Finland: Listen to the sixth song for UMK 2024!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the sixth song competing in UMK 2024, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2024.

The song is “Kuori Mua” by Sini Sabotage and you can listen to it here:

Having sung and played music since childhood, Sini Sabotage rose to fame with her 2013 hit Levikset repee. The song shot up the Official Finnish Charts to number one for singles and downloads, and it went gold in 2013. Sabotage’s accomplishments since then have truly blazed a trail for female rap artists in Finland.

UMK marks a new chapter for Sabotage, or in her own words, a completely new book. According to Sabotage, the colourful contest entry Kuori mua (‘Peel Me’) was inspired by “a few fireball shots” and a collaborative brainstorming session. The song’s co-creator Vilma Virintie described how Sabotage is like an onion, with its many layers.

“We’re never just what we appear to be on the outside at any given moment. We all have many sides and so much more to give than just one picture, song or moment,” says Virintie.

We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 11 January Cyan Kicks – “Dancing With Demons”
  • Fri, 12 January Sexmane – “Mania”
  • Mon, 15 January Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  • Tue, 16 January Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  • Wed, 17 January Windows95Man – “No Rules!”
  • Thu, 18 January Sini Sabotage –  “Kuori Mua”
  • Fri, 19 January Mikael Gabriel x NUBLU – “Vox Populi”

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 10 February, 20:00 CET and will be broadcast on Yle TV1, Yle Areena and Yle radio channels.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding UMK and the finnish representative for Eurovision 2024!

Finland: Listen to the fifth song for UMK 2024!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the fifth song competing in UMK 2024, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2024.

The song is “No Rules!” by Windows95Man and you can listen to it here:

Windows95man is an embodiment of the ’90s, who frees a once timid family man from his everyday life. It all started when Teemu Keisteri’s home videos on YouTube began to circulate all over the world. One of the videos even ended up in a commercial aired during an NHL game.

In 2013, a DJ gig at the Flow Festival brought the character known as Windows95man to life. His artist costume consists of a pair of very cut-off shorts made by Keisteri’s friend, and a Windows95 t-shirt ordered online. Since then, Windows95man has performed at Helsinki’s New Year’s celebration in 2022, as an opening act for Käärijä at the Helsinki Ice Hall and at numerous smaller events.

At UMK, Windows95man will be releasing his very first single, No Rules. The song title refers to the artist’s motto, which appears in both his music and other artistic productions. Henri Piispanen is the singer in No Rules. Keisteri explains that the chorus of the song was so challenging that he had trouble finding a singer with enough technical skill to pull it off. Piispanen was the only one whose voice could go high enough.

“In my opinion, all Finns are a bit looney-tunes deep inside, and I wanted to bring that out more. Now I can share my music with an even bigger audience as well as spread the joyous message of No Rules,” says Keisteri.

We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 11 January Cyan Kicks – “Dancing With Demons”
  • Fri, 12 January Sexmane – “Mania”
  • Mon, 15 January Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  • Tue, 16 January Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  • Wed, 17 January Windows95Man – “No Rules!”
  • Thu, 18 January Sini Sabotage –  “Kuori Mua”
  • Fri, 19 January Mikael Gabriel x NUBLU – “Vox Populi”

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 10 February, 20:00 CET and will be broadcast on Yle TV1, Yle Areena and Yle radio channels.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding UMK and the finnish representative for Eurovision 2024!

Finland: Listen to the fourth song for UMK 2024!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the fourth song competing in UMK 2024, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2024.

The song is “Glow” by Jesse Markin and you can listen to it here:

With his debut album Folk in 2019, Jesse Markin became one of Finland’s most captivating new artists overnight. Markin was voted Newcomer of the Year and his album won the Critics Choice award in the annual Emma Gaala (Finnish Grammys).

He found inspiration for his music in movies, literature and his own life. Where Folk focused on social perspectives, his 2021 album Noir explored Markin’s personal life. In addition to everything else, Markin has also made music for the second season of the Moominvalley series.

Markin decided to enter UMK because his entry Glow felt right. The song is an excellent example of how Markin combines genres and styles that are important to him right now in one single.

“One of the main points of the song is ‘don’t give up’. Even the smallest spark can get things going if you just try. Musically speaking, the song contains afro-vibes, cosmic soundscapes and so much more,” describes Markin.

We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 11 January Cyan Kicks – “Dancing With Demons”
  • Fri, 12 January Sexmane – “Mania”
  • Mon, 15 January Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  • Tue, 16 January Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  • Wed, 17 January Windows95Man – “No Rules!”
  • Thu, 18 January Sini Sabotage –  “Kuori Mua”
  • Fri, 19 January Mikael Gabriel x NUBLU – “Vox Populi”

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 10 February, 20:00 CET and will be broadcast on Yle TV1, Yle Areena and Yle radio channels.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding UMK and the finnish representative for Eurovision 2024!

Finland: Listen to the third song for UMK 2024!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the third song competing in UMK 2024, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2024.

The song is “Paskana” by Sara Siipola and you can listen to it here:

Sara Siipola’s dark and soulful voice has enchanted Finns with such songs as Rohkee sydän, Susta tulee tähti and one of her latest, Uusi musta.

Siipola grew up in the Ostrobothnian town of Laihia. In 2016, she graduated with a vocational qualification in business in Vaasa. Shortly thereafter, she began her singing career. Within five years, she had a raft of singles, a debut album and the music programme Tähdet Tähdet under her belt.

“I love writing songs on big topics. I really want people to be able to listen to my songs whenever they want to feel self-confident and connect with others,” says Siipola.

Her UMK entry Paskana (‘I’m a f***ing wreck’) is about a friend who loses their father and the feelings that the loss stirs up. During one evening, Siipola watched how her friend tried to be present at a dinner party after experiencing such a loss. Paskana deals with grief and lets the listener feel heartbroken: why do others go grocery shopping and go on with their lives when my own world has stopped cold? According to Siipola, the power of the song stems from the fact that it doesn’t romanticise the idea of grief, that there will be a happy ending.

We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 11 January Cyan Kicks – “Dancing With Demons”
  • Fri, 12 January Sexmane – “Mania”
  • Mon, 15 January Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  • Tue, 16 January Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  • Wed, 17 January Windows95Man – “No Rules!”
  • Thu, 18 January Sini Sabotage –  “Kuori Mua”
  • Fri, 19 January Mikael Gabriel x NUBLU – “Vox Populi”

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 10 February, 20:00 CET and will be broadcast on Yle TV1, Yle Areena and Yle radio channels.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding UMK and the finnish representative for Eurovision 2024!

Finland: Listen to the second song for UMK 2024!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the second song competing in UMK 2024, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2024.

The song is “Mania” by Sexmane and you can listen to it here:

Sexmane, a.k.a. Max Sene, is currently one of the most listened-to artists in Finland. His 2019 debut album Sextape was a roaring success, sitting on the Official Finnish Albums Chart for over 100 weeks. His second album Väärinymmärretty earned the artist four Emma nominations (Finnish Grammys).

His 2023 album Sextape II sealed his success. After the album’s release, 18 of its 20 songs made the Finnish Top 50 chart. Sene was nominated for four Emmas in two consecutive years and won the title of Finnish Artist of the Year.

His UMK entry Mania was formed slowly from different pieces. Sene wrote the song at different times and in different moods, which is also apparent in the song lyrics.

“The words in the chorus crystallise my thoughts: it’s quite all right to be a bit ‘crazy’. I know that a lot of young people are struggling with mental health challenges. I want to give them the strength and courage to hang in there.”

We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 11 January Cyan Kicks – “Dancing With Demons”
  • Fri, 12 January Sexmane – “Mania”
  • Mon, 15 January Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  • Tue, 16 January Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  • Wed, 17 January Windows95Man – “No Rules!”
  • Thu, 18 January Sini Sabotage –  “Kuori Mua”
  • Fri, 19 January Mikael Gabriel x NUBLU – “Vox Populi”

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 10 February, 20:00 CET and will be broadcast on Yle TV1, Yle Areena and Yle radio channels.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding UMK and the finnish representative for Eurovision 2024!

Finland: UMK 2024 artists threaten to withdraw from Eurovision if Israel competes!

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Following the petition signed by more than a thousand Finnish musicians claiming Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision 2024, it now appears that even UMK 2024 artists are up to the same direction.

Some of the participants of UMK 2024, the Finnish national preselection for Eurovision 2024, have already spoken out against Israel’s participation in Eurovision.

Specifically, two artists have publicly expressed their opposition with Israel’s participation and most importantly threaten to withdraw from the competition in case Israel finally competes.

Who is ready to withdraw if Israel competes?

Jesse Markin, who will claim the Finnish representation in Malmö with his song “Glow“, has stated that he is ready to turn down his Eurovision participation -if he wins UMK 2024- and not go to Eurovision if Israel is still in.

I feel at this stage that it is more important to make human rights issues visible. At the same time, I think that whoever ends up representing Finland should represent Finland specifically and listen to the voice of the Finnish people as well as their own voice. I feel that in this situation, many Finns agree on this issue.

But for now, let’s hope that the EBU will make some kind of decision about Israel, and that Finland will get to Malmö.

Sini Sabotage, who participates in UMK 2024 with her song “Kuori Mua“, has also criticized Israel’s inclusion in Eurovision 2024’s participating countries list and mentions that if she wins, she will then consider her Eurovision participation.

I’m of the opinion that Israel should not take part in Eurovision, but unfortunately I can’t make that decision myself. I’ve granted myself a grace period, as I’m just about to take part in the UMK contest. If I win, I will have to think about it. Under no circumstances do I want to support war.

YLE’s response

As UMK artists are publicly speaking out against Israel and while their is no sign that EBU is anywhere close in disqualifying Israel from the competition, YLE has a back-up plan in case the winner of the pre-selection refuses to go to Eurovision.

According to UMK’s executive producer Anssi Autio, there is nothing to worry about since:

[…] UMK is a separate competition. I want to emphasise that, as Jesse said in his post, he is still 110 percent involved in UMK.

Only one [UMK] act will go to Eurovision — the winner. UMK’s final takes place in a month, and the situation might be very different and at that time the EBU might have already arranged things differently.

About Jesse Markin’s statements, he mentioned that:

I don’t think that Jesse Markin is somehow unique with this opinion.

Hence, bearing in mind that voices speaking out against Israel are becoming stronger, YLE has a back-up plan for Eurovision, without disclosing any information about what the plan includes.

UMK 2024

The seven artists who will compete for the Finnish representation in Malmö are the following:

  • Cyan Kicks – “Dancing With Demons”
  • Sexmane – “Mania”
  • Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  • Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  • Windows95Man – “No Rules!”
  • Sini Sabotage – “Kuori Mua”
  • Mikael Gabriel x NUBLU – “Vox Populi”

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 10 February, 20:00 CET and will be broadcast on Yle TV1, Yle Areena and Yle radio channels.

Finland’s second place in last year’s competition with Käärijä and “Cha Cha Cha”, raised the bar high for the Finns, as the promise us a more exciting show.

https://youtu.be/l6rS8Dv5g-8

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: yle

Finland: Listen to the first song for UMK 2024!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the first song competing in UMK 2024, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2024.

The song is “Dancing With Demons” by Cyan Kicks and you can listen to it here:

In 2022, Cyan Kicks competed in UMK with their entry Hurricane, placing second in the final. Their success in UMK was followed by numerous gigs all over Europe, a headline tour in Germany and, just recently, a tour in the United Kingdom and continental Europe along with rock group Smash Into Pieces.

The band is made up of vocalist Susanna Alexandra, guitarist Niila Perkkiö, bassist Leevi Erkkilä and drummer Pietari Reijonen. Cyan Kicks’ sound is easily identifiable, thanks largely to the band’s guitarist and producer Niila.

“You could say that our music is a metal heart in a pop wrapper,” states Niila.

The UMK entry Dancing With Demons is the result of long, hard work. It received its finishing touches in London’s legendary RAK Studios with the help of British songwriter Dan Lancaster. The song deals with harnessing one’s inner demons and turning them into a strength.

“Everyone has their own weaknesses and demons, which we’re ashamed of and don’t want anyone else to see. Then, we thought what if we were able to make our own inner demons our allies – what would happen?” describes Susanna.

We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 11 January Cyan Kicks – “Dancing With Demons”
  • Fri, 12 January Sexmane – “Mania”
  • Mon, 15 January Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  • Tue, 16 January Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  • Wed, 17 January Windows95Man – “No Rules!”
  • Thu, 18 January Sini Sabotage –  “Kuori Mua”
  • Fri, 19 January Mikael Gabriel x NUBLU – “Vox Populi”

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 10 February, 20:00 CET and will be broadcast on Yle TV1, Yle Areena and Yle radio channels.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding UMK and the finnish representative for Eurovision 2024!

Finland: These are the seven UMK 2024 candidates!

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Finland’s broadcaster, YLE, has announced the seven artists and their song titles that will participate in the country’s national final, UMK 2024.

The 7 artists who will participate in UMK 2024 are:

  • Cyan Kicks – “Dancing With Demons” (Thursday 11 January)
  • Sexmane – “Mania” (Friday 12 January)
  • Sara Siipola – “Paskana” (Monday 15 January)
  • Jesse Markin – “Glow” (Tuesday 16 January)
  • Windows95Man – “No Rules!” (Wednesday, January 17)
  • Sini Sabotage – “Kuori Mua” (Thursday 18 January)
  • Mikael Gabriel x NUBLU – “Vox Populi” (Friday 19 January)

Like last year, the songs will start to be released on different days, from January 11 to January 19.

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2024 will take place on February 10 at the Nokia Arena in Tampere. Presenters of UMK 2024 will be Pilvi Hämäläinen, Benjamin and Viivi Pumpanen.

Finland won second place in last year’s competition with Käärijä and Cha Cha Cha, as they were the audience winner. This makes it the country’s best result since Lordi won in Athens in 2006:

 

https://youtu.be/l6rS8Dv5g-8

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest news about Finland’s participation in Eurovision 2024, in Malmö!

Source: Yle

 

Finland: UMK 2024 Stage Revealed!

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This morning the Finnish broadcaster Yle has revealed the stage for Finland’s Eurovision selection show.

The stage for the 2024 edition of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) will have a total of 719 spotlights, LED panels, and a catwalk.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη UMK (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

The chairman of the UMK jury, Tapio Hakanen announced that 363 songs were submitted for UMK 2024.

The seven acts that will compete in UMK 2024 will be revealed this evening at 19:00 CET. The live TV announcement can be followed through Youtube, YLE Areena, with English commentary as well.

The 2024 edition of UMK will be held on February 10 in the Nokia Arena in Tampere. With a capacity of 13,455, the Nokia Arena is the largest venue to ever host UMK.

 

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the latest news regarding Finland’s participation in Eurovision 2024!

Finland: Musicians Call to Stop Israel’s Participation in Eurovision 2024

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A petition signed by 1,300 Finnish musicians is making headlines as they call for Israel’s exclusion from the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) scheduled to take place in Malmö in May 2024. The musicians are urging the Finnish TV company, Yle, to either pressure the organizers or boycott the competition if their demands are not met.

In the petition, the Finnish music industry unites to express concerns about Israel‘s participation due to its involvement in the war against Hamas in Gaza. The musicians argue that allowing Israel to participate would be a violation of human rights, and they emphasize that they believe it is inappropriate for the country to use the ESC platform to enhance its image.

Lukas Korpelainen, the initiator of the petition, stated to Hufvudstadsbladet, “Israel violates human rights. We don’t think it’s okay for the country to be part of the ESC to polish its image.”

This call for Israel’s exclusion from Eurovision follows similar demands from other countries, including Iceland. However, notable figures such as actor Stephen Fry and Kiss member Gene Simmons have expressed support for Israel‘s participation, cautioning against politicizing the Eurovision Song Contest.

Israel is one of the 37 countries registered for the competition, but the final decision on its participation has not been made by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), as confirmed by Jere Nurminen, head of communications at Yle.

The Eurovision Song Contest has faced political controversies in the past, with Russia being ejected in 2022 due to the invasion of Ukraine. This decision was supported by Sweden and other Nordic countries. Russia subsequently withdrew from the EBU, preventing its further participation in the competition.

As SVT organizes this year’s Eurovision event following Loreen‘s victory in Liverpool last year, the ESC is scheduled to take place in Malmö from May 7 to 11, promising a unique 360-degree experience for both the audience and viewers.

As a reminder, the UMK songs will be released from January 11 to 19, one every day, while the artists will be announced on January 10!

The previous UMK winner and Finland‘s representative at Eurovision 2023 was Käärijä with the song “Cha cha cha” and finished in second place in the Grand Final:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6rS8Dv5g-8

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Finland’s participation in Eurovision 2024!

Source: Skånska Dagbladet