In 2011, at the age of 13, Iva participated in the first edition of Jólastjarnan ("Christmas Star"), an Icelandic singing competition for children, broadcast by Stöð 2.
[2][3] She auditioned with the song "Je hebt een vriend" by the Belgian girl group K3, which she had translated to Icelandic as "Þú átt þér vin".
[5] In 2015, she represented her school Hamrahlíð Junior College in the Söngkeppni framhaldsskólanna with the song "Lovin' You", originally by Minnie Riperton.
[7] In 2020, Iva was selected by the Icelandic broadcaster Ríkisútvarpið (RÚV) to participate in Söngvakeppnin, the national preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2020.
[13][14] In 2018, Iva moved back to the Netherlands to study classical singing at the Codarts Conservatory in Rotterdam.