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Meet María who represents Iceland in Eurovision 2015

By Kolbeinn Tumi Daðason
María's performance on Saturday took people's breath away.
María's performance on Saturday took people's breath away. Vísir/Andri Marinó
21 year old countrygirl, María Ólafsdóttir, will represent Iceland in this years Eurovision song contest in Vienna in May. María stunned the Icelandic nation with her performance of the song Unbroken in the qualifiers on Saturday and couldn't believe the result.

"I'm still realizing what has happened," Maria said in an interview with Visir today. María wrote the lyrics along with the StopWaitGo trio which composed the song.





Seven songs competed in the final round of the Icelandic qualifiers. It came down to María and Fridrik Dór with his song, Once Again. StopWaitGo also wrote Once Again and therefore were responsible for both songs in the final. The trio consists of Asgeir Orri Asgeirsson, Palmi Ragnar Asgeirsson and Saethor Kristjansson.

There were two rounds of voting in the final. In the first round of voting, a jury panel and televoting, on a 50/50 basis, determined the top two songs. These two entries advanced to the superfinal, where the two songs were performed again. This time the winner was determined by televoting only.

Icelanders went overboard on social media during the competition. One of the things that caught people's attention was María's answer to the question what was her favorite band. The answer, Birgitta Haukdal and Írafár. Birgitta represented Iceland in Eurovision in 2003 with the song Open Your Heart.





"I used to be a huge fan of Írafár and Birgitta Haukdal. She was my idol so it was the first thing I thought of."

Many viewers believe there are similarities between María and Birgitta. She laughs and says she's heard that many times before.

But won't the 21 year old be nervous on stage in Austria's capital knowing that 200 million viewers around the world will be watching?

"I'll just focus on singing to the camera and imagine I'm alone in my room singing."

One of Írafár's most popular songs, Eg sjálf (Myself)





María is from Blönduós, a small town in Húnavatnssýsla in the north of Iceland. Despite her young age she has experience from performing amongst others in The Sound of Music at one of Reykjavik's big theaters.



María and Friðrik Dór waiting for the announcement Saturday night. María was the one who celebrated.Vísir/Andri Marinó
Unbroken lyrics — María Ólafsdóttir

Step at a time

into the distance

one foot in front of the other

A step at a time

try to forget you

although you said forever

I’m letting go

Go

A step at a time

Get out of the darkness

And into the light

Forever

A step at a time

I pick up the pieces

Try putting them back together

Till I’m unbroken

Unbroken

A step at a time

Get out of the darkness

And into the light

Forever

A step at a time

And I’ve got a feeling

It’s either now or never

I’m letting go

Go

A step at a time

Get out of the darkness

And into the light

Forever

A step at a time

I pick up the pieces

Try putting them back together

Till I’m unbroken

Unbroken

A step at a time

Get out of the darkness

And into the light

Forever

I’m letting go

Go

Go

Time

I pick up the pieces

Try putting them back together

Till I’m unbroken

Unbroken

Yeah, yeah…

Yeah, yeah…

Forever


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