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Finland confirms participation for 2023 with UMK

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Finland is set to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.  Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) continues as the national final for Finland.  In 2023 UMK will have its 12 edition as the national selection for the artist and song representing Finland at Eurovisin 2023.

Finnish Head of delegation and producer Anssi Autio has stated:

The reputation and popularity of Eurovision and UMK among audiences as well as artists have increased year by year, and our next season will be bigger than ever. If you are interested in submitting a new song, start writing it right now!

Yle has launched UMK as a national final for 12 years since 2012.  The Rasmus won the last edition of UMK and went to Turin.  They ended up in 21st place.

The artists participating in the Finnish national final can submit their songs for UMK starting in September 01 until September 05.  According to the EBU rules, songs released from September 2022 are eligible to participate in Eurovision 2023.

The Rasmus represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest held in Turin with the song Jezebel.  The Rasmus received 38 points.  They finished in 21st place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSi9nfr65FE&ab_channel=EurovisionSongContest

Source: Eurovoix

 

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more updates on Eurovision 2023!

Finland: Vesala and Mmiisas to Host UMK 2022!

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Finnish national broadcaster, Yle has revealed Vesala and Mmiisas as hosts of  Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022.

Vesala is the stage name of Paula Vesala who started off her career as a member of a band PMMP. In 2015 she started to perform as a soloist and she released an album named Vesala which went platinum and reached number 1 on the Finnish Albums Chart in 2016. She will also be performing as the interval act in the final with the choreography by Natasha Lomm.

“At UMK, I kind of went all in, because I doesn’t feel like I’m a presenter. But I look forward to great performances at UMK and most of all the moment when we get to ask the international juries for points.”

Miisa Rotola Pukkila, better known as Mmiisas, is a Youtuber and influencer. Since starting her Youtube channel in 2013, she currently has 380,000 subscribers and 440,000 Instagram followers, making her one of the biggest influencers in Finland.

“When I heard about the possibility of presenting, I burst into tears and the ground went from under my feet. This is an incredibly great opportunity for me and as a Eurovision fan it is great to get to experience UMK on the ground. I am fascinated by the magical atmosphere of live broadcasts.”

Both presenters have been following Eurovision for a long time. Vesala explains:

“I’ve been watching Eurovision since I was a child. I also attended shows like Popstars, as music shows have always fascinated me. Sometimes I still watch Katri Helena’s perfomance of “Katson sineen taivaan” from 1979. It’s a perfect performance! I also remember 1985 fondly, as I recorded it on a VHS tape.”

Mmiisas added:

“For me, Eurovision is the highlight of spring and a sign of the beginning of summer. I got excited about Eurovision properly at the age of 11 after Lordi won. At home, we always watch together and give scores to all of the participants. The most impressive of all was “Molitva” by Marija Šerifović.”

Vesala and Mmiisas are both looking forward to what they promise to be a spectacular show. Vesala said:

“I have been following Finland’s Eurovision qualifiers for decades with slightly different feelings. Eurovision was once considered a death kiss for a career, but now it is of interest to everyone. I am proud of UMK’s production team, who has made the show high-quality and interesting. It’s amazing how this has become such a great event!”

Mmiisas also praised the competitors and the show:

“I’ve been enjoying the competing songs every day since they were released. I am sure this will be the most amazing edition of UMK ever!”

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022 will be broadcast on television and radio with commentary in six languages. The commenatators are:

  • Mikko Silvennoinen (Finnish)
  • Johan Lindroos and Eva Frantz (Swedish)
  • Katri Norrlin and Jani Kareinen (English)
  • Margit Alasalmi and Pertti Seppä (Plain-language Finnish)
  • Levosti Tvaltvadze (Russian)
  • Linda Tammela (Northern Sámi)
  • Heli Huovinen (Inari Sámi)

This will be the first year that UMK will have commentary in Sámi languages. Northern Sámi is the most spoken of the Sámi languages, with between 15,000 and 20,000 spread across Norway, Sweden and Finland. About 2,000 Northern Sámi languages live in Finland. Inari Sámi has 400 speakers and is the only Sámi language to be spoken exclusively in Finland. Revival efforts are currently helping the language to gain more speakers.

The UMK 2022 entries are:

The UMK grand final will take place on Saturday, 26 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 2022!

Source: Yle

 

Finland: The artists for UMK 2022!

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Finnish public television, YLE, has announced the seven candidates to compete in UMK 2022, the country’s selection for Eurovision 2022.

312 songs were submitted to claim Finland’s representation in Turin. In total, more than 1,000 people participated in the creation of the songs that were sent to the YLE’s offices. Led by Tapio Hakanen, the music director of YleX, the UMK-Raad, made up of music professionals, had the demanding job of selecting seven songs and artists for the 2022 competition.

The candidates of UMK2022

The seven candidates are:

  • Cyan Kicks – Hurricane
  • Bess – Ram pam pam
  • The Rasmus – Jezebel
  • Younghearted – Sun numero
  • Olivera – Thank God I’m an Atheist
  • Tommi Läntinen – Elämä kantaa mua
  • Isaac Sene – Kuuma jäbä

 

Like last year, every day from January 13, one of the seven songs of the National Final with Lyric Video will be released.

In detail, the dates for the publication of this year’s entries are as follows:

  • January 13 (Cyan Kicks – Hurricane)
  • January 14 (Bess – Ram pam pam)
  • January 17 (The Rasmus – Jezebel)
  • January 18 (Younghearted – Sun numero)
  • January 19 (Olivera – Thank God I’m an Atheist)
  • January 20 (Tommi Läntinen – Elämä kantaa mua)
  • January 21 (Isaac Sene – Kuuma jäbä)

UMK 2022 will take place on February 26 at Logomo in Turku.

Finland last year with the Blind Channel and the song Dark Side returned to the top ten 15 years after their first and only victory in the contest.

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

Source: YLE

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: Here are the clues for UMK 2022 fifth 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 fifth contestant in the Finnish national final for Eurovision. Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu’s official Instagram gave us the following clues:

  • Over 10 million streams
  • Featured a song with a big international artist
  • Shivers

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UMK22 (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

The first speculations are pointing out to pop singer Alma.  Alma has done the backing vocals for Miley Cyrus’ songs “Mother’s Daughter” and “Cattitude”.  She co-wrote Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana del Rey song “Don’t Call Me Angel”.  Another possibility is indie pop singer Olivera.  Olivera has worked as a songwriter and a featuring artist for names like Tiësto, Zaxx, 3LAU, Sonny Alven, Lucian and John Dahlbäck.

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: Here are the clues for UMK 2022 fourth 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 fourth contestant in the Finnish national final for Eurovision. Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu’s official Instagram gave us the following clues:

  • Make out music
  • Used to play music in the street
  • Heard during commercial break

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη UMK22 (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

The first estimates speak for Tomi Saario or Elias Kaskinen. Compared to previous artists, here the assessments of who they are ultimately vary more.

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: Here are the clues for UMK 2022 third 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 third contestant in the Finnish national final for Eurovision. Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu’s official Instagram gave us the following clues:

  •  Concerts all over Europe
  • The artist has gold and platinum certifications
  • Experienced artist

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UMK22 (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

According to the indications we already have, it seems Finland is raising the bar high with a prestigious international artist.  The first guesses are pointing out to Finnish rock band The Rasmus.  Another potential contestant that tick all the right boxes is Samu Haber who is the lead singer for Sunrise Avenue.

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: Yle reveals clues for UMK 2022 second artist!

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Yle continues teasing the audience with some clues about the contestants for their national final.  Now is time to speculate about the identity of the second participant.  According to Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) Instagram account, the second contestant is:

  • A super popular party banger
  • Bold and effervescent
  • S/he has been featured in songs with front-row artists

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UMK22 (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

One of the artist that meets these three conditions is fan favourite Erika Vikman.  Erika Vikman ended in second place in UMK 2020.  She also performed in last UMK where she sung her Eurovision song Cicciolina and her single Syntisten Pöytä together with Antti Tuisku.  Pop singer Bess is another suggested artist that meets the three criteria.  Nevertheless, the artist may not necessarily be a pop star.  Rap singer Cledos is another artist that checks the “party banger” box and who has been featured with other artists.

Yle will reveal the line-up for UMK 2022 on January 12.  After that each song in the competition will be released one every day starting on January 13.

Blind Channel ended in 6th position in Eurovision.  This makes Finland’s best result in the contest since their 2006 victory in Athens with Lordi’s Hard Rock Hallelujah.

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

 

Finland teases UMK 2022 first artist

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Yle revealed the first clues for the first artist participating in their national final.  The official Instagram account for Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) revealed three clues for the first contestant:

  • The artist has over 10 million streams on Spotify
  • The artist got nominations at the Emma Gaala (the Finnish version of the Grammys)
  • Peto On Irti (The monster has been revealed)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UMK22 (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

The first clues for the “Peto On Irti” artist lead toAntti Tuisku.  Antti Tuisku performed as the interval act for UMK 2021.  Another speculation leads to singer and songwriter Kalle Lindroth who also meet the three clues.  Moreover, we can expect more rock bands after the successful performance of Blind Channel.  For instance, bands such as Battle Beast or Beast In Black could follow Blind Channel’s path.

Yle will reveal the line-up for UMK 2022 on January 12.  After that each song in the competition will be released one every day starting on January 13.

Blind Channel ended in 6th position in Eurovision.  This makes Finland’s best result in the contest since their 2006 victory in Athens with Lordi’s Hard Rock Hallelujah.

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

 

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