Hera Björk
“Scared Of Heights”,
2024
in Malmö
(1. Halbfinale)
“Je ne sais quoi”, 2010 in Oslo (Finale) (19. Platz, 41 Punkte)
As of: May 7, 2024 11:12 p.m
Hera Björk Þórhallsdóttir already had a lot of experience with the ESC. 14 years after her performance with “Je ne sais quoi” in Oslo in 2010, she represented Iceland again at the competition, but was eliminated in the semi-finals.
With the title “Scared Of Heights” Hera Björk won the Icelandic Söngvakeppnin for a second time – the show that is considered the preliminary decision for the ESC. In 2024, however, the competition was separated from the ESC for the first time; it was only over a week later that Icelandic television confirmed Hera Björk as an ESC participant. In the super final of the Söngvakeppnin, she somewhat surprisingly prevailed against the favored Palestinian starter Bashar Murad and his title “Wild West”. Now Hera Björk was allowed to go back where she belonged: on the ESC stage!
VIDEO: Iceland: Hera Björk – “Scared Of Heights” | First ESC semi-final 2024 (3 min)
Hera Björk has a lot of singing and ESC experience
Hera Björk, born in 1972, works off stage as a real estate agent in Reykjavík. And yet she can look back on a long career in show business. In 2000 she released her first of four solo albums. Before that, she hosted the Icelandic TV show “Stutt í spunann” from 1999 to 2000 and sang in musical productions. In between, she toured Iceland with her band 17 Vélar. In 2004 she moved to Copenhagen to lay the foundation for her second career at the “Complete Vocal Institute” there. Hera Björk worked as a singing teacher across Europe for years.
A soft spot for the Eurovision Song Contest
Even before her first ESC appearance for Iceland with “Je ne sais quoi” (“That certain something”) in 2010, Hera Björk appeared on the international stage twice. In 2008 in Belgrade she sang in the background choir of Euroband. She took on the same task for the Icelandic act in 2009 and took second place with Yohanna. Not much would have been missing and she would have celebrated her premiere as a soloist at this Moscow ESC. Hera Björk competed in the Danish preliminary round in the same year and only narrowly failed to come second with her ballad “Someday”. In 2013 she won the Viña del Mar Festival in Chile, one of the most important music festivals in Latin America, for Iceland. In 2015, Björk was once again a background singer at the ESC – this time for María Ólafsdóttir. In 2019 she tried again for a title in Iceland, but did not reach the final there.
Despite being a fan favorite, “Je ne sais quoi” only reached 19th place
Hera Björk from Iceland has been delighting international ESC fans since 2010.
Over the years, Hera Björk has built up a great reputation among ESC fans. She appeared at numerous large and small ESC events and also hosted the biggest party: Eurovision in Concert 2016 in Amsterdam. Her contribution from Oslo 2010 laid the foundation for this international fame. The title “Je ne sais quoi” first brought her luck. In the first semi-final in Oslo, Hera Björk easily qualified for the final in third place. But then the lights went out for their Eurodance number: eight points from Belgium was the highest of emotions and with a total of 41 points, “Je ne sais quoi” settled in 19th place.
Further information
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NDR Blue | ESC Update | March 16, 2024 | 7:05 p.m