Taste a little honey and you want the whole pot. So it goes for Finland, who are hoping for even more success at Eurovision 2014 following Softengine’s success in Copenhagen. Starting on Monday, September 1, new talents can send their songs to Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) 2015. There’s not much time as the application period closes next Sunday, 8 September. Not everyone can send their songs in though – at least one of the writers and one of the lead singers has to be a Finnish citizen or live in Finland permanently. Full rules can be readen from YLE’s UMK site. The final of the contest will be held in March and this time the winner will be decided by the Finnish public.
This is fourth time Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (Contest for New Music) is being held. The format of the Finnish selection changed in 2012 when producers did away with Euroviisukarsinta. The new format was intended to find the best Finnish song, not merely the best song for Eurovision. As such, UMK targets new talents and younger artists than the old format did. But in UMK’s inaugural year not all went to plan as the winner sang a typical Eurovision ballad “När jag blundar“. Pernilla Karlsson disappeared from the public eye pretty quickly after failing to reach the grand final in Baku. The jury’s favorite was bronze medalist Stig with his folk song “Laululeija“. Taking part in the contest wasn’t so worthless for Stig, as he is now one of the most popular artists in Finland. The winner doesn’t take it all…
The second season of UMK saw some big improvements and the quality of the songs was also much higher. Finalists included Arion, a heavy metal band with “Finland’s Justin Bieber” as its soloist, Finnish Idol winner Diandra and Mikael Saari. Yet again the winner was a typical Eurovision song. Krista Siegfrids brought her Team Ding Dong to the stage and won the final by a huge margin. Although Krista placed only 24th in the grand final of Eurovision 2013, she got lots of love from Eurovision fans and is now a big star in Finland.
In 2014 YLE received 420 demos for the third season of UMK. Twelve songs were selected to semifinals of which eight artists reached the big final. MIAU, punk-rock girl group, finished third with “God/Drug” while Wiwi Readers’ favourite Mikko Pohjola placed second with beautiful pop ballad “Sängyn reunalla“. The winner was the young rock band Softengine, who later rocked Copenhagen and placed 11th in the grand final.
Do you think Softengine’s good placement will attract more people send their demos in the contest? Who would you like to see taking part in the contest? Tell us in the comments section below!
“Nar Jag Blundar” is not a typical ESC song which is why it did not qualify for the finals. It was one of the best songs that year & easily the best song out of the last three songs from Finland. I still play it today.
I can’t wait to hear Finland’s 2015 entry.
Is Krista really that famous in Finland? Wow glad to hear that. Her career didn’t end up in Eurovision..
Which is to say that, had their next album (the first with Floor Jansen as lead vocalist) been released already, and it fared very well, they would surely consider ESC.
@Olaf: It would be interesting to see Nightwish at ESC. But they have yet to release an album with their 3rd lead, Dutch vocalist Floor Jansen; and I have a feeling this might be too big a test for her, and therefore the band might not want to risk their reputation by going forward with UMK qualification for Vienna. How has Floor fared on tour since taking the lead in 2013?
@Alex, sadly no, at least not commercially. I think she’s focusing on her handball career.
I wouldn’t call “När jag blundar” or “Marry Me” typical Eurovision songs… When I think of typical Eurovision ballads I think of “Dancing in the Rain” or “Waterfall”, and to me, “När jag blundar” doesn’t follow that formula. I view “Marry Me” as more of a regular pop song than anything. But that’s just my thoughts about it. I wish all the luck to Finland, and I hope they do find something even better, even though I’ve liked all of their entries in recent years! Oh, and also: Tarja Turunen or Nightwish representing Finland in the Eurovision would be fantastic.… Read more »
Also, Sami, has Pernilla released any other material than her Eurovision song? Hers was my favorite song in ESC that year and I’d love to hear something new from her.
@Sami: I had no idea about this. Seems like a mistake to me too.
Did you know that Nightwish took part in Finnish selection back in 2000, won the televote but because of jury they placed third? One of the worst decisions ever made in Finland.
I really wish some more famous Finnish artists would try too… It would be great to big names like Tarja Turunen and Indica or maybe even Nightwish!
I would love for Sara Maria Forsberg to represent Finland. I’d also really like Jenni Vartiainen but since UMK is specifically for “new” artists I doubt she’d be able to do it.