Sigurjón Brink (29 August 1974 – 17 January 2011), better known as Sjonni Brink or just the mononym Sjonni, was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

ic musician and singer. He was one of the founders of the Icelandic theatre group Vesturport, which received the honourable Europe Theatre Prize in St. Petersburg.

Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins

Earlier competitions

Sjonni was a household name in Iceland and participated in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins the Icelandic national selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest three times: * 2006 with "Hjartaþrá" *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

with "Áfram" *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

with "You Knocked Upon My Door" and "Waterslide",

2011 competition

Sjonni would have also participated in Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011, with " Aftur Heim", but died before the first performance in the third semi-final. Sigurjón Brink had composed the music himself, with lyrics by his wife Þórunn Erna Clausen. Sigurjón's family decided, on reflection that they would like for the song to remain in the competition, that it should be performed by Sjonni's Friends, a tribute band consisting of Sjonni's real life musician friends Hreimur Örn Heimisson, Gunnar Ólason, Benedikt Brynleifsson, Vignir Snær Vigfússon, Matthías Matthíasson and Pálmi Sigurhjartarson. The formation won the Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011, and the whole nation joined together in grief for Sjonni's premature death. The group Sjonni's Friends (in Icelandic Vinir Sjonna) won the right to represent Iceland in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), Satellite" by Lena Meyer-La ...

. The actual Eurovision competition was held in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

in May 2011 where the formation Sjonni's Friends sang it with amended English lyrics as "Coming Home". It came 20th overall during the final of the competition after receiving 61 points.

Death

During the evening of 17 January, Sigurjón died at his home in

Garðabær Garðabær () is a municipality in the Capital Region of Iceland. History Garðabær is a growing town in the Capital Region. It is the sixth largest town in Iceland with a population of 13,872 (Sept 1, 2013). The site of Garðabær has been inha ...

in Iceland, after suffering a stroke. He left behind his wife and four children. His son, Aron Brink, competed in the Icelandic national final, Söngvakeppni 2017, with his song "Hypnotized" and finished fourth.

Discography

Singles

*2006: "Hjartaþrá'' (ISL #4) *2007: "Áfram" *2007: "La Bamba" (ISL #7) *2008: "Flökkuhjartað" *2008: "Brosið þitt lýsir mér leið" *2010: "You Knocked Upon My Door" *2010: "Waterslide"

Discography (after death)

Albums

*2011: ''Sjonni Brink'' *2004: Flavors, Go your own way. *1995: with his band In Bloom.

Singles

;as Sjonni's Friends (sometimes aka Sigurjón's Friends) *2011: " Aftur heim" (ISL #1) **2011: "Coming Home" (English version of "Aftur heim" as sung during

) *2011 : Reality (recorded in the summer of 2010 and released after his death, included on the Sjonni's Friends Eurovision cd.) ;as Þórunn Erna Clausen & Sjonni Brink *2013: Days Gone By"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brink, Sigurjon 1974 births 2011 deaths 21st-century Icelandic male singers People from Garðabær English-language singers from Iceland Deaths in Iceland