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Finland: The Rasmus and BESS to perform at UMK 2023!

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The Rasmus and BESS will perform during the Finnish national final as interval acts.  UMK host Samu Haber will join them as an interval act.  In addition to this, one of the members of Younghearted (UMK 2022 contestant) will perform before the live broadcast.

The Rasmus won UMK 2022 and represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.  The Rasmus are one of the most acclaimed rock bands from Finland since the release of their 2003 album Dead Letters.  Last year, the band performed at numerous Finnish summer music festivals and, in the autumn of 2022, it published its own book, The Rasmus, and released its tenth album, Rise. After a special concert performance at the Helsinki Ice Hall last September, the band embarked on a European concert tour and played to a massive crowd in Mexico. The band is currently writing new music and will announce new performance dates later this year.

“It’s so awesome to get back up on the UMK stage! When we were in last year’s contest, the excitement was overwhelming. Now, we get to come back to Logomo to head up an amazing show with our latest single Live and Never Die,” The Rasmus comments. “UMK and Eurovision were absolutely amazing experiences. At ESC in Turin, we were able to make friends with other artists, and we came up with this really great idea to do a collaborative version of In The Shadows together with Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra. Our Eurovision entry Jezebel has also become an audience favourite along with our other hits.”

BESS will also perform during the UMK interval act.  BESS is one of the most successful pop artists in Finland.  She recently won four Finnish Grammy Awards in the categories: Best Solo Artist, Best Pop, Most Streamed Domestic Song (Ram pam pam) and Best Song (Ram pam pam).  She competed in last year’s UMK where she finished in third place.

“It’s a huge pleasure and honour to be able to perform on the UMK stage again and put together a show with this amazing team,” says BESS. “It’s all at once inspiring, exciting and challenging in a different way than when I was competing. It’s so awesome! So, buckle up, and don’t say I didn’t warn you – this UMK is going to be a mega show like no one has ever seen before.”

Last but not least, UMK host Samu Haber will also perform during the national final.  Samu Haber is better known for being the lead singer of the band Sunrise Avenue.

“Just being the host for UMK23 alone is such a great honour, but I have to admit that perhaps the biggest reason for me doing this is the chance to really cut loose on stage,” explains Haber. “Artists don’t get many chances like this to have this kind of setup for doing your own number, and then get to blow everyone away with no holds barred.”

Seven acts are competing to represent Finland at the UMK national final: Keira, Benjamin, Robin Packalen, Lxandra, Käärijä, KUUMAA, and Portion Boys..  The final will take place next February 25, 2023 at Logomo arena in Turku, Finland.  The winner will be chosen jointly by Finnish television viewers and international juries. The public will account for 75 % of the vote and the juries for the remaining 25 %.

Source: Yle

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more updates about Finland in Eurovision 2023!

Finland: Samu Haber to host UMK 2023!

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Today the Finnish broadcaster announced that Samu Haber, known from the group Sunrise Avenue, will be the host of UMK23.

Samu Haber is not only known for Sunrise Avenue and their biggest hit “Fairytale Gone Bad” , but also for many side jumps in his music career, for example as a judge on the Voice of Germany.

Samu is ready to host UMK and is doing everything to ensure that the artists will enjoy this experience:

“I’m working for UMK and I’m part of the machinery that serves the artists. They’re very nervous, so a big part of the job is getting everything we can out of the performers together with the directors, lighting techs, costumers, and other staff.

This UMK gig is the cherry on top to an unbelievably good year, which has included the Sunrise Avenue farewell tour, my new album in Finnish, and the sold-out tour that followed it.”

Samu has previous experience at Eurovision and UMK. He attended Eurovision in 2016 and 2019 and worked behind the scenes at UMK 2022, serving in a management capacity for runner-up Cyan Kicks.

“There can never be too many carnivals in the world, which is why I have always enjoyed Eurovision and the national finals. Finland has entered some really wonderful songs to Eurovision and there’s a genuine dedication to putting on the best possible show. Especially over the past few years, UMK has grown into something that’s truly spectacular. There’s a sense of pride and real showmanship. We’re so over the Eurovision traumas of the past.”

Samu is currently planning his UMK 2023 performance and he promises that it will be memorable.

“A guy with a white t-shirt and guitar might be a bit too run-of-the-mill for the Logomo stage. At UMK, I can definitely go a bit bigger with the sunglasses and a bit heavier on the glitter.”

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.

 

Source: Yle