Daði Freyr Pétursson

Biography

Daði Freyr Pétursson (Icelandic: [ˈtaːðɪ freiːr̥ ˈpʰjɛːtʏr̥sɔn]; born 30 June 1992), known professionally as Daði Freyr or simply Daði, is an Icelandic musician. 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×Think About Things9 April 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Think About Things2:53", 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×10 Years13 March 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track110 Years2:46", finishing in fourth place.

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. In 2014, he moved to Berlin, where he received a BA in music management and audio production at the Catalyst Institute for Creative Arts and Technology 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.

2017–2019

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 onstage by a group known as Gagnamagnið, 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). They were characterized by their signature teal green sweaters, which have pixel art portraits of themselves printed on them, as well as their faux "instruments" made of household items and discarded objects that Stefán, Jóhann, and Árný utilize. Daði came in second after Svala Björgvinsdóttir, who performed the song "Paper".
In June 2019, Daði released his debut album, & Co.×& Co.12 June 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracks1Lag Sem Ég Gerði1:362Kemur Þér Ekki Við3:083Tilheyra3:324Endurtaka Mig2:465Ímyndin3:086Heyri Ekki3:277Náum Aðeins Andanum3:298Skiptir Ekki Máli3:17, an avant-garde pop record that has drawn comparisons to French electronic duo Daft Punk for its retro disco sound.

2020–2021

Daði took part in the 2020 Söngvakeppnin with the song "Think About Things×Think About Things9 April 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Think About Things2:53" (the alternate Icelandic version also titled "Gagnamagnið"), about his newborn daughter. As in Söngvakeppnin 2017, he performed with his group Gagnamagnið, now collectively credited as Daði & Gagnamagnið. The music video for the song went viral on YouTube, with actor Russell Crowe sharing it online.
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 & 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×10 Years13 March 2021 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track110 Years2:46", the lyrics referencing the length of Daði's relationship with his wife and Gagnamagnið member Árný. They were forced to use a prerecorded performance from the second rehearsal during the semi-final and final, due to a member of the group testing positive for COVID-19. After qualifying for the final, they finished fourth, with 378 points, equaling Iceland's best performance at the competition in terms of points scored.

Post-Eurovision

Following Eurovision, Daði toured Europe and the United States. He collaborated with Australia's 2021 Eurovision representative Montaigne on their single "make me feel so..." and with German pop rock band Tokio Hotel on the single "Happy People".
In 2023, he performed a cover of Atomic Kitten's "Whole Again×Whole Again13 May 2023 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Whole Again3:032Thank You3:283I’m Fine2:374Limit to Love3:325Shut Up3:04" as an interval act during the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, held in Liverpool, alongside a large number of look-alikes as well as his wife.
The same year, he released his second studio record I Made an Album.
On 1 August 2024, he performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
On 8 May 2026, he released his third studio album Too Much Not Enough×Too Much Not Enough8 May 2026 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1I Don't Wanna Talk2:552Me and You2:593Hot Damn3:034With You2:515P.E.R.F.E.C.T.2:476Beautiful Day3:177Flying Fuck2:338I'm Out and I Wanna Go Home3:159Feel It3:3410Why?2:1511Good Enough2:2712Wildfire4:47.

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×Think About Things9 April 2020 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Think About Things2:53". 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".