Eurovision 2025: Three female hosts for Basel!

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The first media reports said that we will have three hosts for the 69th Eurovision Song Contest. Swiss newspaper Blick says three female presenters will host the show in Basel.

The only confirmed name among the three presenters is Michelle Hunziker, who will host the Eurovision Song Contest in May at the St. Jakobshalle arena.

Michelle Hunziker is a model, actress, and TV host who speaks fluent Italian and German. She began her TV career on Rai Uno in Italy and now frequently appears on television in Switzerland and Italy. Blick speculates that Hazel Brugger, Angélique Beldner, Dominique Devenport, and Sandra Studer have also been named as possible hosts, but the identities of the other two hosts have not been leaked to the media.

Another favorite to be a host of the contest was SRF commentator Sven Epiney. Epiney has been the German commentator for Eurovision in the country since 2008. Although the rumours say he will not be one of the hosts in Basel, he will still play a role in the live shows.

The 2025 Eurovision hosts will be announced at a press conference on January 20, 2025 with Joel Grolimund working as moderator for the event. The host reveal will take place in Basel’s Frank O. Gehry Auditorium at 15:00 CET. This means that we are only a few hours away from knowing who will host Switzerland’s first Eurovision since 1989.

Source: Blick

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Finland: The First Bets for UMK 2025 After the Release of All Seven Songs!

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With less than a month to go until Finland’s national final for Eurovision 2025, the betting odds for Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) are already indicating a frontrunner.

Erika Vikman appears to be the favorite for first place, with her song sparking mixed reactions among fans but gaining significant attention. In fact, it has broken streaming records for UMK standards.

In second place, with a significant gap, are One Morning Left, followed by Goldielocks and NEEA RIVER in third and fourth places, respectively.

Detailed betting odds can be found below:

The seven songs of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2025

Just yesterday, the release of the seven songs competing to represent Finland at Eurovision 2025 was completed. The seven entries are as follows (click on the song title to listen):

We remind you that Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2025 will take place on February 10 at the Nokia Arena in Tampere. The hosts for UMK 2025 will be the famous singer SANNI and Yle’s Youth News journalist, Jasmin Beloued.

Windows95man won last year’s UMK and represented Finland in Malmö with “No Rules“. The country finished nineteenth overall with thirty-eight points.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates on Finland’s participation in Eurovision 2025 in Basel!

Source: eurovisionworld

Finland: Erika Vikman on top of charts with Ich Komme!

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Erika Vikman is on top of the charts with her UMK song “Ich Komme”.

In only 24 hours Ich Komme has received more views than 2023 UMK winner Käärijä received with “Cha Cha Cha”. This could be an early positive signal for Erika Vikman’s bet to represent Finland in Eurovision. In 2023 Käärijä obtained 53% of the televote. The second artist in the televote, Portion Boys only received 14.1% of the vote. Furthermore, Käärijä not only represented Finland in Liverpool but also won the televote in Eurovision and finished in second place overall, Finland’s best result in the contest since Lordi’s victory.

Ich Komme was born from a video Erika Vikman uploaded on her Instagram account:

“While I was in Germany, I had posted a half-joking video on Instagram of me speaking German to a friend. Chisu and Jori had seen it and got the idea for the song Ich Komme  from it. When they introduced the song to me, I thought, oh my god, we’ll see each other in February. The song screams UMK and Eurovision.”

According to  Vikman her song is “ambiguous”. Ich Komme represents a message of joy, ecstasy, and a state of trance:

“This song is about taking control. Everything about your sexuality is in your own hands. Pleasure shouldn’t be taboo.”

Spotify Charts

The positive reactions to Ich Komme do not end there. Erika Vikman’s “Ich Komme” is dominating the Spotify Charts. “Ich Komme” is currently in number one in the Spotify Charts in Finland.

Currently, all UMK songs are in the Spotify Top 10 in Finland. VIIVI’S Aina is in third place. Following Nelli Matula, Costee, Goldielocks, and One Morning Left are in fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh place, respectively. Neea River is also in the Top 10, in ninth place.

According to the rules of UMK, the winner is determined by a combined 75% vote from the public and 25% from the international jury. This means that, should Erika Vikman keep the momentum until the day of the Final she could be Finland’s 2025 representative for Eurovision. Erika Vikman participated in UMK in 2020 with the song “Cicciolina”. Although she won the televote she finished in second place.

Cicciolina encouraged female artists to break free. Female artists are easily put into a certain mold. “You can’t be too revealing, so as not to be labeled a whore. Someone had to open the bottle so that the champagne could come out”, Vikman commented in an interview.

Now in 2025, Erika Vikman wish to represent Finland in Basel. About the significance of her representing Finland in Eurovision for Women she said:

Although men are wonderful, Finland also has feminine power in poetry. Now is the time for that.

The final of UMK will take place in Saturday February 8, 2025 at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland

Source: Soundi | Klangi

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Finland: Listen to the seventh song for UMK 2025!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the seventh and last song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is “ICH KOMME” by Erika Vikman and you can listen to it here:

One of the brightest stars in the Finnish pop world, Erika Vikman, started her career in the entertainment industry at a very young age. In the early stages of her career, she performed at summer theatres and various TV programmes and, in 2016, Vikman became famous among Finnish people by winning the popular Tangomarkkinat festival. In 2019, Vikman signed a recording agreement with Warner Music and Mökkitie Records. In 2020, she participated in UMK with the song Cicciolina, and the following year, she released the Erika Vikman album, which reached the top of the Finnish album charts.

“Cicciolina encouraged female artists to be bolder. Female artists tend to be put inside a certain mould. You must not reveal too much, otherwise you get labelled a whore. Someone had to pop the cork to let the champagne flow!” Vikman says.

Vikman’s music resonates with many Finns, and her fans are all across the country, from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area to small municipalities. The message inside her music is clear.

“People should be loved exactly as they are. When people are allowed to be themselves, they are free and happy,” says Vikman.

Vikman and UMK have a long history together. In 2020, she came second with her performance of Cicciolina. The following year, she performed UMK’s opening number together with Antti Tuisku. At last year’s UMK, Vikman and Käärijä performed their duet Ruoska during the intermission.

Vikman had initially thought that she would not return to the UMK stage as a contestant. However, the plans changed when she made a song when working on her next album with producers Chisu and Jori Roosberg. That was how the UMK song ICH KOMME was born.

“I asked Chisu and Jori to make a Eurovision-type song for me. They asked me directly if I wanted to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest. That’s where it all started.”

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

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares”
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin”
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina”
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy”
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of”
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME”

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the sixth song for UMK 2025!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the sixth song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is “Made Of” by Goldielocks and you can listen to it here:

Goldielocks, whose real name is Ella Mäntynen, is the youngest UMK 25 contestant at the age of 23. She describes herself as an ordinary girl from North Karelia. Goldielocks is a character created by Mäntynen, “a rock star inside the shell of a pop star”. The alter ego was inspired by the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, in which actor and artist Miley Cyrus transforms into a fictional pop star.

Goldielocks’ career path has taken her from Joensuu via Helsinki to her current home town Berlin. Prior to her solo career, she created music for Finland’s biggest pop stars, including Gasellit, Isac Elliot, ABREU, and Sara Siipola.

At the beginning of 2020, Goldielocks signed her first publishing agreement with M-Eazy Music, in 2021 a manager contract with Comusic management and, in 2022, a recording agreement was signed with Sony Music Finland. Her first single, Electrifying, was released in the spring of 2023, and she went on a tour in the autumn of the same year.

Goldielocks’ career development has been dizzying. She has already performed on all major stages in Finland, and is now on the verge of an international breakthrough, supported by her own record company.

The catchy and pure pop UMK song Made Of was born in a studio in Berlin, in collaboration with Goldielocks, producer-brother Lauri Mäntynen, and producer Topi Kilpinen. The song can be seen as the artist’s own reflection of herself or another person.

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

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares”
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin”
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina”
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy”
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of”
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME”

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the fifth song for UMK 2025!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the fifth song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is “Puppy” by One Morning Left and you can listen to it here:

One Morning Left has been making music for 16 years, and consists of five members from different parts of Finland. The founder and lead vocalist of the band is Mika Lahti, second lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Leevi Luoto, bass player and background vocalist Miska Sipiläinen, drummer Dennis Hallbäck and songwriter, guitarist and background vocalist Juuso Turkki. The story of the band began when Lahti met Teemu Rautiainen from Jyväskylä in the Finnish social media service IRC Galleria. They had a similar taste in music, which led them to found One Morning Left in 2008.

The band’s first EP was released in 2008, and the following year they went on their first European tour. In 2010, the band signed a recording contract with Spinefarm Records and the following year they released their first full-length album, The Bree-Teenz. The album Metalcore Superstars, which was released in 2016, featured the hit song You’re Dead, Let’s Disco. The song became particularly popular in Japan, and the band’s gigs in Tokyo sold out. In 2022, One Morning Left toured Europe with UMK winner Blind Channel and the German band Electric Callboy. Today, the band makes music under the German record company Arising Empire.

The band describe themselves as a hyperactive, boundary-pushing feel-good act. Their unique sense of humour sets them apart from other Nordic metal bands.

“Musically, we rely on the ’80s and ’90s, and we do not take ourselves too seriously. Sometimes, people look at you in a funny way if you mess around too much. You can dance to the beat of our music, and that’s fantastic,” Leevi Luoto says.

The band had been planning to apply for UMK for a long time.

“We already spoke with our previous drummer that UMK would be a great experience. After meeting Kiro, who produced Cha Cha Cha for Käärijä, we began to think about making an UMK song with him,” Mika Lahti reveals.

The UMK song Puppy is exactly what the name suggests. It is, very simply, about a puppy.

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

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares”
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin”
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina”
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy”
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of”
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME”

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the fourth song for UMK 2025!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the fourth song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is “Aina” by VIIVI and you can listen to it here:

Music has been a part of VIIVI’s life since childhood. Originally from Joroinen, VIIVI studied music actively and stepped onto the stage whenever she could. She gave her first performances in singing competitions.

At the age of 18, VIIVI signed a recording contract with Capitol Records, and her first song was released three years later. The same year, Lääke ranked third on Finland’s official singles list. VIIVI’s debut album Parisuhdehautausmaa, published in early 2022, won three Emma awards (Finnish Grammy Awards) and VIIVI won the newcomer of the year award. In the same year, Ihana kipu, a duet with Robin, a previous UMK contestant, broke Spotify Finland’s daily streaming record for this decade. At the beginning of 2024, VIIVI joined Warner Music Finland.

VIIVI has collaborated with many artists, including Ahti, Ani and JVG. Her career has taken significant turns, but its core has remained the same.

“Writing songs is really important to me. When I’m involved in making the songs myself, the songs look like me and you can clearly hear my voice in them. My hobby has become my life’s work, and that’s really cool,” says VIIVI.

VIIVI had been planning to apply for UMK for a long time, but she wanted to wait for the right song.

“The song must have a “douze points” vibe! Aina is loaded with such an indescribable emotion that it requires an arena to perform it. I feel like this is the most important song in my career,” VIIVI concludes.

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

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares”
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin”
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina”
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy”
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of”
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME”

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the third song for UMK 2025!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the third song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is “Sekaisin” by costee and you can listen to it here:

costee, whose real name is Jussi Tiainen, grew up in the Turku region and started his music hobby at the age of 8. He got a drum set as a gift from his father, but soon changed his instrument to a guitar as the desire to compose his own music grew. Now, 7 years into his solo career, he has over 100 million streams, three hit albums and a large number of sold-out gigs behind him. He has become known as a pioneer in alternative pop.

costee’s solo career escalated quickly and the pace has been fast. In 2017, he signed a recording contract with Etenee Records, and in March 2018, he released his first single Pakoon pahaa oloo. In 2019, he was chosen as one of YleX’s breakthrough artists, and his debut album Ehkä joskus tääl viel naurattaa was released in May. The following year, costee was nominated as the newcomer of the year and the audience’s favourite at the Emma Gala (Finnish Grammy Awards). He released his second album Kaikki loppuu aina in the same year. In 2022, costee released his third album Kaikki vampyyrit ei juo verta and founded his own record company, Tuhma Music. This allows him to share his expertise with new artists.

costee strives to be as honest as possible in his art. As a performer, costee is full of energy and captivates the audience with his mystery. His performances often involve an element of darkness.

“I want to be a mysterious performer in my own way. I want some of that darkness on the stage, but I also like strong lights that create contrast,” says costee.

costee and his fans have a particularly close relationship and community. Many fans have had tattoos of the titles, lyrics and illustrations of his songs.

costee is aiming to win UMK first and then the Eurovision Song Contest. As soon as the UMK song Sekaisin was completed, costee realised that it had to become a UMK and Eurovision song.

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

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares”
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin”
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina”
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy”
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of”
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME”

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the second song for UMK 2025!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the second song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is “Hitaammin Hautaan” by Nelli Matula and you can listen to it here:

Nelli Matula has been working since a very young age. In upper secondary school, Matula got her first professional role in show-business when she was cast to one of the main roles in the musical Mary Poppins at Helsinki City Theatre. After finishing Kallio upper secondary school, Matula had a gap year, during which she completed a vocational qualification in confectionery, which normally takes 2–3 years to complete. During her studies, Matula decided to send a demo and open application to Rähinä Records and was invited to an interview, which led to a recording contract in 2016. In the same year, Matula graduated from the Pop-Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki.

Matula’s second single, Lemmikki, exploded into huge popularity. In 2018, Matula performed in the newcomers’ medley at the Emma Gala (Finnish Grammy Awards). Her success continued with the release of the debut album Jumalatar in 2019. The album was nominated for the Pop of the Year award at the Emma Gala. In 2021, Matula joined Universal Music Finland, and her second album Kiltti tyttö was released the following year.

Putting on a show means the world to Nelli Matula, and it was the show element that made Matula apply for UMK.

“My dream is to become so big as an artist that I can perform at arenas. This is a good place to start, because there’s no bigger show than UMK in this country,” Matula says.

The UMK song Hitaammin Hautaan is meaningful to Matula, as it describes details from her personal life. The song is a reflection of her desire to change the direction of her life and find new meanings.

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

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares”
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin”
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina”
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy”
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of”
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME”

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the first song for UMK 2025!

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The finnish broadcaster has released the first song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is “Nightmares” by NEEA RIVER and you can listen to it here:

Originally from Nurmijärvi, NEEA RIVER‘s passion for an international singing career started as a teenager. The biggest leap towards her dreams coming true happened by chance on a holiday to Los Angeles. During the trip, RIVER uploaded her own singing videos to Instagram, and a local producer found them and asked RIVER to come to the studio. After returning to Finland, RIVER stayed in contact with the producer who two years later proposed that RIVER move to Los Angeles.

The American dream came true quickly for RIVER. The artist’s third song ended up on the soundtrack of a film, which made everything happen even faster. RIVER networked with Finnish music professionals in the United States, which resulted in a publishing deal with Warner Music Finland. For three years, RIVER created hits for both domestic and foreign artists, and RIVER’s reputation in the music industry strengthened.

Later, RIVER realised she wanted to create songs for herself. She stopped writing for others and focused on her own career. Around the same time, she launched her own record label. Today, she’s making waves with her English-language pop hits.

A fan of artists such as Britney Spears, Rihanna and The Weeknd, NEEA RIVER sums up her artistry in two words: “pop machine”.

“I have a suit of pop armour that’s full of power. When I’m wearing it, nothing can stop me,” says River.

UMK is a natural continuation for NEEA RIVER’s rising career and the first time that RIVER will perform one of her own songs in public. The UMK song Nightmares was based on the ambitious idea of creating a winning song for the Eurovision Song Contest.

UMK expert jury: “NEEA’s voice is the first thing that catches your attention in the song Nightmares. Clearly, this is a top professional who controls her voice exceptionally well. The next thing you notice is the stellar composition that combines modern pop aesthetics with epic Eurovision vibes and cinematic glamour. The finishing touch is the uplifting dance production with its big drops. It is great to see a self-publishing independent artist like NEEA RIVER at UMK.”

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

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares”
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin”
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina”
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy”
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of”
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME”

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 2025!