2009: Yohanna - Is it True?

Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir, or Yohanna as she is more commonly known outside her native Iceland was born in Copenhagen, Denmark on the 16th of October, 1990. She moved back to her native Iceland whilst still very young and was raised in the western coastal town of Hafnarfjörður. Already from the tender age of 9, this budding young artist had ambitions of making it into the recording industry, releasing her first album at the age of 8. Her debut album, entitled simply Jóhanna Guðrún 9 contained covers of modern pop hits in Icelandic versions. Another album as well as a Christmas concept album followed before she withdrew from the limelight.

Jóhanna reappeared in 2008 with the release of her debut album as an adult artist, Butterflies and Elvis. The album was given a limited Scandinavian release (Norway and Sweden), with I Miss You as the lead single. Her breakthrough came when she represented Iceland at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow, bringing the saga nation their best ever result, a highly respectable 2nd place. The success of Is It True? also ushered the swift re-release of Butterflies and Elvis, including Is It True? as a bonus track in order to cash in on her success. I Miss You was also given a re release, charting in both Iceland and the UK this time around. The album enjoyed a release throughout Europe but failed to make an impact, charting only in Iceland and Sweden.

Since her Eurovision appearance, Jóhanna has become a much sought after artist in Eurovision circles, performing in countries such as Norway, Sweden and Turkey. Her first experience at representing Iceland gave her food for thought, as she attempted oncve more to represent Iceland in 2011 with the song Nótt (Night). The hotly tipped and highly regarded song, won its respective heat of the Icelandic Selection Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins, but failed to prove a match for the winner, Sjonni’s Friends with Aftur Heim. Nótt did however become a major hit in her native Iceland, reaching number 3 on the charts.

Participant Profile

In the final

In the semi final