100 Days, 100 Songs, The Big Countdown To Eurovision
With exactly 100 hundred days until Eurovision, it seems fitting to celebrate this by counting down 100 days with 100 songs. The last sixty three years has brought us nearly eighteen hundred fantastic, and unique Eurovision entries that some will love, whist others might not like so much. We will bring you a song, and give you details on how it performed at the contest, but also information on the artist, and find out what happened next? Join us on this journey as we countdown from day 100 to 1 where we will have another 43 songs to add to this list.
Day 100 - Birgitta Haukdal - "Open Your Heart" For Iceland 2003
The year was 2003, and it was the second year that the contest had ever been held in a Baltic state. Marie N with the song, "I Wanna" brought the contest to Riga, Latvia for the first time. The contest would see twenty six countries all sing their hearts out to try and be crowned Eurovision's winner that year. The show was held in the Skonto hall in Riga, and televised live on Saturday 24th May 2003. Previous winner Marie N and Renārs Kaupers (Brainstorm Latvia 2000). Turkey won it for the first time when Sertab Erener would sing "Everyway I Can". It was also a year that saw Ukraine enter for the first time, whilst the United Kingdom scored its very first last place with "Nil Point".
That year Iceland would open the show in spectacular style. The contest begun with a young, and talented singer Birgitta Haukdal singing, "Open Your Heart". A modern pop, uptempo song was the perfect way to start the contest, and despite being the first to sing that year, it didn't come at a disadvantage as she entered the top 10 for Iceland for the first time since 1999. The song was to score 81 points, which meant the Icelandic singer came a very respectable 8th place. She was awarded points from 16 nations that saw both Malta, and Norway award her the maximum 12 points. Check our the entry below:
Who Is Birgitta Haukdal?
The 39 year old singer was born Birgitta Haukdal Brynjarsdóttir on the 28th July 1979, in Húsavík, Iceland. The talented artist spent most of her young life in the north. She is known as a singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. Birgitta is a very versatile artist who has many talents. In 1999 she would first rise to prominence where she would be the lead singer for the band Írafár (Chaotic state). The summer of 2000 would see the first single released. By 2002 the band would be one of Iceland's most popular. In fact their debut album "Allt sem ég sé" ("All I see") would be the fastest selling in the country for 25 years.
When she performed at Eurovision, the singer was known as one of Iceland's most popular pop vocalists. The contest helped her gain even more prominence at home and internationally. That same year she would win, "Pop star of the Year" and "Performer of the Year" back in the Icelandic music awards 2003. Her song "Open Your Heart" was sung in French, German, and Spanish. However, it would be a different artist that would sing the multi lingual versions of this hit.
What Happened After Eurovision?
The talented singer didn't disappear after the Eurovision song contest. In 2006 she would try again to represent her country at the contest with the song "Mynd Af Þér" meaning "Picture of you". Two years later she would duet with Magni Ásgeirsson with the song "Núna veit ég", which came just outside of the top 3 at the national final. Finally, in 2013 she would try her luck once again with the song "Meðal Andanna" which would qualify for the final, but would be eliminated in the super final that year.
After 2003, Birgitta would release a further four albums with her most recent being in 2011 called,"Straumar". All achieving relative success. She is still very much active as a singer.
In 2003 Birgitta competed in a very strong year, with her song, "Open Your Heart" becoming an evergreen of the contest. Do you like the song? Do you have happy memories of it. Who would you like to see in our countdown? Tell us your thoughts, and opinions in the comments below, or on our social media platforms.
