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Finland: Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu rehearsal clips released!

Through the day, the general rehearsal of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2025, Finland ‘s national final for Eurovision 2025, took place at Nokia Arena, and Yle, the country’s public broadcaster, released a part of each artist’s rehearsal!

With the show taking place tomorrow, Yle released through UMK’s social media, a first taste of what we will see in the national final.

You can see clips from the rehearsals in the video below:

https://youtu.be/hal1EIQWDRE

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2025

UMK 2025 will once again take place with only one round, the Grand Final.  Seven songs will compete on stage at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, with the winner being determined by the public vote at a rate of 75% and a 25% from an international jury.

You can listen to the seven songs below:

  1. costee — Sekaisin
  2. NEEA RIVER — Nightmares
  3. Goldielocks — Made Of
  4. VIIVI  — Aina
  5. Nelli Matula — Hitaammin Hautaan
  6. Erika Vikman — ICH KOMME

The previous winner of UMK and Finland‘s representative at Eurovision 2024 was Windows95man with the song “No Rules” which took 19th place in the Grand Final:

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Finnish participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, in Basel!

Finland: Listen to the seventh song for UMK 2025!

The finnish broadcaster has released the seventh and last song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is ICH KOMME by Erika Vikman and you can listen to it here:

One of the brightest stars in the Finnish pop world, Erika Vikman, started her career in the entertainment industry at a very young age. In the early stages of her career, she performed at summer theatres and various TV programmes and, in 2016, Vikman became famous among Finnish people by winning the popular Tangomarkkinat festival. In 2019, Vikman signed a recording agreement with Warner Music and Mökkitie Records. In 2020, she participated in UMK with the song Cicciolina, and the following year, she released the Erika Vikman album, which reached the top of the Finnish album charts.

“Cicciolina encouraged female artists to be bolder. Female artists tend to be put inside a certain mould. You must not reveal too much, otherwise you get labelled a whore. Someone had to pop the cork to let the champagne flow!” Vikman says.

Vikman’s music resonates with many Finns, and her fans are all across the country, from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area to small municipalities. The message inside her music is clear.

“People should be loved exactly as they are. When people are allowed to be themselves, they are free and happy,” says Vikman.

Vikman and UMK have a long history together. In 2020, she came second with her performance of Cicciolina. The following year, she performed UMK’s opening number together with Antti Tuisku. At last year’s UMK, Vikman and Käärijä performed their duet Ruoska during the intermission.

Vikman had initially thought that she would not return to the UMK stage as a contestant. However, the plans changed when she made a song when working on her next album with producers Chisu and Jori Roosberg. That was how the UMK song ICH KOMME was born.

“I asked Chisu and Jori to make a Eurovision-type song for me. They asked me directly if I wanted to take part in the Eurovision Song Contest. That’s where it all started.”


We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the sixth song for UMK 2025!

The finnish broadcaster has released the sixth song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is Made Of by Goldielocks and you can listen to it here:

Goldielocks, whose real name is Ella Mäntynen, is the youngest UMK 25 contestant at the age of 23. She describes herself as an ordinary girl from North Karelia. Goldielocks is a character created by Mäntynen, “a rock star inside the shell of a pop star”. The alter ego was inspired by the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, in which actor and artist Miley Cyrus transforms into a fictional pop star.

Goldielocks’ career path has taken her from Joensuu via Helsinki to her current home town Berlin. Prior to her solo career, she created music for Finland’s biggest pop stars, including Gasellit, Isac Elliot, ABREU, and Sara Siipola.

At the beginning of 2020, Goldielocks signed her first publishing agreement with M-Eazy Music, in 2021 a manager contract with Comusic management and, in 2022, a recording agreement was signed with Sony Music Finland. Her first single, Electrifying, was released in the spring of 2023, and she went on a tour in the autumn of the same year.

Goldielocks’ career development has been dizzying. She has already performed on all major stages in Finland, and is now on the verge of an international breakthrough, supported by her own record company.

The catchy and pure pop UMK song Made Of was born in a studio in Berlin, in collaboration with Goldielocks, producer-brother Lauri Mäntynen, and producer Topi Kilpinen. The song can be seen as the artist’s own reflection of herself or another person.


We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the fifth song for UMK 2025!

The finnish broadcaster has released the fifth song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is Puppy by One Morning Left and you can listen to it here:

One Morning Left has been making music for 16 years, and consists of five members from different parts of Finland. The founder and lead vocalist of the band is Mika Lahti, second lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter Leevi Luoto, bass player and background vocalist Miska Sipiläinen, drummer Dennis Hallbäck and songwriter, guitarist and background vocalist Juuso Turkki. The story of the band began when Lahti met Teemu Rautiainen from Jyväskylä in the Finnish social media service IRC Galleria. They had a similar taste in music, which led them to found One Morning Left in 2008.

The band’s first EP was released in 2008, and the following year they went on their first European tour. In 2010, the band signed a recording contract with Spinefarm Records and the following year they released their first full-length album, The Bree-Teenz. The album Metalcore Superstars, which was released in 2016, featured the hit song You’re Dead, Let’s Disco. The song became particularly popular in Japan, and the band’s gigs in Tokyo sold out. In 2022, One Morning Left toured Europe with UMK winner Blind Channel and the German band Electric Callboy. Today, the band makes music under the German record company Arising Empire.

The band describe themselves as a hyperactive, boundary-pushing feel-good act. Their unique sense of humour sets them apart from other Nordic metal bands.

“Musically, we rely on the ’80s and ’90s, and we do not take ourselves too seriously. Sometimes, people look at you in a funny way if you mess around too much. You can dance to the beat of our music, and that’s fantastic,” Leevi Luoto says.

The band had been planning to apply for UMK for a long time.

“We already spoke with our previous drummer that UMK would be a great experience. After meeting Kiro, who produced Cha Cha Cha for Käärijä, we began to think about making an UMK song with him,” Mika Lahti reveals.

The UMK song Puppy is exactly what the name suggests. It is, very simply, about a puppy.


We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the fourth song for UMK 2025!

The finnish broadcaster has released the fourth song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is Aina by VIIVI and you can listen to it here:

Music has been a part of VIIVI’s life since childhood. Originally from Joroinen, VIIVI studied music actively and stepped onto the stage whenever she could. She gave her first performances in singing competitions.

At the age of 18, VIIVI signed a recording contract with Capitol Records, and her first song was released three years later. The same year, Lääke ranked third on Finland’s official singles list. VIIVI’s debut album Parisuhdehautausmaa, published in early 2022, won three Emma awards (Finnish Grammy Awards) and VIIVI won the newcomer of the year award. In the same year, Ihana kipu, a duet with Robin, a previous UMK contestant, broke Spotify Finland’s daily streaming record for this decade. At the beginning of 2024, VIIVI joined Warner Music Finland.

VIIVI has collaborated with many artists, including AhtiAni and JVG. Her career has taken significant turns, but its core has remained the same.

“Writing songs is really important to me. When I’m involved in making the songs myself, the songs look like me and you can clearly hear my voice in them. My hobby has become my life’s work, and that’s really cool,” says VIIVI.

VIIVI had been planning to apply for UMK for a long time, but she wanted to wait for the right song.

“The song must have a “douze points” vibe! Aina is loaded with such an indescribable emotion that it requires an arena to perform it. I feel like this is the most important song in my career,” VIIVI concludes.


We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the third song for UMK 2025!

The finnish broadcaster has released the third song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is Sekaisin by costee and you can listen to it here:

costee, whose real name is Jussi Tiainen, grew up in the Turku region and started his music hobby at the age of 8. He got a drum set as a gift from his father, but soon changed his instrument to a guitar as the desire to compose his own music grew. Now, 7 years into his solo career, he has over 100 million streams, three hit albums and a large number of sold-out gigs behind him. He has become known as a pioneer in alternative pop.

costee’s solo career escalated quickly and the pace has been fast. In 2017, he signed a recording contract with Etenee Records, and in March 2018, he released his first single Pakoon pahaa oloo. In 2019, he was chosen as one of YleX’s breakthrough artists, and his debut album Ehkä joskus tääl viel naurattaa was released in May. The following year, costee was nominated as the newcomer of the year and the audience’s favourite at the Emma Gala (Finnish Grammy Awards). He released his second album Kaikki loppuu aina in the same year. In 2022, costee released his third album Kaikki vampyyrit ei juo verta and founded his own record company, Tuhma Music. This allows him to share his expertise with new artists.

costee strives to be as honest as possible in his art. As a performer, costee is full of energy and captivates the audience with his mystery. His performances often involve an element of darkness.

“I want to be a mysterious performer in my own way. I want some of that darkness on the stage, but I also like strong lights that create contrast,” says costee.

costee and his fans have a particularly close relationship and community. Many fans have had tattoos of the titles, lyrics and illustrations of his songs.

costee is aiming to win UMK first and then the Eurovision Song Contest. As soon as the UMK song Sekaisin was completed, costee realised that it had to become a UMK and Eurovision song.


We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the second song for UMK 2025!

The finnish broadcaster has released the second song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is Hitaammin Hautaan by Nelli Matula and you can listen to it here:

Nelli Matula has been working since a very young age. In upper secondary school, Matula got her first professional role in show-business when she was cast to one of the main roles in the musical Mary Poppins at Helsinki City Theatre. After finishing Kallio upper secondary school, Matula had a gap year, during which she completed a vocational qualification in confectionery, which normally takes 2–3 years to complete. During her studies, Matula decided to send a demo and open application to Rähinä Records and was invited to an interview, which led to a recording contract in 2016. In the same year, Matula graduated from the Pop-Jazz Conservatory in Helsinki.

Matula’s second single, Lemmikki, exploded into huge popularity. In 2018, Matula performed in the newcomers’ medley at the Emma Gala (Finnish Grammy Awards). Her success continued with the release of the debut album Jumalatar in 2019. The album was nominated for the Pop of the Year award at the Emma Gala. In 2021, Matula joined Universal Music Finland, and her second album Kiltti tyttö was released the following year.

Putting on a show means the world to Nelli Matula, and it was the show element that made Matula apply for UMK.

“My dream is to become so big as an artist that I can perform at arenas. This is a good place to start, because there’s no bigger show than UMK in this country,” Matula says.

The UMK song Hitaammin Hautaan is meaningful to Matula, as it describes details from her personal life. The song is a reflection of her desire to change the direction of her life and find new meanings.


We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI – “Aina
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME

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 2025!

Finland: Listen to the first song for UMK 2025!

The finnish broadcaster has released the first song competing in UMK 2025, the finnish national final for Eurovision 2025.

The song is Nightmares by NEEA RIVER and you can listen to it here:

Originally from Nurmijärvi, NEEA RIVER‘s passion for an international singing career started as a teenager. The biggest leap towards her dreams coming true happened by chance on a holiday to Los Angeles. During the trip, RIVER uploaded her own singing videos to Instagram, and a local producer found them and asked RIVER to come to the studio. After returning to Finland, RIVER stayed in contact with the producer who two years later proposed that RIVER move to Los Angeles.

The American dream came true quickly for RIVER. The artist’s third song ended up on the soundtrack of a film, which made everything happen even faster. RIVER networked with Finnish music professionals in the United States, which resulted in a publishing deal with Warner Music Finland. For three years, RIVER created hits for both domestic and foreign artists, and RIVER’s reputation in the music industry strengthened.

Later, RIVER realised she wanted to create songs for herself. She stopped writing for others and focused on her own career. Around the same time, she launched her own record label. Today, she’s making waves with her English-language pop hits.

A fan of artists such as Britney Spears, Rihanna and The Weeknd, NEEA RIVER sums up her artistry in two words: “pop machine”.

“I have a suit of pop armour that’s full of power. When I’m wearing it, nothing can stop me,” says River.

UMK is a natural continuation for NEEA RIVER’s rising career and the first time that RIVER will perform one of her own songs in public. The UMK song Nightmares was based on the ambitious idea of creating a winning song for the Eurovision Song Contest.

UMK expert jury: “NEEA’s voice is the first thing that catches your attention in the song Nightmares. Clearly, this is a top professional who controls her voice exceptionally well. The next thing you notice is the stellar composition that combines modern pop aesthetics with epic Eurovision vibes and cinematic glamour. The finishing touch is the uplifting dance production with its big drops. It is great to see a self-publishing independent artist like NEEA RIVER at UMK.”


We remind you that the artists/songs competing to represent Finland will be revealed in this order:

  • Thu, 9 January NEEA RIVER – “Nightmares
  • Fri, 10 January Nelli Matula – “Hitaammin Hautaan”
  • Mon, 13 January costee – “Sekaisin
  • Tue, 14 January VIIVI –Aina
  • Wed, 15 January One Morning Left – “Puppy
  • Thu, 16 January Goldielocks –  “Made Of
  • Fri, 17 January Erika Vikman – “ICH KOMME

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 2025!

Finland: The latest clues about the candidates of UMK 2025!

The revelation of the artists competing in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, the Finnish national final for Eurovision 2025, is just around the corner and Yle, the country’s public broadcaster, keeps on teasing the artists with a series of hinting posts on their social media.

Earlier today, the fifth hint was posted on UMK’s official Instagram account, regarding one of the artists that will claim Finland’s Eurovision 2025 representation:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UMK (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

  • Raised Fist: Often a symbol of activism, resistance, or empowerment—perhaps linked to themes of strength in the artist’s work or persona.
  • myspace: A reference to the early 2000s internet culture, suggesting the artist might have connections to this era or started gaining recognition during that time.
  • Ski Gear and Winter Scene: Indicates a connection to the snowy Nordic region, winter sports, or themes of nostalgia.
  • Police Dog (“Poliisi”): “Poliisi” is Finnish for “police”, perhaps hinting at strong or disciplined qualities in the artist’s persona.
  • Beer Mug and Pretzel: Represents Bavarian or German culture—perhaps the artist has links to Germany or incorporates themes tied to this culture.
  • Cherry Blossoms: Symbolic of Japan or fleeting beauty—could hint at artistic inspiration or ties to Japanese culture.
  • Lynx: A wild cat found in Nordic and Central European regions, possibly representing nature, strength, or the artist’s background.

You can read more about the previous hints in our articles.

On Wednesday, January 8, 2025, the artists for UMK 2025 will be revealed. From January 9 to January 17, 2025, each song and music video will be released one every day. One month later, on February 8, UMK 2025 is scheduled to take place in Nokia Arena, in Tampere.

The previous winner of UMK and Finland’s representative in Eurovision 2024, was Windows95man with his song “No Rules” which ended up in 19th place in the Grand Final:

https://youtu.be/7nidDtyS0Wo

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Finnish participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, in Basel!

Source: uudenmusiikinkilpailu

Finland: Tickets for UMK 2025 went sold out!

Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, known as UMK, returns as the Finnish national selection format for Eurovision 2025 and will consist of a televised final which will be held on February 8th in Nokia Arena in Tampere. This version of UMK is expect to be another enormous success, as it is indicated by the ticket sale.

Tickets for UMK 2025 went sold out

The live show tickets sold out in less than an hour after the ticket sale began today, October 3rd. However, tickets for UMK’s dress rehearsal are also on sale for those who intend to attend. In addition, Tampere, the location of UMK, may host a screening for the audience that was unable to find tickets, as it did last year.

 

Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.

 

Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη UMK (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

The aforementioned evidence demonstrates how Käärijä’s success in Liverpool raised the bar for UMK. UMK was transferred from Turku to Tampere, specifically to an arena that is now crowded, as interest in the Finnish national final for Eurovision increased.

A record number of entries submitted to UMK 2025

A total of 485 songs were submitted for the competition this year. This number currently sets a new record of songs submitted for UMK ever.

Modifications were also made to the selection procedure this year. A diverse group of representatives from different fields were invited to participate in the selection process, which included five audience juries in addition to the jury of music industry professionals led by Tapio Hakanen, YleX’s music manager.

This season at UMK, we will see both a fine continuation of the Finnish-language pop tradition and a star of the future, who is waiting to rise to full glory. We get to witness the explosive energy of the band, hear the German language, dance to the rhythm of an epic dance-banger and become sensitized to one of the finest ballads in the history of UMK. Everything is crowned by a song that makes you dance and cry at the same time.

What to expect next?

On Wednesday, January 8, 2025, the UMK 2025 artists will be revealed. From January 9 to January 17, 2025, each song and music video will be released one at a time. A month later the final will be broadcasted live from Nokia Arena in Tampere.

Windows95man won last year’s edition of UMK and therefore represented Finland in Malmö with “No Rules“. The country placed nineteenth overall with thirty-eight points.

Stay tuned to EurovisionFun for all the news!

Source: UMK