Daði Freyr
Daði Freyr | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Daði Freyr Pétursson |
| Born | 30 June 1992 Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2012–present |
Daði Freyr Pétursson (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈtaːðɪ freiːr̥ ˈpʰjɛːtʏr̥sɔn]; born 30 June 1992), known professionally as Daði Freyr or by the mononym Daði, is an Icelandic musician living in Berlin, Germany. He was due to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Think About Things",[1] 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.[2]
Early life[]
Daði was born in Reykjavík but grew up in Denmark until the age of nine, then his family moved to Iceland and settled in the Southern Region, first in Laugaland and later in Ásahreppur. Daði graduated from Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurlands (Sudurland College) in 2012 and received a BA in Music Management and Audio Production in Berlin in 2017.[3]
Music career[]
In his youth, Daði practiced drums and studied piano and bass guitar. He co-founded the band with his friend Kristján Pálmi. Later, singer Gunnlaugur Bjarnason and guitarist Guðmundur Einar Vilbergsson, whom he had met at the South Iceland Multicultural School, joined the band. In 2012, the band RetRoBot won the Músíktilraunir ("Music Experiments") and Daði was chosen as the best electronic musician of the year.[4] RetRoBot released one album, Blackout, a year later.
Söngvakeppnin and Eurovision[]
In 2017, Daði participated in Söngvakeppnin (competing to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017) with the song "Is This Love?" (Icelandic: Hvað með það?). In performances, he was supported on stage by a group consisting of his sister Sigrún Birna Pétursdóttir (backing vocalist), wife Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir (dancer), and friends Hulda Kristín Kolbrúnardóttir (backing vocalist), Stefán Hannesson (dancer), and Jóhann Sigurður Jóhannsson (dancer)—known as "Gagnamagnið" (IPA: [ˈkaknaˌmaknɪθ]). Gagnamagnið, while translated to English as "the Data", literally means "the amount of data", and is the Icelandic word for "data plan". They were characterized by their signature teal green sweaters, which have pixel art portraits of themselves printed on them.[5] He came in second place after Svala Björgvinsdóttir, who performed the song "Paper".[6]
Daði took part in the 2020 Söngvakeppnin with the song "Think About Things" (the alternate Icelandic version also titled "Gagnamagnið").[7] As in Söngvakeppnin 2017, Daði performed with his group Gagnamagnið, now collectively credited as Daði & Gagnamagnið (Icelandic: Daði og Gagnamagnið).[8][9] They won the 2020 Söngvakeppnin competition and were set to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several countries that would have participated in the 2020 contest held their own alternative competitions, broadcasting the entries and crowning a winner. Daði og Gagnamagnið won six such competitions, in Austria (Der kleine Song Contest), Australia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.[10] On 23 October 2020, it was announced that Daði & Gagnamagnið would remain as Icelandic representatives at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest.[2] They performed the song "10 Years",[11] but a prerecorded performance from the second rehearsal was broadcast during both their semi-final and the final, due to a member of the group testing positive for COVID-19.[12] Having qualified for the final, they finished fourth with 378 points.[13]
Personal life[]
Daði is married to musician Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir. Their daughter, Áróra, born in 2019, was the inspiration for the lyrics of the song "Think About Things".[14][15][16]
Daði is 2.08 metres (6 ft 9.9 in) tall.[17] He has his own app called "Neon Planets".[18] His father was a bongo player for Katla Maria in Söngvakeppni 1993, though they placed 2nd last out of 10 contestants with the song "Samba".
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| & Co. |
|
EPs[]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| FIN [20] | ||
| Næsta Skref |
|
— |
| Welcome | 23 |
Singles[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICE [23] |
BEL (FL) [24] |
BEL (WA) [25] |
IRE [26] |
NLD [27] |
NOR [28] |
SCO [29] |
SWE [30] |
UK [31] | ||||
| "Seinni Tíma Vandamál"[32] | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Skiptir Ekki Máli"[33] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Allir Dagar Eru Jólin Með Þér"[34] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Heyri Ekki"[35] (featuring Don Tox) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | & Co. | |
| "Endurtaka Mig"[36] (featuring Blaer) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Ég Er Að Fíla Mig (Langar Ekki Að Hvíla Mig)"[37] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Think About Things"[38] (as "Daði og Gagnamagnið") |
2020 | 1 | 53 | —[A] | 3 | —[B] | — | 10 | 33 | 34 | Welcome | |
| "Where We Wanna Be"[40] | — | —[C] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
| "Every Moment Is Christmas with You"[41] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Feel the Love"[42] (with Ásdís) |
2021 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Welcome | |
| "10 Years" (as "Daði og Gagnamagnið") |
1 | —[D] | — | 38 [43] |
15 | 33 | — | 23 [44] |
43 | |||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. | ||||||||||||
Notes[]
- ^ "Think About Things" did not enter the Tipparade of Walloon, but did enter the Bubbling Under.[24]
- ^ "Think About Things" did not enter the Top 40 of Netherlands, but did reach number 16 in the Tipparade.[25]
- ^ "Where We Wanna Be" did not enter the Tipparade of Flanders, but did enter the Bubbling Under.[24]
- ^ "10 Years" did not enter the Flemish Ultratop 50, but did peak at number six on the Ultratip chart.[24]
References[]
- ^ "Iceland chooses Daði & Gagnamagnið!". Eurovision.tv. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Daði og Gagnamagnið return for Iceland". Eurovision.tv. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ "Daði Freyr ætlar ekki að flytja aftur til Íslands á næstunni". DV (in Icelandic). 24 April 2017. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ inporter (8 May 2013). "Hljómsveitin RetRoBot frá Selfossi sigraði Músíktilraunir 2012". Reykjavíkurborg (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "Iceland: Daði & Gagnamagnið release the music video for "Think about things" ahead of semi-final 2 of Söngvakeppnin 2020". wiwibloggs. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "Svala fulltrúi Íslands". www.mbl.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "Daði Freyr snýr aftur í Söngvakeppnina". www.mbl.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "Daði Freyr - Think About Things (Daði og Gagnamagnið)". YouTube. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
- ^ "Eurovision 2020: in Islanda trionfano Daði Freyr e i Gagnamagnið con "Think about things"". Eurofestival News (in Italian). 29 February 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "10 countries have decided: This song should have won Eurovision 2020". Eurovisionworld. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ Farren, Neil (27 January 2021). "