throughout her performance.
What we thought of Diljá’s first rehearsal
After Diljá’s first rehearsal, Rosie gave her initial thoughts on the snippet that we saw.
Who is Diljá
Diljá – whose full name is Diljá Pétursdóttir is a 21 year old singer from Kópavogur in Iceland.
Diljá’s career kickstarted when she took part in Ísland’s Got Talent in 2015. In 2020 Diljá moved to Copenhagen to undergo her physiotherapy degree as well as move intensive singing lessons.
As of 2023 Diljá’s Eurovision entry Power is her only song release, there is also an Icelandic version of the song which is entitled “Lifandi inni í mér”. In the first semi final of the national final Diljá performed the Icelandic version of the song, before settling on performing the English version at Eurovision.
Diljá’s Power was written by herself alongside Pálmi Ragnar Ásgeirsson.
Iceland’s Eurovision Journey
Iceland made its debut on the Eurovision stage in 1986, finishing 16th with the song “Gleðibankinn” (Bank of fun) by ICY. In their 34 appearances, Iceland has finished in top 10 an impressive 7 times. Their best result to date is second place, which they have achieved twice. The first time was in 1999, where Selma Björnsdóttir received 146 points for her performance of “All out of luck”. The second time was in 2009, with Yohanna singing “Is It True” and receiving 218 points. Iceland’s most recent representative on the Eurovision stage was Systur, singing “Með hækkandi sól”, finishing 23rd with 20 points.
What do you think of “POWER”? Can Diljá bring Eurovision to Iceland? Let us know your thoughts! Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as we prepare for Eurovision 2023!
News Source: That Eurovision Site
Photo Credit: Corinne Cumming / EBU
