SINGERS from Iceland

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Icelander Singers of all time. This list of famous Icelander Singers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Icelander Singers.

1. Emilíana Torrini (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 51.28, Emilíana Torrini is the most famous Icelander Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 33 different languages on wikipedia.

Emilíana Torrini (born 16 May 1977) is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2009 single "Jungle Drum", her 1999 album Love in the Time of Science, and her performance of "Gollum's Song" for the 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

2. Eiríkur Hauksson (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 50.53, Eiríkur Hauksson is the 2nd most famous Icelander Singer.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Eiríkur Hauksson (born 4 July 1959) is an Icelandic heavy metal vocalist. He represented Iceland at Eurovision in 1986 and in 2007.

3. Hera Björk (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 49.49, Hera Björk is the 3rd most famous Icelander Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈhɛːra ˈpjœr̥k ˈθouːr̥halsˌtouhtɪr̥]; born 29 March 1972) is an Icelandic singer. She is known for representing Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Je ne sais quoi", where she finished 19th, and at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival 2013 with the song "Because You Can", where she won in the Best Song category. She was selected among the contestants of Söngvakeppnin 2024, the Icelandic national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, with the song "Við förum hærra" / "Scared of Heights". She qualified for the final and won with the English version, with which she represented Iceland in the contest for a second time, failing to qualify from the first semi-final on 7 May 2024, placing 15th out of 15 with 3 points.

4. Paul Oscar (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 47.24, Paul Oscar is the 4th most famous Icelander Singer.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson (born 16 March 1970), known internationally as Páll Óskar and Paul Oscar, is an Icelandic pop singer, songwriter and disc jockey. He had a musical childhood, singing at private functions, with choirs and for media advertisements, but was affected by bullying in school and tension between his parents at home. Paul Oscar's musical range spans traditional Icelandic songs, ballads, love songs, disco, house and techno. He released his first album, Stuð (Groove), in 1993 while in New York City, and also sang with Icelandic groups Milljónamæringarnir (The Millionaires) and Casino while establishing a career as a solo artiste. His album of ballads, Palli, was the best-selling Icelandic album of 1995. Paul Oscar came to international attention when he performed "Minn hinsti dans" ("My Final Dance"), Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. His most recent album is Silfursafnið (The Silver Collection, 2008). In Reykjavík, Paul Oscar performs regularly as a disc jockey in clubs and appears on radio and TV shows.

5. Sigga (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 45.57, Sigga is the 5th most famous Icelander Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Sigríður María Beinteinsdóttir, better known as Sigga Beinteins, is an Icelandic singer who competed for her native country in the Eurovision Song Contest three times. She was born on 26 July 1962 in Reykjavík. She got three 12-point votes overall, two from the United Kingdom and one from Portugal. With Stjórnin, she achieved Iceland's best result of fourth place until 1999, when Selma Björnsdóttir came second. On 17 February 2024, she was the inaugural awardee of the Heiðurshöll Söngvakeppninnar or the Söngvakeppnin Hall of Fame for her contribution to the competition over the years.

6. Halla Margrét Árnadóttir (b. 1964)

With an HPI of 45.33, Halla Margrét Árnadóttir is the 6th most famous Icelander Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Halla Margrét Árnadóttir or Halla Margrét (born 23 April 1964 in Reykjavík) is an Icelandic singer who represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, in Brussels. In that competition, she sang the entry "Hægt og hljótt" (in English: (Slowly and Quietly) with music and lyrics by Valgeir Guðjónsson; the conductor was Hjálmar Ragnarsson. The song ended in 16th place (22 countries) and received 28 points. Since 1997, Halla Margrét has been an opera and concert singer. A soprano, she stars on two DVDs, as Anna in Puccini's Le Villi, and as Tigrana in Puccini's Edgar.

7. Selma Björnsdóttir (b. 1974)

With an HPI of 44.61, Selma Björnsdóttir is the 7th most famous Icelander Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Selma Björnsdóttir (born 13 June 1974), also known as Selma or Selma Björns, is an Icelandic actress and singer born in Reykjavík. She is well-known internationally for representing Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest in both 1999 and 2005.

8. Svala (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 43.56, Svala is the 8th most famous Icelander Singer.  Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Svala Björgvinsdóttir (born 8 February 1977), professionally known as Svala, Svala Björgvins or Kali, is an Icelandic singer and songwriter. She rose to major fame with her song, "The Real Me" which was released on June 12, 2001 to Rhythmic contemporary radio, from her album of the same name. The singer briefly adopted the stage name "Kali" after joining the house band Steed Lord. She represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv.

9. Daði Freyr (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 43.45, Daði Freyr is the 9th most famous Icelander Singer.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Daði Freyr Pétursson (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈtaːðɪ freiːr̥ ˈpʰjɛːtʏr̥sɔn]; born 30 June 1992), known professionally as Daði Freyr or simply Daði, is an Icelandic musician living in Berlin, Germany. As the frontman of Daði & Gagnamagnið (Icelandic: Daði og Gagnamagnið [ˈtaːðɪ ɔɣ ˈkaknaˌmaknɪθ]), he was due to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Think About Things", before the event was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "10 Years", finishing in fourth place.

10. Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 43.13, Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson is the 10th most famous Icelander Singer.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson or Jónsi (born 1 June 1977) is an Icelandic singer and a former member of the band Í svörtum fötum ("In black clothing"). He represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 and finished 19th. Jónsi once again represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan in a duet with singer Greta Salóme, qualifying for the Eurovision final and finishing in 20th place. Jón Jósep also performed the opening theme song to the Icelandic children's television show LazyTown.