We recently had the pleasure of talking with BIRGO, a young up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Iceland. She’s making waves as a competitor in Iceland’s Söngvakeppnin competition for Eurovision with her empowering anthem, Stormchaser.

Birgo is redefining herself as an artist as embodies resilience and artistic rebirth. Teaming up with international songwriters, her music journey reflects a blend of vulnerability and strength. As she channels her experiences with anxiety into her music, she’s inspiring fans worldwide to embrace their dreams amidst life’s storms.

BIRGO will compete against four other acts in the first Semi Final of Söngvakeppnin 2025 on Saturday, 8^th February. Her song Ég flýg í storminn will need to finish Top 3 in the Semi if she’s to secure a spot in the Söngvakepnnin Final two weeks later.

The Icelandic Eurovision selection is unique in that artists must sing in Icelandic in the Semi Finals, but must sing in the language they intend to sing in at Eurovision. Many artists choose to sing in English as a result, and Birgo has chosen to switch Ég flýg í storminn to Stormchaser for the Final, but things can always change:

“Yeah, I mean, the song was written in English. So we never really thought about doing the song in Icelandic. But now that we’re seeing all of the comments and stuff, we aren’t really settled on the English. Now we’re just kind of thinking if we should spice it up a bit and maybe do a mix or just stick with Icelandic version. We just have to do a meeting with the team and see what’s going to happen. So we are really unsure what we’re going to do right now, if we qualify.”

— Birgitta Ólafsdóttir

Birgo is in the midst of reinventing herself as an artist. In fact, Stormchaser is her first release using the stage name Birgo, having previously released music under her actual name:

“I’ve just been building myself up as a person and all these changes came along the way with that. And I was like, yeah, Birgitta is this like, shy girl who was afraid to step on stage. But Birgo is like a rebirth of her — who’s not afraid, who’s a storm chaser.”

— Birgitta Ólafsdóttir

Anyone who has heard either the English or Icelandic version of Birgo’s Söngvakeppnin song will certainly not forget an extremely high note in the song. Sebi asked her how she summons the power to hit that note:

“I naturally have really high vocal cords. People worry if I’ll hit the high note, but for me, that’s the easiest part of the song. It’s about believing in yourself.”

— Birgitta Ólafsdóttir

Be sure and check out the full interview with this Icelandic rising star (link above) and find out how she’s preparing for her first Icelandic Eurovision participation, how the song Stormchaser came to be, and how she’s drawing on previous Eurovision performances to keep her anxiety at bay!

We wish BIRGO all the luck at Söngvakeppnin 2025! Let us know in the comments and on our social media profiles @buildingbridgespod what you thought of the interview and if you think we’ll see her in Basel in May!