Eurovision 2025 Iceland profile: RÓA by VÆB

We profile the 2025 entry from Iceland including details on the artist, song, how it was chosen, odds, fan reaction and how the nation has fared at Eurovision.

They're the country made famous in the hit movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga and have only missed the contest twice since they began competing 39 years ago in 1986.

Iceland have given us plenty of memorable acts over the years, with recent standouts including controversial industrial metal act Hatari in 2019 and Daði og Gagnamagnið in 2020. Daði Freyr and his crew were huge fan favourites and seen as potential winners until the contest was cancelled due to COVID-19.

The nordic nation is yet to win Eurovision but have come tantalising close on two occasions. Selma Björnsdóttir came 2nd in 1999 with All Out Of Luck, and Yohanna matched that feat 10 years later in 2009 with Is It True.

After bombing out in the semis over the last two years, Iceland is looking to get its grand final qualifying record back on track in 2025 with two energetic brothers in silver suits and big sunnies and a song all about rowing. Get to know the boys from VÆB and their song below!

2025 entry: VÆB - RÓA

• Qualifed after winning the Icelandic national selction competition Söngvakeppnin

• My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 27th

• Odds to win ranking: 36th

• Aussievision team ranking: 19th

• Aussievision public poll ranking: 21st

(Rankings as of 10 April 2025)

About the artist

VÆB (pronounced 'vibe') consists of brothers Matthías Davíð Matthíasson, 21, and Hálfdán Helgi Matthíasson, 20. Their friends and family also refer to them as Matti and Bubbi. They come from a very musical family - their father is a choir director and their mother is a singing teacher.

They started playing instruments at a young age - Matthías took up the trumpet and Hálfdán got on the drums. In 2015, Hálfdán won the local television singing contest The Christmas Star aged 12.

The brothers first made a splash when they formed VÆB in 2022 and put a comedy song on TikTok which ended up going viral. Building on their profile, they entered Söngvakeppnin last year, making it to the grand final but finishing 4th with their track Bíómynd. They came back with a vengence this year and went all the way with RÓA to book their ticket to Basel.

About the song

RÓA is a high-energy electro-folk track sung in Icelandic, and translates to 'Row'. This is complimented with its jolly upbeat vibe, voilins and plenty of boats and sailing references in the duo's offical video and live performances. The brothers wrote the song with songwriters Gunnar Björn Gunnarsson and Ingi Þór Garðarsson.

Here's some of the lyrics (translated in English):

Chorus: "Rowing here, rowing there, Rowing through the waves, There is nothing that can stop me."

Pre-Chorus: "When the sea opens, the waves come, I'm alone on a boat looking for a better place, I haven't lost everything yet, But we hoist up the sails and set off again." Second Verse: "I am still in a boat, Look at this, wow, Stopping in Greenland? Yes, I am down. "Steering at sea, I am a captain, Call me Gísli Marteinn, Many months since I last saw some sun, Want to spend the rest of my life out here at sea."

All of these elements naturally proved a factor when Eurovision organisers decided to give Iceland the opportunity to open the first semi final and kick off the show with a bang!

RÓA was initially in a sea of controversy upon its release after it was accused of being similar to the song Hatunat HaShana by Isreali singers Itay Levi and Eyal Golan. The duo denied the allegations, but it didn't stop Levi writing to the EBU after RÓA won to try and disqualify them from participating in this year's contest. The EBU referred the matter to Iceland's broadcaster RUV, who ultimately determined RÓA did not exhibit sufficient similar elements to constitute plagarism.

How were VÆB chosen for Eurovision?

VÆB returned to Söngvakeppnin this year after last year's 4th place finish with Bíómynd. After breezing through their semi final, the duo were hot favourites to win the grand final from a field of six acts.

They delivered on grand final night to win both the public and jury votes - triumphing ahead of rocker Stebbi Jak and pop duo Júlí & Dísa.

Results:

1. Væb – Róa - Jury: 74, Public: 93. 167 votes

2. Stebbi Jak – Set Me Free - Jury: 57, Public: 85. 142 votes

3. Júlí & Dísa – Fire - Jury: 63, Public: 74. 137 votes

4. Bjarni Arason – Aðeins lengur - Jury: 44, Public: 39. 83 votes

5. Tinna – Words - Jury: 53, Public: 22. 75 votes

6. Ágúst – Like You - Jury: 45, Public: 23. 68 votes

Pre-party performance video

The boys are currently on the pre-party circuit spreading the VÆB... err, vibes, in the lead-up to next month's contest in Switzerland. Here they are performing at the Amsterdam pre-party - Eurovision in Concert - on 5 April:

They also made a fitting contribution to the contest's covers series - Eurovision: A Little Bit More - with a memorable take on Ja Ja Ding Dong, the song made famous by Fire Saga in Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.

The video also features a cameo from the movie's Ja Ja Ding Dong guy - aka actor Hannes Óli Ágústsson.

Iceland will be performing first and opening the first semi-final at Eurovision 2025 in Basel, Switzerland on Tuesday, 13 May.

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