RT Documentary On One wins its first ever dedicated music award

RT Documentary On One has scooped its first ever dedicated music award. At the 2026 Icelandic Music Awards, composer lfur Eldj rn won Release of the Year in the coveted Cinema and Theatre Music Soundtrack category for the original score he wrote for Where is J n? This is particularly notable as it's the first time music for a podcast series has been recognised at the Icelandic music awards.

Where is J n? a co-production between RT and R V (public broadcaster in Iceland), told the story of J n J nsson, an Icelandic poker player who disappeared in Dublin in 2019. As a result of the podcast series, Europol became involved in the investigation, which has since seen Garda visit Iceland to interview over 50 persons of interest. The investigation into J n's dissapperance continues.

The Icelandic Music awards have been running for over 30 years and with a rich vein of musical talent in Iceland, previous winners include Sigur R s, Bj rk, Olafur Arnalds. This year's big winner was two time Grammy winner, Laufey.

Televised live on R V from Harpa, the renowned concert hall in Reykjav k, lfur Eldj rn accepted his award saying The one thing I'm not going to forget in this speech is to thank the people behind this podcast: Anna Marsibil and Liam who is excitedly streaming this ceremony from Ireland. I would also like to thank R V and RT for having the ambition to include an original soundtrack in a podcast, and then I would like to dedicate this award to J n, his family and loved ones. It was a great honor to be a part of telling your story.

Co-producer of the Where is J n? series, Anna Marsibil Clausen said lfur's work on the podcast was phenomenal and we are all very excited and proud. This is the first time music from a podcast is celebrated at all at the Icelandic Music Awards, and it definitely encourages us to include more original score in our future storytelling.

Liam O'Brien from RT Documentary On One said it's brilliant to see the music we're commissioing for our series succeed outside of the series themselves. Original music soundtracks have become such an intergral part of our storytelling and lfur did an exceptional job with this soundtrack. In a very competitive category, it's gratifying to see music for a podcast series outshine some big film and TV drama soundtracks. Special mention also to our marketing and graphics team who did a super job on the cover art design for Where is J n?, including this album cover!

To date, under the RT Music label, RT Documentary On One has now released six music albums of original soundtracks commissioned for its podcast series, namely Finding Samantha, The Real Carrie Jade, Runaway Joe, Where is J n? Stolen Sister and First Conviction.

Click here to see the full list of all winners at the 2026 Icelandic music awards.

LINK:	https://about.rte.ie/2026/03/23/rte-documentary-on-one-wins-its-first-...
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