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Finland: The Rasmus is representing the country in Eurovision 2022! | The Rasmus at the winner’s press conference!

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The grand final of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, the national final of Finland, has just been completed, with the country choosing The Rasmus as the festival’s winner and therefore their representative for Eurovision 2022 in Turin. Finland used the same show to pick their representative for yet another year since 2012.

A total of seven finalists, that were picked among 312 submitted songs from more than 1000 songwriters, competed in the national final, claiming the ticket to Turin.

The seven artists:

The seven candidates of the night were:

  1. The Rasmus – Jezebel
  2. Isaac Sene – Kuuma Jäbä
  3. Olivera – Thank God I’m An Atheist
  4. BESS – Ram pam pam
  5. Younghearted – Sun numero
  6. Cyan Kicks – Hurricane
  7. Tommi Läntinen – Elämä kantaa mua

 

The results was decided by 25% international jury vote and 75% televote.

The Results:

Juries (50%)

  • The Rasmus – 68
  • Isaac Sene – 28
  • Olivera – 46
  • BESS – 56
  • Younghearted – 40
  • Cyan Kicks – 52
  • Tommi Läntinen – 4

Public vote (50%)

  • The Rasmus – 242
  • Isaac Sene – 99
  • Olivera – 121
  • BESS – 184
  • Younghearted – 51
  • Cyan Kicks – 169
  • Tommi Läntinen – 52

After the public and the international juries voted were combined, the results of the national final are:

  1. The Rasmus – 310
  2. Cyan Kicks – 221
  3. Bess – 204
  4. Olivera – 167
  5. Isaac Sene – 127
  6. Younghearted – 91
  7. Tommi Läntinen – 56

The big winner of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022 were The Rasmus with the song “Jezebel“.

You can watch The Rasmus’ performance in the national final here:

The Winner’s Press Conference:

The winners of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022, The Rasmus, were taken to a press conference after their victory. They were asked about their plans for Eurovision and their participation in UMK 2022.
What they said was that they look forward to performing together with last year’s winners, Måneskin. They added that it’s great that rock music is getting better and better and it’s getting bigger in the contest each year. Lastly, the lead singer, Lauri Ylönen, revealed that it is long time dream for their fans to see them performing in UMK.

Do you agree with Finland’s choice of representative for Turin? Tell us in the comments!

Finland: Snippets of the UMK 2022 performances!

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A few minutes ago, UMK’s official Twitter account posted snippets of tomorrow’s performances. You can check out the artists’ performances below.

In an online group-chat organized by UMK’s production for fans to chat with Mikko Silvennoinen, journalist, and Henkka Remes, editor and host of the UMK podcast, they announced the UMK 2022 international jury. The international jury consists of representatives from Azerbaijan, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Norway, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Each country has a four-member team of music professionals.

The artists participating in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022 are as follows:

  1. The Rasmus – Jezebel
  2. Isaac Sene – Kuuma Jäbä
  3. Olivera – Thank God I’m An Atheist
  4. BESS – Ram pam pam
  5. Younghearted – Sun numero
  6. Cyan Kicks – Hurricane
  7. Tommi Läntinen – Elämä kantaa mua

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding Finland’s participation in Eurovision 2022!

Finland: Interview with Olivera | Life after death and the participation in UMK 2022 ! (Video)

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After being selected to compete in this year’s Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022, Finland’s National Final, Olivera speaks exclusively to EurovisionFun and Apostolos Bogiannos and Apostolis Matamis.

Olivera is among the seven finalists of the national final of Finland for Eurovision 2022 and she will try to represent her country with the song “Thank God I’m an Atheist“.

I always considered competing in UMK but with the appropriate song. And now this showed up  and I think I have to pass a deep message.  As a person that is not so religious, I believe that we can’t know if there is afterlife. No one can answer this question with certainty. I doesn’t matter where everyone believes in, the only thing that matters is having a important life, that no one guarantees will last forever. We must look today, at the people we have close to us and do whatever pleases us, express our love and be good people. I wrote “Thank God I’m an Atheist” wanting to pass this message to the world and especially those who make this kind of thought about life. I didn’t submitted to UMK from the start. My win in the national final would be amazing but what matters the most for me is to manage to make the world express through this.

Asked about her staging of the song in the national final Olivera said:

There is nothing too big or too small. The staging will be based on the story of the song without having something that will distracting from the message I want to pass. I think it will be very beautiful.

Even though she likes every song in UMK 2022, the ones that stand out for her are those of Tommi Läntinen, Cyan Kicks and Isaac Sene.

Her favorite Finish entries are those of Vicky Rosti & Boulevard (1987) and Paradise Oskar (2011) while from the contest in general the entry that stands out for her is Loreen (Sweden 2012).

If she could pick a Eurostar to collaborate that would be Måneskin.

Sometime before the end of the interview, Olivera offered us a part of her song acapella

Watch the exclusive interview with Olivera in the following video:

Listen to “Thank God I’m an Atheist“, Olivera’s for Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022!

 

Finland: The Rasmus released the official video clip of “Jezebel”!

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The Finnish rock band The Rasmus is one of the participants at the Finnish national selection UMK 2022 for Eurovision 2022.

The band are claiming the representation of their country in Turin with the song Jezebel . The track was written together with Desmond Child, with whom The Rasmus collaborated for their 7th album “Black Roses”. Desmond Child has also worked with some of the biggest names of the world rock industry including KISS, BON JOVI, AEROSMITH and ALICE COOPER.

Speaking about their cooperation, Child revealed that Jezebel was written in Greece and specifically on the island of Folegandros. 

Today, the rock band released the official video clip of their entry which you can watch below:

The video was directed by the internationally awarded director Jesse Haaja.

The next representative of Finland will emerge through the UMK 2022 on 26th of February 2022, which is scheduled to be broadcast at 21:00 EET. For those outside Finland, there will be available live-streaming here  areena.yle.fi/tv.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun.com for all the news regarding the Finnish participation at the upcoming contest in Turin, Italy.

Finland: The Rasmus bid for Eurovision 2022 written on Folegandros Island, Greece!!

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One of the most famous bands with worldwide hits from Finland, The Rasmus, who are going to claim the representation of the Nordic country at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, gave an interview on BlabberMouth.net  on 12th of January 2022 and revealed some interesting details regarding their entry, Jezebel.

The Rasmus collaborated with Desmond Child for Jezebel, with whom the have already worked again regarding their album “Black Roses”. Desmond Child has also worked with some of the biggest names of the world rock industry including KISS, BON JOVI, AEROSMITH and ALICE COOPER.

The singer Lauri Ylönen commented regarding their entry:

“It was awesome to work with Desmond again. He really knows how to put a hit song together.”

“‘Jezebel’ is about a girl who takes what she wants, without asking. A free spirit.”

On his behalf, Desmond Child said:

“Lauri gives me a call and says ‘Hey, I need to write the biggest, greatest song in the entire world ever. Will you do it [with me]?’ and I said ‘Yeah, but I am in Folegandros (Greece)’ and he says, ‘I’ll be right there.’

“‘Jezebel’ is an homage, a tribute, to the strong women of today, who own their bodies, who are in charge of their sensuality, their sexuality, and who are determined to be an equal.”

The Rasmus are going to take part at Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022/UMK 2022, the show that determines the Finnish entry at the Eurovision Song Contest. UMK 2022 is about to take place on 26th of February 2022 and the winner is going to emerge through the votes of the public and the jury.

The band’s song Jezebel, which is already the big favourite according to the bookmakers, is going to be released tonight at 00.01 ΕΕΤ and you can watch it below.

Last year Finland was represented by another rock group The Blind Channel and their song Dark Side. The qualified from the 5th place of the 2nd Semi-Final, while at the Grand Final they achieved the second best result of the country after their victory in 2006, 6th with 301 points.

https://youtu.be/fOPGxQ4fgVw

If The Rasmus win the ticket for Turin, will they manage an even higher placement for Finland or even the victory? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun.com for all the news regarding the Finnish representation at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy.

Finland 2022: Here are the clues for UMK 2022 seventh artist

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The Finnish national broadcaster has published more clues about the contestants for the national final UMK.  Now it is time to start guessing who will be the seventh contestant in the Finnish national final for Eurovision. Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu’s official Instagram gave us the following clues:

  • Ambiguous pop
  • Plenty of stage charisma
  • From a musical family

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UMK22 (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

The first speculations are pointing out to soul-pop singer Isac Sene.  Born in Savo (Finland), Sene comes from a Finnish-Senegalese family .   Another possibility is pop singer Behm.  Behm performed as an interval act for UMK in 2020.

Yle will announce all the contestants for UMK 2022 on January 12.  After that we will get to know each competing song every day starting from January 13.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more updates regarding Finland’s participation in Eurovision.

Finland 2022: UMK 2022 returns next February, artists to be revealed on January 12

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Finnish broadcaster Yle announced the return of UMK to select their Eurovision representative for Turin.

UMK will take place in the city of Turku on February 26, 2022.  During the night, the Finnish audience will decide together with an international jury who will succeed Blind Channel.

For next year’s Finnish national final Yle received 312 entries with more than 1000 songwriters taking part in the process.  According to the public broadcaster, after the huge success of Blind Channel.  However, only seven songs will make it to the final.

The selection process will be very competitive with a variety of acts reveals Ylex head of music Tapio Hakanen.

The artist lineup chosen for this year’s UMK contest is the most extensive ever. The entrants include emerging pop-stars who have been successful on streaming services, promising international export talent, an artist known to all Finns, including an artist who has appeared on a very well known music programme, a long-standing favourite whose career stretches from the 80s to today, and new names who enjoy high praise from the music industry. There was a clear increase in the number of rock band entrants, and we will see explosive rock energy also in the final. Now, viewers can finally experience the excitement of UMK also in a live event.

For the 2022 national selection UMK will return to a live event format.  In 2021, due to health concerns the Finnish national final was a televised only event.

Yle will reveal the name of the contestants on wednesday January 12.  After that each song will be revealed one every day starting from January 13.

Blind Channel represented Finland in Rotterdam for the Eurovision Song Contest.  Their song Dark Side ended in sixth place in the final, Finnish best result since their Eurovision victory in 2006.  After their success Dark Side became one of the most streamed Finnish songs of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOPGxQ4fgVw&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Finland: More that 300 submissions for UMK 2021 | Finalists announcement on 19th January

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The national broadcaster of Finland, YLE, announced today that the 7 candidates who will compete at Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu final for the ticket to the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, have been selected.

 

Big Interest for UMK 2021

More than 300 artist submitted songs in order to claim the representation of Finland in Rotterdam. The submission deadline expired on 7th of September and a few days ago a professional jury of UMK, headed by the music director of YLE, Tapio Hakanen reached the final seven of UMK 2021.

According to insights provided by YLE, the level of the artists and the songs was incredibly strong and the UMK 2021 is expected to be the most difficult of all times. Among the submitted entries are the most talented and successful Finn songwriters and producers, as well as several Finn representatives in Eurovision from previous years.

The 7 finalists of UMK 2021 are expected to be announced on 19th January 2021 while the national final will take place in Tampere on 20th of February. 

The chosen representative for Eurovision 2020 submitted again a song

As we know from earlier this year, the winner of the Finnish Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu for 2020, Aksel Kankaanranta has sent a song to the competition in 2021 without having secured the qualification to the final.

In 2020 he would have competed in Eurovision, with the song Looking Back:

Source: YLE

Finland: Through UMK country’s representative in Eurovision 2021!

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UMK 2020,the process by which Finland has chosen to participate in the 65th Eurovision Contest, was completed last night. Aksel Kankaanranta was the big winner with the song “Looking Back”.

Just before yesterday’s final, Finland’s public television has confirmed that it will use the same way for Eurovision 2021  to choose its entry.

This year, with an open procedure, 426 songs were submitted to YLE to represent the country in Rotterdam.

The music producer of Ylex to be involved in the selection of Finnish entry for 2021 said:

“The open choice for artists and songs by the country’s creators has received a positive response from both the music industry and the Finnish public. We received great songs from many Finnish artists. The end result was to have a great Final. It is our great pleasure to continue the cooperation between Ylex and UMK. Searching for songs will begin in September, so get a chance to start writing songs from now in the spring”.

Source: YLE

Finland: With Aksel Kankaanranta and “Looking Back” in Rotterdam

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Shortly before UMK 2020 was completed, the process through which Finland chose to participate in the 65th Eurovision Contest. The evening’s hosts were Mikko Silvennoinen and Krista Siegfrids (country representative in 2013).

The final took place at the Mediapolis multiplex in Tampere, Finland.

Unlike the previous two years, not one but six different artists competed in the Finnish national final. The result was judged by 50% by an international commission and by 50% by the Finnish public.

The 8 countries that made up the international committees were:

-Bulgaria
-Germany
-Estonia
-United Kingdom
-Spain
-Netherlands
-Russia
-Sweden

Each country had four members in its committee.

The ticket for Rotterdam tonight were claimed by 6 artists:

  1. Catharina Zühlke – “Eternity“
  2. Erika Vikman – “Cicciolina“
  3. Aksel Kankaanranta – “Looking Back“
  4. F3M – “Bananas“
  5. Sansa – “Lover View“
  6. Tika – “I Let My Heart Break“

Following the vote of the international committees, the result was as follows:

Aksel Kankaanranta emerged as the winner with the song “Looking Back” after the end of the poll.