Daði Freyr facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daði Freyr
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Daði Freyr performing in 2022
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Background information | |
Birth name | Daði Freyr Pétursson |
Born | Reykjavík, Iceland |
30 June 1992
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments |
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Years active | 2012–present |
Daði Freyr Pétursson (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈtaːðɪ freiːr̥ ˈpʰjɛːtʏr̥sɔn]; born 30 June 1992), known professionally as Daði Freyr or simply Daði, is an Icelandic musician living in Berlin, Germany. As the frontman of Daði & Gagnamagnið (Icelandic: Daði og Gagnamagnið [ˈtaːðɪ ɔɣ ˈkaknaˌmaknɪθ]), he was due to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Think About Things", before the event was cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "10 Years", finishing in fourth place. He performed a cover of Atomic Kitten's "Whole Again" during the intermission of the 2023 competition.
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Early life
Daði was born in Reykjavík but grew up in Denmark until the age of nine, then his family moved to Iceland and settled in the Southern Region, first in Laugaland and later in Ásahreppur. Daði graduated from Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurlands ("College of the Southern Region") in 2012 and received a BA in Music Management and Audio Production in Berlin in 2017.
Music career
In his youth, Daði practiced drums and studied piano and bass guitar. He co-founded the band RetRoBot with his friend Kristján Pálmi. Later, singer Gunnlaugur Bjarnason and guitarist Guðmundur Einar Vilbergsson, whom he had met at the South Iceland Multicultural School, joined the band. In 2012, the band RetRoBot won the Músíktilraunir ("Music Experiments") and Daði was chosen as the best electronic musician of the year. RetRoBot released one album, Blackout, a year later.
Söngvakeppnin and Eurovision
In 2017, Daði participated in Söngvakeppnin (competing to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017) with the song "Is This Love?" (Icelandic: Hvað með það?). In performances, he was supported on stage by a group consisting of his sister Sigrún Birna Pétursdóttir (backing vocalist), wife Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir (dancer), and friends Hulda Kristín Kolbrúnardóttir (backing vocalist), Stefán Hannesson (dancer), and Jóhann Sigurður Jóhannsson (dancer)—known as "Gagnamagnið". Gagnamagnið, while translated to English as "the Data", literally means "the amount of data", and is the Icelandic word for "data plan". They were characterized by their signature teal green sweaters, which have pixel art portraits of themselves printed on them. He came in second place after Svala Björgvinsdóttir, who performed the song "Paper". In June 2019, Daði released his debut album, & Co., an avant-garde pop record that has drawn comparisons to French electronic duo Daft Punk for its retro disco sound.
Daði took part in the 2020 Söngvakeppnin with the song "Think About Things" (the alternate Icelandic version also titled "Gagnamagnið"). As in Söngvakeppnin 2017, he performed with his group Gagnamagnið, now collectively credited as Daði & Gagnamagnið. They won the 2020 Söngvakeppnin competition and were set to represent Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several countries that would have participated in the 2020 contest held their own alternative competitions, broadcasting the entries and crowning a winner. Daði og Gagnamagnið won six such competitions, in Austria (Der kleine Song Contest), Australia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. On 23 October 2020, it was announced that Daði & Gagnamagnið would remain as Icelandic representatives at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest. They performed the song "10 Years", but a prerecorded performance from the second rehearsal was broadcast during both their semi-final and the final, due to a member of the group testing positive for COVID-19. Having qualified for the final, they finished fourth, with 378 points. He performed a cover of Atomic Kitten's "Whole Again" as an interval act during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, held in Liverpool.
Personal life
Daði is married to musician Árný Fjóla Ásmundsdóttir. Their daughter, Áróra Björg, born in 2019, was the inspiration for the lyrics of the song "Think About Things". The couple's second daughter, Kría Sif, was born in 2021.
Daði is 2.08 metres (6 ft 9.9 in) tall. He has his own app called "Neon Planets". His father was a bongo player for Katla Maria in Söngvakeppni 1993, where they placed ninth out of ten contestants with the song "Samba".
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Details |
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& Co. |
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I Made an Album |
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EPs
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
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FIN |
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Næsta skref |
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— |
Welcome |
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23 |
I'm Making an Album 1/3 |
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— |
I'm Still Making an Album 2/3 |
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— |
Singles
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||
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ICE |
BEL (FL) |
BEL (WA) |
IRE |
NLD |
NOR |
SCO |
SWE |
UK |
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"Seinni tíma vandamál" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
"Skiptir ekki máli" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Allir dagar eru jólin með þér" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Heyri ekki" (featuring Don Tox) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | & Co. | |
"Endurtaka mig" (featuring Blaer) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Ég er að fíla mig (Langar ekki að hvíla mig)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
"Think About Things" (as Daði og Gagnamagnið) |
2020 | 1 | 53 | — | 3 | — | — | 10 | 33 | 34 |
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Welcome |
"Where We Wanna Be" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
"Every Moment Is Christmas with You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Feel the Love" (with Ásdís) |
2021 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Welcome | |
"10 Years" (as Daði og Gagnamagnið) |
1 | — | — | 38 |
15 | 33 | — | 23 |
43 | |||
"Somebody Else Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
"Something Magical" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||
"Sabada" (with Filous) |
2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
"I'm Fine" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | I Made an Album | ||
"Whole Again" | 2023 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |
"Moves to Make" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | I Made an Album | ||
"I'm Not Bitter/Outside" | 2024 | TBA | non-album single | |||||||||
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released. |
As featured artist
Title | Year | Album |
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"Make Me Feel So..." (Montaigne featuring Daði Freyr) |
2022 | Making It! |
"Happy People" (Tokio Hotel featuring Daði Freyr) |
2001 |
Remixes
Title | Original artist | Year | Album |
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"I Thought I'd Be More Famous by Now" | Special-K | 2018 | Non-album singles |
"Eye of the Storm" | Millie Turner | 2020 |
Awards and achievements
Award | Year | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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Icelandic Music Awards | 2018 | Pop Song of the Year | "Hvað með það" | Nominated | |
2021 | Best Pop Song | "Think About Things" | Won | ||
Hlustendaverðlaunin | Best Music Video | Won | |||
Singer of the Year | Himself | Won | |||
Eurovision Awards | Best Dressed | Himself (with Gagnamagnið) | Nominated | ||
Most Iconic Prop | Runner-up | ||||
Best Choreography | Nominated | ||||
Best Official Video | "10 Years" (with Gagnamagnið) | Runner-up | |||
Reykjavík Grapevine Music Awards | 2024 | Artist of the Year | Himself | Runner-up |
See also
In Spanish: Daði Freyr para niños