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Portion Boys: “Expect a high energy performance with surprises!”

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The Portion Boys are participating in this year’s national final of Finland, UMK 2023 with the track “Samaa taivasta taksanas” and a few days ago they spoke exclusively to Eurovisionfun, specifically to Apostolis Matamis and Apostolοs Bogiannos, about their participation and their plans for the national final.

After getting to know all five band members, we chatted about their decision to take part in this year’s Finnish national final!

“Last year we wrote the song and immediately knew that it would fit UMK, and we felt that this was the right time! Now Finland is ready for us, we are ready for her and hopefully all of Europe!”

Regarding the song with which they participate in this year’s national final, they told us:

“Life is not that serious and you can enjoy it the way you want! We want to make the audience feel happy through our song.

“Our message is that we are all different but equal! In our own unique way, we use humor as a tool to convey the very important message of our song.”

Regarding the references to other countries in the song’s lyrics, the band revealed that it was a way to include more people as they also liked the word “Acropolis” very much and wanted it in the song. Also, many countries and regions did not manage to get into the song but on the other hand they have received messages that their song also has an educational function for many young children.

“Among the countries there is also Hungary, which does not participate in Eurovision either! So we’re not using the countries to necessarily win votes, but of course we’d like the public’s votes!”

For their stage appearance, the Portion Boys revealed to us:

“Expect a lot of energy from us and a lot of surprises!“

They stated that their favorite Finnish participation is Lordi (Finland 2006) and Blind Channel (Finland 2021), while as their favorite participation of the competition they mentioned Loreen from Sweden, Dana International from Israel and the Moldovan participation from 2010 with the viral sax-guy!

Enjoy the full interview of Portion Boys below:

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Would you like to see Robin representing Finland in Eurovision 2023? Tell us in the comments!

Finland: Listen to the seventh and last song of UMK 2023!

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The finnish broadcaster YLE has released the seventh and last song competing in UMK 2023, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2023.

The song is titled “Samaa taivasta katsotaan” by Portion Boys and you can listen to it below:

The official Eurovision site presents Portion Boys as follows:

One of Finland’s most popular party bands, Portion Boys, have been doing their thing for over a decade. With its positivity and sincerity, the band has blazed a trail to become one of the currently most listened-to bands in Finland. The 2021 megahit Vauhti kiihtyy was a turning point, bringing the group to a whole new level. Even though the group has never released a single album, Portion Boys have put out hit after hit, such as Kyläbaari, Karjala takas and, together with former UMK runner-up Teflon Brothers, Nautin elämästä.

Portion Boys are Kenraali Vahva, El Meissel, A.P. Vuori (who joined the group in 2021 as a singer), JaloTiina and Taitelija Nieminen. The band was formed in 2010 during a ‘legendary night in Tampere’. Within a day, they came up with the idea, the first song, the first music video and the band name, which has a reference to Swedish foods. Since 2010, Portion Boys has written and released songs and built a fanbase through hard, grassroots work. And, interacting with the audience as equals is one of their biggest strengths.

The idea to enter UMK has been on the Portion Boys’ radar for several years, and now was the right time to do it. The band feels like they have everything in place and nothing to lose – just a lot to give.

The message behind their UMK entry Samaa Taivasta Katsotaan is meaningful to the band: each and every one of us matters.

The UMK jury had the following to say about Portion Boys and their song: 

“With a career spanning over a decade under its belt, Portion Boys is currently one of Finland’s hottest groups. It’s great to see the band in UMK, bringing its own, unique style to the contest. Samaa taivasta katsotaan celebrates Europe’s diversity in its own playful way and it represents the value of tolerance that Eurovision promotes, something we all need more of in this day and age. The song is an unforgettable earworm, positively brimming with laser drums, energy and musical hooks. The band’s incredible live energy really comes out in the song – underneath its hard-charging beat is a beautiful composition. This could be one of Finland’s most-streamed songs in 2023.”

The competing artists/songs of UMK 2023 have now all been officially released. We remind you that they were all released in different dates, in the following order:

  • Thu, 12 January Keira – No Business On The Dancefloor
  • Fri, 13 January Benjamin – Hoida mut
  • Mon, 16 January Robin Packalen – Girls Like You
  • Tue, 17 January Lxandra – Something To Lose
  • Wed, 18 January Käärijä – Cha Cha Cha
  • Thu, 19 January KUUMAA – Ylivoimainen
  • Fri, 20 January Portion Boys – Samaa taivasta katsotaan

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 25 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 2023!

Finland: Artists that are rumoured to be competing at UMK 2023 are revealed!

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Uuden musiikin kilpailu, the winner of which will be Finland’s next Eurovision representative, will be held on February 25. However some acts name that are supposedly participating in next years UMK have been revealed by Iltalehti, way in advance!

According to sources of Iltalehti, which has correctly reported UMK participants in the previous years, Robin Packalen, Portion Boys, Benjamin Peltonen and a less-known artist Lxandra are rumoured to be competing in the hopes of representing Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Liverpool next year.

But let’s see who these artists are:

Robin Packalen

The 24-year-old Robin Packalen, also known by his stage name Robin, is a Finnish singer who started as a teen pop artist. During his career, Robin’s certified albums and singles have sold over 370000 copies, which makes him one of the 70 all-time best-selling artists of his country.

Portion Boys

Portion Boys is a band from Tampere that started its activities on the YouTube service in 2010. Back in 2021, Portion Boys released a new version of the song “Vauhti kiihtyy”, featuring the original performers Matti & Teppo, which version grew into a major hit during the summer and fall of 2021. Since its release, it was in the top ten of Finland’s official singles list for 28 weeks, including 13 weeks in the top three and has been listened to more than 11 million times on Spotify alone.

Benjamin Peltonen

Benjamin Peltonen, 25 years old, also known as Benjamin, is a Finnish singer who broke through on Instagram, where he earned, more than 280,000 followers. In May 2014 Peltonen signed a record deal with the record company Warner Music Finland.

Lxandra

Lxandra, born Alexandra Lehti, is an aspiring Finnish pop singer and songwriter. Raised in Suomenlinna, she is the daughter of journalist Baba Lybeck and musician Pekka Lehti, and currently lives in Berlin.

The Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu  will take place on February 25, in Logomo, Turku for the second year in a row. Seven songs will participate in the final, which will be announced on January 11 and will begin to be released on different days, from January 12 to 20. The seven songs were selected from 363 entries submitted to Yle.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding the Finnish participation at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2023!

Source: Iltalehti.fi