Scared of Heights

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"Scared of Heights"
The cover artwork for "Scared of Heights". The cover features Hera Björk in the lower-right corner of the cover.
Single by Hera Björk
Released28 January 2024 (2024-01-28)
Genre
Length3:03
LabelAlda
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Michael Burek
Hera Björk singles chronology
"Frelsisvor"
(2018) 		"Scared of Heights"
(2024)
Eurovision Song Contest 2024 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Language
English
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir
  • Ferras Alqaisi
  • Jaro Omar
  • Michael Burek
Entry chronology
◄ "Power" (2023)

"Scared of Heights" (Icelandic: Við förum hærra [ˈvɪːð ˈfœːrʏm ˈhairːa]; transl. "We go higher") is a song by Icelandic singer Hera Björk, written by Ferras Alqaisi, Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir, Jaro Omar and Michael Burek. It was released on 28 January 2024 by Alda Music. The song is set to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024.

Background and composition[edit]

"Scared of Heights" was written by Ferras Alqaisi, Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir, Jaro Omar, and Michael Burek.[2] In an analysis of the song by ESCPlus' Iván Trejo, it is described as a ballad that is "about overcoming fear and finding strength in the face of adversity".[3] It was announced to compete in Söngvakeppnin 2024, Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV)'s national selection to select Iceland's entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 on 27 January, and was officially released a day later.[4]

Eurovision Song Contest[edit]

Main article: Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

Söngvakeppnin 2024[edit]

Iceland's broadcaster for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024, Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV), organized a 10-entry competition, Söngvakeppnin 2024, to select Iceland's entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2024. The competition was split into two semi-finals consisting of five songs, occurring on 17 and 24 February 2024, with two songs in each semi-final determined by televoting and a fifth wildcard spot chosen by RÚV advanced to the grand final.[5] In the grand final on 2 March, two entries determined by a combination of televoting and juries were selected to advance to the superfinal; the system was also used in the superfinal to determine the winner of the contest.[6]

"Scared of Heights" was officially announced to compete in the competition on 27 January 2024, on RÚV program Lögin i Söngvakeppninni.[5] It was placed into the second semi-final, and was drawn to perform fifth.[7] It managed to qualify to the final in one of the four televoting spots.[8] In the grand final, the song qualified to the final in second place, along with Bashar Murad's "Wild West".[9][10] In the grand final, despite a deficit of over 15,000 votes in the first round, Björk was able to overcome the deficit by gaining almost 20,000 more votes than Murad in the second round, winning over Murad by 3,340 votes, drawing an overall tally of 100,835 votes.[10] Although the contest wasn't directly tied to select the Icelandic representative for Eurovision, on 11 March, Björk accepted to represent the country.[11]

Voting dispute controversy[edit]

Immediately after the contest, multiple claims of voting glitches and appeals were made by various groups. Icelandic viewers reported on social media that the app used for viewers in the televote, RÚV Stjörnur, glitched during the superfinal.[12] The claim was later repelled by Vodafone Iceland's director of marketing and communications, Lilja Kristín Birgisdóttir.[13] On 3 March, one of the songwriters of "Wild West", Einar Hrafn Stefánsson, appealed for a third-party investigation of the alleged voting glitches.[14] The request was granted after Ásdís María Viðarsdóttir, one of the writers for "Scared of Heights", stated her intent to "cut ties with the song" due to the alleged glitches on 9 March.[15][16]

On 10 March, Icelandic news site Mannlíf reported that Yogev Segal, an employee of the EBU-affiliated Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC/Kan), allegedly started a campaign to stop Murad from winning the competition by creating a Facebook group that urged its members to vote against Murad in the final.[17][18]

At Eurovision[edit]

The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place at the Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, and consist of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 7 and 9 May and the final on 11 May 2024. During the allocation draw on 30 January 2024, Iceland was drawn to compete in the first semi-final, performing in the second half of the show.[19]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for "Scared of Heights"
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)[20] 22

Release history[edit]

Release history and format for "Scared of Heights"
Country Date Format(s) Label Ref.
Various 28 January 2024
Alda Music
[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Hera Björk - Scared of Heights". 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  2. ^ Schulte–Wieschen, Claire (2 March 2024). "Iceland: Hera Björk wins Söngvakeppnin – To Eurovision 2024 with "Scared of Heights"". Eurovision World. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  3. ^ Trejo, Iván (3 March 2024). "Hera Björk to Represent Iceland at Eurovision 2024 with "Scared of Heights"". ESCplus. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  4. ^ Vautrey, Jonathan (28 January 2024). "Iceland: Hera Björk and Bashar Murad among Söngvakeppnin 2024 contestants ... as the competing songs are released". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b Grace, Emily (27 January 2024). "Iceland: Söngvakeppnin 2024 Acts Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  6. ^ Justicia, Fran (2 March 2024). "Hera Björk gana el Söngvakeppnin y representará a Islandia en Eurovisión 2024" [Hera Björk wins Söngvakeppnin and will represent Iceland at Eurovision 2024]. ESCplus España (in European Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  7. ^ Justicia, Fran (24 February 2024). "Hera Björk, Bashar Murad y Sigga Ózk son los últimos clasificados para la gran final del Söngvakeppnin 2024" [Hera Björk, Bashar Murad and Sigga Ózk are the last qualifiers for the grand final of Söngvakeppnin 2024]. ESCplus España (in European Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  8. ^ Vautrey, Jonathan (24 February 2024). "Söngvakeppnin 2024: Hera Björk, Bashar Murad and Sigga Ózk qualify from semi-final 2". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  9. ^ Justicia, Fran (2 March 2024). "Hera Björk gana el Söngvakeppnin y representará a Islandia en Eurovisión 2024" [Hera Björk wins Söngvakeppnin and will represent Iceland at Eurovision 2024]. ESCplus España (in European Spanish). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Yfirlýsing frá RÚV vegna kosningar á Úrslitakvöldi Söngvakeppninnar 2024" [Statement from RÚV regarding the voting on the Final Night of Söngvakeppnin 2024] (PDF). Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 4 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  11. ^ Falk, Simon (11 March 2024). "Iceland: Hera Björk competes in Eurovision 2024 with "Scared of Heights"". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  12. ^ Pálsson, Magnús Jochum (3 March 2023). "Kosningaapp RÚV til skoðunar eftir að kjósendur Bashars kusu Heru" [RÚV's election app under scrutiny after Bashar's voters voted for Hera]. Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  13. ^ Davíðsdóttir, Erla María (3 March 2024). "'Öll okkar kerfi stóðust eins og til var ætlast'" [All our systems performed as expected]. RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  14. ^ Jóhannsson, Róbert (3 March 2024). "Krefjast óháðrar rannsóknar á Söngvakeppniskosningunum" [Independent investigation into the Söngvakeppninn voting demanded]. RÚV (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  15. ^ Jónsson, Þorgils (8 March 2024). "Ásdís fylgir sigurlaginu ekki í Eurovision: 'Samviska mín leyfir það bara ekki'" [Ásdís does not intend to follow the winning song in Eurovision: "My conscience just doesn't allow it"]. RÚV. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  16. ^ Ragnarsson, Rafn Ágúst (9 March 2024). "Fá óháðan aðila til að gera úttekt á atkvæðagreiðslunni" [Independent party to review the vote]. Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  17. ^ Gunnarsson, Björgvin (10 March 2024). "Starfsmaður ísraelska ríkisútvarpsins stóð fyrir herferð gegn Bashar í Söngvakeppninni" [An employee of the Israel State Radio campaigned against Bashar in Söngvakeppninn]. Mannlíf (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  18. ^ Friðriksson, Hjálmar (10 March 2024). "Starfsmaður ísraelska ríkisútvarpsins að baki herferð gegn Bashar" [An employee of the Israeli state radio behind the campaign against Bashar]. Samstöðin (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Eurovision 2024: Semi-Final Draw results". Eurovision Song Contest. European Broadcasting Union. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  20. ^ "Tónlistinn – Lög: Streymi, spilun og sala viku 14" [The Music – Songs: Streams, Plays and Sales Week 14.] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
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