Sjonni's Friends ( is, Vinir Sjonna) were an Icelandic

tribute band A tribute act, tribute band or tribute group is a Musical ensemble, music group, Singing, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act. Tribute acts include individual performers who mimic the songs and style ...

also known at times as Sigurjón's Friends. The band formed in early 2011 when the Icelandic singer

Sjonni Brink Sigurjón Brink (29 August 1974 – 17 January 2011), better known as Sjonni Brink or just the mononym Sjonni, was an Icelandic musician and singer. He was one of the founders of the Icelandic theatre group Vesturport, which received the honourab ...

(real name Sigurjón Brink) died just days before he was to perform his entry " Aftur heim" at Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins, the Icelandic national final for 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 ...

Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011

On 12 February 2011, the group won the Icelandic national selection; ''Söngvakeppni Sjónvarpsins 2011'' with the song " Aftur heim". The original artist was meant to be

Sigurjón Brink Sigurjón Brink (29 August 1974 – 17 January 2011), better known as Sjonni Brink or just the mononym Sjonni, was an Icelandic musician and singer. He was one of the founders of the Icelandic theatre group Vesturport, which received the honourab ...

himself, however on 17 January 2011 before he was set to compete in the third semi-final, Sigurjón unexpectedly died, due to natural causes, 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 ...

. Sigurjón's family decided, on reflection that they would like for the song to remain in the competition, and that it should be performed by a tribute band, formed after his death, consisting of Sigurjón's real life musician friends. The group made it past the first semi-final into the final, where the group won the right to represent

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 ...

in the

. Band member Gunnar Ólason had previously represented Iceland in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2001 The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Fly on the Wings of Love" by Olsen Brothers. Organised by the Euro ...

as part of the band Two Tricky.

Eurovision Song Contest 2011

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 " Coming Home", an English version of "Aftur heim". The first semi-final took place in

Esprit Arena Merkur Spielarena (stylized as MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA), previously known as the Esprit Arena (until 2 August 2018), the LTU Arena (until June 2009), and as the Düsseldorf Arena (during the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest), is a multi-functional footbal ...

in Düsseldorf on 10 May 2011. Nineteen country entries, including Iceland, took part. Sjonni's Friends performed fourteenth, finishing 4th (6th at the televoting and 3rd with the jury vote). They moved to the finals of the competition that were held on 14 May 2011 with 25 finalists taking part. They were the 21st entry to perform. They came 20th overall with 61 points.

Members

Members of the band were: *Gunnar Ólason *Vignir Snær Vigfússon *Pálmi Sigurhjartarson *

Matthías Matthíasson Matthías Matthíasson is an Icelandic musician best known for being the vocalist of the Icelandic tribute band Sjonni's Friends and being the singing voice of Sportacus in the children's television series '' LazyTown''. Life and career Matt ...

*Hreimur Örn Heimisson *Benedikt Brynleifsson Some have continued with solo singing careers. Vignir Snær Vigfússon came back in 2014 to take part in Söngvakeppnin 2014, the qualification rounds for selecting Icelandic song for the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Elsku þú", but failed to win. Matthías Matthíasson also returned in

Söngvakeppnin 2020 Iceland planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, which was scheduled to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Icelandic broadcaster (RÚV) held a televised selection process, ''2020'', to choose its entry for the contest. Fol ...

with the song "Dreyma", but also failed to win.

Discography

;Sjonni's Friends *2011: " Aftur heim" retitled " Coming Home" ;Member releases *2014: Vignir Snær Vigfússon - "Elsku þú"

References

{{Authority control Icelandic pop music groups Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2011 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Iceland Tribute bands