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Finland: UMK Journey Ends for Cyan Kicks!

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On Saturday night, Finland’s national final for Eurovision 2024, UMK, came to a close, with Windows95Man emerging as the winner with the song “No Rules.”

Among the contenders was the band Cyan Kicks, who participated for the second time in UMK, having secured a second-place finish in the national final of 2022.

Just before the start of Saturday’s final, the leader of the band, Susanna Alexandra, stated in an interview with YLE that this would be their last participation in UMK if they did not win this time.

This year, they competed in UMK with the song “Dancing with Demons,” achieving the fourth position.

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

Source: e-festivalcom.com

Finland: Windows95Man will change name for Eurovision!

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Last night, the final of UMK, the Finnish national selection for Eurovision 2024, took place. Seven artists competed for the Finnish representation in Malmö and following the combination of the votes from six international juries along with the TV audience, Windows95Man with their entry “No rules!” emerged as winners.

Windows95Man’s victory in UMK 2024 was somehow unexpected, even for the artists themselves, as the big favorite of the night was Sara Siipola with her song “Paskana”.

Now, following their win there is another challenge to face. According to the rules of the competition, product names and trademarks are not allowed on Eurovision stage. It is also strictly forbidden to mention an established brand name in your entry. In Finland’s case, the duo’s name is “Windows95Man” and their attire consists of a large “Windows” logo, Microsoft’s operating system. Hence, last night’s act is not permitted to be presented to the Eurovision stage, as it violates the competition rules. Moreover, the duo’s name must change. One of the Finnish representatives says that:

Well, now the hard workshop begins. Now let’s start thinking about the name. But the character is here, no matter what it says on the shirt.

Windows95Man’s opinion on Israel’s participation in Eurovision 2024

The artists were asked by an Yle’s journalist whether Israel’s participation will affect their participation in Eurovision 2024. At this point, we would like to remind you that prior to UMK 2024, two contestants, namely Sini Sabotage and Jesse Markin, stated that their Eurovision participation in uncertain due to Israel’s inclusion in Eurovision 2024’s participating countries’ list despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

On Israel’s participation, the duo stated that:

We would hope that Israel would not participate. This is a bad situation. There is still time until spring. We hope that the EBU will make the right decisions.

Finland with Windows95Man and “No Rules!” is set to perform on the second half of the first semi-final on May 7.

You can also check out EurovisionFun’s reaction on “No Rules!”, below:

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: Yle

Finland: Tonight is the grand final of UMK 2024!

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The big winner of the televoting at Eurovision 2023, Finland, tonight chooses the artist who will represent them at the 68th Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Malmö in May. Seven artists compete tonight in Tampere to win Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2024, which will also mean the Nordic country’s representation at Eurovision 2024.

Final

The seven artists who will compete tonight in the UMK 2024 final are:

  1. Sini Sabotage – “Kuori Mua”
  2. Cyan Kicks – “Dancing withe demons”
  3. Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  4. Mikael Gabriel x nublu – “Vox Populi”
  5. Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  6. SexMane – “Mania”
  7. Windows95man – “No Rules!”

Final Result

The final result and therefore the grand final winner of the Finnish national final and Finland’s representative at Eurovision 2024 will be determined through a combination of public and jury voting. The Finnish public will have the first and main say in the final results, which will form 75% of the final result, while the remaining 25% will be determined by the vote of an international jury.

The show

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2024 will take place at the Nokia Arena in Tampere. The hosts of the Finnish national final will be Pilvi Hämäläinen, Benjamin and Viivi Pumpanen.

Of course, apart from the competition part, UMK will have several other surprises. Two of last year’s UMK nominees, KUUMAA and Benjamin, are going to open the show.

At the same time, as part of the interval act, last year’s winner Käärijä and the legendary Erika Vikman will appear together on stage performing a subversive duet.

The grand final of UMK 2024 starts at 20:00 CET and you can watch it on the Finnish public television website by clicking HERE.

Last year’s UMK winner and therefore the country’s representative in Liverpool was Käärijä with “Cha Cha Cha“, who finished in second place, the country’s best result since winning the contest in 2006 in Athens.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Finland: A sneak peak of UMK 2024 finalists rehearsals!

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UMK will serve as the Finnish national selection format for Eurovision 2024. While, the final of the selection is scheduled to take place this Saturday, the seven finalists are already in Nokia Arena in Tampere, rehearsing for their performances.

Yle, just shared some short clips of the seven finalists’ rehearsals, giving us a small taste of what to expect from their performances on Saturday.

@uudenmusiikinkilpailu Jjjjaiks tässä ensimmäiset sneak peakit UMK-esityksistä torstain treeneistä! Tampereen Nokia Areenalla hiotaan & harjoitellaan esityksiä täyttä häkää. It’s a work in progress.🤩 First sneak peak from the UMK rehearsals! Excited much? UMK-show nyt lauantaina klo 21! TV1 ja Yle Areena! Tune in on Saturday evribadi! #UMK24 #UMK #yle ♬ alkuperäinen ääni – yle_umk

 

UMK 2024

Seven artists will participate in UMK, claiming the Finnish representation in Malmö and those are the following (in the official running order):

  1. Sini Sabotage – “Kuori Mua”
  2. Cyan Kicks – “Dancing withe demons”
  3. Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  4. Mikael Gabriel x nublu – “Vox Populi”
  5. Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  6. SexMane – “Mania”
  7. Windows95man – “No Rules!”

The winner will be decided on 25% by an international jury and on 75% by the public vote. Pilvi Hämäläinen, Benjamin and Viivi Pumpanen will serve as the hosts of this year’s UMK.

Last year’s UMK winner and hence the Finnish representative in Liverpool was Käärijä with his song “Cha Cha Cha“, who finished in second place, the country’s best result since winning the contest in 2006.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: Yle

Finland: The running order of UMK 2024!

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A few minutes ago Finland‘s national broadcaster Yle announced the line-up of artists who will compete for the ticket to Malmo and Finland’s representation at Eurovision 2024.

The running order of the seven artists who will compete in the UMK 2024 final is as follows:

  1. Sini Sabotage – “Kuori Mua”
  2. Cyan Kicks – “Dancing withe demons”
  3. Jesse Markin – “Glow”
  4. Mikael Gabriel x nublu – “Vox Populi”
  5. Sara Siipola – “Paskana”
  6. SexMane – “Mania”
  7. Windows95man – “No Rules!”

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2024 is scheduled for February 10th in Nokia Arena in Tampere. The hosts of UMK 2024 are Pilvi Hämäläinen, Benjamin and Viivi Pumpanen.

Last year, Finland managed to climb on the 2nd place of the scoreboard with Käärijä and his song “Cha Cha Cha”, winning the televote. That is Finland’s best result since Lordi’s victory in 2006.

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: YLE

Finland: UMK 2024 finalists react to each others’ songs!

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Finland’s national broadcatser YLE posted on its official YouTube account a video, that features the seven UMK 2024 finalists reacting to each others’ song.

You can watch the video by clicking on the following link:

 

We remind you that the competing entries of UMK 2024 that will vie for Finland’s representation on the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden are:

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2024 is scheduled for February 10th in Nokia Arena in Tampere. The hosts of UMK 2024 are Pilvi Hämäläinen, Benjamin and Viivi Pumpanen.

Last year, Finland managed to climb on the 2nd place of the scoreboard with Käärijä and his song “Cha Cha Cha”, winning the televote. That is Finland’s best result since Lordi’s victory in 2006.

Stay tuned at EurovisionFun for all the news!

 

Finland: Listen to the seventh song for UMK 2024!

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

The song is “Vox Populi” by Mikael Gabriel x nublu and you can listen to it here:

Mikael Gabriel and Estonian rapper nublu are among the most successful rap artists in their respective countries. Released in 2010, Mikael Gabriel’s debut album Pohjosen poika was well received, and the singles on his 2015 album Versus broke streaming records even before the album was officially released.

Nublu rose to become Estonia’s biggest artist and rap phenomenon when he was voted Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Artist of the Year in 2020. A collaboration by Gabriel and nublu, Universum, was released that same year, quickly rising to become one of the most listened-to singles in both countries on Spotify.

Mikael Gabriel x nublu’s UMK entry is called Vox Populi. The song talks about how it is sometimes hard to know what’s true and what isn’t in such polarised public forums.

“The song deals with political and cultural divides, saying that even though we’re all entitled to our own opinions, it doesn’t necessarily make them true. Everyone should use their voice, but at the same time you should also keep in mind that you will be judged no matter what,” says Gabriel.

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 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!