Biography
Jóhanna Guðrún Jónsdóttir (born 16 October 1990, Copenhagen, but was raised in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland), widely known as Yohanna, is an Icelandic singer who represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia with "Is It True?". The song came 2nd place out of 25 entries in the Final. Her debut International album 'Butterflies and Elvis' was released late 2008.
At the age of eight, Yohanna was talent-spotted by singing teacher María Björk and offered a place at her performing arts school. The following year – 1999 – she recorded her first album (at the age of nine). It was released in 2000 and obtained great success in her adopted country, so much so it was followed by a second album in 2001 and a third, comprising popular Christmas carols, in 2003.
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After a planned break to allow her voice to mature, her comeback album as an adult entitled Butterflies and Elvis was released in Iceland in early 2008 (a re-release across Europe is planned). It is a collaboration between Yohanna, British songwriter Lee Horrocks and sound engineer Thomas Yezzi.
In 2009, Yohanna was approached by songwriter Óskar Páll Sveinsson to perform his entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The Icelandic public voted "Is It True?" through to the first semi-final in Moscow on 12th May 2009, in which she qualified for the final by finishing in first place (174 points). In the final, held on 16th May, Yohanna finished as runner-up (218 points) behind Norway (387 points), whose song was pre-contest favourite and winner of the second semi-final.
Since 2008’s Butterflies and Elvis, Yohanna has released all tracks and performed under the name “Yohanna” as it is reported that “Jóhanna” was likely to be mispronounced in countries outside her homeland, an issue as her commercial appeal widens.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.