Published: 12 May, 2009, 22:58
Edited: 25 May, 2010, 14:56
She started singing before she could talk. So, becoming a singer was never a question for 18-year-old Johanna, representing Iceland at the 54th Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow.
“I’ve been in this business since I was nine years old, so don’t really feel young for this. But I think it’s great that younger people are getting a chance… This is a great opportunity for any artist to be seen on TV, when that many people are watching. I mean there’re thousands, millions watching it,” Johanna says. And nothing is strange about it as Eurovision has an audience of up to 600 million people!
Still, being a true professional, Johanna regrets that politics is still having a major influence on this Song Contest:
“Sadly there is a lot of politics in this competition, but there’s not much actually I have to say about it. I think it’s sad, because people should be voting for the song.”
Charming Johanna is already very popular in her country and is now getting ready for a European tour with her latest album “Butterflies and Elvis”. Her first album was released when she was 10 years old. Now she teaches children at the music school she once graduated from.
Johanna’s romantic ballade “Is it true?”, accompanied on stage by a cello player, won the Icelandic national competition and became the song which is now on top of the list among those most likely to win Eurovision.
Now Johanna hopes to score enough points to get to the final. But nerves aren’t getting to her. She says she’s “absolutely calm, as always.”
Diana El-Bakri, RT