Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir is a name that will be familiar to many of you… wait a minute.
Sylvia Night is a name that will be familiar to many of you, having represented Iceland in the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. This character was created by Icelandic performer Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir that in one of the many ridiculously brilliant moments of the contest’s history ended up winning the Icelandic selection for their Eurovision candidate, Söngvakeppnin. Utter chaos was guaranteed to follow!
Night was not created with Eurovision in mind, rather the outlandish persona exhibited was created as a wider project by Erlendsdóttir, even having their own show Sjáumst með Silvíu Nótt. This programme was met with critical acclaim from the Icelandic Film and Television Academy Television Show of the Year winning Television Show of the Year in the Edda Awards 2005. She would also pick up the audience voted Best Television Personality at the same awards. Night was a hit in Iceland but getting Europe onside, well that would be a different story.
The self-centred persona makes for hilarious viewing (if you are in on the joke of course) and taking that to Europe proved a struggle. In many ways Erlendsdóttir was too good an actress for her own good! Committing to stay in character throughout, her interviews in Athens are truly something else. Night of course is the type of character who wouldn’t be afraid to insult her host’s generosity, wouldn’t be afraid to say what she thinks and would even have “press members” removed for no reason whatsoever. Her entry itself proclaims how she is “no damn eurotrash freak”, God’s “favourite person in the world” and that Europe has “been waiting forever for [her] to save [them]”. There is a reason she is looked back on as an icon by many today. However, this was in the early days of the Internet… I was only 6 years old, the world and the Eurofandom was a very different place. With no easy way of communicating that the whole performance was a parody without breaking character, Erlendsdóttir was dependent on national spokespeople conveying that message to voters, something they seemingly didn’t manage. Iceland finished in 13th place in the semi with 62 points and consequently did not progress to the final.
You would think that the sheer absurd nature of the character would be enough to have conveyed to televoters that this was all a joke but for those at home who only saw Sylvia perform for 3 minutes, maybe it was hard to distinguish a genuine wannabe singer from a talented actress. If you want to relive the full story I highly recommend the video below (with English subtitles on for those of you who do not speak Icelandic). But whilst that may be the “full story” for Sylvia Night, it is not the case for Erlendsdóttir, who’s career goes on.
Maybe Eurovision simply wasn’t to be for Erlendsdóttir but if it proved one thing, it was that she is one fine actress! Her career would move on in a very different direction from the days of Night, releasing music under her own name and letting her vocal talents shine in a way that simply would not have fit Night’s entitled wannabe character. However that doesn’t mean Eurovision didn’t leave an impact on her! For those of you who actually want to hear her sing (but properly) why not check out her cover of Eurovision 2014’s runner up Calm After the Storm.
The love of “superheroes” ready to save the world (if we can call Night that) clearly hasn’t left her either. If you are a Marvel DC fan, you may indeed have watched Sylvia Night on the big screen and not realised it! Crazy right. Starring the likes of I don’t know, Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams and Jason Momoa to name but a few, Erlendsdóttir is credited in the 2021 film Zack Snyder’s Justice League.
She may be playing the part of Young Icelandic Woman – not exactly Sylvia Night, but it is really nice to see her career develop in new and exciting ways! We wish her all the best for her future. For you lot though, now you know of a Eurovision connection… you have a great excuse to have that movie night!
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