Daði Freyr Pétursson, known professionally as Daði Freyr or Daði (born 30 June 1992), is an Icelandic musician.
Daði is best known for his involvement in the Eurovision Song Contest. He was initially chosen to perform at the 2020 edition with the song "Think About Things", alongside his band Gagnamagniðnote . The song quickly became a viral hit, with celebrities like Russell Crowe sharing it ahead of them winning Söngvakeppnin, Iceland's national selection. They'd previously competed to represent Iceland at Eurovision in 2017 with the song "Is This Love?", which finished second to Svala's "Paper".
After the 2020 edition was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Daði & Gagnamagnið were confirmed to be returning for 2021, with the new song "10 Years". They were unfortunately unable to perform live after Jóhann Sigurður tested positive for COVID-19 just before the semi-final they were set to compete in. Nevertheless, a rehearsal recording was used instead and they managed to qualify for the grand finale, placing a respectable fourth. Daði was invited to perform as part of the interval act at the 2023 Grand Final, finally giving him his moment on the Eurovision stage.
Discography:
- Næsta Skref EP (2017)
- & Co. (2019)
Daði Freyr & Gagnamagnið provide examples of:
- Air Guitar: Of the "substitute" variant. The members of Gagnamagnið who don't sing (Árný Fjóla, Stefán and Jóhann Sigurður) aren't actually playing music, and their fancy instruments are just for show.
- Bizarre Instrument: The (fake) ones wielded by Árný Fjóla, Stefán and Jóhann Sigurður. Usually they look like crosses between keytars and saxophones (sparkles may be included). For their Eurovision performance, each of them wielded a crescent-shaped keytar that could spin on its axis and join with the other two to become a circular piano.
- Brother–Sister Team: Daði's sister, Sigrún Birna, is a member of Gagnamagnið.
- I Am the Band: Played straight with their 2017 bid for Eurovision, wherein Daði competed as a solo act supported by Gagnamagnið, but then averted in 2020 and 2021 when they were officially billed as a joint act.
- In the Blood: His father participated in the 1993 edition of Söngvakeppnin as a bongo player for Katla Maria.
- Lyrics/Video Mismatch: "10 Years" is a sweet love song directed towards his wife Árný Fjóla and how they're still going strong after the titular time period. The video has Gagnamagnið as a Power Rangers-esque team fighting a giant monster that is ravaging Iceland. It sort of makes sense after it was revealed that the monster and the giant robot summoned by the team to fight it are portrayed respectively by Árný and Daði, Masked Singer-style.
- Non-Appearing Title: "10 Years". It is one of only two 2021 Eurovision entries to do that, next to Albania's "Karma" (an own-language song whose title is a globally-used Sanskrit loanword). However, the opening line (“we’ve been together/for a decade now”) does allude to the title.
- Parental Love Song: "Think About Things" was written for and about his young daughter, who was born shortly before the song was selected for Eurovision.
- Pregnant Badass: Árný became the latest in a line of pregnant Eurovision performers when she went on stage carrying hers and Dadi's second child.
- Sequel Song:
- "Think About Things" is this to "Is This Love?", which is about the beginning of his relationship with wife and bandmate Árný Fjóla, with whom he later had a child with and wrote "Think About Things" about.
- "10 Years" is in turn one to "Think About Things", about the next big moment in Árný and Daði's relationship: their tenth anniversary. Case in point, the "10 Years" single cover has Árný's stylized face on it just like "Think About Things" had Daði's.
- Stylistic Suck: Gagnamagnið's trademark aesthetic, deliberately appearing amateurish with mint-green coordinated sweaters and dorky dance moves. The video for "10 Years" includes a "giant" monster ravaging obvious cardboard buildings.
- Translated Cover Version: Inverted with "Think About Things", which was written in English first and then translated into Icelandic per Söngvakeppnin rules.
- True Companions: At the core, Gagnamagnið is a close group of friends and relatives who are there to have fun. Case in point: during Eurovision 2021, after Jóhann Sigurður tested positive for COVID-19, the rest of the group was given the option of performing live without him. They refused to do so, however, stating that the performance was always intended as a sextet (so a recording of a rehearsal performance was used instead).
