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Finland: Listen to the fourth song of UMK 2023!

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

The song is titled “Something To Lose” by Lxandra and you can listen to it below:

The official Eurovision site presents Lxandra as follows:

With her magnificent voice, Lxandra (aka Alexandra Lehti) is a magical interpreter and internationally successful artist, who won the prestigious Music Moves Europe Talent Award in 2019. Lxandra, who released her debut album Careful What I Dream Of in 2021, strives for timelessness with her music.

Lxandra’s creativity and passion for storytelling took root in her childhood home at Suomenlinna. When she was 19, Lxandra moved to Berlin to work with top music industry players, gaining quite a global following as an artist since her first singles. Filled with a strong narrative style and sensitivity, Lxandra’s music has also been heard in American films and television series.

Lxandra believes that it is crucial for an artist to evoke an emotional response in people with their music.

‘I want to create universal music that is personal at the same time. Dark, but still full of colour. I strive for emotionality and connection,’ explains Lxandra.

The idea to enter her ballad Something to Lose to UMK came from the jet lag she had after a trip to Los Angeles in April 2022.

‘There had been talk of entering UMK for quite some time, but it wasn’t until just that moment that I realised this song could be the right one,’ Laxandra says.

The UMK jury had the following to say about Lxandra and her song: 

“For years Lxandra has been one of Finland’s most promising export talents, making a career for herself out in the world. Now, she brings her exquisite ballad Something To Lose to UMK. The song is all at once tender and personal, dramatic and epic. Lxandra is a top-notch live performer, who has touched audiences in Finland and abroad, even bringing them to tears. The song will definitely rise to new heights when performed live. Lxandra is also known as a versatile audio-visual artist, so we are very interested to see what kind of world she will build around the song.”

We remind you that the competing artists/songs of UMK 2023 are being revealed 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: Listen to the third song of UMK 2023!

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

The song is titled “Girls Like You” by Robin Packalen and you can listen to it below:

The official Eurovision site presents Robin as follows:

One of Finland’s most popular pop artists, the beloved Robin Packalen has long wanted to enter UMK. Now, the time has finally come. Robin, who got his start as a child star, is ready to conquer Europe with his energy and authenticity.

Robin Packalen’s first single was released in 2012, when he was just 13. It was an immediate hit, and Robin became a superstar. According to Packalen, the good thing about performing at a young age is that you aren’t afraid of anything and you have plenty of energy. The flipside is the fact that you have to grow up very fast.

In recent years, Packalen has been releasing songs in English. When making music, he relies on his instincts. Outside his music career, the extroverted Packalen enjoys extreme sports and socialising as much as he can.

Now was the right time for him to enter UMK. Many people have been wanting to see Robin in the contest and, even though he had been considering it for years, he feels that he is only just now ready for it.

‘And, this song is so good that the whole world should hear it,’ says Robin.

The UMK jury had the following to say about Robin:

“It’s so good to have one of Finland’s most successful pop stars of all time competing in the Contest for New Music UMK! Girls Like You is precisely the kind of music Robin Packalen wants to make: groovy, catchy and feelgood pop performed in English, which suits UMK to a T. Even though the song has clear Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake influences, Robin makes his own mark with his familiar vocal style. Written in Los Angeles, the song is like a sunny day squeezed into a three-minute audio file.”

We remind you that the competing artists/songs of UMK 2023 are being revealed 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: These are the contestants of UMK 2023!

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The finnish broadcaster YLE has just made public the seven contestants of UMK 2023, the national final through which the country will be choosing its entry for Eurovision 2023.

The contestants

363 songs were sent to the broadcaster in order to claim the finnish representation in Liverpool. The chosen seven are the following:

  • Keira — “Only Business On The Dancefloor” (Thursday 12 January)
  • Benjamin — “Hoida Mut” (Friday 13 January)
  • Robin Packalen — “Girls Like You” (Monday 16 January)
  • Lxandra — “Something To Lose” (Tuesday 17 January)
  • Käärijä — “Cha Cha Cha” (Wednesday 18 January)
  • Kuumaa — “Ylivoimainen” (Thursday 19 January)
  • Portion boys — “Samaa Taivasta Katsotaan” (Friday 20 January)

Following last year’s release process, the songs will each be released on different days, from 12 to 20 January.

UMK 2023 will take place on the 25th of February and will be held in Logomo, Turku for the second year in a row.

The Rasmus were last year’s UMK winners, going on to represent Finland in Eurovision 2022, where they finished in 21st place in the Grand Final.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding the finnish participation in Eurovision 2023!

Finland: These are the clues for the second competing artist of UMK 2023!

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Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu’s official Instagram account, gave away the clues for the second artist that is taking part in this year’s Finnish national final!

The second artist’s clues are:

  • He/She started his/her career in a young age
  • He/She is capable of creating emotions
  • He/She has something in common with the host of UMK (Samu Haber)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UMK23 (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

The first speculations, want that artist to be Robin Packalen, who seems to meet these conditions. Robin is 24 years old and he is a Finnish singer who started his career in Finnish pop as a teenager. During the course of his career, Robin has won many awards for his albums and singles, which have sold more than 370.000 copies. This automatically puts him in the list of the 70 Finnish artists with the most sales of all time!

Robin Packalen has perfromed many times with Samu Haber, having also done a tour together.

We remind you that the songs of UMK are going to be released fro January 12 to 20, one each day, while the competing artists will be announced in January 11, while the final of UMK will be broadcasted live from Turku, in February 25.

The last winner of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu and Finland’s representative in Eurovision 2022 were The Rasmus with the song “Jezebel” and ended up in 21th place with 38 points:

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

Finland: These are the clues for the first competing artist of UMK 2023!

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Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu’s official Instagram account, gave away the clues for the first artist that is taking part in this year’s Finnish national final!

The first artist’s clues are:

  1. He/She is the youngest artist taking part in UMK (in 2023 or in general?)
  2. Has taken part in a reality show
  3. He/She has a dance song

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by UMK23 (@uudenmusiikinkilpailu)

The first speculations talk about the singer Joalin Loukamaa who, for sure, meets these conditions. Joalin is 22 years old, model, singer and dancer. She took part in Survivors Finland in 2020 and was part of the group Now United.

We remind you that the songs of UMK are going to be released fro January 12 to 20, one each day, while the competing artists will be announced in January 11, while the final of UMK will be broadcasted live from Turku, in February 25.

The last winner of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu and Finland’s representative in Eurovision 2022 were The Rasmus with the song “Jezebel” and ended up in 21th place with 38 points:

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

Finland: Submissions for UMK 2023 have officially opened!

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With the official Eurovision season starting today, September 1st, Finland announces the opening of song submissions for its national final UMK, which will be used again in 2023 to determine the Finnish entry in our beloved contest.

Finland’s broadcaster Yle, in particular, has published the following submission rules:

  • Song demos (which must not have been previously released) must be sent to Yle between September 1st and 5th
  • A singer can send up to three entries, but only one will be considered for participation in the national final
  • Any other members of a participating singer’s team/band, such as composers, songwriters, can participate with multiple artists
  • At least one songwriter and one singer must be a Finnish citizen or a permanent resident of Finland
  • Entries must comply with EBU rules (no longer than three minutes, no offensive lyrics etc.)
  • A panel of experts will select the songs that will finally compete at UMK 2023. All selected participants must send the final version of their song by November 3rd.
  • The UMK 2023 final will be held in February 2023. The winner will be decided by a combination of jury and public voting.

Song submissions for the Finnish selection are therefore open until September 5th. Who will succeed The Rasmus, who took the 21st place in Eurovision 2022?

https://youtu.be/LSi9nfr65FE

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding Eurovision 2023!

Source: Eurovoix

Finland: The Rasmus’ staging in Turin to include flying props!

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The official account of UMK, the finnish national final, controlled by the public broadcaster YLE, has just brought to light information about The Rasmus‘ performance and staging in Turin via a Twitter post.

The post emphasizes that the band’s appearance on the Eurovision stage will be very different from their appearance in the finnish national final, which took place in February. In addition, many props in the air will be used, as they also seem to be referring to balloons.

https://twitter.com/Yle_UMK/status/1510968531688562690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1510968531688562690%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feurovisionfun.com%2F2022%2F04%2FCF86CEB9CEBDCEBBCEB1CEBDCEB4CEAFCEB1-CEBCCEB5-props-CF83CF84CEBFCEBD-CEB1CEADCF81CEB1-CEB7-CEB5CEBCCF86CEACCEBDCEB9CF83CEB7-CF84CF89CEBD%2F

Below you can watch the band’s performance in the finnish national final UMK:

https://youtu.be/XtMfCf3vFbc

We remind you that Finland will be opening the second semi-final on May 12th.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all news regarding the Finnish entry in Eurovision 2022!

Finland: The Rasmus is representing the country in Eurovision 2022! | The Rasmus at the winner’s press conference!

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The grand final of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, the national final of Finland, has just been completed, with the country choosing The Rasmus as the festival’s winner and therefore their representative for Eurovision 2022 in Turin. Finland used the same show to pick their representative for yet another year since 2012.

A total of seven finalists, that were picked among 312 submitted songs from more than 1000 songwriters, competed in the national final, claiming the ticket to Turin.

The seven artists:

The seven candidates of the night were:

  1. The Rasmus – Jezebel
  2. Isaac Sene – Kuuma Jäbä
  3. Olivera – Thank God I’m An Atheist
  4. BESS – Ram pam pam
  5. Younghearted – Sun numero
  6. Cyan Kicks – Hurricane
  7. Tommi Läntinen – Elämä kantaa mua

 

The results was decided by 25% international jury vote and 75% televote.

The Results:

Juries (50%)

  • The Rasmus – 68
  • Isaac Sene – 28
  • Olivera – 46
  • BESS – 56
  • Younghearted – 40
  • Cyan Kicks – 52
  • Tommi Läntinen – 4

Public vote (50%)

  • The Rasmus – 242
  • Isaac Sene – 99
  • Olivera – 121
  • BESS – 184
  • Younghearted – 51
  • Cyan Kicks – 169
  • Tommi Läntinen – 52

After the public and the international juries voted were combined, the results of the national final are:

  1. The Rasmus – 310
  2. Cyan Kicks – 221
  3. Bess – 204
  4. Olivera – 167
  5. Isaac Sene – 127
  6. Younghearted – 91
  7. Tommi Läntinen – 56

The big winner of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022 were The Rasmus with the song “Jezebel“.

You can watch The Rasmus’ performance in the national final here:

The Winner’s Press Conference:

The winners of Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu 2022, The Rasmus, were taken to a press conference after their victory. They were asked about their plans for Eurovision and their participation in UMK 2022.
What they said was that they look forward to performing together with last year’s winners, Måneskin. They added that it’s great that rock music is getting better and better and it’s getting bigger in the contest each year. Lastly, the lead singer, Lauri Ylönen, revealed that it is long time dream for their fans to see them performing in UMK.

Do you agree with Finland’s choice of representative for Turin? Tell us in the comments!

Finland: Broadcaster Yle states they won’t participate if EBU allows Russia’s participation in Turin!

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The developments regarding Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022 and the rest of the countries’ reactions are truly rapid. Following the statements of the public broadcasters of Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands, the broadcaster of Finland (Yle) also asks the EBU not to allow the participation of Russia, while going one step further, stating that in case Russia’s participation is eventually allowed, then they are not going to send their own representative to Turin!

Russia’s attack on Ukraine runs counter to all the values ​​represented by Yle and other European broadcasters. Yle has always defended western democracy, the rule of law, freedom of expression and human dignity. Yle can not take part in an event where Russia, which has blatantly attacked these values, can use one of Europe’s best-known brands to promote its own interests. We hope the EBU will act in accordance with its values.

Yle

Finland is due to select its representative for Eurovision 2022 tomorrow, Saturday, February 26th.

For the countries that have already spoken up against Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022, you can refer to our previous article.

We remind you that the EBU, at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, stated the following:

The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political – cultural event that unites countries and celebrates differences through music. EBU members in both Russia and Ukraine have pledged to attend this year’s event in Turin and we intend to welcome them and let artists from both countries participate in May. Of course, we continue to monitor developments closely.

EBU

What will the EBUs reaction be after the pressure it’s receiving from several of its members? What will the final decision on Russia’s participation in Eurovision 2022 be?

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments!

Finland: The running order of UMK 2022!

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Finnish broadcaster YLE announced today the running order of the finnish national final for Eurovision 2022, UMK 2022.

The running order is as follows:

  1. The Rasmus – Jezebel
  2. Isaac Sene – Kuuma Jäbä
  3. Olivera – Thank God I’m An Atheist
  4. BESS – Ram pam pam
  5. Younghearted – Sun numero
  6. Cyan Kicks – Hurricane
  7. Tommi Läntinen – Elämä kantaa mua

The big favorite for the win according to the odds, The Rasmus, are the ones opening the show, while the one to close it is Tommi Läntinen.

We remind you that UMK 2022 will be held on Saturday, February 26th, at 20:00 CET!

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